Heathen Q&A

[Mercian]

Re: Heathen Q&A

[quote author=Maythe link=topic=92.msg3341#msg3341 date=1287216841]

Mercian seems to have a pretty firm grasp on what he believes, just is unsure whether that really qualifies him as 'Heathen' which may come from not really understanding the term, rather than not really understanding himself and his beliefs.
[/quote]

Thanks, and yes you are right I know what I believe and happy with that. In line with that I do think I sort of come under the heading of heathen but as I don't know any other heathens I'm not sure what other heathens would think of me. Oh and I'm a she not a he

Can I ask do other heathens have shrines set up?

[Crimson Horizons]

Re: Heathen Q&A

[quote author=Mercian link=topic=92.msg7286#msg7286 date=1288199050]
Can I ask do other heathens have shrines set up?
[/quote]

None that I have ever met. Shrines don't seem to factor in very heavily in the heathen worldview from what I have seen. I have however heard of certain areas being made off limits to humans. These are generally in natural areas (yards, gardens, etc.) and are reserved for either the land wights or a particular member of the Regin.

All that said, I don't see any problems occurring by having a shrine set up. Just be mindful of how you go about it and what it is that it's dedicated to.

[Maythe]

Re: Heathen Q&A

[quote author=Mercian link=topic=92.msg7286#msg7286 date=1288199050]
Oh and I'm a she not a he

[/quote]Oops sorry! :P

[Mercian]

Re: Heathen Q&A

[quote author=Crimson Horizons link=topic=92.msg7438#msg7438 date=1288220824]
None that I have ever met. Shrines don't seem to factor in very heavily in the heathen worldview from what I have seen. I have however heard of certain areas being made off limits to humans. These are generally in natural areas (yards, gardens, etc.) and are reserved for either the land wights or a particular member of the Regin.

All that said, I don't see any problems occurring by having a shrine set up. Just be mindful of how you go about it and what it is that it's dedicated to.
[/quote]

I have one that I think of as a shrine set up to my ancestors, of course anyone else seeing it would just think of it as a nice collection of old photos and objects. To me though it has more meaning, it's where I talk to them, leave offerings such as a glass of wine and underneath in the cupboard is where I keep my family history research. It's in my main room as I believe my ancestors should still be part of my day to day life.

[Sin]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Ok I want to know all about heathens because I'm very ignorant.. so I'm going to try a question or to.. so..
what would you heathens say is the core of your belief? ;D

[Thjoth]

Re: Heathen Q&A

That's a little difficult...belief in the gods of the Norse and the principles they espouse, I would say. That's just my off-the-cuff answer though. I'm sure I can come up with a better one if I think about it for a little while.

[Crimson Horizons]

Re: Heathen Q&A

[quote author=Sin link=topic=92.msg10201#msg10201 date=1288972354]
Ok I want to know all about heathens because I'm very ignorant.. so I'm going to try a question or to.. so..
what would you heathens say is the core of your belief? ;D
[/quote]

As thjoth points out, this is indeed a difficult question. I would say that leading an honourable life as defined by our Teutonic ancestors' principles is the core of it. Bringing honour to one's family as well as one's self was perhaps the ultimate achievement. Now, how one went about doing that (as well as what constituted honour) varied between differing temporal/regional areas, but I think the end goal changed very little.

[Sin]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Ooooh thanks... now could you tell me a bit about Norse Gods? Like identify the main ones? In fact how many are there..? Do they symbolize anything?
(see I'm slowly going to fully understand this question by question :P )

[shadow1982]

Re: Heathen Q&A

*No offence intended by this question*

I have read that some people consider Asatru to be a racist religion. Do you think it is important to be of Germanic descent in order to practice Heathenism and why do you believe it has, among certain people, this reputation?

[TaiganPagan]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Heathenry is not racist at the base, it has to do with folk, family and faith.

The folk are the people you know, who are part of your everyday life: Friends of you and your family. It to whom you give your primal loyalty. That does not mean not giving a hand or disrespecting strangers. It's just a matter of helping those who are important to you first.

The family is your biological family and the people bound to your family by bound of blood (example: marriage, adoption).

The faith is the religious practice: Gods, rituals, Bloats.

Anyone who treatens any or all of theses aspects of heathenry, is your enemy. And you have a right to defend what you praise and cherish, within the laws of the place you stand, the heathen virtues and the heathen charges. It does not matter what color of skin they are, what religion they are or even their social status.

[Thjoth]

Re: Heathen Q&A

It has this reputation because of Hitler. Hitler coopted many of our symbols and our gods to use in the various social aspects of the Nazi movement. As this subject usually pisses me off enough to kick holes in walls and I've had a couple tonight, I'll keep it at that. I don't need to be replacing drywall in the morning.

There is some debate of "folkish" versus "non-folkish" people, IE the question of whether you need Germanic blood to practice Heathenry. I personally don't think that's racist (or at least not racist enough to worry about), but I also don't agree with the folkish bunch anyway. I think that the spirit of the North is just that, and doesn't have much to do with blood ties back to the North. Either you possess that spirit or not.

As for how many Regin there are, I'm honestly not sure off the top of my head. It can actually be a little confusing, actually; for example, Odin has at least 50 names I know of, so sometimes it's hard to tell when the writers are just using an alternate name or kenning for an existing being, and when it's someone else entirely.

As for who the main ones are, those are usually the Aesir, who are a tribe of Gods and Goddesses. There are other tribes such as the Vanir, but by and large the majority of the lore and the majority of heathens are all about the Aesir. Tyr, Odin, Thor, Frigga, Freyja, Frey, Baldr, Heimdall, Ran, Sif, Hodr...uh...yeah, been drinking, that's about all I can think of at the moment. Loki, but he's kind of a dick so nobody likes to talk about him, and he's sealed away anyway. No offense to the ones I'm leaving out of course, there are a lot more than that.

[Sin]

Re: Heathen Q&A

so which god/godess do you guys have preference to?

[Thjoth]

Re: Heathen Q&A

I personally am a Tyrsman. I never can remember who anybody else is sworn to, even though they have told me about five times now. I think crimson's is Heimdall...

[TaiganPagan]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Nature heathens are sworn to Nature and War, which is sworn to Freya.

[Crimson Horizons]

Re: Heathen Q&A

[quote author=Sin link=topic=92.msg10661#msg10661 date=1289165266]
Ooooh thanks... now could you tell me a bit about Norse Gods? Like identify the main ones? In fact how many are there..? Do they symbolize anything?
(see I'm slowly going to fully understand this question by question :P )
[/quote]

Thjoth covered the main Norse Gods, but I would like to point out that the Regin vary between timeframe/region, and the same goes for who was chieftain of the AEsir. I would say that, if anything, they symbolize the way the ancestors viewed the world around them.

[quote author=Sin link=topic=92.msg10873#msg10873 date=1289241475]
so which god/godess do you guys have preference to?
[/quote]

Thjoth was correct; I tend to favour Heimdall in my faining. The things he stands for, how he holds himself, these things are all very much in accordance with the way I live my life.

[quote author=shadow1982 link=topic=92.msg10670#msg10670 date=1289167516]
*No offence intended by this question*

I have read that some people consider Asatru to be a racist religion. Do you think it is important to be of Germanic descent in order to practice Heathenism and why do you believe it has, among certain people, this reputation?
[/quote]

I wouldn't say that heathens are rascists, anymore so than Christians or Muslims are (or any other 'religion' for that matter). If one studies the lore, one will find that the ancestors judged the people they met by their deeds and little else. It's kind of a recurring theme, one that is hard to miss unless the reader is actively ignoring what is written.

Now, do I think that it is important to have Teutonic ancestry in order to be a heathen? If I'm being honest with myself, yes I do. To paraphrase a poster over at Asatru Lore, we either follow a reconstructed indigenous folkway, or we don't, and if we don't, just what the Hel are we? Now, keep in mind that I'm not saying that one must be "pure" or that one must be "white" or any of that utter tripe, as I myself am of very mixed lineage (Nordo-Irish, Cherokee, German, Czechoslovakian, Scottish, English, and Italian, and those are just the ones I know of). However if one doesn't have any Northern European ancestors, I don't see the point of following a folkway based around said ancestors.