True Sci-fi Black Metal : Esus (ver.1A)

This is the first sketch towards a body of work I am creating based on druidic ritual sacrifices and bog bodies. This image depicts Esus, a Druidic god who is often equated with the major deity of the Scandinavian Vikings / pagan Anglo-Saxons, Odin. In most cases the intended god meant to receive the ritual sacrifice can be deduced by the wounds inflicted on the victim - and in the most exciting cases, these wound types are evidence of sacrifice to multiple gods. My frame of study is centered around these multiple wound-type sacrifices and the three gods to which they are intended: Esus, Taranis, and Teutates.
In the case of Esus/Odin, the victims were often ceremoniously garroted (which is a fancy word for fancy rope used to strangle someone) or hung from a sacred tree and had their throats slashed. The operative words here being hung/choked and neck slashing - Esus/Odin loves trees, strangulation and blood. I felt that the combination of Darth Vader and Mickey Mouse in our current state of corporate-political-military-world-domination-eco-terrorism-meltdown seemed an aptly modern symbol for such a blood thirsty god.


Click on the image for an expanded view.

I would like to point out that my primary source right now is "The Life and Death of a Druid Prince" by Anne Ross and Don Robins. This book, a gift from my girlfriend, has changed my life and opened a whole new world of things to obsess over.