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Heathenry
Heathenry
Heathenry has come to me via the backdoor. I never set out to seek out the Norse gods and yet everything on my path confronted me with them. But rather than being unhappy about this I found deep resonance with them.
Even as a young person I remember reading books on mythologies from a variety of cultures to try to gain an understanding of many different traditions and pagan religions but nothing stuck more with me than Norse paganism.
Being German there is an uncomfortable inheritance to consider, yet Freyja did not care, she always remained a constant on my path. The image of Yggdrasil as the world tree, the Norns as the sisters of fate and many of the sagas speak to me and have the power to explain different aspects
of life.
Norse Mythology
is full of metaphors and symbolisms and I love to interpret them in a 'Jungian Way'. (and no, that is by no means the only way of understanding them).
Being a counsellor and therapist I perceive the Sagas from a symbolic/metaphorical perspective and in my blog I will interpret some of those Sagas from that perspective.
Rituals in Heathenry are called Blots, which translates from old Norse and are originally blood sacrifices. However modern Heathens do prefer giving offerings to their gods, ancestors and spirits of the land in form of fruits, bread and drinks like mead and beer.
Many of the ritualistic acts are ritual drama that celebrate the seasons, aspects of life or are rites of passage. More about these in my blog.
Most of what we know
about Heathen Mythology was written down in two texts, the Eddas. They were captured by a Christian Monk called Snorri Sturluson. He is often accused of writing things down from a 'too' Christian perspective. However, personally I think, that he didn't have much choice, first he was a Christian monk, so what perspective should he have had? But far more than that he tried his best to preserve the ancient lore in a world where he had to be diplomatic to avoid getting into trouble with the establishment. As far as I am concern I am grateful for his efforts to preserve the sagas.
My entry into Heathenry, as said above, was via the backdoor through fairy tales and folklore. Frau Holle one of the fairy tales recorded by the Grimm brothers is hailed to be about the Goddess Freyja and/or Frigg. Several books have been written about this and I am persuaded that there is truth in it. In England she is mainly known as Holda or sometimes as Dame Holda. The book that I read first about this and made most sense to me was: Frau Holle, Die gestürzte Göttin (The Fallen Goddess) by Sonja Rüttner-Cova. The Author is a psychologist who used this fairytale to explain the journey of a girl into womanhood. Ruettner-Cova uses the fairytale in her workshops for woman.
Holda has also aspects of Hel, the Mistress of the Underworld as well as Skadi, the Winter Goddess. In one of our Ritual Dramas we celebrate those different aspects of her.
I am a Heathen as well as a Wiccan,
many people think that those two do not complement each other, but nothing could be further from the truth. While Wicca can be considered a religion with a strong Celtic leaning, more than a religion, it is a Craft, (Witchcraft), by this I mean it teaches a set of skills that can be used to create rituals and magic that can be used in a variety of settings. Many Wiccans work with different pantheons, so there is no reason not to work with the Norse gods in a Wiccan context. However, Heathens are Norse pagans and do follow only Norse Mythology. They are often independent groups and will follow their own religious practices.
There are several branches of Heathenry like Anglo Saxon Heathens and Icelandic Heathens (Asatru) to name but a few. There is also Seax Wica, a Wiccan branch founded by Raymond Buckland, mainly inspired by Anglo Saxon Heathen Lore.
I am working closely with Asatru UK and am a founding member of London Heathen Kindred, who brings together several groups like Kith of Tree and Well and Hendon Heathens and some years ago we were part of The Kith of Yggdrasil. All these groups are inclusive and take a strong stance against folkish groups, racism, bigotry or any far-right wing movements.
Last but by no means least
one cannot talk about Norse Lore without mentioning the Runes. They are widely spread, not just in a Heathen context. They are magical symbols that transcend the meaning of a letter, and can be used in magic in a variety of ways, eg as bind rune, or being intoned to evoke or underline a certain atmosphere in a ritual/blot. Runes are also used in divination.
In my personal practise I love writing and performing rituals, blots and ritual dramas, as well a writing and singing songs in honour of the the Norse Gods. As time goes by, I will record more and more of these songs and post them on my Sacred Singing YouTube Channel.
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