Odin

Oden som Vandringsman, Georg von Rosen, 1886

I like this image of Odin asa wanderer, because it is how he appears in Runemarks by Joanne Harris (yes, the author of Chocolat, but this is a different kind of candy). I have never been much interested in any of the Norse gods, except perhaps Tyr who fascinated me because of his connection with the wolf Fenrir (read more about the wolf and the god here). But Odin showed up in two books I enjoyed reading during the past year. First in American Gods by Neil Gaiman and then in Runemarks. So when I was sent his scent, even when only to pass it on to my son, I had to try it. And I am afraid I like it so much that I do hope my son will not like it at all and return it to me. Otherwise I think I need to get myself some more.

Black Phoenix gives a long description for Odin:

Odin is highest and eldest of the Æsir: he rules all things, and mighty as are the other gods, they all serve him as children obey a father. The All-Father, Lord of Wisdom and War. Odin’s name itself translates to "fury", "excitation" and "poetry"and that is the core of His essence. He is the God of Victory, and holds sway over hunting, verse, war-lust and berserkers, magic, illumination, foresight, death, plots and machinations, and He dispenses the Mead of Inspiration to poets from his sacred vessel, Óð-rœri. He gifted mankind with runes, both sacred and mundane, and the ability to use them for both communication and magical work. He grants glory and madness, inspiration and courage, power and wisdom. He commands the einheriar of his Hall, Valhalla, and the Valkyries that claim the souls of valiant warriors. LordOdin’s favored weapon is the spear Gugnir, which he uses to claim those chosen to die in battle. He is accompanied by his ravens, Hugin and Munin [thought and memory], and his wolves, Geri and Freki [the Greedy], and rides an eight-legged horse, Sleipner, that is, in itself, symbolic of death. His scent is dry elm bark, amaranth, warrior’s musk, and Odin’s Nine Herbs of Power.

The scent smelled like a field of heather on a mountain to me the first time I tried it. Then I tried it again one more time before I would pass it on to my son and this time it struck me as having a powdery quality I would not expect of a god of war. But perhaps it fits the wanderer. And of course we mus never underestimate Odin, even when he tries to fool us with a powdery scent!