Mimir
Appeal:
Wisdom, Advice, Peace, Knowledge, Past
Mimir is a primal oracular God
who is renowned for his knowledge and wisdom.
The
name Mimer means "the wise one or the rememberer". He is the giant brother of
Odin's Jotun mother Bestla and he is the guardian of the Well of Mimir, under
of the roots of Yggdrasil. He stands half-immersed in the water and on his
powerful shoulders he is supporting the Kjolen Mountains. It is said that he has been standing there
since the beginning of time and that with the passing of millennia he became
part of the mountain itself.
He became
one of the hostages exchanged between the Aesir and the Vanir in order to
preserve the peace between the two after their war had ended. Mimir was killed and beheaded by the Vanir
when his fellow hostage, Hoenir, proved disappointing to the Vana-Gods due to
his lack of intellectual prowess. They
sent Hoenir back to the Aesir, carrying the severed head with him as a message
of their annoyance. Mimir's head was
preserved through herbal magick by Odin to maintain the God's great wisdom. His head now speaks at the Well of Mimir,
where all of the God's enormous store of knowledge, wisdom and advice can be
acquired by those who visit it.
When
Odin went on his epic journey to find knowledge, eventually his footsteps led
him back to Mimir's Well. Mimir offered
him control over Thought and Memory - and gave him the two ravens of those
names into the bargain - but in exchange, he demanded that Odin rip out one of
his own eyes and throw it into the well.
Odin acquiesced, now known as the One-eyed God. To this day, one of his eyes glows like an
underwater star in the well, providing what light there is to see in the depths
of the waters there.
More than any other being in Norse mythology,
Mimir seems to be regarded as the divine animating force behind the wisdom of past tradition and its
indispensable value as a guide for present actions.
Chapter
51 of the Prose
Edda relates that, with the onset of Ragnarok, "Heimdall stands up
and blows the Gjallarhorn with all his strength. He wakens all the Gods who then hold an assembly. Odin rides to Mimir's Well, seeking council
for both himself and his followers. The
ash Yggdrasil shakes, and nothing, whether in heaven or on Earth, is without
fear."
Hail,
Grandfather of the Well of Wisdom!
Eyes
that see through the darkness
Of
the stone and water,
We
honor your sacrifice,
We
honor your pain,
We
honor that which was hard-won
Only
by losing.
Hail,
Grandfather of the Sacred Spring,
You
who have given much in service,
When
the time comes,
May
you bless us with your wisdom
And
may we not be afraid to pay the price.
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