Heathen Q&A

[Alienist]

Re: Heathen Q&A

I wanted to ask because I was curious

1. What is the Heathen Germanic afterlife? I hear it's Valhalla and others say it's Hel which has places for both good and bad people and others believe in reincarnation?

2. Do they have major holidays? If so, what are they?

3. What is their status of women?

4.Who's the most important Norse deity? I assume it's Odin since he's the all father but Thor's hammer is the symbo of heathenism and he's the strongest deity.

5. Are there Heathen temples for worship or do they go outside or do people have their own personal altars to worship in.

Thanks for anyone who answers.

[Rick]

Re: Heathen Q&A

1. Valhalla (literally, Hall of the Slain) would be where those who died in combat might reside. These would typically be men of the landed gentry. Good servants, bondsmen and thralls might reside in Thor's hall. Helheim might be where any who died a 'straw death' might reside. There is also evidence that that the afterlife was lived out in the burial mound. Reincarnation is a theme in some of the Sagas. For a thorough examination of this subject, see Road to Hel by H. R. Ellison Davis (available as a free pdf download at www.heathengods.com ).

2. The two major Heathen holy days are Mid-Summer and Mid-Winter. Other Celtic influenced days have been added in modern times.

3. In modern times, women are equals. In ancient times, they were nearly equals, with the rights to own property, bring lawsuits, and to divorce.

4. The answer to that would be the god most important to the individual. Odin was a god of chieftains, Thor was a god of farmers (and there were a lot more farmers than chieftains).

5. There used to be hofs (temples), but most, if not all were destroyed and churches were built atop them. Most modern Heathens groups meet either outdoors or in someone's home. Most that I know keep some sort of harrow (altar), in their homes.

[Alienist]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Are there books or e-books on Heathen magic or rune magic to practice? Are there any of those books or e-books that explain certain rituals and traditions and magic, if so, where can they be found and what is reccomended?

[Rick]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Here's the list of rune resources that I give to my IRL students. It is by no means exhaustive, but should get you started...

Rune Resource List
---
BOOKS

"Must Haves"

THE RUNE PRIMER by Sweyn Plowright
NORTHERN MYSTERIES & MAGICK by Freya Aswynn
The collective works of Edred Thorsson,
including FUTHARK and RUNELORE
TAKING UP THE RUNES by Diana Paxson
THE POETIC EDDA trans. by Lee M. Hollander
THE POETIC EDDA trans. by Carolyne Larrington
ELEMENTS OF RUNES by Bernard King
TEUTONIC MAGIC by Kveldulf Gundarsson
PRACTICAL RUNE MAGIC vol I by Rick R. Wilson

"Should Haves"

PRINCIPALS OF RUNES by Freya Aswynn
RUNE MAGIC by Nigel Pennick
HELRUNAR by Jan Fries (advanced)
TEUTONIC RELIGION by Kveldulf Gundarsson

"Also Recommended"

RUNES by R.I. Page
---
WEBSITES

www.elhazablaze.com (lots of useful information)
www.northvegr.org (lore)
www.irminsul.org (links)
www.mackaos.com.au/Rune-Net (online learning resource-$16 annual membership fee)
www.aswynn.co.uk (Freya Aswynn's home page)
www.vikinganswer lady.com

https://www.sunnyways.com

[Heka]

Re: Heathen Q&A

oo you have a must have book list, and IRL students. All of a sudden I want to be a student! haha

Also I want the contents of that list!


I've been wanting to go back to school a lot lately :S

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Would also recommend Runic Amulets and magic objects by Bernard Mees and Mindy Macleod. Mind blowing!

[Rick]

Re: Heathen Q&A

oo you have a must have book list, and IRL students. All of a sudden I want to be a student! haha

Also I want the contents of that list!

I've been wanting to go back to school a lot lately :S

I find it more to the point of having a "don't read" book list, but I'm usually told that is negative thinking...

Would also recommend Runic Amulets and magic objects by Bernard Mees and Mindy Macleod. Mind blowing!

Would love to own that book, but used starts at nearly $70(US). That said, I agree that it rates the "must have" list.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Heathen Q&A

PRACTICAL RUNE MAGIC vol I by Rick R. Wilson

Are you selling again, Rick?

[Rick]

Re: Heathen Q&A

A pdf version will be available soon. I'm working out some final bugs (I'm never satisfied with the final product). Stay tuned.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Heathen Q&A

A pdf version will be available soon. I'm working out some final bugs (I'm never satisfied with the final product). Stay tuned.

Looking forward to it!

As for the Bernard Mees book.... yes, it's horribly expensive but I think parts of it do turn up on Google Books. Certainly worth a look. I managed to borrow a copy from the University Library once. Fantastic book!

[MoonRaven]

Re: Heathen Q&A

A pdf version will be available soon. I'm working out some final bugs (I'm never satisfied with the final product). Stay tuned.

I'll be looking forward to it too. And thanks for the reading suggestions everyone .

[Alienist]

Re: Heathen Q&A

What do you do in a blot per se? Can it be performed at home or outside? Do you offer both food and drink or just the alcoholic beverage?

[Rick]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Blot (pronounced 'bloat') literally means sacrifice. A blot is simply making an offering to the gods. I don't really have time to type it all out on a phone, so here's a link:

http://www.ravenkindred.com/RBRituals.html

[Alienist]

Re: Heathen Q&A

How do you exactly pray to a Norse deity? Do you have to have an altar to them? I'm assuming you would need a statue of Thor or something related to Thor like a hammer or something. Is there a specific way you can pray to them?

I did have one more question. Do any Heathens know of any Hofs in the world that still exist? Is there any Ve's around? If so, where might they be located? I hear there are Ve's but I hear there are almost no Hofs but people are trying to get money to build some around in America, Iceland and Germany.

[Rick]

Re: Heathen Q&A

Ve (also called harrow) simply means altar, which can be almost anything anywhere personalized by anyone in most any way. So most Heathens have some type of harrow. Hof doesn't really mean temple, more like holy place, so a hof could be a grove where people gather. There are many in Europe and the US and Australia, and likely many other places around the world (there's a lot of Heathens in Brazil, for example). If you're wanting specific locations, google 'heathen hofs'. You might find this link useful:

http://home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin/Jordsvins%20Writing/Hofs%20and%20Harrows.htm

There may be Heathens that pray, but I don't know or know of any.