Sleipnir

Cloaked in a deep, dark cloak that seems to swallow the light, he moves like a shadow through the halls of Asgard, his presence gentle yet commanding.

Odin is often accompanied by his magnificent horse Sleipnir, not an ordinary steed, but a creature of wonder and magic.

Sleipnir's coat is a shade of smoky grey, soft as moonlight, and he carries eight powerful legs that move with a rhythm like the beating of the earth itself.

With these eight legs he can travel across the worlds, galloping between realms as effortlessly as a breeze skating over the surface of a lake.

His eyes hold a calm intelligence that speaks of journeys taken through spaces beyond the reach of mortal feet, and a quiet strength that shelters Odin like a faithful guardian.

Together, Odin and Sleipnir embody the crossing of boundaries, the weaving through worlds seen and unseen, a bond of trust that never falters.

The night grows deeper now, and the stars begin to peek through the membrane of sky, twinkling softly like distant fires kindled in the silent dark.

The air cools, wrapping the earth in a gentle embrace, as if the world itself is settling into a peaceful slumber.

At last he determined to see Mimir and take a drink from his well.

Saddling his eight-footed horse Sleipnir, away he rode in the night, all alone, over the rainbow bridge that joins Asgard with Earth, down to dark giant land.

He had often before been there to consult Mimir, for although Odin was very wise, Mimir was wiser still, since he guarded the source of wisdom.

The giant was sitting deep in thought by the well, his white beard flowing down far below his waist, which was clasped by a girdle graven with curious characters, as old as the world.

Like the old Greeks and Romans, they had many gods.

woden who was also called odin was the greatest of all his name means mighty warrior and he was king of all the gods he rode through the air mounted on sleipner an eight-footed horse fleeter than the eagle When the tempest roared, the Teutons said it was the snorting of Sleipnir.

When their ships came safely into port, they said it was Woden's breath that had filled their sails and wafted their vessels over the blue waters.

Thor, a son of Woden, ranked next to him among the gods.

The dwarfs groan before their stony doors, the sages of the rocky walls.

Understand ye yet or what? Then arises Sleipnir's second grief when Odin goes with the wolf to fight and the bright slayer of Beli with Surt.

Then will Frigg's beloved fall.

Then comes the great victor sire son Vidar to fight with the deadly beast.

For open will the dwelling be to the Aesir's sons when the kettles are lifted off.

Ivaldi's sons went in days of old Skidbladnir to form, of ships the best for the bright Frey, Njord's benign son.

Yggdrasil's ashes of all trees most excellent, and of all ships Skidbladnir of the Aesir, Odin and his horses Sleipnir, Bifrost of bridges, and of Skald's Bragi, Habrok of hawks, and of dog's Garm, Grimr of swords.

Now I my face have raised to the gods' triumphant sons, at that will welcome help awake, from all the Aesir that shall penetrate, to Ogre's bench, to Ogre's compotation.

They hated Odin and his sons and strove against them when Odin lighted up the world with the sun, the moon they were very wroth and they found two of the fiercest of the mighty wolves of Jotunheim and set them to follow them and still the son and the moon Sol and Mani are followed by the wolves of Jotunheim Such wonders did Heimdall with the golden teeth tell Hnossa, the youngest of the dwellers in Asgard.

Often the child stayed with him by the rainbow bridge and saw the gods pass to and from Midgard Thor with his crown of stars with the great hammer Mjollnir in his hands with the gloves of iron that he used when he grasped Mjollnir Thor in his chariot drawn by two goats and wearing the belt that doubled his strength Frigga with her dress of falcon feathers flying swiftly as a bird Odin All-Father himself riding upon Sleipnir his eight legged steed clad all in Golden armor with his golden helmet shaped like an eagle upon his head and with his spear Gungir in his hand.

Heimdall kept his horn in the branch of a great tree this tree was called Yggdrasil He told little Hnossa "And it was a wonder to Gods and men no one knows of a time when Yggdrasil was not growing and all are afraid to speak of the time when it will be destroyed." Yggdrasil has three roots One goes deep under Midgard another goes deep under Jotunheim and the third grows above Asgard over Odin's Hall A branch of Yggdrasil grows and it is called The Peace bough

McDonald’s is putting value back on the menu.

But the greybeard King Helmgunar made war on the young Agnar.

Odin favoured the Greybeard king: And to him he promised the victory.

Brynhild knew the will of the All- Father but to Agnar not to Helmgunar She gave the victory Doomed was Bryn Hild On the instant she went against Odin's will Never again might she come into Asgard A mortal woman she was now And the Norns began To spin the thread Of her mortal destiny Sorrowful was Odin Allfather That the wisest of His battle maidens Might never appear In Asgard Nor walk by the benches At the feasts of his Champions in Valhalla He rode down on Sleipnir To where Brynhild was And when he came before Her it was his and Not her head That was bowed down For she knew Now that the world of Men was paying a bitter Price for the strength that Asgard Would have in the Last Battle The bravest and noblest Were being taken From Midgard to fill up The ranks of Odin’s champions And Brinhild’s heart Was full of anger Against the rulers of Asgard And she cared No more to be of them Odin looked on his Unflinching battle Maiden and he said Is there aught thou wouldst Have me bestow on thee In thy Mortal life Brihild? “Naught save this,” Brynhild answered "That in my mortal Life no one but a man Without fear--the Bravest hero in the World may claim Me for wife." All father bowed his Head in thought It shall be as Thou hast asked," he Said only he who is without Fear shall come near Thee Then on the top of The mountain that is called Hindfell he had a hall built that faced the south Ten dwarfs Built it of black stone And when the Hall was built he put Round it a wall of mounting and Circling fire More did odin all father He took a thorn of the tree of sleep And he Put it into the flesh of the battlemaiden then with her helmet on her head and the breastmail of the valkyrie upon her he lifted brynhild in his arms and carried her through the wall of mounting and circling fire he laid her upon the couch that was within the hall there she would lie in slumber until the hero who was without fear should ride through the flame and waken her to the life of a mortal woman he took farewell of her and he rode back to asgard on sleipnir he might not foresee what fate would be hers as a mortal woman but the fire he had left went mounting and circling around the hall that the dwarfs had built for ages that fire would be a fence around where bryn hild once a Valkyrie lay in sleep End of section 16 Section seventeen of the children of Odin This LibriVox recording is in the public domain Recording by Elizabeth Klett THE CHILDREN OF ODIN THE BOOK OF NORTHERN MYTHS By Parrick Colum Part three Chapter five THE CHILDREN OF LOKI The children of Loki and the witch Angerboda were naught as the children of men They were formless as water or air Or fire is Formless but it was given To each of Them to take on the form that was most like to their own greed Now the dwellers in Asgard knew that these powers of evil Had been born Into the world and they Thought it well that they Should take on forms and Appear before them in Asgard So they sent One to Jarnvid The iron wood Bidding loki bring Before the gods the Powers Born of Him and the Witch Angrboda so Loki Came into Asgard Once more and his Offspring Took on Forms and Showed themselves To the Gods the First Whose Greed was Destruction showed himself as a fearful wolf Fenrir he was named and the second whose greed was slow destruction showed itself as a serpent jormungand it was Called the third Whose greed was for withering of all life took on a form also When the gods Saw it they were Frightened for this Had the form of a Woman and one side of her was that of a livingWoman and the other Side of her was that of a corpseFear ran Through Asgard as thisForm was revealed andAs the name that Went with it HelaWas uttered farOut of sight ofThe gods hela wasThrust odin tookHer and hurled herdown to the deepsThat are below theWorld he cast herDown to niflheimWhere she took toherself power overThe nine regionsThere in the placeThat is lowestOf all helareigns herhallis elvidniritisset roundwith high wallsAnd ithas barred gatesPrecipice isthe thresholdofthat hall hungerIs the tablewithinIt careisthe bed andBurning anguish Isthe hanging ofthe chamberthorLaid hold UponJormungand he Flungthe Serpent intothe ocean Thatingirdles theworldbutIn the depths ofthe oceanjormungandr Flourished it grew andgrew untilit encircled the whole world andmenknew it asthemidgardserpentfenrirthewolfmightnotbeseizedUponby anyofthe aesir Fearfully he ranged through Asgard, and they were only able to bring him to the outer courts by promising to give him all the food he was able to eat.

The Aesir shrank from feeding Fenrir.

and the thief of Edan's apples.

He is the kinsman of Sleipnir.

Sleipnir is the nine-legged horse known as the slipping one or the one that can slip through or between or in essence the poetic nature of it is a horse that can in essence glide through any obstacles.

and it being Iceland is the last place where a lot of the lore was written.

I can see absolutely the poetic nature that Icelandic horses have a fifth gallop or trot.

So 24, about the giant.

now an account shall be given of the source of those metaphors which have been but now been recorded so kind of in the first line they're re re reinforcing my theory about it uh and of which no accounts were rendered before even such as braggy gave to ayir telling how Thor had gone into the east to slay trolls.

And Odin rode Sleipnir into Jotunheim and visited that giant whose name was Hrongnir, the ruffian.