I hand printed this altar cloth with a hand carved Sleipnir stamp and a
hand carved Huginn/Muginn stamp on my etching press.
The altar cloth is double sided: shiny burgundy coloured cloth with white print and unbleached cotton with red print. This way you get two altar cloths in one. The colours I picked are inspired by the stones in Scandinavia which are beautifully carved with rune markings and often painted with red details.
Odin is a Norse God and is associated with many things such as
knowledge, sorcery and battle. He wears an eye patch as he sacrificed
his eye to the Well of Mimir to gain its knowledge. Odin often takes on
the form of a wanderer and walks amongst the mortals of Midgard.
Huginn and Muninn are the two ravens of Odin. They travel through the nine worlds every day to collect all of the news to tell Odin. Huginn represents thought and Muninn represents memory. Here on their chests, you can see the symbol Walknut (meaning ‘knot of those fallen in battle’). It has been found on numerous viking carvings. The actual meaning of the symbol is unknown, but the original carvings of it are often connected to burial and death and Odin is generally present.
Sleipnir is Odin's loyal steed. Sleipnir is the son of Loki and of a stallion (the male trickster god Loki was in the guise of a mare during conception). He has eight legs, can fly and when his spit hits the ground during his flight toadstools spring forth. Due to Sleipnir being able to fly, he and Odin often fly throughout the nine different realms of the Yggdrasil together.