Stories
"I will tell you a story I learned from my grandfather who learned it from his,” Asger began in his soft, lyrical voice.
“Two ravens sit on Odin’s shoulders. They are called Huginn and Muninn. Odin is a most revered god. In his hands he carries wisdom, healing, death, knowledge, war, magic, poetry and many other things that shape our lives. Huginn and Muninn are very special ravens. They can fly very fast and visit all the worlds of men and gods in just one day. They are gods themselves. And they can understand and speak human language. Odin sends them out each morning to fly around the whole world to gather wisdom and knowledge. When they return, they sit on his shoulders again and whisper to him about all they have learned.“
Their names are special too. Huginn means ‘thought’ in Old Norse. Muninn has many meanings, but one meaning is ‘memory’ and so we call the two ravens Thought and Memory. They are twins, deeply connected in name and power. Through them, Odin sends his intellect and his spirit abroad into all the worlds of men and gods.“
Throughout history and still to this day, shamans, sorcerers and magicians send forth parts of their minds and souls to fulfill a task, splitting themselves apart for a moment in time. So it follows that Odin, the divine magician, would do the same. But there is always the danger that the ravens might not return.”
Caris was mesmerized by Asger’s voice and the magic of the story. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
He went on. “In the Poetic Edda, an ancient collection in Old Norse, there is a poem about the ravens. It is Odin talking:
Huginn and Muninn
Fly each day
Across the whole world.
I worry that Huginn might not come home
But for Muninn, I worry more.
“I have always believed that although Odin valued thought and intellect through Huginn, it is the loss of memory, the loss of Muninn, he fears most.”
The Gods of Thought and Memory
“Two ravens sit on Odin’s shoulders. They are called Huginn and Muninn. Odin is a most revered god. In his hands he carries wisdom, healing, death, knowledge, war, magic, poetry and many other things that shape our lives. Huginn and Muninn are very special ravens. They can fly very fast and visit all the worlds of men and gods in just one day. They are gods themselves. And they can understand and speak human language. Odin sends them out each morning to fly around the whole world to gather wisdom and knowledge. When they return, they sit on his shoulders again and whisper to him about all they have learned.“
Their names are special too. Huginn means ‘thought’ in Old Norse. Muninn has many meanings, but one meaning is ‘memory’ and so we call the two ravens Thought and Memory. They are twins, deeply connected in name and power. Through them, Odin sends his intellect and his spirit abroad into all the worlds of men and gods.“
Throughout history and still to this day, shamans, sorcerers and magicians send forth parts of their minds and souls to fulfill a task, splitting themselves apart for a moment in time. So it follows that Odin, the divine magician, would do the same. But there is always the danger that the ravens might not return.”
Caris was mesmerized by Asger’s voice and the magic of the story. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
He went on. “In the Poetic Edda, an ancient collection in Old Norse, there is a poem about the ravens. It is Odin talking:
Huginn and Muninn
Fly each day
Across the whole world.
I worry that Huginn might not come home
But for Muninn, I worry more.
“I have always believed that although Odin valued thought and intellect through Huginn, it is the loss of memory, the loss of Muninn, he fears most.”
The Gods of Thought and Memory
