#Forn Sed

[skaldish]

What is Norse Heathenry?

Norse Heathenry is a contemporary pagan spirituality derived from the beliefs, customs, superstitions, and folklore of the pre-Christian Norse people. It is one of a few different kinds of Heathenries, which include Slavic Heathenry and Teutonic (Germanic) Heathenry.

The word "heathen" means "of the heaths." However, it's not a word the Old norse people themselves used. They didn't have a word for their spiritual belief system, as they didn't distinguish this from all other aspects of their lives. Rather, "Heathen" was coined by Christian writers to refer to Scandinavian pagans (this is also why it's sometimes used interchangeably with the word "heretic").

Nowadays, Norse Heathenry is referred to by many names, which reflects different developing iterations of it. Amongst these names are Norse Paganism, Asatru, and Forn Sidr / Forn Sed.

Where does Norse Heathenry come from?

Norse Heathenry comes from the Nordic countries of Europe: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. These places are also known as the homelands of the vikings. But despite their shared origins, Norse Heathenry is not the religion of the vikings. This very large misconception has a very long, complex history behind it, owed to a combination of commercialization and fascist tampering. The Heathenry we see in America is extremely muddied from these influences. Fortunately, we now have the means to disambiguate it, thanks to increasingly accessible cultural exchange.

The following explanation is a product of ongoing anthropological, theological, and cultural research, in combination with what we know about the historical.

Norse Heathen Beliefs

Unlike organized religions, Norse Heathenry is (and has always been) a decentralized belief system. This means it has no universal doctrines, no orthopraxy or orthodoxy, no holy texts, and no religious figurehead governing it. When you hear people say "There's no 'right' way to practice Heathenry," this is generally what they're referring to.

However, Norse Heathenry does have a distinct way of thinking about and viewing the world, and it's very different from what we usually see here in the US. If you're feeling stuck trying to figure out how to "do Heathenry," this would be why.

Animism

A staple of Norse Heathen epistemology is Animism.

Usually, Animism is defined as the belief that all things have a spirit or vital essence to them. But this is only one definition of many, and not the definition that applies here.

The Norse concept of Animism is "the awareness that all things are part of an interdependent ecosystem." This changes how we engage with everything around us. We understand that when we interact with the forces of this world, they will interact back on their own merit. Our relationship with all things is a social one, and we're not spectators in our environment, but active participants at all times.

This stands is stark contrast to the way the USAmericans typically view the world: As a landscape to either test or be tested by, with the forces of the world acting as the means through which this is done.

Additionally, there's no separation between the sacred and the profane.

Immanence

Faiths that focus on spiritual ascension, enlightenment, or attaining a good afterlife are known as transcendent faiths.

While Norse Heathenry has some transcendent elements, it's ultimately an immanent belief system, which means its focus is on living life for the sake of living, as opposed to living life to receive a good afterlife. A good afterlife is already guaranteed.

(Some Heathens may strive for a specific kind of afterlife, however, which do have certain conditions for accessing. But these are elective rather than required, and different as opposed to superior. It's all a matter of preference, at the end of the day.)

The Norse Gods

Many people are already familiar with the Norse gods, such as Thor, Odin, Loki, and Freyja, but not many people are familiar with how they operate as gods.

In Hellenism and Religio Romano, the gods are divine lords who preside over different domains of society. It's a reflection of what the ancient Greeks and Romans highly valued in their civilizations: Law and political/civic involvement.

In Norse Heathenry, however, gods don't operate in a lordship capacity. Instead, they're more like celebrities in that they're celebrated figures everyone knows about.

While they don't rule over one thing or another, the Norse gods often act as allegorical representations of worldly phenomena. Thor is to thunderstorms as Loki is to "random-chance odds." SIf is to wheat-fields as Odin is to the old wandering beggar. Frey and Freyja represent masculine and feminine principles, Skadi the driven snow and foggy winter, and so on. The gods exist as worldly experiences inasmuch as they exist as ideas.

Lastly, but importantly, the Norse gods don't distribute rewards or punishments in accordance with on one's actions or deeds, nor do they tell us how we ought to live our lives. The way they interact with us depends on our individual relationships with them, which can be just as diverse as the ones we have with each other.

Myths & Folklore

What people often refer to as the "Norse Myths" are stories found in two old Icelandic texts called the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. These texts are special because they're the oldest and largest collection of tales featuring the Norse deities.

However, these texts represent just one region's period-specific interpretation of Norse folklore. They also only represent a fraction of the tales that still circulate within Nordic oral traditions, so not only are they not "canon" in the usual sense of the word, they're also just a sample.

This is all to say that Norse Heathenry doesn't have a hard body of mythology. It certainly has a defined one, but its definition is built from local legends, fairy tale humor, songs, customs, superstitions, and family folklore in addition to what survives on runestones and parchment. The corpus of Heathenry is very much a living, breathing thing.

Spirits

Norse Heathenry recognizes a wide variety of different beings, the likes of which can be found all around us. Some of these beings are like how we typically imagine spirits, in that they're incorporeal or otherwordly, while others are physical but may play tricks on you so you can't see them.

Like many things pertaining to Heathenry, there isn't a universally-shared classification system for Norse beings. But generally-speaking, beings are defined by their natures and the manner in which they relate to the rest of the world, rather than their morphology. For example, Trolls can take the appearance of rocks, trees, and also living people, but they can also be incorporeal spirits. This is all, however, the same kind of Troll, rather than being different types of trolls.

This is also why the lines between "spirit", "god," and "ancestor" can become very blurry at times. In English use, these are all typically labeled under the category "vaetter." Sometimes "wight" is used to refer to spirits of various types, but isn't often used to refer to gods.

Typically, the way people interact with spirits entirely depends on what kind of spirit they're dealing with, as well as their disposition towards human beings. Some spirits may enjoy a personal relationship, while others are best when left unbothered.

Values & Morality

Because Norse Heathenry has no doctrine and is immanent in nature, it has no fixed value system. Just like the stories were decentralized, so were the Norse people's values.

This is a feature as opposed to a flaw, and a fact as opposed to a theory. But it also has a habit of making Americans very uncomfortable.

For this reason, Heathens sometimes choose to construct their own value system to observe as part of their practice. But what those values are is up to each individual, and individual community, if applicable.

Anyone claiming Norse Heathenry has a universal value system is either new to Heathenry, or selling something.

Veneration

Heathen veneration is not just limited to gods, but also includes ancestors and even certain kinds of spirits, such as nisse/tomte.

Like most things in Norse Heathenry, what, who, and how a Heathen chooses to venerate is their choice to make. One popular observance across the globe is to craft altars, shrines, or similar sacred spaces for the entities one venerates. If a Heathen lives in a house that has a nisse (similar to a gnome), they might leave porridge (with butter) by the hearth for him, and he'll in turn bless the house with good luck and fortune.

Oftentimes, relationships with entities are very interpersonal. Heathenry's animistic and immanent nature means entities are rarely cold and distant, including the gods.

Misconceptions!

A list of misconceptions off the top of my head:

The practice known as 'Odinism' is an invention of the Germanic Volkish movement, which was the social precursor to Nazi Germany. This is also, unfortunately, the first kind of "heathenry" to be brought to the US, back in the 1970's. It was spread through the country via one of the fastest-moving networks at the time: The US prison system.

The Black Sun is a Nazi symbol, not a Heathen one.

No, Norse Heathenry is not a closed practice.

No, you don't have to have Scandinavian heritage to practice Norse Heathenry. Blood quantum is not a thing.

The rune alphabets are old, but the method of runecasting is new.

So is the use of magical bindrunes.

Bindrunes are also different from Galdrastafir. The latter is actually a form of Jewish-Christian-Norse syncretism and needs to be taught orally since it's a mystery tradition. You can still slap the Helm of Awe on things and look cool about it though.

Norse Heathenry is not the same as being a viking, and Norse Heathens are not vikings. However, some Heathens partake in viking reenactment as an extension of their practice.

There's no good or bad gods in Norse Heathenry. All the gods are capable of great good and great bad, just like people. They're fallible, and that's what makes them relatable.

Odin and Loki aren't at odds with one another.

You don't need to wait for a god to pick you to start venerating them.

If you're interested in learning more about any of these in-depth, check out the website I've built on Norse Heathenry, located in my pinned post!

[thorsvinur]

Resources for Those Wanting to Learn about Pre-Christian Time Reckoning in Northern Europe and its Application in Modern Heathen Traditions

Throughout the history of the modern Neo-Pagan movement, the calendar that has been used by most practitioners has been either the Wiccan Wheel of the Year or another calendar heavily influenced by it. The Wheel of the Year draws largely upon a mixture of Celtic (Gaelic) and Anglo-Saxon traditions, splitting the years into quarters with quarterly and cross-quarterly celebrations and beginning the year at the end of October with the originally Gaelic festival of Samhain.

The calendars that have come to be popular for the majority of the modern Heathenry movement have undoubtedly been based in this calendar, with the major changes being to the names of certain celebrations. On the calendar created by Stephen McNallen for the AFA, Lammas became Freyfaxi, Mabon became Winter Finding, Samhain became Winter Nights, etc. Other organizations such as Forn Sidr of America, The Ásatrú Community, etc. have created their own versions of the calendar as well, but at their roots they all exist essentially as a modification of the Wheel of the Year concept.

More (relatively) recent research and scholarship has brought a greater awareness of older time reckoning systems within Heathen circles as well as amongst history enthusiasts. Some of this has focused on the Old Icelandic calendar as well as the primstav tradition, and while both of these have validity to them the Old Icelandic calendar already had some changes to how it worked from the older system and the primstav used a standardized dating system based in the Julian calendar. Still, these are both useful tools in attempting to reconstruct the pre-Christian (or at least pre-Julian) calendar systems of the Germanic, and particularly Scandinavian, peoples of Northern Europe.

Why is this at all important in an age with the Gregorian calendar used most everywhere and especially for those outside of Scandinavia? Because for those trying the build an understanding of or relationship with these cultures, or even just more connected to the earth in general, the way they reckoned time helps to understand their relationship and connection to their environment, the flow of seasons, how they viewed the different parts of the year and adjusted their activities accordingly, etc. It helps to understand the "why" behind the ritual cycle, even in the names of the months themselves.

Below are a few of the primary resources that I have found helpful in learning about these topics, as well as a graphic representation that I have made based on my research so far to represent the reconstructed Old Norse lunisolar calendar. Note that I don't claim to be an expert on this topic, so I could certainly be wrong in some of the details, and some of the months also have multiple names from which I chose one to use. Also, there were multiple time reckoning systems in use during the period, including a week-counting system, so there can also be conflicting information depending on which is being considered.

Sources:

"Jul, disting och förkyrklig tidräkning: Kalendrar och kalendriska riter i det förkristna Norden" by Andreas Nordberg

- Available as a free PDF, the majority of this is written in Swedish, but it contains a fairly concise English summary at the end. It focuses primarily on Old Norse Jól (Yule) as well as the Dísaþing/Disting and Dísablót in Sweden, but it touches on other celebrations and uses these to establish the overall scheme of the lunisolar calendar system.

"The Festival Year: A Survey of the Annual Festival Cycle and Its Relation to the Heathen Lunisolar Calendar" by Josh Rood

-Also available as a free PDF, this paper expands upon Norberg's work as well as others' and goes through the overall festival year of the pre-Christian Scandinavians.

"The Lunisolar Calendar of the Germanic Peoples: Reconstruction of a bound moon calendar from ancient, medieval and early modern sources" by Andreas Zautner

-This book is sort of a dive into a number of different ancient to early modern calendar systems, but it uses all of these to reconstruct lunisolar time reckoning systems not only for Scandinavians, but for other Germanic peoples as well. It's a great read for those interested in pre-Julian time reckoning in Northern Europe as well as Medieval calendar systems in general.

"The Nordic Animist Year" by Rune Hjarnø Rasmussen

-Similarly to Zautner's book, Rasmussen draws upon a variety of Medieval calendar systems in his work, but his goal, rather than reconstructing an Old Norse calendar is to create a modern calendar based in animist traditions of Northern Europe. It undoubtedly uses the lunisolar system as a base and takes a lot from Old Norse sources, but it also incorporates later traditions which are based in animist knowledge and have value in establishing a system of seasonal animism.

And lastly, my Old Norse lunisolar calendar representation. Each month starts on a new moon, represented by a black dot, and the festivals are shown at the full moons, being white dots. You may notice the lack of Þorrablót and Miðsumar (Midsommar) on here. Regarding Þorrablót, I'm not as well researched on the origins of it and how widespread it may have been. For Miðsumar I have long refrained from including it due to the absolute lack of mentions in literary material from during or shortly after the period, but I have been pointed to some instances of it marked on primstavs as July 14th (Julian calendar), suggesting a possible lunisolar observance of it earlier similar to Jól's relationship to the winter solstice.

[yoyo-inspace]

Name of Odin attested 150 years earlier than previously thought!

A really cool discovery made by Danish runic and language history researchers from a huge gold treasure which turns out to be the oldest attested mention of the god Odin not only in Scandinavia but in the world.

Two Danish articles that I translated below, but tl;dr summary:

A historical discovery made my Danish archeologist, runic researchers and language history researchers reveals that there's attestations of the old norse god Odin by name about 150 years earlier than previously thought (not just in Scandinavia, in the world). The translation of a runic inscription on a bracteate contains the phrase "he is Odin's man", and the bracteate is dated to the 5th century. This means that at least in Denmark, there is an attested belief in Odin (and most likely the other old norse deities) much earlier than previously thought, but it is generally the oldest attestations to the named deity "Wōd[a]nas" (Odin) thus far discovered (previously oldest attestation was from southern Germany and the 6th century. In Denmark the oldest previous attestation was 8th century bone amulet). The discovery has also opened up new ways of translating runic inscriptions this old, which could help with further research of older texts that have previously been untranslatable.

EDIT: Also English article https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/oldest-reference-norse-god-odin-found-denmark-treasure-97704339

Translation and Danish articles below, which also has images.

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/guldfund-afsloerer-danskerne-troede-paa-odin-thor-og-loke-langt-tidligere-end-foerst?fbclid=IwAR0x2RkzqvGCVn87f_W5gBMcp9B8jbCWEiXV-JX2j4ZmOvRh_1XEWJ9hOkU

Gold find reveals: The Danes believed in Odin, Thor and Loki much earlier than first thought

Runes on a huge gold treasure from Jelling show that Odin is mentioned 150 years earlier than has been seen before. The discovery shakes the whole of Norse mythology.

When the two amateur archeologists Jørgen Antonsen and Ole Schytz made the spectacular gold find in a field near Jelling almost two years ago, they also greatly shook our knowledge of Norse mythology. It turns out that one of the gold pieces contains the world's first attestation by name of the Norse god Odin. The so-called Vindelev treasure was previously described as the most spectacular runic find since the golden horns. But the name of the god gives this one an extra edge: - It is the first time in world history that Odin's name is mentioned, and it takes Nordic mythology all the way back to the beginning of the 5th century. That makes the Vindelev find even more spectacular, says script researcher Lisbeth Imer from the National Museum. According to the researchers, this means that the gods we know from Norse mythology were already known at the beginning of the 4th century, which is 150 years earlier than previously proven.

The discovery was made after the researchers spent quite some time trying to decipher the runes and carvings on the 22 gold objects with a weight of around 800 grams, so-called bracteate. On one of the bracteates the sentence 'He is Odin's man' is included and refers to the bracteate's portrait of an unknown king or “great man”. And it is this sentence that shows that the belief in the Nordic gods was real, earlier than people have believed until now. However, deciphering exactly what the runes actually meant has not been an easy task.

“The runic inscription has been the most difficult to interpret in my 20 years as a runologist at the National Museum, but the discovery is also absolutely fantastic,” explains Lisbeth Imer.

According to the researchers, the discoveries are important because they contribute to Danish history being rewritten.

“I have not seen such well-executed runes and such a long text on a Danish find from this period since the golden horns,” says Lisbeth Imer. “It could become a key to understanding other prehistoric runic inscriptions that we have not been able to read so far. 

Krister Vasshus, who specializes in ancient language history in Scandinavia, is also pleased with the new finds. “We have found the proof in black and white, and it is a huge discovery. I can't put my arms down in pure ecstasy,” he says. According to the researcher, it is very rare that researchers even get the opportunity to examine similar material. “This type of inscription is extremely rare, we find one perhaps every 50 years, and this time it has turned out to be world history,” explains Krister Vasshus.

 The Brakteaten is currently on display at the National Museum.

https://videnskab.dk/forskerzonen/kultur-samfund/verdens-aeldste-odin-fundet-i-vindelev?fbclid=IwAR366iLS8MWtkeWTrrqlIbMxygGlZ-tAWG9FJXFsqDRIabHh3o5LgMphBzo

The world's oldest Odin found in Vindelev

Ancient gold medallions found by amateur archaeologists turn out to be the oldest examples of the god Odin's name in the entire world.

In December 2020, two old friends and amateur archaeologists go for a walk with a detector in a field in Jelling. Little did they know that with the findings from this trip they were writing the history of Denmark - and gave us the most difficult task we have ever faced as runologists and language experts respectively. The Vindelev treasure, as the find has been called, with its 800 grams of real gold, is one of the largest gold treasures found here in recent times. It fascinates not only because of the red ancient gold, but also because of the bracteates - i.e. gold medallions - with runes found in the treasure. They write the history of Denmark.

100 years older than the earliest find so far Two of the bracteates have some very long inscriptions in which the name of the supreme god of the Æsir, Odin, appears. The bracteates are dated to the fifth century and are thus the oldest examples of the god Odin's name in the whole world - at least for now. The oldest inscription previously in which the god Odin appears is from the southern German area. At a large burial ground near Nordendorf, the god's name was found scratched on the back of a suit buckle dating to the second half of the 6th century. In Denmark, we have to go back to the first half of the 8th century, i.e. on the threshold of the Viking Age, before we have Odin's name represented on a piece of a human skull from Ribe. Here, Odin is invoked as one of three gods who will help the owner of the amulet from illness. Odin's name is a well-known runic inscription from all over the world and is found, among other things, in a number of continental and Old English written sources, for example 'Origin of the Langobards', 'Sächsisches Taufgelöbnis' (the Old Saxon baptismal vow) and 'Nigon Wyrta Galdor' (The formula of the nine herbs). In this article, we will talk about why the Vindelev treasure is completely unique, and why the runic inscriptions on the old bracteaters have been one of the most difficult tasks for us.

Gold pendants Excavations carried out by the Vejlemuseerne showed that in the area where the treasure was found, there had been a farm consisting of several longhouses and fences. The treasure therefore presumably belonged to the local magnate or king, who buried it inside the house or near the house. In the 5th and 6th centuries, rich magnates or minor kings used gold pendants to show off their status and wealth. The motif on these pendants, called bracteate, was inspired by the Roman imperial medallions. Many bracteates show a male person seen in profile, possibly in the company of a four-legged animal, which is probably a horse.

Is it Odin? For many years, researchers have debated whether the people depicted on the bracteates are the god Odin, or whether they are kings, princes or magnates. The runic inscriptions on the Vindelev bracteates mostly indicate the latter. Perhaps bracteates were given away to important alliances. Saxo Grammaticus writes about the legendary king Frode that he had a gold necklace that could be used as a reward. This chain was composed of different links, which alternated with images of kings. Such chains with bracteates have been found in several places in Denmark.

Long runic inscription with the name Odin One of the bracteates from Vindelev is very special and very valuable for research. It has a long runic inscription which is particularly well-formed and which makes linguistic sense. The inscription runs in a circle around the motif of the bracteate, which shows the face of a king seen in profile and with a nice hairstyle. In front of the face is a swastika and a semicircle - perhaps symbolizing the sun and the moon. Below the face stands a four-legged animal, probably a horse, with a marked harness and something sticking out of its mouth. The horse's ear points towards the king's open mouth.

Erased and written out in one go Although the runes are very well formed and immediately easy to read, we have problems understanding the text. This is due, firstly, to the fact that the bracteate is very worn, so that the runes in important places are almost completely gone. Secondly, the inscription is written out in one go. That is, there is no pause between words, nor are there any signs showing where one word ends and the next begins. In addition, the language on the bracteate is more than 1,500 years old.

On the trail of a hunter The first part of the text of the bracteate is particularly difficult, because there are partly words we do not know from other sources, partly words which do not seem to fit with the developments in the history of the language. The inscription possibly begins with the word hostiōz, which can mean 'sacrificial animal' (in the plural). In that case, it is a Latin loanword, which would mean that the word hostia was borrowed from Latin and embedded in the Old Norse language. In the long sequence that follows, there is probably a declaration that someone is helping a hunt or a hunter. We may also encounter a personal or nickname Jaga, which may even have been perceived as a pun on the verb 'to hunt' (“at jage”).

A king's locket? We are most certain of the last part of the inscription. It says iz Wōd[a]nas weraz, which can be translated as 'he is Odin's man'. But who is this man of Odin? It must be the hunter who may have had the (nick)name Jaga. And who is the hunter or Jaga? We know that Saxo calls the images on bracteates kings, and we know that the bracteates imitate Roman emperor depictions. We must therefore interpret the inscription as a presentation of the depicted person, who is the king. The king is referred to as Odin's man, which points to his divine legitimacy, and perhaps also tells us that he is the supreme cult leader of that society.

Another Odin inscription in Vindelev The long inscription appears to have been copied on one of the other bracteates, but in a much more poorly executed reproduction. This bracteate also shows a king seen from the side with a nice hairstyle above a horse with its ear pointing towards the king's mouth. In front of the face are the same symbols as on the first bracteate and in addition three dots which perhaps symbolize the stars. The inscription runs in a circle around the motif, and some of the characters are clearly runes, while others just look like or are blurred long lines. It seems that whoever made the inscription in the matrix did not fully understand the text, but copied the appearance of the characters as best they could.

Is there perhaps a holy text with the same meaning? The meaning of the inscription has clearly been the same as on the first bracteate, but there is a detail which means that it cannot be interpreted as a direct copy of the first: the name Odin is spelled in a different way, and also it appears that the scribe has exchanged two runes. Where he actually wanted to write woþanas, he has written þowa(nas). The two runes, which represent the sounds /w/ and /þ/, are almost identical, which makes them easy to confuse - especially when the runes are only 2mm high. This means that there once existed a third inscription with the same content as on the two bracteate. It must have been a very important and perhaps sacred text that many have been interested in copying. There could be many good reasons for being filled by Odin's power and magical abilities as a king.

The solution to an old riddle The long and complete inscription on the bracteate from Vindelev is the key to a number of unsolved riddles in the Iron Age. It shows that Odin is a very old deity, who was already known in the 5th century, and that the images of the bracteates should rather be interpreted as kings than as the god himself. And so it is the key to understanding how illegible bracteate inscriptions originally made sense.

A funny detail is also that the bracteate with the poorly executed text from Vindelev has a stamp-identical twin from Bolbro on the outskirts of Odense, made with the same pattern. The Bolbro bracteate was found in 1852 and has since then been in the National Museum's collections. There has thus been an ancient Odin inscription in the National Museum's exhibitions for the past 170 years - but no one knew that until the Vindelev treasure was found. Lisbeth M. Imer and Krister S. K. Vasshus will publish a scientific article about the runic bracteates from Vindelev in the international journal NOWELE (North-Western European Language Evolution), which will be published in April-May 2023. The Vindelev treasure can be seen in the National Museum's Danish exhibition 'The Hunt of Danish history' for the rest of 2023. The Bolbro bracteate is part of the permanent exhibition at the National Museum.

[vopro-heathen]

I see gods in the trees. I see gods in the clouds. I see gods in the dirt. I see gods in the stars. Everything around us is full of gods. Not all of them have names, but all of them are important.

Every day I'm thankful to these nameless gods that take part of my life.

[fornasedensgudar]

The queen of the gods seend out her messenger, to watch over those she wish to see protected and to bring her will to those she wish to know it.

[thoughts-of-a-heathen]

I'm going to Sweden for a trip in two weeks, do you have any advice on how I can introduce myself to the land wights there/be on good terms with them as I explore the country?

Sounds exciting!

I do have plenty of advice for you, but bear in mind that I'm just one person, and that my way is not the only way. There are many ways of establishing good relations with the land wights.

Personally, I like to thank the local spirits and beings for accepting me and hosting me on their land. You don't need to make a big deal out of it - just be polite.

I also like to give the land wights offerings when I'm entering into a new area/region, or before/after crossing a natural border - rivers, lakes, oceans, ridges, mountains, large forests etc. I would probably say something like "Thank you for accepting me onto your land. Please accept this gift as a token of my appreciation/friendship," make the offering, and sit in silence and observe the surroundings for a while. I would also pay attention to any immediate signs or tydor. You don't have to do any of this if you don't want to.

(If you're planning on making any offerings outside/in nature, look up Allemansrätten. Naturvårdsverket also has a bunch of useful information [in English] about local rules and regulations.)

It is polite to offer the land wights a sip of your drink. This is usually done whenever you're outside/in a place where the drink can seep into the ground (= not a modern floor). Some people always do this, but they usually go outside to do so. Some pour it into the sink. In some regions, it's very important that you tell the land wights that the drink you're pouring is intended as an offering to them (before you start pouring). Since failing to do so when it's needed is really bad, (and since doing so when it isn't needed doesn't cause any harm), it's probably safer to always inform the land wights about what you're doing. Say something like "Here's one for you," and then pour a small amount of the drink onto the ground. These drink offerings aren't mandatory, but I recommend doing them.

Now we get to the really important stuff: how to avoid pissing them off. My general advice is to treat your surroundings with respect. Don't break stuff or move stuff around for no good reason. Warn the land wights before pouring out liquid. This is done by yelling something like "watch out." If the liquid is hot, you should probably warn them about this too. Yell something like "Watch out! Hot [water]!!" Similarly, you should always warn them before you pee on the ground. (A simple "watch out" will do.) Basically, warn them before doing anything that may cause them harm. Avoid polluting places, don't litter, don't make yourself a nuisance. Warning the land wights is mandatory if you want to be on good terms with them.

If you're visiting Skåne/southern Sweden, avoid peeing on elderberry bushes. You also shouldn't break their branches or disturb them in other ways. (Picking their flowers or berries is fine though.)

If you for some reason want to use Swedish when you're warning the land wights, here are some suggestions:

Akta! ('Be careful!')

Se upp! ('Watch out!')

Akta! Varmt! ('Be careful! Hot!')

(Using similar phrases in your own native language is perfectly acceptable, as long as they're clear and concise.)

This is all I could think of off the top of my head. Perhaps my followers have more helpful tips and advice?

[asatroende]

I wish there was a tumblr specific discord or something for discussing asatro, I have so many thoughts in my head about stories and folk tales and all that but I can’t like develop them at length with other people of the faith and I don’t wanna join an organisation about it

[broomsick]

Outdoor Jól altar, set up by the Swedish Forn Sed Assembly in Gothenburg, Västergötland.

[nothorses]

People's reactions to atheism kinda feel similar to people's reactions to asexuality and aromanticism. "What do you mean you don't have gods/sexual/romantic attraction! Everybody has that! You probably just haven't found the one you vibe with yet".

At least as an ace person who grew up without religion and find that it is not for me, I keep seeing the similarities. People act like my thoughts and ideas about my own life in regards to religion do not matter since I don't have one. I have friends who downright said "of course you should celebrate Christmas, everyone does!". If I had been Jewish or Muslim I doubt they would have said that, but since I am seen as "neutral/not yet converted" they think it's fine to treat me as "Christian lite" even though I'm not christian and have never been. It's very annoying and it's gotten to a point where I am seriously considering converting to forn sed (asatru) just to get them off my back. Although I doubt they'd recognize that, either...

(Obligatory i don't hate religion and I can see what value people get out of it, and from an outside perspective I find it similar to any relationship, aka it could be abusive/hurtful but in general it is a positive experience for the people involved.)

Hey anon I understand where you're coming from, but. I regret to inform you that it is in fact extremely common for people to try to pressure non-Christian theists into celebrating Christmas; Jewish and Muslim people very much included.

I really recommend connecting with and listening to the experiences of Jewish and Muslim folks, because while avoiding making those assumptions in the first place is a good first step, it can be hard to really understand your own blind spots without some real context.

I also point this out because I think this tendency to compare hardships is really damaging, and takes away from the solidarity atheists need to have with minority religions. This isn't a "theists vs. atheists" issue, it's a "dominant religion vs. marginalized beliefs" issue. It's not about the presence or "lack" of beliefs- it's about marginalization and oppression on the basis of belief.

And you're right: we need to be able to see atheism as the presence of a belief (that there is no higher power), which contributes to a unique and valuable worldview just like any religion.

The key here is that we're shifting the conversation away from this Christian-fabricated argument about whether atheism is Right And Good, or Immoral And Bad. Because it doesn't matter, and it's not the basis any other conversation about religion is operating on- any other religion deserves to exist regardless of "accuracy", and atheism- no matter how much we believe it's the most correct- operates the exact same way, and deserves the exact same space.

Just like the a-spec discourse, the divide is artificial. A-specs have unique experiences with oppression, but ultimately the reason for their oppression is the same as any other queer identity: because they're not straight*. And just like them, atheists have some very different experiences from marginalized religions, but ultimately atheism is marginalized for the same reason any marginalized religion is: because we're not Christian.

I think that's a great comparison for another reason, too: a-specs can share intersecting identities (gay ace, pan aro, straight ace, etc.) that do create overlap with experiences unique to those intersecting identities (including straight experiences!); but we argue that straight a-specs ultimately aren't considered straight in the eyes of cisheterosexism, and aren't given the same treatment as them, because any deviation from that established norm is cause for punishment.

*I say "straight" to mean the position of power; identifying as/being straight is one thing, but being treated like you're straight, and afforded that position in oppressive power structures, is a completely different thing.

[freyjaofthenorth]

it's always so funny to me when christians and christian atheists are trying to pull a "but HISTORY!!! 😠" on contemporary pagans and those who get labeled as it because if you know a bit about history of religion it just shows how little they know

it's either, as in the case of newer religions such as wicca, "things literally didn't happen like that!!!!", where the easiest response would be "okay, so?" because the only thing that argument proves is a bias towards a literal reading of sources, which falls apart if people does not put as much importance in "what literally happened" as on for example "what can we learn from this"

or, as in the case of those that expand on a living custom such as forn sed (which is where i fall), "most of those people you say passed on this were actually literally devout christians!!!!!!", to which i simply say "yup. folk christians to be precise. and hoooo boy let me tell you about early modern scandinavian folk christianity" because uh. living customs about which (pre-christian) deity caused which specific type of lightning in the early 20th century. 19th century norwegian fishermen throwing bread in the sea to thank Njord for a good catch, or inviting the priest to a sacrificial feast to Frö. "kornguden i Vånga". and that's just some examples of the "deities" part of the old custom being alive and well among people considering themselves devout lutherans. and for most ordinary people even before christianisation the more animistic parts was a bigger part of their custom than the deities. animistic parts that, in varying shapes and forms as tends to happen in living traditions, is still alive and well in some rural areas as "folk beliefs" such as the ones i grew up with

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Deja Vu?!!¹

Nope.

It's just, my last post was so long, that I left the pic descriptions out!

Don't want to buck the systemic way that society is going thru right now.

With everything being summarized - without understanding that the minute details matter just as much as the important points...

But, enough social commentary.

That's not my aim here.

(I leave that to my collection of political cartoons...)

Just think of this as Part 3 of HPL's translation of "Ragnar's Death Song."

Now, let's get back to the fun.

1. A woodcut print(?) of a younger Olaus Wormius.

The Latin circular inscription reads as "The Royal(?)² Medical Academy at Hafnia.³ Public Latin Professor, Aged 38."

2. The 2nd print is of a much older Wormius.

This inscription reads as "King's Latin Professor of Copenhagen..." (I don't know what the Latin notations "A. M. DC" mean.), but, the rest is "54 Aged 66."

Maybe that last part is a form of "From Death of Christ 54 to Age of 66?"

Wormius's 'reign' as teacher?

3. This is the Isle of Gotland in Sweden, Northern Europe. It's part of the Geatland/Gothland provinces.

4. The Vistula River system, whose branches touch upon several other, nearby nations.

5. Bucklers! Every home should have one!

Although the ones on the cover are too artsy for war. But, they can serve as wall decorations...

6. This is a much later painting of what Valhalla might have looked.

It shows a richly detailed feasting room - with Odin in attendance.

He's presiding over the meal. Sitting to the right wearing a winged helmet - &, with 1 of his 2 war wolves!

These were Geri ("the ravenous") & Freki ("the greedy one") - so basically the same name.

7. More modern sculpture of Odin ("inspired, raging") - with Gungnir ("rocking, swaying"⁴) his magic spear.

The old Norse Gods are still 'alive' & worshiped today.

This Neo-Pagan religion is known as Asatru ("faith in the Aesir"⁵), Forn Sed ("the old way"), etc.

It's not a direct continuation of Norse beliefs. Instead, it's a reinterpretation of the original religion.

As there are too few written sources on the subject...

8. This portrays Balder's death - from a mistletoe spear or arrow shot by his blind brother Hodur!

Hodur ("stout warrior") was tricked by Loki ("fire?" or "entangler?"), who didn't tell Hodur that mistletoe was Balder's only weakness.

This didn't matter to Odin, whose son Vali ("strong", "vigorous") slew Hodur in revenge!

Loki didn't escape punishment. He was bound in a cave, with a viper's poison dripping on his pretty face.

He wouldn't escape til Ragnarok...

In the pic, Thor is to the left, Odin is at the center & Frigga ("free", "related") is the Goddess to the right.

Balder is downed - with an arrow to the chest.

Hodur is weeping over him.

9. More modern illustration of Hela⁶ ("hidden" or "mysterious one"), the Norse Goddess of Death - but, only those who didn't die in battle...

Originally, Hela wasn't seen as evil, just part of the life cycle.

But, Christian pastors equated her with the now evil Loki - who was, originally, only a trickster...

10. Finally, a great painting of scantily clad Valkyries ("choosers of the slain").

Sigh...

It is, of course, a modern version of war spirits who would have worn some kind of Norse armor to fulfill their various duties...

Sex is never mentioned in Valhalla ("hall of the slain").

Just enjoy.

6 Notes (& you're finished):

1. Deja Vu (French, "already seen") is the weird feeling of thinking you've gone thru the same experience again.

But, you haven't...

It's thought to be caused by the hippocampus in each temporal lobe.

During certain seizures this brain tissue is activated, causing such memory experiences.

An estimated 97% of people are thought to have experienced Deja Vu.

It's known to occur more to folk 15 to 25 years old, during evenings & on weekends!

You're susceptible if you're very smart, travel a lot, remember your dreams & are a liberal!!

Neurologists say that it's "just a false sense of familiarity."

And, it's usually not dangerous.

So, no worries.

2. Swedish Regla is usually translated as "a rule", "ruler" or "rules."

So, it could read as a "Medical Rules Academy."

I made a choice...

3. Hafnia is Swedish for the city of Copenhagen, Denmark.

4. The "rocking" or "swaying" might be references to Odin's actions before a battle.

He would "shake" Gungnir, his spear & then throw it over all the warriors that would die during that battle!

And Gungnir never missed its mark...

5. Aesir translates as "members of the Gods."

Strangely enough, the Aesir aren't the only Gods of the viking skies!

These other divinities were called the Vanir ("friendly"). They were primarily Gods of fertility, wealth & commerce.

Both pantheons had a war between them. But, afterwards, they traded hostages & became close allies.

6. Helheim/Hel ("the concealed land") was the literally underworld kingdom of Hela ("hidden mysterious one").

She ruled over all of the souls of those who never accomplished something worthy of honor.

Hela (Loki's daughter) is described as being half blue or black (both corpse colors) & half flesh colored.

Over time, this 'attribute' has been transformed into Hel/Hela having a half corpse side & a half alive side...

End.

[skaldish]

Can't believe I've forgotten to ask literally the most important question to my fellow Heathens in the Scandinavian and Nordic countries:

Growing up, did your folks tell you that Loki tied his balls to the beard of a goat, or did they gloss it over and say it was his beard? Or something else?

[thorsvinur]

There's absolutely no inherent need to try to "Norsify" Ostara/Ēostre. The Swedes at least already had a celebration that took place near the vernal equinox, that being Dísablót and the Dísaþing/Disting before it was moved into early February. Not long after, summer begins, which on a lunisolar calendar is generally only around a month after the equinox give or take a couple weeks. It can be argued that Old Norse time reckoning had quarter marks to the year, even within the primary winter/summer scheme, but those marks would have been Jól/Miðvetr and Miðsumar (in July, not June) since they're the halfway points of their respective seasons. For them, this would simply be late winter.

Even in an Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic context, there's debate over whether the goddess Ēostre was worshiped widely outside of Northumbria since Jacob Grimm was apparently a fan of shoehorning things in to support the idea of Pan-Germanic traditions. But even then, what is important in one place isn't necessarily important in another, and their being related cultures further back only goes so far since things can and do change over time. The closest linguistically related figure to Ēostre in the Norse context with any remaining attestation is Austri, a dvergr (dwarf) who along with the three others (Norðri, Suðri and Vestri) holds up the dome (sky) created from Ýmir's skull.

It has been proposed that Ēostre may even be more directly related to the Romano-Celtic Matronæ cult, and that her worship in Northumbria may have been a product or a relic of Roman cultural influence. It's impossible to say for sure, but it's a competing theory.

As I generally say with all of these types of things, in a modern context things are more open to modification since it is and should be a living tradition. If a person wants to celebrate Spring, at least where there actually is a defined "Spring" period, then there's no reason not to. It's simply not necessary, though, to try to apply it back onto Old Norse culture(s) for a sense of justification in Heathen practice where none is really required.

[hedendom]

Kulturhistorisk museum in Oslo hosted an exhibit named “Fabulous Animals”, exploring the connection between humans and animals in the period from the Iron Age to the Viking Age, through archaeological finds.

I hope you will enjoy some photographs of some of the exhibits.

Til års og fred

[vopro-heathen]

Just finished redecorating my altar! Left is for the ancestors, right is for the spirits, middle is for the Gods. Lately I've been drawn more to the ancestors and spirits, and seeing the Gods in a similar fashion within the world surrounding us.

My hope is to continue developing my practice towards a more animistic point of view, which is hard and will take a long time, but rewarding in a sense that the mundane becomes the sacred, instead of having separation between the two.

Can't wait to talk with my ancestors on Christmas 🎄

[fornasedensgudar]

ITS HERE!

Well online to buy, here on tumblr you can just see these croped versions.

BUT

Its time my friends, just in time for the Yule.

My heathen callander for 2024 is out, my secound one so far but it will saldy be my last in a while becouse I dont know when I will have time to make one again.

Now go and buy a callander of your own before they run out!

Support other heathens and the artist who made it and the organisation behind it, Samfundet Forn sed Sverige.

The callander has text both in Swedish and English so dont worry if you dont speak Swedish.

You can buy it here:

https://www.samfundetfornsed.se/store/p/almanackor-319774/hednisk-kalender-2024-1045924