Philip Kellotat is currently incarcerated at the federal penitentiary in Victorville, CA. He has studied Odinism for many years, and has written a detailed essay on what he has learned.

You may contact the author by writing to him at

Philip Charles Kellotat
Reg. #59220-065
P.O. Box 5500
Adelanto, CA 92301

email sent to philip@sleepydog.com will be forwarded to him

If you are reading this you have either embarked upon a journey into Odinism, or you are at the threshold of that journey and reading this may be the push you need to propel you through the doorway. My own tortuous journey into Odinism began in a Catholic Boys Home in the 50's, but at that time I had no idea where I was headed. I only had a curiosity about religion in general and it was that curiosity that proved to be the impetus or motivation for my journey. I should probably mention here too, that beyond my curiosity and where it led me, the only qualification I have for writing this is what I have learned on that journey, and I make no pretense to either academia or literary skills. I am just a man who was curious and what I have written here is what I have learned along the way about Odinism.

The journey I embarked on from that boys home lead me to most of the worlds religions, where I would study, at least until I found that particular religion was not for me. Some religions I did not need to study, like Judaism, which was designed for the Jewish people, or Islam, which I viewed as a little to zealous. Others, like Christianity, I spent considerable time on before I had to give up on it, and I ended up, as I assume anyone with serious spiritual questions would, in the Eastern religions and schools of yoga. I followed those teachings for years with some success, but I had this nagging idea that those teachings were not designed for the European mind and nature, and that there was something missing from those schools of meditation and enlightenment.

I found myself in the early 90's, after nearly forty years on my journey, being shepherded by fate and events toward Norse mythology, which was strange, because during the years I had been studying Christianity and meditation I had always thought of Norse mythology as a non-religion, or a religion gone astray. But as I began to study about the Norse God Odin, his teachings started unfolding for me, and the more I studied those teachings the more I was drawn into them. And there were times when what I discerned from those teachings was antipodal or in direct opposition to what the mythologists were saying about those teachings, but what I found in those instances, was if I did not doubt myself and my own religious background, my interpretation of Odin's teachings and Norse mythology fit better than what was being offered by the mythologists.

For the complete essay, click here. You will download the pdf document that cross-referenced text.