Heathenism
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In addition to the gods and goddesses, Heathens honor the landvaettir, or land-wights. These wights are spirits of the land. There are house-wights as well (and even apartment-wights for the city dwellers). Honoring one’s ancestors is very important to the Heathen. The Disir, or female ancestral spirits, are known to help protect the home. The Alfar are the male ancestor spirits. Heathens also recognize and respect a number of other beings, such as dwarves, trolls, and giants. Yggdrasil, the mighty ash tree, runs through all nine worlds in the Heathen cosmology. Yggdrasil is recognizably the World Tree, and is treated with respect accordingly.
The most important holiday for the Heathen is Yule, which begins on the winter solstice and lasts for 12 days. It is important to remember that to the Northern ancestors, there were only two seasons – summer and winter. Yule, then, is a focal celebration. Winternights, usually held around the middle of October, is seen as the beginning of winter and Ostara, held between the spring equinox and the first full moon after it, is the beginning of summer. Many other holidays exist, Walpurgisnacht (early May, usually considered the night before May Day), Ostara, Disablot, and harvest blots among them. Additionally, many Heathens use common American holidays such as Memorial Day as a way to remember their ancestors who have fallen in battle (heroes who die in battle become Einherjar, and so many Asatru call Memorial Day and/or Veteran’s Day “Einherjar Day.”). Samhain is not mentioned in the lore, per se, but is used by many as a day to honor the dead.
A central concept to the Heathen worldview is the concept of wyrd and orlog. These are difficult concepts to understand, and often give rise to the misunderstood belief that Asatru believe in predestination. Wyrd is made up of all people’s actions, past and present, and all one’s own actions. Orlog, on the other hand, is based entirely upon one’s own past actions. The most common analogy is of a riverbed and a river. If wyrd is seen as a riverbed, and orlog seen as the water, then it is clear that, for the most part, the water will follow the riverbed. Now as we all know, sometimes rivers do not stay in their beds – and this is why a simplification such as “belief in fate” is inappropriate to the Asatru worldview. Complicating matters further, there is another concept known as hamingja or luck, which can be passed down through families. A person with good luck will probably get it from his/her ancestors. A person with bad luck has the same situation. In both cases, the individual can build up a store of personal luck – which will naturally impact his or her wyrd and orlog.
Finally, there are two main ritual activities that occur on holy days. These are known as the blot (rhymes with “boat”) and sumbel. In the blot, the basic format is to hallow the area (or make it sacred, usually using a hammer as a blessing tool), to invoke the entities being honored, then to pass the horn (generally filled with mead) around the circle while all members give thanks. After that, a libation is poured out as an offering to the gods. Blot comes directly from the word for blood, and it is at this time that other sacrifices are made. While very few heathens practice animal sacrifice (due in the main to factors such as living standards and ability to slaughter animals properly), “forn” or symbolic ritual objects can also be given. Bogs abound with swords deliberately bent and broken to be sacrificed, as well as items of wealth such as neck-rings, armor, shields, etc.
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