Wednesday 21 November 2012

Wotan's Day

Today was, well, Wednesday of course. I don't like Wednesday much because it is right in the middle of the week and I always feel tired and less enthusiastic about it. And less inspired too. It used to be different: when I was taking my acting lessons, Wednesday evenings were the highlights of my weeks.But anyway, for some reason, I remembered today that Wednesday etymologically means Wotan's Day, i.e. Odin's Day or Mercury's Day. Originally, it is the same god, only with different names and a different place in the godly hierarchy. It was a fitting Odin's Day today: dark and rainy. Somehow, remembering the origin of the name made me enjoy the day a bit more, made me forget it looked miserable outside.

Picture from Giovanni Caselli, taken from this book, which made me discover and love Viking mythology.

3 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Odin and Mercury are so different from each other! But gloomy northerners like their Wednesdays while the quicksilverish southern romance language speakers like their mercredi.

Anonymous said...

Wednesdays are gloomy, purgatory I think you once mention. But today is Friday, and freedom beckons. The only day named for the girls if I am not mistaken;-)

Louise said...

Wednesday: failed thursday

Wednesday: fake thursday