Norse Mythology

After sacrificing his eye in order to drink from Mimir’s well of knowledge, Odin is granted the ability to see into the future. The loss of Odin’s eye indicates that all gain must come with some sacrifice. However, Odin’s knowledge of the future is not absolute; his prophecies come in the form of dreams, and even the all-father cannot fully decipher every bit of a dream’s meaning, which is ultimately what leads to Odin’s undoing. The prophesies covered in this collection all turn out to be self-fulfilling.

Odin has a vision that tells him Loki has been unfaithful to his wife and sired three children with the giantess, Angrboda. He interprets the dream to mean that Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungundr will all have an important role in bringing about the end of the world. Odin makes the decision to banish Hel, release Jormungundr into the ocean, and bind Fenrir. Because Odin is limited to his interpretation of the visions that his dreams bring, it is his actions that turn these visions into prophesy. This suggests a major difference between knowledge and wisdom: Wisdom is the ability to interpret knowledge. Unfortunately, it is Odin’s interpretation of his knowledge that helps bring about his own death and the end of the world.