This religion was practiced by the Viking and other Germanic tribes. It has a rich mythology, cosmology, and symbols. Runes were used by practitioners of this religion. This religion had shamans that practiced different forms of magick. Christianization of Northern Europe caused the Norse Religion to die. Asatru is its rebirth.
Mythology & Cosmology
Yggdrasil: This is the world tree. It has 9 worlds on it. They are Midgard, Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, Nifheim, Muspelheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, and Helheim.
Niflheim: Ice world. Similar to Helhiem.
Vanaheim: It has a very natural look.
Asgard: This was a very civilized place with splendid buildings. it is connected to earth by a rainbow bridge.
Midgard: Earth: It wasn't as civilized as Asgard, but not as chaotic as Jotunheim.
Jotunheim: The environment and people blend together in this land. This is the most chaotic world.
Alfheim: Beautiful forest.
Svartalfheim: The underground world of dwarves.
Helheim: It existed under Midgard. This where most people went when they died.
Muspellheim: World of fire.
Valhalla: Warriors that died in battle lived here. They were able to dine with deities.
Ymir: He was the 1st person to exist. He was a giant. The universe was made out of his body.
War of Tribes: The Vanir and Aesir went to war. Vanir used magick and Assir used weapons. They made a truce and exchanged deities.
Vanir: A tribe of sex, nature, and magick deities. They lived in Vanaheim.
Aesir: A tribe of deities that lived in Asgard.
Giants: They very powerful beings of destruction and chaos.
Elves: Very playful beautiful creatures. They are closely related to the Vanir. They could make humans sick and they could cure them. Sometimes elves and humans can produce offspring together. That offspring was very magical.
Dwarves: They were great blacksmiths. They created Thor's hammer, Odin's spear, Freyr ship, etc. They would turn to stone when exposed to sunlight. They weren't midgets.
Land Spirits: They protect the land. They can bless or curse anyone that touches the land.
Ancestors: Spirits of the deceased that bless the land and their relatives.
Odin: Leader of the Aesir. He is the god of the sky and rode a slide. He has two ravens and 2 wolves. He is one of the inspirations of Santa Claus. He took out his right eye and hung on Yggdrasil 4 wisdom. He created runes.
Freya: She was a Vani and the sister of Freyr. She is the goddess of love, fertility, and beauty. She moved to Asgard and did magic 4 people. They got upset with her because they became obsessed with her magic. They killed her several times. This led to theWar of Tribes.
Freyr: He was Vanir. He was the most famous deity among Germanic tribes. He may have ruled Alfheim.
Thor: Son of Odin. He was a war god. He had a mighty hammer(phallic symbol). One time he lost his hammer and he was put in a dress. A king was going to marry him. He got his hammer back rip off the dress and kicked ass.
Njord: He was Vanir. He was the father of Freya and Freyr. He was the god of the sea, fertility, and wealth. He married a giant, but it didn't last long because they lived in conflicting environments.
Loki: He was a trickster god. He was a god in Asgard. He was half-giant. Hel is his daughter. Baldur was killed by his trickery.
Baldur: Son of Odin and Freya. He was the most handsome deity, because of that a giantess wanted to marry him. She married Njord by mistake. Baldur had a dream he was attacked by something. Freya made it so no object can hurt him. Loki found out mistle was able to hurt him. He got a Hodr to throw a mistle spear @ Baldur. That killed Baldur.
Hel: She was the ruler of Helheim.
Jormungard: Serpent that surrounds the world. He is Loki's son.
Fenrir: A giant wolf. He is Loki's son.
Ragnarok: This is the end of the world. Loki and Fenrir lead an attack on the Aesir. They made Yggdrasil tremble. Loki was in command of a giant army that attacked Asgard. Thor and Jormungard killed each other. Fenrir killed Odin and Tyr. Vidar killed Fenrir. Surt and Freyr killed each other. Heimdall and Loki killed each other. Baldur resurrected after Ragnarok. He was glorious.
Symbols
Thor's Hammer: Protection
Swastika: Luck, power, wealth, etc.
Valknut: Odin's and death's symbol.
The Helm of Awe: Protection
Svefnthorn: Puts people to sleep.
Runes
This was the written language of Germanic tribes. Each rune represents an idea, sound, and energy. There are 3 types of runes. They are Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark, and Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. The runes may be based on a southern European script. Words help shape our reality. Runes can help humans communicate with spirits.
Norse Shamanism
Female shamans were called Volva. They practiced 3 forms of magic. They were seior, spa, and galdr. They were diviners, sex magic, etc. The Romans saw these shamans and wrote about them. They engaged in ritual human sacrifice. They like dancing to drum beats. The Catholic Church wiped out the Volvas.
Rituals
The Vikings hung people from trees as a sacrifice 4 Thor. Once a chief died a slave girl was raped by all the men in the village while intoxicated. Then she was stabbed by the oldest woman in the village. Her course and the chief was burned on a ship. People were sacrificed on the Yule. Yule is the mother of Christmas. Sometimes they would sacrifice an animal to deities. They would collect the blood in a cup and drink it. Viking men would bleach their hair so it could be blond. The bleaching killed lice.
Christianization of Northern Europe
Denmark: The Vikings brought Christian slaves there. These slaves introduced Christianity to the Vikings. The King of Denmark had diplomatic relationship with England. This made it easy for the Vikings to accept Christianity.
Sweden: A monk came there to spread the word. It wasn't received well. Later on, a Christian king came to power. He made Christianity more popular.
Norway: A Christian king allowed people to practice the Norse Religion; while he had Christian churches built. The king after him destroyed all the churches he built and persecuted the Christians. Then a Christian king came to power and spread Christianity all over Norway. He persecuted non-Christians and destroyed their temples.
Asatru
This religion is a recreation of the Norse Religion. The word Asatru means beliefs in gods. This religion is 4 all European people. This religion is polytheistic and it doesn't believe in original sin. The deities are real. Courage, strength, joy, honor, freedom, loyalty, realism, and honoring ancestors are virtues of this religion. Nature is scared in this religion. A universal religion is a terrible idea because every ethnic and racial group has their own way of seeing the world. Because of this certain religions are better 4 certain groups of people than others.
Conclusion
This was the religion of Germanic tribes. It has a rich mythology, cosmology, and symbols. Runes and Norse Shamanism are sweet. It had weird rituals. Christians made it go extinct. Asatru is its resurrection.
References
https://norse-mythology.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%B6lva
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sei%C3%B0r
https://www.ranker.com/list/weird-viking-rituals/lyra-radford
http://www.ancient-origins.net/opinion-guest-authors/long-goodbye-scandinavian-paganism-and-christianization-three-realms-002212
https://www.asatru.org/
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