Eye of Woden

 

Eye of Woden

In a post long ago I have shown the above 'Eye of Odin' figure from a coin of the Iceni Tribe of East Anglia, a so-called 'Celtic Tribe' who appear to have been Woden-Worshippers well before the 'Anglo-Saxon Invasion'. In a previous blog some years ago I showed how the name 'Iceni' can be rendered as a Germanic name, so I will not go into this here. Below is another coin from the Belgic Tribe called the Suessiones; it shows Woden being swallowed by the Fenris Wolf -

The 'Eye in the Mouth' is a symbol found on coins from East Anglia, and amongst Belgic Tribes, those who may well have brought the worship of Woden as Gwydion found in South Wales. But now we shall move to sound proof that Woden was worshipped here in England long before our historians and archaeologists tell us.

Back in 1922, some one hundred years ago, a workman in Dagenham, Essex, came across a wooden idol which became known as the 'Dagenham Idol'. This wooden idol is considered to be Woden (Odin) because the left eye has been deliberately scratched and damaged, just as the eye of another wooden idol found in Broddenbjerg, Denmark (dated back to 535 - 520 BCE), is damaged in a similar way. The 'Dagenham Idol' has been carbon-dated to 2250 BCE. Yes, over four thousand years ago Woden was worshipped here in England. Why is this not common knowledge? Simply because it does not fit with the establishment's version of our history, where the English came over in 449 CE and before that was the Romans and before them the Celts. Whenever something does not fit their agenda they carefully ignore it, making no fuss whatever about such finds. This is just one example of this. 

The above coins are Iron Age, and the Saxons are mentioned as being here when Caesar arrived, going back to around 55 BCE. But here we are going back another two thousand years at which time Woden was known and worshipped by Germanic Tribes here in England. Once again, this fits with the recent find that Stonehenge was built by Frisians, a tribe akin to the Angles and Saxons, having a very similar language to Old English. The wooden idol actually dates back to just after the building of Stonehenge. 

The 'Dagenham Idol' has a hole between the legs, whereas the one found in Denmark is a Phallic Symbol. 

The dating of 2250 BCE takes us back to the late Neolithic Age or early Bronze Age, and this seems to confirm a continued worship of Woden through two world-ages. Of course, this goes back much further than that, and no doubt new evidence will arise in time to show that this is so. 

Broddenbjerg Idol

The above bracteate, found in Sweden, has one eye damaged in a similar type of way; This figure is also said to be Woden, here leading an Ulfhednar-Warrior in some form of Martial Dance. I have also mentioned the 'Trickster' like image here with the 'Solar Horns' and the 'Lunar Horns' of the helmet.

The only argument that sceptics could use against the wooden idol being that of the god Woden is the 'hole' in the centre. However, it would seem that Woden (Odin) was connected with a stone having a hole in the centre, the Odin Stone which stood in the Orkneys until it was destroyed by an irate farmer -

The hole is clearly seen here, and it is also relevant to note that even today in the area of paganism and wicca the holed stones or Hag-Stones are also called Odin Stones. It thus seems quite logical to connect this ancient wooden idol with Woden, even though it is some 4,250 years old. It obviously represents the One-Eyed God who goes way back into the mists of time. Scholars are all too quick to give the 'hole' a sexual meaning, and thus brand it 'female', trying to equate Woden with Loki. A 'hole' has many meanings, including a 'portal' or 'gateway', or even a Black Hole postulated by science. Such symbols work at many levels of meaning. In fact, going back to the first images in this post the 'Eye' is placed at the 'Mouth' - which is a 'hole'. Another point is that the eye-socket is a 'hole' and losing the eye means having a gaping eye-socket. The terms 'hole' and 'eye' may well be linked together in the same symbolism. Another point that could be raised is that the wooden idol has no beard, whereas the one in Sweden has a beard. They are nearly 2,000 years apart, fashions change, and also the Swedish figure has no beard either. 

When we use the term 'blind' we mean that one cannot see; but in ancient times, found in Indo-European Roots, they used a different term 'without eyes', using the term 'eye' as being able to see, and 'without eyes' for being blind. The word 'eye' stems from an IE Root *ok(w)- meaning 'to see'. There is an ancient figure called Og whose name still exists in certain parts of Wiltshire, and the name suggests to me the word Ygg/Igg used of Woden as 'The Terrible One'. In fact, the Old English eage ('eye) gives us the AEgishjalm (eages grim is the Old English equivalent). Thus the name Ygg probably also relates to 'eye', and thus the 'One-Eyed God'. I have also noted before the names of certain figures in Norse Saga having the prefix 'Ing-' and who are stated to be 'one-eyed'. 

The word 'hole' comes from the Old English hol which itself stems from the IE Root *kel- which gives rise to 'to hide' or 'to conceal'. The Old English word means both 'hole' and 'hollow'. We seem to have a symbolic sequence here -

EYE - HOLE - HOLLOW - HIDE - HIDDEN

The 'eye' sacrificed to the 'Well of Memory' is thus the 'Hidden Eye' - the 'Third Eye'. This is the 'eye' that sees the 'wholeness', the power of which was lost in most after the sinking of the Primal Homeland. What is a 'well' but a 'hole-in-the-earth', a 'hollow' that is filled with water. The Eye-and-Well motif is thus akin to the Eye-and-Mouth motif, but the latter gives us a further insight since the mouth is the 'Source of Sound'. Woden is a God of Speech and Poetry.

Different depictions of Woden show both a left-eye and right-eye missing, and this seems to have been the case throughout time. In the above (from the Norse) the right-eye is missing, as with the Swedish bracteate, which predates the Viking times by a few centuries. In the Dagenham Idol it is the left-eye that is missing, and this is earlier than anything else we know of. It would seem to be the case that Woden/Odin was seen as a god with one eye missing, and although this motif stood the test of time, its meaning was not certain in later eras. 

Gwydion of Welsh Mythology is a magician and healer just like Woden; they share phonetically similar names - Wydion-Woden. Wydion is associated with the Ash-Tree, and in one Welsh story he defeats Bran who is a god associated with the Alder-Tree. Bran, like Woden, is associated with the Raven, and he is also the Guardian of Britain. This is why his head was said to be buried at the White Mound in London, guarded by the Two Ravens - Hugin and Muninn. There is a boy named 'Bran' in the series Game of Thrones who is associated with a Three-Eyed Raven, the Third Eye being between the other two on the forehead. This series was based upon ancient mythology, going way, way back in time to an age when the cold and snows destroyed the First Age. This seems clear from the Sacred Number 7 used in the series. 

Scholars invariably deduce from the notion that one god defeats another that this refers to new invaders of a land that overthrow those there before them. Robert Graves, in The White Goddess, sees this in the defeat of Bran by Wydion. But do we really have to see it this way every time this motif appears? Most scholars see in the slaying of the Bull by Mithras the change from the Age of Taurus (The Bull) to the Age of Aries (The Ram). Could the motif of the 'slaying' of the Alder by the Ash be seen as being a change of world-age too, just using different symbolism? In which case this is nothing more than the natural progression of the Cycle of the Ages. There may be a bit of truth in both, but we should perhaps keep an open mind. Wydion's nephew, Llew, is the god who hangs upon an Oak Tree, and his name means 'Light'. 

De Danaan (Ireland)                             Welsh

Dana                                                    Don

Lugh                                                     Llew

Manannan                                             Manawyddan

      -                                                    Gwydion/Wydion

Wydion is a god that has been added to the Welsh Mythology and does not appear in Irish Mythology under such a name. This does suggest the name was brought into these islands by Germanic Tribes, but at a much earlier time than most scholars would have us believe. There is also a Gaulish god named Lugus who must be Lugh/Llew. But if we look a little deeper into our own Ar-Kan Runes we can find that the Tir-Rune represents Tiw with his two hands whilst the Lagu-Rune represents Woden as the magician and sorcerer who sometimes takes a darker path in order to counter the Dark Forces. Woden takes the Left-Hand Path as shown in the Lagu-Rune, which, incidentally, also has the meaning of 'Light'. 

The Lagu-Rune

The above is an Anglo-Saxon motif, obviously Woden and Two Wolves, or more likely Woden being swallowed by the Wolf. To be noted here is the eye-shaped mouth of the god Woden. 

The above motif is from Ancient India, the similarity to the Anglo-Saxon motif being rather obvious. The human figure in the centre has the feet of a bird (Raven?). This is supposedly from the 'pre-Aryan' time, although many scholars today see this civilisation as Vedic and thus an earlier Aryan Civilisation. 

Bran in Welsh Mythology has a Cauldron of Knowledge, a Spear, and he is associated with the Severed Head. These are all symbols associated with Woden, the 'Severed Head' being Mimir who he consults in order to 'foresee'. It is also interesting to note that he is also associated with the Rich Fisher and the later Fisher King, as well as 'King Arthur', all of whom I have linked to Ingwe in past posts. 

The Once & Future King