Brief
Introduction to Heathenry
The Native Religion of the Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Germanic
Peoples
Heathenry is inspired by the ancient cultures of the
Anglo-Saxons, The Norse and Germanic peoples. It is a
polytheistic religion; in other words, more than one god is
honoured. A list of the most popular deities is included at
the end of this document.
Although many Heathens will honour all the gods 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.
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, folk
tales and fairy tales. As the religion is heavily based on
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
gods, goddesses and wights.
There is no doctrine or dogma in Heathenry. Some heathens
base their beliefs on examples of ancient Heathenry and
others on modern practice. It would be hard to find two
Heathens who honoured the same gods in the same way;
Heathenry has a strong individualistic streak.
Heathens have a strong awareness of ethics. Most have a
strong sense of honour and personal responsibility. Some
also turn to traditional sources to derive their ethics
from. Examples of this are the nine noble virtues, an
essentially modern system which is based on traditional
values as found in the sagas and myths. Another example of
a traditional source is a thirteenth century Icelandic poem
called the Havamal, a poem listing advisable behaviour.
Rituals
At its most basic a Heathen ritual is an offering of food
or drink to the gods and goddesses. For many heathens this
gift is sufficient on its own. Other Heathens prefer more
complex ceremonies with hallowing charms, formalised
ritual, chanting and other elements as desired by the
individuals involved. Modern heathen rituals are greatly
varied. Ritual tools often include a 'blessing bowl' to
hold the offerings, a cup or drinking horn for toasting the
gods and a hammer, staff or ritual knife for hallowing the
ceremony.
Seasonal Festivals
Not all heathens celebrate regular festivals, preferring to
honour their gods and goddesses in their day to day life.
Where festivals are celebrated they are most often based on
the natural and agricultural year. In England the following
ceremonies are the most common: Plough Charming, Thorsblot,
Disting, Eostre, May, Litha, Lammas, Harvest/Autumn
Equinox, Winter Nights, Ancestors Night, Mother's Night and
Yule. There are also number of other festival systems used
in Heathenry, some based on the solar or lunar year, some
based on the early Anglo-Saxon or Norse month names and
some of modern invention
Group Organisation
Heathen groups are typically informal with the
responsibilities of organising and running 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, sometimes split
further into smaller groups called Hearths which represent
individual households. However, there are also many
heathens who practice alone or with other pagan groups
where Heathen numbers are sparse.
The Afterlife
The major heathen deities are 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 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
Not all Heathens work with magic. Heathenry is as a
religious tradition and the use of magic is in no way
compulsory for Heathens, although some groups may be
heavily magically orientated.
Historical Norse sources give us two specific terms
relating to magic: seithr and galdr. The origins of the
name seithr are unclear, it seems to have been used for a
variety of magical practices. Certain modern authors will
use the term seithr to indicate a shamanistic style of
magical practice including mediation, trance and the use of
fetches, whereas others use the word seithr as indicating
magic in general.
A little more is known about galdr. Galdr is a type of
magic that is connected with spoken spell-working. The word
galdr stems from a verb meaning 'to sing' so this magic was
originally worked through verses or songs. Examples of this
are the Merseburger healing spells, or the curse of Skirnir
in the Skirnismal (Poetic Edda).
Certain modern authors connect galdr specifically with the
runes. Runes are a set of symbols, in later times used for
writing, but originally used mostly in working magic. The
magic of runes is connected to both the carving and
colouring of the symbols, and to the singing/chanting of
the rune names. The latter is probably why some people
nowadays connect galdr magic with the runes. Other people
refer to the chanting of runes as 'rune-galdr', to
distinguish between this and the less used poetic or sung
galdr.
A group of runes is known as a ‘futhark’ (after the first
six letters), and there are several known futharks, whose
differences probably relate to the evolution of languages.
The interpretation of the magical meanings of the runes
comes largely from the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian rune
poems. Modern rune workers have expanded on these
Links to other traditions
Many Heathens draw inspiration from other pagan traditions
or world religions while other heathens take their
inspiration solely from Heathen sources. In the UK the most
common religions combined with heathenry are Druidry
(Celtic paganism) and Witchcraft or Wicca.
