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Getting Started as a Heathen

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    #16
    Re: Getting Started as a Heathen

    Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
    Thank you all for the very insightful input!

    Next question. Would you guys say that knowledge of the creation myths in the Norse Polytheistic Tradition is necessary for practice? And what's your opinion on Norse Magic? I've been reading that although seidr was practiced back then by shamans and the like, it was somewhat frowned upon and viewed as unmanly.
    Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but IIRC there was a taboo against men using Seidr but Odin was also known to use it. Granted Odin did all sorts of things that he got away with by virtue of being Odin and trying to follow his methods too closely might end badly but you'd have a rather pointed precedent if you chose to take the taboo and pick up Seidr.
    life itself was a lightsaber in his hands; even in the face of treachery and death and hopes gone cold, he burned like a candle in the darkness. Like a star shining in the black eternity of space.

    Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

    "But those men who know anything at all about the Light also know that there is a fierceness to its power, like the bare sword of the law, or the white burning of the sun." Suddenly his voice sounded to Will very strong, and very Welsh. "At the very heart, that is. Other things, like humanity, and mercy, and charity, that most good men hold more precious than all else, they do not come first for the Light. Oh, sometimes they are there; often, indeed. But in the very long run the concern of you people is with the absolute good, ahead of all else..."

    John Rowlands, The Grey King by Susan Cooper

    "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve", said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth; be content."

    Aslan, Prince Caspian by CS Lewis


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      #17
      Re: Getting Started as a Heathen

      Originally posted by Cynica the Ageless View Post
      Thank you all for the very insightful input!

      Next question. Would you guys say that knowledge of the creation myths in the Norse Polytheistic Tradition is necessary for practice? And what's your opinion on Norse Magic? I've been reading that although seidr was practiced back then by shamans and the like, it was somewhat frowned upon and viewed as unmanly.
      Be careful using the term 'shaman' when discussing historical Norse and Germanic practices... it's not technically correct and is one of those terms that could get you into an argument. Technically, seidhr was practiced by seidhkonur and volvur (no accent marks, 'cos I'm lazy), and while you can loosely consider it a form of shamanic practice, there are a LOT of Heathens who would pounce on you about that. Especially when you consider that many recons get their hackles up by anything that smacks of Northern Tradition folk and their shamanic practices (though there's a very good reason we call it Northern Tradition Shamanism and not seidhr).

      As to the questions...

      Knowledge of the creation myths is not necessary for practice, but practicing without it is kind of... incomplete. I'm generally an advocate of learning as much about a tradition before claiming to practice it, and if you claim the term 'Heathen' or 'Asatruar' but don't have the basic knowledge of the mythos you'll find that people wont take you very seriously. Plus the gods, wights and ancestors may not take you very seriously either. You don't HAVE to know it to practice, but knowing it goes a long way to displaying your dedication and seriousness in the path. And not knowing it will stop you from forming a deeper understanding of the gods, wights and ancestors, which I think is important for a deeper exploration of the path.

      'Norse magick' is a modern term that honestly is a bit of a misnomer. It would be more accurate to talk about galdr and seidhr, both of which are complex subjects (and not the only two forms of 'magick' performed by our ancestors). Traditionally seidhr was considers the domain of women, and men who performed it were considered unmanly... but times have changed and there are now quite a few seidhmadhr (male practitioners of seidhr) who are well accepted by many Heathens and NT folk. It's not like there were never any male seidhr workers in Viking Age Scandinavia... so there's precedent for it. But it wasn't a highly regarded occupation for a man to have. Also, I agree with what Masked One said...

      Originally posted by MaskedOne View Post
      Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but IIRC there was a taboo against men using Seidr but Odin was also known to use it. Granted Odin did all sorts of things that he got away with by virtue of being Odin and trying to follow his methods too closely might end badly but you'd have a rather pointed precedent if you chose to take the taboo and pick up Seidr.
      You're correct, though it's one of the things that Loki threw in Othinn's face during the infamous dinner party he wasn't invited to. Though that was a pot-kettle-black situation, given Loki's propensity for gender bending... the difference being that Loki is very upfront about HIS unmanly behaviour.

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