From 800 to 1050 C.E., coastal villages
throughout the British Isles prayed nightly, "Lord, save us from the Northmen
and their awful ships." Long symbolic of force and lawlessness, the Vikings
also left a rich legacy of myths and traditions, some still observed today.
But who were the gods who inspired the fearless sea raids of their followers,
and such modern traditions as Santa Claus? Where are they today?
Archaeologists
still dispute the origin of the proto-Indo-Europeans, the predecessors of the
modern Germanic peoples. Strong evidence points to the area now known as
southern Russia. The migration to their present homes in northern Europe and,
ultimately, the rest of the world, began between five and six thousand years
ago, with settlements being established in Scandinavia, Norway, Denmark and the
German regions, then, later, in Iceland, Greenland, England, Ireland and
France.
The Viking period,
the era which perhaps left their greatest mark on Western civilization, was a
result of a population crisis in the previously settled areas. Younger sons of
the landed class were not eligible to inherit the land, and thus had no means
of substantial income or employment. These younger sons took to the seas in
wooden boats, raiding and trading as far south as the Mediterranean and as far
west as North America.
The Germanic
peoples left behind weapons, jewelry, inscribed stones and other artifacts in
their travels. Among better know items are those found at the Sutton Hoo ship
burial in Great Britain and many battle sites in the British Isles, Dublin,
Ireland was once a Norse trading post, as were many coastal English villages.
Another strong
legacy is in the myths and traditions which remain. Santa Claus has been
traced to Odin, the Father God, the giver of gifts to his followers. The
Christmas tree is a remnant of the winter Solstice sacrifice tree, on which
animals were hung as offerings to the Gods to insure a prosperous new year.
Even the names of our days echo the old beliefs. Moon day. Tyr's Day. Odin's
Day. Thor's Day. Freya's Day. To the Latin for Saturn's Day, then back to
Norse for Sun Day.
We have two main
contemporary sources for the myths and legends of these ancestors. The Poetic,
or Elder Edda, of unknown ultimate origin, which we have as a collection of
poems gathered over the years from throughout the Germanic realms. The other
is the Prose, or Younger Edda, a textbook on Viking poetry by Thirteenth
Century Christian monk Snorri Sturluson. These tell us of the ethical views,
cultural life, and religions beliefs of the Vikings and their families.
They include
creation stories, god stories, and an explanation of the structure of the
universe, as well as definitions of the types of magical and religious workers
found in the culture, and information on the Runes, the mystery symbols used
for secular writing, as well as for divination and magical workings.
There are two
classes of gods, the Aesir and the Vanir. The Vanir are the older,
agricultural/nature gods and goddesses. The two about whom we have the most
tales are Freyr and Freya, Lord and Lady, their personal names unknown. Freyr
is the northern cognate of the Horned God, the Lord of the fertility and
plentitude of the Earth. His symbol is the erect phallus.
Freya is the
goddess of love and of war, fertility and death. She is the leader of the
Valkeries, the choosers of the slain, and of the Dises, the protectresses of
home and hearth. Her symbols are the cat and the necklace Brisingamen, which,
as long as it remains whole, ensures fertility in humans and the Earth itself.
Among the Aesir we
find the chief of the pantheon, Odin, the All Father, and lord of the slain.
He is the god of poets and warriors, kings and magic workers. He obtained the
Runes through self-sacrifice on the World Tree, and gave his eye to learn to
use them. He is the archetypal wounded healer and a teacher god. His symbols
are the wolf, the raven, and the interlocked triple triangle of the Valknut.
His son, Thor, was
perhaps the best-loved god. He is the protector god, as well as a god of
fertility. His hammer Mjollnir, when thrown, strikes the earth and produces
thunder. It is to Thor that the worker goes after death. His hammer is his
symbol.
The Trickster god
is Loki, brother of Odin and god of fire. He is both beneficent, as the
obtainer of such gifts as Thor's hammer and Odin's magical spear, and
destructive, as the thief of Freya's necklace and the father of the monsters
foretold to destroy the world, the wolf Fenris and the Midgard Serpent.
Earthquakes are caused by his thrashing in pain as the snake venom drips on him
in his captivity, where he was bound for trickery by the gods.
The worship of the
gods is a daily thing, as well as having, like any religion, feast days and
other forms of ritualized worship. It also features distinct types of magic.
Seidr magic is the shamanistic aspect, very similar in theory and practice to
modern Wicca. It is practiced by Volvas, and gets its name from the word
"seethe", to steep in a pot or cauldron, a name indicative of the herbal,
naturistic face of this female-dominated practice, which the god Odin studied
under Freya.
Galdr magic is the
traditional term for Rune magic. It is more ceremonial in structure, based as
it is on written symbols. It is predominantly male, and is the creation of
Odin. Practitioners are called Vitkis. They use the symbols to manipulate
elemental and subconscious forces through conscious will. It is a very
powerful form of magic and very dangerous if practiced without proper training
and attention.
Worship is led by
the godhi (male) or gydhia (female) in ritual and by the head of the household
on a daily basis. These may focus on Aesir or Vanir, or both. Two main
organizations for the study and practice of the religion in the U. S. are the
Ring of Troth and the Rune Gild, the Gild being more focussed on the Runes.
The Troth, or
truth, tradition teaches the Nine Noble Virtues, courage, truth, honor,
fidelity, discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self-reliance and
perseverance, and the Six-fold Goal, right, wisdom, might, harvest, frith, or
peace, and love.
There is no basis
in Northern teachings for prejudice, racism, or any of the other evils
associated with it by its improper appropriation and misinterpretation by the
Nazis and their descendants. Hitler got the superiority of the Aryan peoples
part from Helena Blavatsky and Frederic Nietzche, and an improper reading of
their work at that.
The primary faces
of Norse religion today are Asatru, the worship of the Aesir, Vanatru,
followers of the Vanir, Odinism, worshippers of Odin, Odians, who don't worship
the god, but seek to become like him, and Seax Wicca and other Celtic/Nordic
blends. None of these practice animal sacrifice, ritual torture, or other
anti-humanistic rites. Rune magic does involve blood, but only that of the
practitioner. All paths teach respect for life in all its forms, from the
plant we thank as we pick its fruit, to the animal that gave its life so that
we may eat and live. No one path is by nature superior to the others. Each
seeker needs a specific thing at a specific time, and the Northern traditions
live for those who need them now.
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RECOMMENDED READING AND PRODUCTS:
 POETIC
EDDA: Lee M. Hollander. A core text of Norse mythology, translated with
an ear to poetics and alliteration of the original works. With extensive
footnotes, pronunciation key and intros. $22.00 |
 NORTHERN
MYSTERIES AND MAGIC: Freya Aswynn. Revised edition of Leaves of
Yggdrasil. Germanic Myth and religion from the feminine perspective.
Includes sections on runes and rune magic and god lore. $14.95 |
CHECK
OUT OUR NORSE MYTH AND MAGIC FEATURE PAGE!!
OR TAKE A LOOK AT OUR SEMI-PRECIOUS STONE RUNE COLLECTION!!
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Aswynn, Freya,
Northern Mysteries and Magic (Llewellyn Publications, 1997)Written
by a female member of the Odinic Rite, an Odinist group in Great Britain. Covers
the Gods and runes, primarily as divination and personal growth tools. Does
not stress Galdr work. Does include Sabbat correspondences.
Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon hero poem, the first such in the English language. Names, original verse form, and many conventions echo Germanic poetry, and give a feel for the Anglo-Saxon era, a time when Norse myths and heroes were alive and well.
Buckland, Raymond,
Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn Publications,
1986)A
practical book on Wicca by the founder of the Seax Wicca tradition. It
includes many useful references for anyone interested in alternative
religions.
Bulfinch, Thomas,
Bulfinch's Mythology Many
editions of this are available. Although culturally biased, it is a good overview of world religion and myth.
Campbell, Joseph,
The Masks of God: Primitive Mythology (Penguin Group, 1959) An
excellent book on the formation of myths, it has three companions,
Oriental
Mythology, Occidental Mythology, and
Creative Mythology.
Crossley-Holland,
Kevin, The Norse Myths (Pantheon, 1980) A good
retelling of the myths, deeply annotated and with glossary, bibliography, and
index.
Flowers, Stephen, The Galdrabok (Samuel Weiser, Inc. 1989) As the name implies, a Galdr spellbook. From Iceland and containing man folk spells. The introductory chapters set the context in which it was written, providing information on the social and political climate of Pre-Christian and early conversion era Iceland. Out of Print.
Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales Nineteenth century folklorists who probably saved many Teutonic stories from being lost to the Twentieth century.
Gundarsson, Kveldulf, Teutonic Magic, (Llewellyn Publications, 1990) One of the more in-depth books on runes, Gods and demi-gods in the Northern Tradition. Gundarsson also writes fiction under the name
Stephan Grundy. Out of print. Teutonic Religion, (Llewellyn Publications, 1993) A book of rites and lore of the Asatru religion, by a practicing Odinist who has studied in Europe and America for many years. Gundarsson is working on a doctoral degree in Odhinnic studies in England. Out of print.
Hollander, Lee M.,
The Poetic Edda, (University of Texas Press, 1962) A good
poetic translation by the Professor Emeritus of Germanic Literature at the
University of Texas, Austin. Professor Hollander maintains much of the technical form of Old Icelandic poetry in this prefaced, annotated edition of
the ancient
work.
Leach, Maria, editor, Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, (Harper San Francisco, 1972) Encyclopedic entry dictionary of world myth, folk tales, etc., which, though Eurocentric, gives good overviews of topics covered within its 1200 pages.
Metzner, Ralph, The Well of Remembrance, (Shambala, 1994)An exploration of the living myths and their histories by a Jungian psychotherapist, this book was heavily influenced by the work of Marija Gimbutas. Out of print.
Page, R. I., Norse Myths, (University of Texas Press, 1990) Produced in cooperation with British Museum Publications, this slim member of Texas' "Legendary Past" series includes many photos of archeological relics which support the myths detailed therein.
Sturluson, Snorri, The Prose Edda, (University of California Press, 1954) A somewhat readable translation of the Twelfth Century monk's work of instruction to younger poets.
Edda, (Everyman's Library, 1987)
A more
deeply indexed version of the Prose, or Elder, Edda, with more direct translations in the Skaldskaparmal, and also including the third part of
the Edda, an
honorific poem entitled Hattatal.
Thorsson, Edred, A Book of Troth, (Llewellyn, 1989)Written by a founding member of The Ring of Troth, the largest Asatru organization in the United States, this is a basic book on the Norse religion as a living faith. Out of print.
FICTION
Grundy, Stephan, Rhinegold, (Bantam, 1994) A retelling of the Volsungsaga by an Odhinnic scholar and Asatru member.
Paxson, Diana L., Brisingamen, (Berkley, 1984) Norse gods and jewelry in modern San Francisco, by a woman who became an Elder in the Ring of Troth. Out of print.
The Wolf and the Raven, (Morrow, 1993) The early romance of Volsung heroes Sigfrid and Brunahild.
The Dragons of the Rhine, (Morrow, 1995) Sequel to The Wolf and the Raven.
These titles and others can be found at Isis Books & Gifts! With over
500 Wicca and Witchcraft book titles in stock, you're sure to find one right
for you!
Click here to
receive a free 90-page catalog.
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