A Germanic god Irmin, inferred from the name Irminsul and the tribal name Irminones, is sometimes presumed to have been the national god or demi-god of the Saxons. It has been suggested that Irmin was more probably an aspect of some other deity – most likely Wodan (Odin).
The Old Norse form of Irmin is Jormunr, which just like Yggr was one of the names of Odin. Yggdrasil ("Yggr's horse") was the yew or ash tree from which Odin sacrificed himself, and which connected the nine worlds. Germanic scholors connect the name Irmin with Old Norse terms like iormungrund ("great ground") or iormungandr ("great snake").
It is thus often conjectured that the Irminsul was a World tree, the equivalent of Yggdrasil among the Saxon tribes of Germany. But the few primary sources that attest to it are not clear about whether it was a "world-pillar" or simply the pedestal for a cult image. In the Annales Pettaviani, it is even mentioned as ... locum, qui dicitur Ermensul ... ("... [a] place which they called Irminsul ...")
Disclaimer:
Do not approach this series lightly. If this were only a 500' bushwhack, I would call it hellish. The roots will trip you, the branches will shred you and poke your eyes, and the insects will consume you. But it's not 500'. It's over 12 bloody miles! I highly recommend you bring snake boots, lots of water, long pants, long sleeve shirt, lots of water, good hat, pokey stick, lots of water, spare everything, bug spray, lots of water, writing utensils, cell phone, lots of water.
Did I mention bring lots of water?
You may find a laminated clue slip in this cache. If you do, you might want to solve the riddle. This will help you locate the Gaia puzzle cache nearby. Please leave clue slips in the caches you find them in.
