- An Underwriter enjoying his rope -

“I know that I hung on a wind-rocked tree,

nine whole nights,

with a spear wounded, and to Odin offered —

myself to myself —

on that tree of which no man knows

from where its roots run.”

(Hávamál, stanza 138)

Let me tell you a story about Odin, Norse god of war, magic and poetry.

As a young god, Odin was utterly obsessed with obtaining knowledge. Not just surface level knowledge that can be gained from books. No, he wanted real, deep cosmic insight into Life and Death itself. According to myth, this kind of insight lay hidden in the runes: ancient, reality-altering symbols said to possess magic powers.

These runes were not just lying around for anyone to stumble upon, no they were buried deep between the roots of Yggdrasil, the Cosmic World Tree. The Tree of Trees: so enormous that its branches reach all the way into Heaven and its roots all the way into Hell. If you wanted the runes? You had to earn them.

So Odin devises a crazy plan. He orders that he is not to be helped: not by the gods, not by the Valkyries, not even by his loyal ravens. Naturally, his announcement causes some consternation. Some, meaning well, try to dissuade him out of worry for his safety. Others don’t care, as they thought he was mad anyway. Some c*nt even told him to go “enjoy your rope!”

Odin, madman that he is, pays them no heed. With a rope and Gungnir - his spear, he climbs up to the highest branches of Yggdrasil. Then, to make his point doubly clear, pierces himself with Gungnir; and hangs himself from the tree.

There he hangs: nine long days and nine long nights. Dangling in agony, staring into the void, with only the howling of the wind as his company. Until, on the morning of the tenth day, he sees something, floating up from the void beneath Yggdrasil.

The Runes! And not just their shape, but their meaning. Their power. And he understands. The runes offer wisdom, but also magic, poetry, healing, binding, cursing – tools for one who would rule not just with might, but with mind.

So he cuts himself down. When he gets up, he is a different god. Scarred. Stranger. Wiser.

You might even say it turned him into a WISARD

-----

Pretty intense for a bit of script-learning no? But within the Viking imagination, this is the price of true knowledge – not neatly acquired in a classroom, but gained through voluntary suffering, sacrifice and experience.