Odin
and the Runes

The Nine Nights on Yggdrasil

Long before the runes were known among gods and men, Odin came to Yggdrasil, the World Tree. It stood at the heart of the Nine Worlds, its branches reaching high above the realms and its roots running far below them. Beneath one of those roots lay Mímir’s Well, where Odin had once traded an eye for a drink of wisdom. Yet there was knowledge beyond the well, knowledge that had not been given to him.

Odin climbed Yggdrasil and wounded himself with Gungnir, his spear. Then he hung upon the tree for nine days and nine nights, with no food or drink. The wind moved through the branches and the days passed, but Odin did not come down.

Wounded by the spear, Odin was given to Odin, himself to himself, upon a tree whose roots no one knew. The words stood with him through the nine nights. He remained on Yggdrasil until at last he looked down into the deep beneath him.

There he saw the runes.

They were not placed in his hand. Odin reached for them and took them up with a cry. Then he fell back from the tree.

That is the moment at the centre of the story: Odin hanging between the worlds, wounded by Gungnir, without food or drink, until the runes came within his reach. He did not win them in battle, and no one gave them to him as a reward. He took them for himself.

The Knowledge Found on the Tree

The fall from Yggdrasil was not the end of what Odin gained. With the runes came nine mighty songs and a draught of mead poured from Oðrörir. Odin received them from the son of Bölthorn, the father of Bestla.

Odin then began to grow and thrive in wisdom. One word led him to another, and one deed to another deed. The runes were knowledge that had to be learned: how to carve them, how to read them, how to colour them, how to test them, how to ask, how to offer, how to send, and how to sacrifice.

Odin carved for the gods, Dáinn for the elves, Dvalinn for the dwarfs, and Alsviðr for the giants. Odin also carved some for the sons of men. The runes did not remain on Yggdrasil after his fall. They travelled outward into the worlds, carried among gods, elves, dwarfs, giants, and people.

The runes belonged to songs, wisdom, sacrifice, and the right use of knowledge. They could be carved, spoken, read, and used. Odin did not merely see letters on the tree. He took hold of something that would pass between the worlds.

Odin’s Sacrifice

The sacrifice on Yggdrasil was not the only price Odin paid for knowledge. At Mímir’s Well he had given up an eye for wisdom. In another story he would seek the Mead of Poetry, travelling into the world of the giants to claim it. These stories belong together because they show Odin returning again and again to things that were hidden, guarded, or difficult to obtain.

But the runes demanded something different. Odin did not bargain with another being. He placed himself on Yggdrasil and wounded himself with his own spear. He was both the one making the sacrifice and the god to whom the offering was made.

For nine nights, Odin stayed on Yggdrasil. When he reached down and took the runes, the ordeal ended. He fell back from the tree carrying the runes, the songs, and the knowledge that followed.

The Runes Among Gods and Men

Odin took up the runes and later carved some for the sons of men. From the World Tree, they passed into the wider world: to gods, elves, dwarfs, giants, and people.

The story does not end with Odin’s fall. It opens the way to many more stories: the story of the Elder Futhark, the rune row used before the Viking Age; the Younger Futhark of the Viking Age; rune stones raised in memory of the dead; and each rune, from Fehu to Dagaz, with its own name, sound, history, and later meaning.

Yet all of those paths lead back to Odin on the World Tree. Alone on Yggdrasil, wounded by Gungnir, he looked down into the deep and took up the runes with a cry.

What the ancient source says

The main source for this story is Hávamál, a poem in the Poetic Edda. In the passage usually numbered stanzas 138–145, Odin says that he hung for nine nights on a wind-cold tree, wounded with a spear and given to Odin, himself to himself. He had no bread or drink; he looked down, took up the runes with a cry, and fell back from the tree. The following verses name the nine mighty songs, the mead of Oðrörir, and the carving of runes for gods, elves, dwarfs, giants, and men.

Translations number this passage differently. In Henry Adams Bellows’s translation, for example, the hanging begins at stanza 139; in Olive Bray’s, it begins at stanza 137. This is a difference in editorial numbering, not a different story.

Hávamál does not name the tree as Yggdrasil, and it does not name the spear as Gungnir. The tree is described as wind-cold, and the spear is unnamed. Yggdrasil and Gungnir are the traditional names used in retellings because they belong to Odin and to the wider Norse stories, but the distinction is worth keeping clear.

The poem also does not describe Odin’s thoughts, the events of each night, or the appearance of the runes. Those details are often added in modern retellings. This version keeps the story close to what the poem gives us, while using the names that make it part of the wider Norse world.

If you’d like to continue exploring, these stories will take you deeper into the Norse world:

Odin: The Allfather – Meet the wise and wandering ruler of the Æsir, whose endless search for knowledge shaped Norse mythology.
Yggdrasil: The World Tree – Explore the great ash tree that stands at the centre of the Nine Worlds.
Gungnir: Odin’s Spear – Discover the legendary spear forged by dwarves that never failed to strike its mark.
Mímir’s Well – Visit the ancient well where Odin traded one of his eyes for wisdom.
The Elder Futhark – Explore the oldest known runic alphabet and the meanings behind its twenty-four symbols.
Rune Magic – Explore how runes were believed to carry symbolic and magical significance beyond ordinary writing.
Where Did the Runes Come From? – Explore the myths and history surrounding the origins of the runic alphabet.
The Nine Worlds – Journey through the nine realms connected by the branches and roots of Yggdrasil.

Sources and further reading

Primary source

*Hávamál*, usually stanzas 138–145, in the *Poetic Edda*.
Henry Adams Bellows (trans.), *The Poetic Edda*, 1923. A public-domain edition is available from [Project Gutenberg]
Olive Bray (trans.), *The Poetic Edda*, 1908. The *Hávamál* text and translation are available from [We Vikings]

Odin and the Runes