NorsePlay.

Before NorsePlay emerged from the nothingness of Ginnungagap, I dressed as Odin in 1981 for Halloween. The strips of cardstock constructed helmet got spraypainted in silver, the white wings handdrawn & photocopied, earth-maroon jean Toughskins, socks over shoes with torn strip leg wraps, bedsheet cape, costume store beard, cardboard & broomhandle Gungnir, all lightly modeled on Jeff Dee's 1980 illustration of Odin for Dungeons & Dragons ' Deities & Demigods . I'd crafted an eyepatch too, but it came out too tight and broke when I tried it on, so this is a pre-Mímir's Well depiction. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, an...

Odin from the interior art in Choose Your Own Adventure Books' reissue of Trumpet of Terror , where the Aesir pick you to help them figure out how to eject the Vanir sorceress Gullveig from Asgard. The starry cloak's a great touch while the wizard claws seem almost wolf-like. [thanks to my bestie Justin Beltran for gifting me this birthday copy.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Forget hierophanies in tortillas or toast; here we have our Odin in a watermelon . Even in fruit, he's still winningly grim. [from a dead link on blastr. Hats off to whomever carved this.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

"I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die." This is the reveal we all know ahead of time on American Gods : that Mr Wednesday is Odin, but it takes a seasoned actor of Ian McShane's caliber to drive it in like a spear and make it feel like we didn't know that in the first place. And in this clip he reveals many of the Allfather's names with gravity & power. [from season1, episode 8, directed by Floria Sigismondi.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field ...

Odin challenges Vafþrúðnir to a contest of wits, which Odin wins. The court of giants, and the danger their numerical presence presents, countered by the implied magic of Odin's avian producing cloak train add to the situation's drama. [Prints available here: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/jasonrainville/odin-in-the-house-of-giants/ ] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Odin by Juan Casini . We like the underlit red light accenting the figure, contrasting with the his luminous pale blue eye. Instead of actually being Óðinn, we have the impression that this art deco bas relief's on a supercomputer case with the lights indicating power/processing, and antenna wire-wrapped Gungnir serving as a wi-fi dongle. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Which eye do you believe Óðinn sacrificed to gain a drink from Mímisbrunnr? And state why you think one way or the other. [Detail from Madeline von Foerster's Odin Exchanging His Eye for Wisdom (oil, 2003).] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

ZOOBELLS combines kettlebell play with NorsePlay in their 63-pound Odin kettlebell! [We'd have thought a Mimir would've been a good fit for this idea, too.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Taking NorsePlay by TSR even further back to 1980, Dungeons & Dragons put out  Deities And Demigods , a compendium of world and fantasy book mythologies for use with their gaming system, which of course included the Norse Gods. Jeff Dee's awesome black & white illustrations for the Norse Mythos chapter impressed us greatly. Here's Odin with a five-tipped Gungnir and his 400 HP/Level 30 ("Greater God", indeed!) game stats. #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or produ...

We sought a modern visual of Odin and ran across this version in a three-piece suit. Not quite contemporary but not too far back either. And there's this untouchable 1960s Marvel Odin on the streets of NYC: #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .

Custom leather archery quiver with amazing handtooled design of Allfather Odin surrounded by his animal familiars. [Made by BeastmanCaravan on Etsy.] #    #    # Guillermo Maytorena IV knew there was something special in  the Norse Lore when he picked up a copy of the d'Aulaires'  Norse Gods and Giants  at age seven. Since t hen he's been fascinated by the truthful potency of Norse Mythology, passionately read & studied, embraced Ásatrú, launched the  Map of Midgard  project, and spearheaded the neologism/brand NorsePlay.   If you have e mployment/ opportunities in  investigative mythology,  field research, or product development to offer,  do contact him .