I am a granddaughter of Odin. I am descended from Odin. That might sound completely egotistical or nuts, but hear me out. I believe many people from European descent, particularly English, Scottish, and Scandinavian, descend from Viking, Norse, and Germanic royalty and therefore descend from the gods. At least, this is what our ancient ancestors claimed and wholeheartedly believed. Even if you can’t find a direct link, technically our ancestors believed we all descend from the gods…this is why Odin is called the Allfather!

You might descend from Odin, too! Or perhaps some other pagan god or legendary figure. I’ll tell you my story and how I made this amazing discovery. And advise on how you can identify your ancient pagan ancestors.

First, Build Your Family Tree

The first thing is you’ll need patience and dedication. In order to find gods or pagan gods or legendary figures in your ancestry, you have to build a family tree. This typically takes years to do. Now, I know this is no easy feat for some people as they might be adopted or estranged from their families. If you’re adopted, you can still build a family tree using your adopted family’s information. Adopted family’s ancestors adopt us as their own.

If you’re estranged from family, my recommendation is this: make amends with at least one so you can gain the information you need to start a family tree. It’s funny because right before I found Odin in my family tree, he came to me in a dream as a dusty old construction worker. He was urging me to continue building my family tree so I could find him! You might find Odin is coming to you in various ways and urging you to do this sacred work.

How I Discovered I Am Odin’s Granddaughter, And How You Can Too!

I began my personal family tree using the Ancestry.com service. To people who think this method of building a family tree is too difficult, I’ll put it like this. Back in the day, before the internet, you had to build a family tree manually. With paper, pen, and digging through archives in dusty old libraries etc. And you only had access to so much information without hitting a dead end in your lineage. Once you enter your family’s basic information on ancestry.com, their service automatically attaching related or possible archives of your ancestors for you to review. So you tell me which is easier – using a paid online service or doing the footwork entirely yourself?

Here’s what you’ll need to start your family tree on Ancestry: your name, date of birth, then your parents’ names and dates of birth (and death, if applicable). Beyond that, your grandparents’ names and dates are extra helpful. And if you even have your great grandparents’ information, even better! This is a great start to your family tree, and you’ll see just how easy Ancestry makes it to find information on your family and continue to build backwards from there. You will have to pay for the membership, especially if you want to access records overseas. As in my case, since I am an American but my ancestors were from Europe.

The Secret to Finding Odin in Your Family Tree is Royal Blood

So how was I able to find a pagan god in my lineage? The secret is this: once you find a nobleman, noblewoman, duke, duchess, or king or queen in your lineage, you’ll have an easier time tracing that branch further back. Why? Because the royals and nobles kept records while most of the peasants did not. And this might seem conceited, but here’s the thing. With how many ancestors we all have, nearly everyone has royal blood somewhere down the line! Everyone! Including you. Like I said, this will take patience, lots of time, and dedication to build your family tree.

On my father’s side, I found a man with the title “Sir”, to which research showed he was a nobleman in Germany in the fifteen hundreds. I had to pay for the worldly membership to gain access to this information. But trust me, it was worth it. Next, I traced his ancestors back as far as ancestry would allow me. When I came to a dead end, I simply Googled the last ancestor in that line and found a Wikipedia page for him. The Wikipedia page provided this ancestor’s parents’ names, which I entered into my family tree. And I continued using Google to find each ancestors’ names all the way back to the 1st century AD! Don’t be fooled, this took me a long time to complete. But the entire ride was thrilling to say the least.

Ancestors Who Claim “Divine Descent”: The Ynglings, Fairhairs, and Scylding Dynasties

After discovering my ancient ancestors via Ancestry and Google, I came across a King of Denmark named King Skjold. When I read up about his life, I discovered he claimed descent from the Norse god Odin. If not Odin, you might find a royal line in Sweden that descended from the Yngling dynasty. And guess what? The Yngling dynasty claimed their ancestor was Yng or Freyr, the Norse god of the earth and the harvest. And sometimes claimed descent from the Norse god Njord. If you come across the Fairhair dynasty of Norway, they too claim descent from the Yngling dynasty, therefore their ancestors (and yours) could have been Freyr or Njord. The Scylding dynasty claimed Odin as their ancestor.

Were these ancestors actually gods?

Now, does this mean King Skjold was a god or an actual son of a god? No, not necessarily. Often the ancient royal families of Europe claimed descent from some god or goddess similar to the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptian pharaohs claimed descent from gods like Ra, Aten, and Horus. While the Egyptian queens claimed descent from goddesses like Isis, Nekhbet, and Wadjet. It gave them more status and helped them seem more powerful to their people and to potential enemies.

So if you don’t find a link to Odin, look for royal ancestors who are linked to other deities. Keep trying and I guarantee you’ll find you have ancestors of divine descent…which means YOU can claim divine descent! Once you find a royal line, Google that royal family’s name and look to see if they claimed descent from a god or mythical figure. This part takes some digging and going down the figurative rabbit hole, so to speak. So be patient! You might find you are also Odin’s granddaughter.

Celtic Clans Descending from Celtic Gods

And if you search your ancestry in Ireland and Scotland, you’ll find entire clans that claim descent from Aine, Lugh, the Caeilleach, Manannan Mac Lir, Macha and more. I found another link to an ancestral god by finding an Irish hero of whom my ancestors were named after. Then when looking at his story, discovered he was a son of the Celtic god Lugh.

Sometimes you’ll run across a Saint or legendary hero or figure in your ancestry. Thoroughly review their stories and legends, because sometimes Saints are pagan gods in disguise. And legendary heroes and figures are often said to be demi-gods or sons of gods. I’ve written an entire article on Celtic gods and clans that claim descent from them here to help you a bit.

Over in France, there are royal family lines that claim descent from Melusine, an ancient mythical siren-type creature who was potentially once considered a goddess. So this isn’t just a trend or something akin only to the Norse or to my family tree. I believe finding divine ancestors is something that can be done in nearly every culture. It just takes time and research.

Ancestors OR Gods? Which is it?

I’ve recently been exploring the idea that our gods and even fairies were actually once our ancestors. If I am Odin’s granddaughter, maybe it’s not too far fetched that he once lived. What I mean is this – it is possible that a person named Odin lived an actual human life in ancient times! This is even mentioned in the Sagas, that Odin was a real king from somewhere in Eastern Europe or possibly the Middle East, who migrated to Northern Europe and conquered many peoples.

Because of his legendary status, and because of a strong ancestral religious system, the people ended up deifying their ancestor, the King Odin. And, ever since, we’ve called Odin a god. This is my theory, of course, and could be wrong. But it seems to happen in other cultures too, namely in Old Irish lore and ancestral lineage. So, it might be that all of our gods and fairies were once actual people. Which makes the idea of having Odin or Freyr or even Celtic goddesses and fairy queens, less fantastical and more historical fact!

You can read all about this theory here…and we also hosted an entire exciting podcast episode about it that you can listen to for free here:

DNA Results Might Help You Too

While some people are against DNA kits, if you’re willing to send your DNA to a company to get an ethnicity breakdown it helps. I used both Ancestry and 23andMe, and both have their pros and cons. Ancestry supposedly has more DNA in their archive to compare your DNA to. At the same time, they don’t provide you with your mtDNA, which links you to your ancestral Clan Mother (read about clan mothers here).

After you receive your results, download your DNA and upload it into MyTrueAncestry. This service, while seemingly still under construction, will compare your DNA to ancient and archaeological DNA. I found my ancient to Medieval ancestors were mostly Danish Vikings…which matches up with my paternal line and my descent as Odin’s granddaughter. I also have a close friend who found she descends from the Order of the Dragon…the family of Dracula!

I Am Odin’s Granddaughter…Now What Do I Do?

I’ve always felt drawn to Odin but I’d never pursued a relationship with him. Now that I know I am “Odin’s granddaughter”, I am pursuing a connection with him. I set up an altar, provide offerings, read his legends, and talk to him daily. He speaks to me through dreams and visions, and also sends me signs through animal messengers. I seek to honor him by continuing to build my family tree, studying the runes, and educating others on this way of life. So if you find a divine ancestor in your family tree, consider working with them as a patron or matron deity AND as an ancestor!

If you enjoyed reading this article and found it helpful, you might enjoy my book all about the old gods and how to build relationships with them:

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Read More About Ancestor Work:

• Ancestor Altar: How to Create Sacred Space For Your Ancestors
• Ancient Ancestors: Our Ancient Bloodlines & How to Connect
• Ancestral Animal Guardian Spirits: Guides Passed Down the Family Tree