EYE OF WOTAN

“The complete and balanced human psychology is four-fold in nature, as is represented by the universal Eye of Wotan. As the mind explores this symbol it is led to ideas beyond the grasp of reason."...................C.G.Jung

Through the function of the eye, we become aware of the phantasmagoria of the phenomenal world, which Shakespeare called, this unsubstantial pageant". The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second circle and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end. It is the most profound emblem of all ciphers known to man. Over the barrier of human knowledge hangs the Eye of Wotan, the cross within a circle. In the measure which the understanding of the arcane mysteries and science advances, the barrier recedes.
Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another can be drawn, that there is no end in nature, but every end is a new beginning the life of man is a self-evolving circle which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides outward to new and larger circles. The circle or ring is also a symbol to signify unity, universe and monotheistic deity. A circle expresses both completeness and separateness at the same time. A group of people linked by a common aim or interest, which for the moment sets them apart from others, may refer to themselves as a circle. Often our friends and acquaintances constitute what we would call a social circle. Sometimes it stands for the sun or the sun's course through the year, or for time and eternity in general. From ancient rites to astrology, alchemy and Gnostic powers, the circle is one of the most dynamic and widely used of all symbols.

"In every man.... there is one part which concerns only himself and his contingent existence, is properly unknown to anybody else and dies with him. And there is another part through which he holds to an idea which is expressed through him with an eminent clarity, and of which he is the symbol."
...............William Von Humboldt

To our distant pagan ancestors, a circle often marked the boundary of a sacred area and protected it against evil influences. The circle is a symbol of 'all things', because it can be imagined as a line drawn around everything, but at the same time it can serve as symbol of 'one thing' because it is a single figure. In symbology God is sometimes depicted by a point within a circle.
Wotan was known to have sacrificed his left eye in the Well of Mimir to attain supreme knowledge and wisdom. Towards achieving this task he must split the veil of light into an equally balanced knowledge of the infinite dark. This is all becomes highly arcane and symbolic. The left eye represents the circular moon, the right eye, the circular sun. We find the same solar eye symbology with the Egyptian god Ra and Horus.

"Through our whole lives we strive towards the sun; that burning forehead is the eye of Wotan. His second eye, the moon, shines not so bright; it must be placed in pledge in Mimirs Fountain, that he may fetch the healing waters thence, each morning, for the strengthening of his eye."............Oehlenschlager (Howitt's Tr.)

The circle is a whole, but also, figuratively speaking, a hole, or in this case, a well. It is a symbol of naught 'O', and so it serves as a representation of emptiness, non-existence, nothing. But it is the nothing which contains the potential existence of everything, the primeval chaos from which the Absolute God of the Universe had made the world, the abyss, or womb of all being. The well not unlike the cave has been known to symbolize the womb of mother earth.
God is the source of all light, order and intelligence in the extended universe, without God there is only darkness, chaos and nothingness. The stark reality of nothingness is far worse than any Hell that man could ever envision. The staunchest of atheists has the freedom of choice to deny the existence of the divine intelligence in the universe because that intelligence affords him that right. In the virtual reality of nothingness man would be totally insignificant and would have perished into oblivion many aeons ago. Mankind simply could not withstand the reality of nothingness and it is God's order and intelligence in the vast emptiness of space that makes nothingness bearable enough for mankind to survive at all. Through nature the miraculous reveals itself for those with eyes to see.

"God does not think, He creates; He does not exist, He is eternal"
......................Kierkegaard

As immersion in the world of matter provides the experience which brings wisdom, Wotan (consciousness) sacrifices part of his vision to obtain daily draught from Mimir's Well, while Mimir, (matter) obtains a partial share of divine insight. Consciousness and matter are thus relative to each other on all levels so that what is consciousness on one stratum of cosmic life is matter to the stage above it. The two sides of existence are inseparable. This formula has long been displayed in the alchemical symbol known as the "Ourobouros", which consists of a circle, formed by a snake or a dragon swallowing its own tail. Often this will bear the Greek phrase, " En to pan", (all is one). This phrase is made of three words, having seven letters, and the numbers, 3+7=10. Again, ten means "all things", because it completes the series of the primary numbers of whose combinations all other numbers are constructed. Also, 10 means "the one", because it is made of 1 and zero, and 1+0=1.
The circle symbol with a cross in the center, known as the Solar Wheel or Wotan's Eye, is perhaps the oldest of symbols in Northern Europe. This sign demonstrates the sun's might working weal upon the earth, a symbol of unity and balance in all things: wisdom, intellect, spiritual power, law, order, contained religious force, holiness and is the foremost symbol representing the Aryan Allfather Wotan. The cross within a circle symbolizes pure pantheism and the origin of man. The vertical line also expresses mans spiritual ascension to the godhead, while the horizontal signifies the low conscious earth plane of matter.
Mental imagery is the door to higher knowledge. It is to these ends that symbolism expressed in the essence of GOD and the lesser divinity archetypes are vividly exemplified in our mythos so very, very significant, in the personal life experience and development of the Euro people and culture. Until the European tribes once again perceive and apply these eternal truths within themselves, they will remain cut adrift in the directionless sea of the physical unconscious world and its base forces that ebb and flow from the lower worlds of matter.
Our sacred symbols and folk myths reveal to us the precarious and dangerous journey of the soul with the many obstacles to be passed. Man stands between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The key to the meaning of life is wrapped up in man, as he is the eye of the storm. By no means should the idea be taken that the universe was made for arthly man alone. From ancient doctrines we learn that man came into existence for the completion of the great work in which our life and our race is engaged. To ignore or initiate action against the iron logic of Nature can only lead to our own self-destruction. The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche was to state in his writings, "For the few men and woman of purpose, they are blessed with the certainty that, unlike the billions who live and die with no more sense of identity or mission than sheep or cattle, their lives have meaning, that they do not live and dream and struggle and suffer in vain, that their existence counts for something, for it is their consciousness and their purpose which will determine the form and the spirit of the new order which will one day rise on this earth, and it is their descendants who will take the next step within that new order toward the superman."
The anthropomorphic shape of any god is a symbol. This is the simplest way for the seekers of God to grasp entities that have certain roles and complex interrelationships. The Wotan's Eye Solar Wheel still remains the quintessential Aryan symbol of non-anthropomorphical form. The existing image of the Wotan's Eye today is as it always has been in the past, representing that same deep metaphysical essence which continues on unbroken throughout the whole of Euro-history. Both Aryan man and his folk-god archetype Wotan, the seeker and the found are thus understood as the outside and inside of a single, self-mirrored mystery, which is identical with the mystery of our manifest world. The circle and cross configuration are the eternal shining paradigm of Wotan, reflecting the many lives, legends and legacies of our noble race and the truth within the quest of which we are all a significant part.

“Conscience is the Eye of Wotan in the Heart of Man"

"Mimir, who evolved from the ancient race of giants, possessed
supreme knowledge, and is a guardian of the sacred mystic treasures, a
being of awesome powers. He can be classed with the Norns, as originally
one over whom even Allfather Wotan held no sway and had to appear as
a petitioner. Mimir's twin sister is Wotan's mother. From Mimir comes the
first culture and origin of the races, for in his well, inspiration, spiritual
power, man's wit and wisdom have their source, and around him, as a
chief, stand gathered the artists of antiquity, by whose hands all things
can be smithed into living and wonderful creations."

THE CIRCLE

This life we lead so blind, Is the dead-end of our mind. We need
to go, To that place we know, At the roots of our own kind. And
THE CIRCLE there is stone, But it lives through flesh and bone.
Circles move, And circles turn, We sing and dance, And grow
and learn. In white-robed hood, Where Wizards stood, We cast
each rune, And call down the moon.

Let us reach for a star, From divinity we are. And the three-fold
path, And the shining sun, And man and woman, Through love,
Become one. O' take me high, Where the ravens fly, Set our spirits
free, With the Valkyrie! All gods of our folk, And the sacred Oak!
For there's magic I know, In all things that grow. In THE CIRCLE of
stone, We are never alone! Through THE CIRCLE of stone, We
are never alone!!!

Through THE CIRCLE, Move the Gods, Mighty Kings, And Sages,
Ancestral spirits, From a thousand ages! And I hear them,
Through the sea waves, Through the sea waves crashing! And I
hear them, From the gale winds, From the gale winds lashing! Or
tender, They do speak, Through the soft silken heather, Just
listen! You will hear them, When the folk, Are together! O yes! You
will hear them, When the folk are together!

We were burnt, At the stake, In man's legacy of shame, We were
drowned, We were tortured, In a world gone insane! For our love
of Nature, We were scorned, And they cursed our name! Yet
undaunted our gods, And our spirits are unbroken! Valhalla is
roaring! And its doors are wide open! We are strong! We are
legion! Unlike never before! And the heavens flash lightning, From
the Hammer of Thor! O' Nerthus, Mother Earth, And Wotan in the
sky, May our folk, ALL OUR FOLK! Meet again, In THE CIRCLE....
Fore we die!
..................Ron McVan

Posted in: Editorial,Indo-European