You Heathen! An Introduction to the Norse Pantheon Religions

Most commonly known as Asatru, the religions of the Norse pantheon of gods are among some of the more organized of the Pagan religions. But what are they about? What are their practices, groups, and gods? In this Hub, we'll take an introductory look into the Norse Pagan paths.

While Asatru may be the most common name and "denomination," many other groups exist that follow various gods from the same pantheon and many have similar traditions and teachings. Such groups include the Odinic Rite and Urglaawe. Other groups, who may follow teachings very similar with one or more of these groups, but have no affiliation with them (either by personal choice or lack of formal membership), often refer to themselves as Heathen. While they do have their differences, it is their similarities and the cores of their beliefs that we'll look at.

The Norse tradition is rather unique when it comes to its gods, because it has two, distinct pantheons.

Historically speaking, the most likely cause of this phenomenon is from migration. The Norse tradition (also known as Germanic paganism) stretched from Iceland, Greenland, and Sweden all the way down to what is now central Europe, just north of the Roman Empire. Instead of combining aspects or adding new gods into the pantheon like the Greeks and Romans likely did, the two pantheons that formed from the different areas remained two distinct sets of gods, and this distinction is maintained within the various holy texts.

Mythologically speaking, the AEsir and the Vanir pantheons crossed paths and at one point went to war with each other. Over time, they made peace and agreed to share various things, including worlds and human followers.

Odin is the chief god of the AEsir. He's known by many names, one of which includes Allfather, because of his hand in creating humans.

He is the god of war, poetry, knowledge, sacrifice, creation, death, the Wild Hunt, the Valkyries, and the runes. The rune that represents him is Ansuz and his day of the week is Wednesday ("Odin's Day"). He is typically depicted as an old, bearded man, often with a staff, with one eye, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, though he often takes other forms to suit his needs.

Odin, along with his brothers, Vili and Ve, created Midgard (Earth) from the body of a slain ice giant, then created humans from the trees Ask and Embla.

Odin is also associated with the raven. He has two ravens, Huginn ("thought") and Muninn ("memory"), who fly around the world and report information to him, as well as an 8-legged horse, Sleipnir.

One of the biggest things attributed to Odin are the Runes. In order to obtain the Runes, Odin had to hang on the World Tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days and nights after stabbing himself with his own spear.

The gods of the Norse pantheons are too numerous to go into detail about all of them, here. However, that does not make them any less important. Following is a list of some of the deities, both well-known and a few more obscure ones.

• Freyr -- Another chief god, Freyr rules over fertility, agriculture, and the weather.
• Thor -- A well-known god of lightning and thunder. Associated with Thursday ("Thor's Day") and the Thurs rune.
• Eir -- A lesser-known goddess, Eir rules over medical skill and healing.
• Hel -- The goddess of death. She rules the underworld, Niflheim, or Hel.
• Tyr -- A god of war, also associated with Tuesday ("Tyr's Day").
  
• Freyja -- A goddess of war and death. She shares the souls of warriors slain on the battlefield with Odin.
  

According to mythology, the universe consists of nine worlds, or planes of existence, with Yggdrasil, a giant Ash tree, running through them.

It's understood that Midgard (literally "middle world," Earth) is in the middle of the nine worlds, beyond that, the exact details of the worlds (specifically, if any worlds as we understand them now are the same and what ones still exist) have been somewhat lost to time.That said, some sources have the worlds arranged as follows:

1. Asgard -- Land of the AEsir
2. Vanaheim -- Land of the Vanir
3. Alfheim -- Land of the light elves
4. Midgard -- Land of the humans
5. Nidavellir -- Land of the dwarves
6. Jotunheim -- Land of the giants (or Joten)
7. Svartalfheim -- Land of the dark elves
8. Helheim (Hel) -- Realm of the Dead; May also be Muspelheim, the realm of the fire giants (if Hel and Niflheim are one world)
   
9. Niflheim -- Land of the Dead

While the phonetic term "Hel" may bring connotations of the Christian afterworld for sinners, the Norse Hel is far less dramatic.

Hel, or Helheim, is simply one of the places the dead can go to after this life. Some have described it as a land where it is typically autumn (that way the apples are always ripe), while some areas are in late afternoon, twilight, or night (and the stars are clear and bright against the night sky).

Among other places for the dead to go are Valhalla ("hall of the slain") or Folkvangr ("field of the host"), the abode of warriors chosen by Odin or Freyja, respectively. Some western Norse sources also include Helgafjell, or "holy mountain," which may have been a nearby mountain formation that was considered sacred. The clans that believed in this afterlife believed that it was another world similar to the current one. The priests that were able to see into the world of Helgafjell saw people around a warm hearth, drinking and talking.

Many modern Heathens also believe in reincarnation, citing a story in the Eddas. Some of these believe, then, that Hel is a temporary abode for the dead, where they wait to return to Midgard.

It's probably obvious by now that the Norse faith is extensive. We've covered a number of topics, yet have barely scratched the surface. These are but some of the core beliefs of Asatru, Odinism, Heathenry, and the other paths of Norse paganism. In another hub, we'll discuss more beliefs and practices, including The Nine Noble Virtues, blot, and runeworking.