In my opinion, it can be somewhat difficult to try and look at the Norse concepts with same sort of mindset as one looks at, for example, monotheism where the "role" of the opposer is clearer. In Norse mythology, we don't have the "good" and "bad" guys- rather most, if not all deities, have these qualities. In this way various Norse deities can be assigned the role of Satan, and indeed I would see Odin as one of these. In Norse mythology, the deities frequently interact with the thurs and rhimethurs, and the purpose is not always to destroy them.Seeker666 wrote:Most definitely! My favorites are of Odin and and The Rokkr.Heith wrote:I take it that you are interested of Norse mythology as well?
A person on one of the forums I'm on once said that Odin was the "high god" and therefore our enemy
However, Odin has many chthonic and deathly attributes that mark him as an ally. Unlawful as a god of thieves, wrathful as lord of battle and berserker fury, Saturnian and deathly as wanderer and lord of the wild hunt. Master of the souls of the mighty dead. Not to mention his myths make it clear that both power and wisdom requires sacrifice, and nothing in this world is free.
As to this idea of Odin being the "High God" and therefore our enemy, as you described that someone has written to you, well. Agreeing with you whole-heartedly. It seems that a person rather uneducated on the subject of Norse cosmology would make such a claim, without understanding this archetype at all.
Odin (or Wodan) is indeed the God of death, as well as ecstasy (or fury). In some ways he is a God who seeks to preserve the world of men (such as by gathering heroes to Valhöll- although the idea of getting into Odin's hall is much more wide-spread in the ásatrú brethren of today than what it was before, as Odin wasn't half as popular as he is today) and will battle in the final days against the forces of chaos.
On the other hand, he is a host for the dead (or one of them, Freyja and Hel being a few others that we know about) but then again, in the old days the line between birth and death was slim, often viewed as a similar event. This is easier to understand with the concept of the great goddess (such as Freyja / Frigg- if we assume these are one) that both gives life, and gathers the flock onto her fold again.
Odin is extremely complex and I dare not claim to understand what he represents fully. However, to me he seems to mean intelligence, thought, abstract thinking- basically, the human mind. The death-aspect I've felt to me comes more clearly from the female archetypes. But then again I feel most close to Freyja and she fulfills many of the aspects that also Odin represents.
Do you refer to the thurs with Rökkr?