Wanted to share this with those of you who are/were interested in Norse paganism. These are some excerpts from random stuff.
The riddle of Gestumblindi
"Who are the twain
that on ten feet run?
three eyes they have,
but only one tail.
All right guess now
this riddle, Heithrek!"
"Good is thy riddle, Gestumblindi,
and guessed it is:
that is Odin riding on Sleipnir."
The clue here is that Sleipnir is a horse with 8 legs. It's Óðinn's horse, so he rides on it. So why do they have 3 eyes? Because Óðinn gave up one of his eyes to gain the wisdom of the world.
Gestaþáttr
Deyr fé, deyja frændr, deyr sjálfr et sama;
ek veit einn, at aldri deyr:
dómr um dauðan hvern.
If you translate it it means something along the lines of
Your cattle dies, your friends die, even you yourself die,
I know one thing, that never dies,
the judgement of a dead mans' life.
So this is really about the moral aspects of living ones life (along the rules of the Hávamál as that is where this is from). It's the same as 'memento mori' reminding people that everyone one day dies, but the judgement that Óðinn passes on you and decides whether you go to Valhalla or not never dies. So remember to live your life dutifully along the rules of Óðinn's rules (which aren't rules, but more like guidelines.)
