The Masks of Odin: Wisdom of the Ancient Norse

By Elsa-Brita Titchenell

Book Overview

UK This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0911500731
• ISBN13: 9780911500738
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Theosophical Univ Pr
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Take a step back from the controversy ...

The controversy expressed in these reviews revolves around the author's interpretations of the Edda in Theosophical terms. In an over-broad nutshell, Theosophy is a "wisdom religion" that posits a universal higher power, a common purpose and underlying deeper understanding in all religions, and, as a result, heavily encourages comparative religious study. The Masks of Odin is just such a study. (I'm not a Theosophist, though I'm familiar with the basics of their beliefs. For information on Theosophy, you might start with Wikipedia then go to the Theosophical Society's website - theosophical dot org). The reason I would encourage reading this book and stepping back from the controversy, however, is that most of Theosophy's themes really are found in all religions in one form or another, to one degree or another, including Norse religion. Some Theosophical notions, as you'd expect, are not found everywhere or are more of an interpretive stretch in a given religion (e.g., reincarnation), but I did not find that these weighed into this book's content too much. The author organized the entire front section of the book around just a handful of common themes: myth itself, the tree of life (what could be more universal than that?), gods and giants, the mind, initiation, etc. Whatever you think of universalism as a religious approach generally or Theosophy specifically, you should not ignore the simple fact that much experience and inner life is common to all mankind. Theosophy - and Titchenell - at least offer comparative analysis based in solid scholarship. Titchenell ties Norse specifics into universal themes in convincing fashion ... mostly. Take the tree of life chapter. She starts out with a paragraph describing the appearance of the tree of life in a variety of religions around the world and through history. She then goes immediately to Yggdrasil, covering language and meaning, the Norns, Odin and Mimer's well, its 3 roots, and more. The way she integrates bits and pieces from multiple lays of the Edda in putting together a comprehensive view of the tree's many meanings is really illuminating. Moreover, it is mostly in plain-sense terms. She does go off here and there into pure flights of unsubstantiated fancy, as she does when she segues from Odin sacrificing his eye into a discussion of the "third eye" (as in Hinduism) and the pineal gland, of all things. 90% of this chapter, however, is in the Edda's own terms and will advance your appreciation and understanding of it's complexity and the cohesiveness of its world view. And so it is with the other introductory chapters as well. The Theosophical content in the rest of the book is found in opening remarks to each lay, occasionally in the footnotes, and in her short summation chapter. The translation of the lays themselves are more problematic. While Titchenell starts with earlier translations in Swedish (the author is Swedish, by the way), she states that the intent is not "

Enlightening and deep book

From an esoteric viewpoint, this book is one of a kind. The book is very well-researched, and treats the Norse myths with respect and thoughtfulness. For those people out there who, following in the steps of the fanatical followers of the monotheistic religions, want to create a new type of "Norse fundamentalism", I have this to say: Fundamentalism is utterly foreign to the spirit of our Norse ancestors and to the Norse tradition, and you are really taking on an attitude that stems from Churchianity, Islam, and other intolerant religions. Think about it. For the esoteric minded person, who is interested in finding the deeper perspective and wisdom of the wonderful and deep Norse tradition, this books is invaluable. Buy it!

Inspirational

As a lifelong student of Blavatsky and Theosophy, and a confirmed and active Odinist, I can only take issue with the other reviewers who have disparaged Tichenell's work. Every religious philosophy has variances of opinion and doctrine, and its "fundamentalists" who insist that everything written in words must be hard fact. There are also those who see myths and parables as allegory intended to illustrate eternal truths. Tichenell treats the myths of the Northern Tradition in the latter fashion, and in my opinion does an admirable job of it. Of all the books on Odin and Odinism that I have, this is the one that inspires me most. Not only does the book contain excellent essays on the meaning of Odinism, but the second half of the book contains translations of some of the old written material itself. We have to remember that there is no extant record of precisely what the ancient Odinists actually considered true and what not. Neither is there a record of how they practised their religion. It is, therefore, somewhat specious to decry one person's analysis of Odinism, as if there is an "authorised" version of it elsewhere. There isn't. Read the book and take what you can from it. Highly recommended by me.

OBJECTIVE UNIVERSALISM?

This book is written by a fairly well acclaimed Theosophy member. Though they try their hardest to stay objective, I have ^personally found this, and other writings of this vein to either encourage my drive to seek out more details and directions, or completely discourage and frustrate me by stretching the comparisons of belief systems, mythology, and translations a little too far (often leaving a "universalist" taste in the mouth). I RECOMMEND THIS FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND/OR AN INTRODUCTION TO THESE STORIES. Her writing layout was nice. This is NOT an intro to Asatru, Odinism, or Germanic Tribalism.

Most comprehensive version of the Eddiac Verses I've read!

As a follower of an ancient nordic religion known as Asatru (or Odinism)I felt that this book did an excellent job at breaking down and translating the meaning of the Eddiac Verses.(ancient norse scriptures passed down by skalds, or in laymans terms poets who receive divine inspiration and repeat it through song and kenning.)I recommend this book to anyone who follows the norse tradition or researchers of theosophy and history.