Heathenry[]
See Odinism
Heathenry is inspired by the ancient cultures of the anglo-saxons, the norse, and other germanic peoples. It is a polytheistic religion, which means that there is more than one god therein. A list of the most popular deities is included at the end of this document.
Although many heathens will honour all the goddors and goddesses, often they will have a particular patron deity they honour above all the others. The deity chosen may have a large effect on their life style and belief system, and often seems to be character related as well. Many heathens also believe in and honour other wights, such as land spirits (often called elves or alfar) and ancestral spirits.
The Use of the Term Heathenry[]
The word "heathenry" is used in the UK for the modern pagan tradition that is inspired by the ancient pagan traditions of anglo-saxon England, Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia.
Other common terms that are used in the UK include "Odinism" and "Northern Tradition".
The word "heathenry" is especially used by individuals who work most closely with the norse agricultural and nature deities Thor, Freya, and Frey.
Sources[]
Much of the inspiration for modern heathens comes from a wealth of source material, many from the early medieval period. These include place name evidence, various manuscripts, poems and sagas, records of folk customs, and folk tales and fairy tales. As the religion is heavily based upon nature, the local landscape is often also a major inspiration for heathens. Last but not least, many heathens take inspiration from their personal experiences of the goddors, goddesses, and wights.
There is no doctrine or dogma in heathenry. Some heathens base their beliefs upon examples of ancient heathenry, whereas other heathens base their beliefs upon modern practices. It would be hard to find two heathens who honoured the same gods in the same way; heathenry has a strong individualistic streak in that regard.
Ethics[]
Heathens have a strong awareness of ethics. Most heathens have a strong sense of honour and personal responsibility. Some heathens also turn to traditional sources to derive their ethics from. A major example of this is "the nine noble virtues"- a modern system that is based upon traditional values that are found in the sagas and myths. Another example of a traditional source is a 1200s icelandic poem called The Havamal, which describes advisable behaviour.
Rituals[]
At its most basic, a heathen ritual is an offering of food or drink to the goddors and goddesses. For many heathens, this gift is sufficient on its own. Other heathens prefer more complex ceremonies that incorporate hallowing charms, formalized ritual, chanting, and/or other elements, as desired by the individuals involved. Modern heathen rituals are greatly varied. Ritual objects often include a 'blessing bowl' to hold the offerings, a cup or drinking horn for toasting to the gods, and a hammer, staff, or ritual knife for hallowing the ceremony.
Seasonal Festivals[]
Not all heathens celebrate regular festivals; some of them instead prefer to honour their goddors and goddesses in their day-to-day life. Where festivals are celebrated, they are most often based upon the natural and agricultural year. In England, the following ceremonies are the most common: Plough Charming, Thorsblot, Disting, Eostre, May, Litha, Lammas, Harvest AKA Autumn Equinox, Winter Nights, Ancestors Night, Mother's Night, and Yule. There are also a number of other festival systems that are used in heathenry, some of them based upon the solar or lunar year, some of them based upon the early anglo-saxon or norse month names, and some of them modern inventions.
Group Organization[]
Heathen groups are typically informal, with the responsibilities of organizing and running the ceremonies and events being shared between the more experienced members. Some groups are established around one respected individual, who will always act as a priest (known in heathenry as a "gothi", "godman", or "elder") or a priestess (known as a "gythja", "godwoman", or "elder"). Heathen groups are referred to as "kindreds", "harrows", "hearths", or "garths". Such groups are sometimes split further into smaller groups, called "hearths", which represent individual households. However, there are also many heathens who practice alone, or with general pagan groups in which heathens are sparse.
The Afterlife[]
Each of the major norse deities is associated with an afterlife to which their devotees go after death. The most famous of these is Odin's Valhalla, but there are many more, including Freya's estate, called Folkvang, which is for married couples. There is also a common belief in "the land of the ancestors", where families live together after death.
Magic and Runes[]
Not all heathens work with magic. Heathenry is a religious tradition, and the use of magic is in no way compulsory for heathens, although some heathen groups may be heavily magic-oriented.
Historical norse sources provide two specific terms that relate to magic: seithr and galdr. The origin of the word "seithr" is unclear; it seems to have been used for a variety of magical practices. Certain modern authors use the term "seithr" to indicate a shamanistic style of magic that includes mediation, trance, and the use of fetches, whereas other authors use the word "seithr" to indicate magic in general.
A little more is known about what "galdr" is. Galdr is a type of magic that involves spoken spell-working. The word "galdr" stems from a verb that means 'to sing', so this magic was originally worked via verses or songs. Examples of that are the Merseburger healing spells, and the curse of Skirnir in the Skirnismal (Poetic Edda).
Certain modern authors connect galdr specificly with the runes. Runes are a set of letter symbols that were originally used for writing. In the modern age, some germanic pagans believe that the rune symbols have magic, which is related to both the carving and colouring of the symbols, and to the singing or chanting of the rune names. The rune-name chanting is probably why some people associate galdr magic (which is spoken) with the runes. Other people refer to the chanting of runes as 'rune-galdr', to distinguish it from the less-used poetic or sung galdr.
A runic alphabet is called a ‘futhark’ (after the first six letters), and there are several known futharks, whose differences probably relate to the evolution of languages. Modern inferences of magical meanings of the runes are largely based upon the anglo-saxon and scandinavian rune poems. Modern rune-workers have expanded upon these.
Links to other traditions[]
Many heathens draw inspiration from other pagan traditions, or from other world religions, while other heathens take their inspiration solely from germanic sources. In the UK, the most common religions that are combined with heathenry are Druidry (celtic paganism), witchcraft, and Wicca.