Invocation Norse rites where Odin is invoked to "ride" workers of seidr (Norse shamanism), much like the god rides his eight-legged horse Sleipnir. Indeed, forms of possessive invocation appear throughout the world in most mystical or ecstatic traditions, wherever devotees seek to touch upon the essence of a deity or spirit. Some have performed invocation for the purpose of controlling or extracting favors from certain spirits or deities. These invocations usually involve a commandment or threat against the entity invoked. The following is a curious example of such an invocation, found engraved in cuneiform on a statue of the Assyrian demon
Alu (runic) bracteate discovered on the island of Funen, Denmark features incomprehensible and meaningful text. The bracteate is housed with many others at the National Museum of Denmark. The transcription reads: What is transcribed as a-- above has been tentatively read as alu. The word houaz has been interpreted as corresponding to Old Norse "hávi" "the high one", a name of Odin. The Uppåkra bracteat (DR NOR2002;10), a C-bracteate found in Uppåkra, Scania, Sweden during a search with a metal detector in 2000. The bracteate bears a Proto-Norse runic inscription. The transliteration reads: The bracteate depicts a man's head over a four-legged