W-w-what, you trying to tell me there wasn't an official dogma, that was strict and organised?! They didn't risk excommunication, and damnation for following "false" and "heretical" doctrines?! Unbelievable, this is clearly impossible!" Obviously I'm being sarcastic, and this is a joke. Personally, I find it funny some people think religion/spirituality *must* be so dogmatic and hierarchical to function properly.
Great video! Your assertions seem very plausible. Throughout my Norse studies, I came to the same opinion that the Asir and Vanir war is the story of the melding of regional cultures and made palatable to the constituency through bards and festivals. And, I think this is a good thing. One of the reasons I enjoy the Old Ways is that I allow myself the luxury of private thoughts, imaginings and beliefs that aren't practiced by anyone but me. It is more of an expression than a ceremony or ritual. It allows me to address what is written on my heart instead of what is in a book.
Yes! And I find that learning about these things makes me feel more and more empowered to just create my own ways of experiencing my "spirituality," my connection to and communion with nature. Somehow it's really comforting to think I have ancient ancestors who lived this way.
I discovered you by accident, watched my first video and subscribed! I watched several and must say, you bring a voice of clarity, real factual education, provenance in your points, and the most enjoyable educational presentation one could hope for! Realistic, fair and with well needed caution you finally bring what has been needed to separate beliefs, myths and assumptions from what actually occurred. Thank you!
Oh thank you so much! Such a wonderful comment! Thank you for your feedback and welcome to this channel! It's comments such as these that five me energy to continue.
I know - it's so nice to find someone SO knowledgable, and nice as well - - -In these times of such confusion and fights about culture - i have had such trouble even asking someone to recommend a book to me - to find out about my ancestors traditions. Arith is lovely and generous.
Strange these things seems too common and obvious to me as an Indian. We grow up seeing all these differences. The idea of "conversion" doesn't exist outside abrahamic faiths. It was a pure political idea. One that has been disastrous to the West and middle East...
I couldn't agree more sir. Indian and European spirituality are remarkably similar due to common roots. For instance old Irish bears more resemblance linguistically. To Sanskrit than modern English.
Anyone who has done deep study in any one culture will easily understand the other. Several words are directly linked to sanskrit. Both have exact same concepts with different names. South India is different though. They're "native Indians". But when the Aryans came, they didn't destroy everything. They adopted and combined it with their own. Destruction begun in 1400s, once islamic invasion started... Islam and Christianity doesn't know how to integrate. They'll either destroy, or if not possible, twist it.
@@Asurendra777 Destruction, disaster, tragedy on otherwise unheard of scale, etc..... These and countless other crimes against nature and against all of humanity are the very building blocks of the Abrahamic faiths. I wish I WERE exaggerating, but I have found that such cannot be done.
Thank you for this video. I was happy to hear you touch on religious practices that didn't involve the gods towards the end. I hope you will speak more in depth on that in future. Thanks again
Yet another great video Arïth. I have incorporated your video's together with Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen's & Jackson Crawford's videos as my 3 "start-up Sunday morning 1st thing to-do". Great work!
Arith, I just wanted to send out a huge thank you with your videos and the work you've done~ I have an amazing Teacher and friend: "Sean Black" who has helped with runes etc. I have been following your channel since and thanks to you, there have been many that have truly helped with learning the runes and their history among how they're used~ Thank you so much for your hard work and shared knowledge and information~ ❤️
Always a pleasure to hear your insights. Very informative. Your video on Rökkatrú, for instance, prompted me to learn more about some of the less acknowledged gods and goddesses, and seek out my path. I'm very grateful for your insights.
Excellent video. This centralizing tendency many have, erroneously believing that late Viking-era Icelandic religion is somehow THE organized standard of all Norse or even Germanic traditions, is definitely a vestige of Abrahamism and, as you indicated, at its root is political and not so much spiritual. But there is a very liberating feeling knowing that our broader ancestors were tribal and regional, because through those traditions that have come to us as "Christian" but can easily be discerned as Pagan, we can cut through this Abrahamic exterior and deconstruct what our ancestors actually practiced. Archaeological findings are also very enlightening in this process.
Great piece. It's important to remember that these stories were preserved as lessons to future generations. We often need to look it at from the ancestors perspective instead of impossing religous concepts. It reminds me how grateful I am that our cultures and traditions survive and thrive. Limlmtx..
As a scholar who focused mainly on Judeo-Christian history, you made some great points. Not taking a stance for one side or another, because history seldom works that way, but I think you made a great point in saying "politically expedient." In an age where a local war chieftain trying to expand their power base, you use everything you have available to get to the top. So, in a social context where everyone around you has their own flavor -albeit perhaps with some central unifying themes- of faith, it's difficult enough to get these disparate peoples to see you as "the first among equals." BUT, if you are "divinely selected to rule," then consolidation of power is that much more efficient. So you try and get everyone to at least be on the same socio-religious stance (e.g. Wotan is the chief among gods, and has selected you as his earthly choice of rulers). Then along comes this esoteric faith out the Middle East where there's not just a chief deity in an otherwise wide pantheon, but ONE god, and he had an earthly manifestation that (at least in the eyes of this local war leader) "selected to rule" Well shoot, easy street. I wouldn't advocate for the actions of those few pious souls who led a moral crusade and helped eradicate what was once a varied and colorful social tapestry of beliefs, but people often see the end result of today's relatively barren religious landscape and are quick to vilify social movements like Christianity. When in reality as you said it was a politically expedient component for consolidation of power among locals -not an ecclesiastical cursed sent from Rome (or wherever).
With Christianity, for instance, with the conversion of the old gods and local deities and spirits into saints, many people have different approaches to the religion. Instead of focusing in God, or the holy trinity, Jesus or the Virgin Mary, people prefer to focus on local saints or family saints, which then changes their perspectives and religious activities towards the main religion. Like in India, it's another good example; from north to south, east to west, you will never find a concise religious structure, each region/town/village, have their own cultural tradition and a very different view of the same religious reality. Religions adopt pockets of other cultural realities and vs versa, and it forms unique concepts and interpretations.
My explanation for why Loki was well known but not widely worshiped is because he may have been understood as the same deity as Lugh. The Germanic people may have understood him as the God of their Celtic neighbors and the fall of Druidry may have led to the Norse seeing him as more malevolent as there were no more Druids to defend "Lugus."
Thats interesting I dont know enough about Lugh to comment further, but its an interesting idea, and something i shall look into at some point myself So thanks for sharing it
I've been wondering, have you read: Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its Transmission Through Myth by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend? Just curious really. I find it to be another layer to the image of mythology/history. It shows us how to see just a little more than could previously be seen. It has expanded the way I view mythology and ancient civilizations, in a good way I think.
At this moment, I cannot comment on that, unfortunately. I have it on my "to read list" but haven't got the opportunity to get that book. Eventually I shall and will comment on it :p
I have wondered if Ask and Embla, and Baldr resurrecting after ragnarok was influenced or included by Christianity to make conversion easier. There are several similarities like that but who know which came first. Since alot of it was recorded by Christian monks there's no way to ever be certain. Also wonder if Fenrir was worshiped. He wasn't actually a god and he was the one to kill Odin but he is a major force nonetheless. There's the cave in Iceland where people brought sacrifices to appease Surtr, so maybe Fenrir had something similar. Anyways I enjoyed the video.
Excellent video. I especially like and have great respect for the organic nature of true “pagan” religion where instead of following a rigid pantheon the local “numina” of the area can be respected and the elemental power of the land and ancestors acknowledged and honored. These beliefs are even echoed in strange local customs found in rural areas throughout Europe to this day.
Still playing catch up. I love Faust’s truthful sarcasm. It makes me wonder though what the estimate might be for people in Scandinavia today who are following or have gone back to paganism in general? Now with the huge influx of middle eastern immigrants into Sweden how will that shape society and religion?
There is a huge influx from everywhere including European, African and Asian countries. Sweden is just becoming less and less religious overall and more divided in its make up. The "natives" are secular to an overwhelming extent whit a few holdups mostly in the country side, the cities are dominated whit secular "religions and rituals" from a humanistic point of view. You wont find many pagan worshippers but many prefer the pagan and pre Christian world view and find the old mythologies to be more the "true" Sweden then Christianity, which is pretty amazing considering how strictly Christianity was enforced and how important it has been to the foundations of the Swedish state and kingdom historically.
The Norse were not coherent in beliefs or worship because we see in the texts and archeological records show variations of worship and beliefs. There are a lot of Eddic poems and prose stories about Norse gods that weren’t written down. Beliefs on the afterlife may have varied.
Thank you again my friend for another great video . Will you make more videos about food and hunting. And how the food was stored. And how the gathering of food was used to worship the gods.
I learned of a Goddess called Ran of the sea but couldn't find out anything about her. What does she look like? Is she Aesir? Vanir? Disir? or Thursir? Could you do a video on this chaos deity?
She is the wife of Njord and mother of nine daughters named after waves - hence the connection to the sea. Following the indo European marriage practice she has joined his family and would be counted as part of the tribe of the Vanir, though her origin is uncertain as she is only attested in a few lines of text. As far as I know there are no cognates from other IE traditions so there's not much reason to assume she was a huge deal. Some speculate her daughters were Heimdall's mothers. Not sure why you call her a chaos God while knowing nothing about her?...
@@henners9901 It is what I have been taught. "Goddess of shipwrecks and of storms" - Were the exact words of my mentor. This response I've drawn from you is the very reason I worded my comment the way I did. Is there ANYTHING else you can add to the discussion? Anything at all? If there were it too would be much appreciated. I have my own connections to the sea and to the divine feminine so profoundly that, to me, she just may be the "huge deal" that to everyone else she seems not. Also, you seem to regard her rumored - chaos deity - status as though it were an inherently bad thing, is this so? I cannot really tell without anything more than print on-screen.
From what I understand is that you are saying there was a loosely general belief but not a dogma or a strict ritual. But that people urban and rural could worship different Gods of the same group depending on the local traditional views. Christianity does something similar having local saints but believing they are part of the larger picture.
god morgen! So in the series Vikings, when they went into muslim spain Floki was in awe of how the muslim worshippers bowed in unison etc. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Floki believed or wanted his people to believe and worship the gods in that manner and it’s part of the reason he left Kattegat and hence Iceland. So I know about Gardar Svavarsson and Ingolf Arnarson but was there a religious reason for going to Iceland?
Vikings is a terrible show and nobody should assume anything on it is remotely applicable to historical vikings, because more often than not, it wasn't. The migration to Iceland was largely political. The rise of kings meant the old Republics were being forcibly assimilated by empires. The kings did happen to favor Christianity because it made men slaves to a single Lord, which was ideal for an empire. The people fleeing to Iceland retained the Republic and Old Customs were kept centuries longer as a result.
I was going to reply but it seems @Cosmic Wight already did it for me. Indeed Iceland was first settled in the latter decades of the ninth century mainly by Norwegians who were seeking political and religious freeom from the monarchal onslaught of King Haraldr hárfagra (fair-hair). Haraldr was still pagan but there was a certain presure from the other Kingdoms of Christian Europe, and so Haraldr decided to conquer all of Norway and being it under a Christian-style monarchy. Speaking of medieval Iberia, well, it's complicated. During those times Muslim Spain and Muslim Portugal were quite different, and the natives where trying to take their lands back from the Muslims. They had been Germanic-Christian kingdoms and most of the natives in terms of religion were a mixture of traces of paganism, Arianism and other forms of Christianity plus Islam. Muslims were tolerant with the Christian natives, but were not that tolerant with the pagan ones. The remaining pagans were either Celt-iberian traditions, Roman and Germanic. Muslim Spain had Jews and Muslims were also tolerant with Jews; Muslim Portugal had no Jews. Jewish people only entered Portugal during the early 16th century and were Christianized. Muslim Iberia was also a mixture of religions and cults. After the Viking and Normand invasions in Iberia, the Christian Portuguese sought help from the Nordic peoples to defeat the Muslims, and for their help many lands were given to the Norsemen, and some great Medieval families (which last to this day) started precisely with Nordic lineage.
Iceland was not a republican paradise after first settling, and the few people who migrated there were more often fugitives and exiles than noble souls seeking freedom (tm) like Härger puts it. Reading some sagas of the Icelanders should give you an idea of the type of people who populated early Iceland.
FYI: you are correct that álfar are beings ranging from landspirits to ancestors, but landspirits refer to the spirits of people who had something to do with the land. So they are always the spirits of people. Nisser, tomte etc are the spirits of the first inhabitants that cleared the field on the farm, thus becoming firmly attached to it through hard labour (think about it: they had to clear a forest by hand and horse to make agricultural fields). All vættir, all álfar. Vættir might include other non-human spirits, i do not know about that. This according to folklore.
Yes, the basis of religion is animism where the ancestral spirits played an important role. Much of the gods we know today, were mortals; people who continued to be worshipped after death and cults were formed around them.
@@ArithHärger agree...i thought i might write something longer on it..but i was to tired yesterday :) ...there is one exampel where one "oracle" in Birka says the the gods are dissapointed with the new faith of christianity and says that the gods will take up their dead king Erik among the gods if the people leave this new faith. Also it was as you say animistic and people i wouldnt say worship but payed homage and respect to other spirits, elfs, diser and so on that they felt were around them in the nature and the home...one sush ancestor spirit that they respected that is still inour traditions in scandinavia is the hustomte ...meaning "master of the property" its mostly now associated with christmas...but was often described as a small old man with great strenght that kept an eye and helped on the farm with the animals and shores...and it was dangerous to neglect the work or cross this being, around xmas your supposed to put out food for him. There are still some stories about this spirit helping when people have fallen ill....but in this modern world most have forgotten about it.
Indeed I must say that most of the time (if not 99% of the time in the academic field) many of my colleagues fail to understand that in pagan societies, especially Western and Northern European ones, people were not worshipping the figures of the gods, but what they represented. It's important to understand the concept of Animism to these ancient societies and the belief that objects could contain a spiritual entity. Images of deities were to call upon the spirit of the deity to interact with us and we with it. Not actually praising the object but what lies in it - the spiritual essence. Animism is a concept that is put aside many times due to a collective consciousness influenced by near-eastern monotheisms that disgard in their religions the concept of Animism, and as such many people have the tendancy to think it was the same within pagan societies.
That's the only thing anyone CAN perceive as reality until you find yourself in the presence of one. Shit changes after that. It took me ten years to reconcile so I do understand where you're coming from.
I cant help wondering if Odin having so many names is in fact the true origin of "all-father" not because he was the father of everyone, but because he was dozens (or hundreds) of different patriarchal deities combined into one . I like this, it may not be true, but it also may not be false This actually makes a lot more sense to me, and right or wrong this is how i will think of him (them) from now on ... and so another puzzle piece falls into place Thanks Arith
hands up ! No I had never heard of Volsi until today , but it sounds very interesting and not unusual for people to worship the penis of a horse as a great fertility symbol , I think I heard that in some parts of the world the penis of a bull was worshiped for the same reason , and after all a penis is not the worst thing in the world to worship ! :)
🤨 nors wasn’t pagan 🤨🤨🤨🤨 can people stop using the word pagan to box all the old religions saying a religion is pagan is derogatory the word (pagan) was invented to slur ....😕 and you still have people that believe in those Gods of old so calling it mythology is super disrespectful 😕 the view your trying to educate is from a typical judicial/Christian view doest do it justice at all
W-w-what, you trying to tell me there wasn't an official dogma, that was strict and organised?! They didn't risk excommunication, and damnation for following "false" and "heretical" doctrines?! Unbelievable, this is clearly impossible!"
Obviously I'm being sarcastic, and this is a joke.
Personally, I find it funny some people think religion/spirituality *must* be so dogmatic and hierarchical to function properly.
This is partly why I took interest in the Rökkr, the Jötnar and other shadow/twilight beings. Less hierarchical and more individualistic.
Great video! Your assertions seem very plausible. Throughout my Norse studies, I came to the same opinion that the Asir and Vanir war is the story of the melding of regional cultures and made palatable to the constituency through bards and festivals. And, I think this is a good thing. One of the reasons I enjoy the Old Ways is that I allow myself the luxury of private thoughts, imaginings and beliefs that aren't practiced by anyone but me. It is more of an expression than a ceremony or ritual. It allows me to address what is written on my heart instead of what is in a book.
Yes! And I find that learning about these things makes me feel more and more empowered to just create my own ways of experiencing my "spirituality," my connection to and communion with nature. Somehow it's really comforting to think I have ancient ancestors who lived this way.
totally agree, i feel exactly the same. i think its something passed down through our DNA.
I discovered you by accident, watched my first video and subscribed! I watched several and must say, you bring a voice of clarity, real factual education, provenance in your points, and the most enjoyable educational presentation one could hope for! Realistic, fair and with well needed caution you finally bring what has been needed to separate beliefs, myths and assumptions from what actually occurred.
Thank you!
Oh thank you so much! Such a wonderful comment! Thank you for your feedback and welcome to this channel! It's comments such as these that five me energy to continue.
I know - it's so nice to find someone SO knowledgable, and nice as well - - -In these times of such confusion and fights about culture - i have had such trouble even asking someone to recommend a book to me - to find out about my ancestors traditions. Arith is lovely and generous.
What a nice peaceful intro..... silence and singing birds😊
It's the best indeed. An escape from the city is needed, constantly
Strange these things seems too common and obvious to me as an Indian. We grow up seeing all these differences.
The idea of "conversion" doesn't exist outside abrahamic faiths. It was a pure political idea. One that has been disastrous to the West and middle East...
I couldn't agree more sir. Indian and European spirituality are remarkably similar due to common roots. For instance old Irish bears more resemblance linguistically. To Sanskrit than modern English.
Anyone who has done deep study in any one culture will easily understand the other.
Several words are directly linked to sanskrit. Both have exact same concepts with different names.
South India is different though. They're "native Indians". But when the Aryans came, they didn't destroy everything. They adopted and combined it with their own. Destruction begun in 1400s, once islamic invasion started...
Islam and Christianity doesn't know how to integrate. They'll either destroy, or if not possible, twist it.
Indian?Dot or feather?
@@jimnycricket5714 because both stem from the same lingual wellspring..
@@Asurendra777 Destruction, disaster, tragedy on otherwise unheard of scale, etc..... These and countless other crimes against nature and against all of humanity are the very building blocks of the Abrahamic faiths. I wish I WERE exaggerating, but I have found that such cannot be done.
Thank you for this video. I was happy to hear you touch on religious practices that didn't involve the gods towards the end. I hope you will speak more in depth on that in future. Thanks again
I imagine the local deities in old European paganism were something akin to those found in the Shinto and Hindu faiths
yeah ... all Arians! ;)
@@MrCheffie71 ...sad...
The older religions all over the globe has striking similarities , of you can look past the different dialects and obvious names of the Gods .
Yet another great video Arïth. I have incorporated your video's together with Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen's & Jackson Crawford's videos as my 3 "start-up Sunday morning 1st thing to-do". Great work!
Arith, I just wanted to send out a huge thank you with your videos and the work you've done~ I have an amazing Teacher and friend: "Sean Black" who has helped with runes etc. I have been following your channel since and thanks to you, there have been many that have truly helped with learning the runes and their history among how they're used~ Thank you so much for your hard work and shared knowledge and information~ ❤️
Thank you very much, I'm happy to know the content I submit is useful ^^ Thank you for being in here and taking the time to watch my videos. Cheers!
Briana Cimerron I’ve spoken too and worked with Sean Black a couple of times, and he is a very knowledgeable and talented man
@@H.P.Hatecraft23 indeed he is~ I'm in one of his current classes~
Always a pleasure to hear your insights. Very informative. Your video on Rökkatrú, for instance, prompted me to learn more about some of the less acknowledged gods and goddesses, and seek out my path. I'm very grateful for your insights.
Excellent video. This centralizing tendency many have, erroneously believing that late Viking-era Icelandic religion is somehow THE organized standard of all Norse or even Germanic traditions, is definitely a vestige of Abrahamism and, as you indicated, at its root is political and not so much spiritual. But there is a very liberating feeling knowing that our broader ancestors were tribal and regional, because through those traditions that have come to us as "Christian" but can easily be discerned as Pagan, we can cut through this Abrahamic exterior and deconstruct what our ancestors actually practiced. Archaeological findings are also very enlightening in this process.
Old norse roots are being revitalized in scandinavian people today.
More tend to take interest.
Yes, I sure hope so.
@Breetai Zentraedi sadly a lot of US Americans are doing that. I fuckin despise em, coz a lot of em aren't Scandinavian.
@@MagicJellyBeanPastelLucidDream I dont think they should ban them, but i am tired of playing the Norse practitioner or Nazi game. Fucking Nazis...
Great piece. It's important to remember that these stories were preserved as lessons to future generations. We often need to look it at from the ancestors perspective instead of impossing religous concepts. It reminds me how grateful I am that our cultures and traditions survive and thrive. Limlmtx..
I have often thought much of the same ideas that you shared but no one has ever backed me up on it
As a scholar who focused mainly on Judeo-Christian history, you made some great points. Not taking a stance for one side or another, because history seldom works that way, but I think you made a great point in saying "politically expedient." In an age where a local war chieftain trying to expand their power base, you use everything you have available to get to the top. So, in a social context where everyone around you has their own flavor -albeit perhaps with some central unifying themes- of faith, it's difficult enough to get these disparate peoples to see you as "the first among equals." BUT, if you are "divinely selected to rule," then consolidation of power is that much more efficient. So you try and get everyone to at least be on the same socio-religious stance (e.g. Wotan is the chief among gods, and has selected you as his earthly choice of rulers). Then along comes this esoteric faith out the Middle East where there's not just a chief deity in an otherwise wide pantheon, but ONE god, and he had an earthly manifestation that (at least in the eyes of this local war leader) "selected to rule" Well shoot, easy street. I wouldn't advocate for the actions of those few pious souls who led a moral crusade and helped eradicate what was once a varied and colorful social tapestry of beliefs, but people often see the end result of today's relatively barren religious landscape and are quick to vilify social movements like Christianity. When in reality as you said it was a politically expedient component for consolidation of power among locals -not an ecclesiastical cursed sent from Rome (or wherever).
Love your stuff kick on love it
Thank you much in helping me get to connect with my great ancestors from Sweden,..I find a real hunger to reconnect,very important to me...
That intro granted me inner peace.
so very good spoken, thank you
I think that all religions have regional differences even those that claim some type of global uniformity.
With Christianity, for instance, with the conversion of the old gods and local deities and spirits into saints, many people have different approaches to the religion. Instead of focusing in God, or the holy trinity, Jesus or the Virgin Mary, people prefer to focus on local saints or family saints, which then changes their perspectives and religious activities towards the main religion. Like in India, it's another good example; from north to south, east to west, you will never find a concise religious structure, each region/town/village, have their own cultural tradition and a very different view of the same religious reality. Religions adopt pockets of other cultural realities and vs versa, and it forms unique concepts and interpretations.
@@ArithHärger The different forms of Islam too.
Thank you, Arith!
A professional explanation and nice video
New subscriber here, love your videos dude
Thank you and welcome hehe
Thank you!! What information do you have on anything actually relating to Irminsul?
My explanation for why Loki was well known but not widely worshiped is because he may have been understood as the same deity as Lugh. The Germanic people may have understood him as the God of their Celtic neighbors and the fall of Druidry may have led to the Norse seeing him as more malevolent as there were no more Druids to defend "Lugus."
Thats interesting
I dont know enough about Lugh to comment further, but its an interesting idea, and something i shall look into at some point myself
So thanks for sharing it
I've been wondering, have you read: Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its Transmission Through Myth by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend?
Just curious really. I find it to be another layer to the image of mythology/history. It shows us how to see just a little more than could previously be seen. It has expanded the way I view mythology and ancient civilizations, in a good way I think.
At this moment, I cannot comment on that, unfortunately. I have it on my "to read list" but haven't got the opportunity to get that book. Eventually I shall and will comment on it :p
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I also...curious about if they worship mutiple gods or just one?
Nice and Good information!!
“You have your Odin and I have mine.” - Rollo💪🏻😜
I have wondered if Ask and Embla, and Baldr resurrecting after ragnarok was influenced or included by Christianity to make conversion easier. There are several similarities like that but who know which came first. Since alot of it was recorded by Christian monks there's no way to ever be certain.
Also wonder if Fenrir was worshiped. He wasn't actually a god and he was the one to kill Odin but he is a major force nonetheless. There's the cave in Iceland where people brought sacrifices to appease Surtr, so maybe Fenrir had something similar.
Anyways I enjoyed the video.
Excellent video. I especially like and have great respect for the organic nature of true “pagan” religion where instead of following a rigid pantheon the local “numina” of the area can be respected and the elemental power of the land and ancestors acknowledged and honored. These beliefs are even echoed in strange local customs found in rural areas throughout Europe to this day.
Still playing catch up. I love Faust’s truthful sarcasm. It makes me wonder though what the estimate might be for people in Scandinavia today who are following or have gone back to paganism in general? Now with the huge influx of middle eastern immigrants into Sweden how will that shape society and religion?
There is a huge influx from everywhere including European, African and Asian countries. Sweden is just becoming less and less religious overall and more divided in its make up. The "natives" are secular to an overwhelming extent whit a few holdups mostly in the country side, the cities are dominated whit secular "religions and rituals" from a humanistic point of view. You wont find many pagan worshippers but many prefer the pagan and pre Christian world view and find the old mythologies to be more the "true" Sweden then Christianity, which is pretty amazing considering how strictly Christianity was enforced and how important it has been to the foundations of the Swedish state and kingdom historically.
The opening of your video sounds exactly like my back yard
Lovely. I wish!
The Norse were not coherent in beliefs or worship because we see in the texts and archeological records show variations of worship and beliefs. There are a lot of Eddic poems and prose stories about Norse gods that weren’t written down. Beliefs on the afterlife may have varied.
Is it the oldest religeon? I'm sure it's hard to figure what the first ever religeon was
Thank you again my friend for another great video . Will you make more videos about food and hunting. And how the food was stored. And how the gathering of food was used to worship the gods.
I learned of a Goddess called Ran of the sea but couldn't find out anything about her. What does she look like? Is she Aesir? Vanir? Disir? or Thursir? Could you do a video on this chaos deity?
She is the wife of Njord and mother of nine daughters named after waves - hence the connection to the sea. Following the indo European marriage practice she has joined his family and would be counted as part of the tribe of the Vanir, though her origin is uncertain as she is only attested in a few lines of text. As far as I know there are no cognates from other IE traditions so there's not much reason to assume she was a huge deal. Some speculate her daughters were Heimdall's mothers. Not sure why you call her a chaos God while knowing nothing about her?...
@@henners9901 It is what I have been taught. "Goddess of shipwrecks and of storms"
- Were the exact words of my mentor. This response I've drawn from you is the very reason I worded my comment the way I did. Is there ANYTHING else you can add to the discussion? Anything at all? If there were it too would be much appreciated. I have my own connections to the sea and to the divine feminine so profoundly that, to me, she just may be the "huge deal" that to everyone else she seems not. Also, you seem to regard her rumored - chaos deity - status as though it were an inherently bad thing, is this so? I cannot really tell without anything more than print on-screen.
Nice Video
From what I understand is that you are saying there was a loosely general belief but not a dogma or a strict ritual. But that people urban and rural could worship different Gods of the same group depending on the local traditional views. Christianity does something similar having local saints but believing they are part of the larger picture.
Where are you from?
Here is an interesting question... Were Lugh and Loki at one point understood as being the same deity?
So how does one convert from Christianity to Nordic paganism ?
god morgen! So in the series Vikings, when they went into muslim spain Floki was in awe of how the muslim worshippers bowed in unison etc. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Floki believed or wanted his people to believe and worship the gods in that manner and it’s part of the reason he left Kattegat and hence Iceland. So I know about Gardar Svavarsson and Ingolf Arnarson but was there a religious reason for going to Iceland?
Vikings is a terrible show and nobody should assume anything on it is remotely applicable to historical vikings, because more often than not, it wasn't.
The migration to Iceland was largely political. The rise of kings meant the old Republics were being forcibly assimilated by empires. The kings did happen to favor Christianity because it made men slaves to a single Lord, which was ideal for an empire. The people fleeing to Iceland retained the Republic and Old Customs were kept centuries longer as a result.
Thank u. I appreciate the info!
I was going to reply but it seems @Cosmic Wight already did it for me. Indeed Iceland was first settled in the latter decades of the ninth century mainly by Norwegians who were seeking political and religious freeom from the monarchal onslaught of King Haraldr hárfagra (fair-hair). Haraldr was still pagan but there was a certain presure from the other Kingdoms of Christian Europe, and so Haraldr decided to conquer all of Norway and being it under a Christian-style monarchy. Speaking of medieval Iberia, well, it's complicated. During those times Muslim Spain and Muslim Portugal were quite different, and the natives where trying to take their lands back from the Muslims. They had been Germanic-Christian kingdoms and most of the natives in terms of religion were a mixture of traces of paganism, Arianism and other forms of Christianity plus Islam. Muslims were tolerant with the Christian natives, but were not that tolerant with the pagan ones. The remaining pagans were either Celt-iberian traditions, Roman and Germanic. Muslim Spain had Jews and Muslims were also tolerant with Jews; Muslim Portugal had no Jews. Jewish people only entered Portugal during the early 16th century and were Christianized. Muslim Iberia was also a mixture of religions and cults. After the Viking and Normand invasions in Iberia, the Christian Portuguese sought help from the Nordic peoples to defeat the Muslims, and for their help many lands were given to the Norsemen, and some great Medieval families (which last to this day) started precisely with Nordic lineage.
Arith Härger I was hoping I would hear from you on the subject. You give so much information I love it! Thanks so much for responding!
Iceland was not a republican paradise after first settling, and the few people who migrated there were more often fugitives and exiles than noble souls seeking freedom (tm) like Härger puts it. Reading some sagas of the Icelanders should give you an idea of the type of people who populated early Iceland.
14:32 You get a Sainthood, and you get a Sainthood, everyone gets a Sainthood!
In this context, what does "outside society" mean?
FYI: you are correct that álfar are beings ranging from landspirits to ancestors, but landspirits refer to the spirits of people who had something to do with the land.
So they are always the spirits of people. Nisser, tomte etc are the spirits of the first inhabitants that cleared the field on the farm, thus becoming firmly attached to it through hard labour (think about it: they had to clear a forest by hand and horse to make agricultural fields).
All vættir, all álfar. Vættir might include other non-human spirits, i do not know about that.
This according to folklore.
Or short: álfar are the spirits of people.
Thank you brethren
Makes Sense, Thxs.
mostly our ancestors had an ancestor "worship"...PERIOD
Yes, the basis of religion is animism where the ancestral spirits played an important role. Much of the gods we know today, were mortals; people who continued to be worshipped after death and cults were formed around them.
@@ArithHärger agree...i thought i might write something longer on it..but i was to tired yesterday :) ...there is one exampel where one "oracle" in Birka says the the gods are dissapointed with the new faith of christianity and says that the gods will take up their dead king Erik among the gods if the people leave this new faith. Also it was as you say animistic and people i wouldnt say worship but payed homage and respect to other spirits, elfs, diser and so on that they felt were around them in the nature and the home...one sush ancestor spirit that they respected that is still inour traditions in scandinavia is the hustomte ...meaning "master of the property" its mostly now associated with christmas...but was often described as a small old man with great strenght that kept an eye and helped on the farm with the animals and shores...and it was dangerous to neglect the work or cross this being, around xmas your supposed to put out food for him. There are still some stories about this spirit helping when people have fallen ill....but in this modern world most have forgotten about it.
Worshipping a norse god, is simply idolize their attributes.
Not worshipping a actual god.
Indeed I must say that most of the time (if not 99% of the time in the academic field) many of my colleagues fail to understand that in pagan societies, especially Western and Northern European ones, people were not worshipping the figures of the gods, but what they represented. It's important to understand the concept of Animism to these ancient societies and the belief that objects could contain a spiritual entity. Images of deities were to call upon the spirit of the deity to interact with us and we with it. Not actually praising the object but what lies in it - the spiritual essence. Animism is a concept that is put aside many times due to a collective consciousness influenced by near-eastern monotheisms that disgard in their religions the concept of Animism, and as such many people have the tendancy to think it was the same within pagan societies.
That's the only thing anyone CAN perceive as reality until you find yourself in the presence of one. Shit changes after that. It took me ten years to reconcile so I do understand where you're coming from.
What's your favorite god??
Is this the first or second comment? Ha! I like this intro best so far, btw. It is nice and quiet.
Not nitpicking, but worshiped is spelled with 1 'p' for some bizarre reason
This day it may be ULLR next week THOR next month ODIN ... depend on the situation.
If people understand hinduism and how non monotheistic religious system works they may get closer understanding of all extinct old pagan traditions.
I cant help wondering if Odin having so many names is in fact the true origin of "all-father" not because he was the father of everyone, but because he was dozens (or hundreds) of different patriarchal deities combined into one .
I like this, it may not be true, but it also may not be false
This actually makes a lot more sense to me, and right or wrong this is how i will think of him (them) from now on
... and so another puzzle piece falls into place
Thanks Arith
Religion and faith should be personal. How YOU feel. Soo, with that said, interesting view, and good luck on your path!!
hands up ! No I had never heard of Volsi until today , but it sounds very interesting and not unusual for people to worship the penis of a horse as a great fertility symbol , I think I heard that in some parts of the world the penis of a bull was worshiped for the same reason , and after all a penis is not the worst thing in the world to worship ! :)
Odin is like yoda
We are living in the dark ages
What does a Portuguese man have to do with Norse paganism?
Loki was a greasy politician. Someone to keep an eye on at "court". Not to be admired. And certainly showed up only after Christianity.
You're a powerful and attractive man.
I have a feeling that Volsi was made up by a man, for a laugh.
Old Norse religion was not coherent or systematized.
Fyrstr
🤨 nors wasn’t pagan 🤨🤨🤨🤨 can people stop using the word pagan to box all the old religions saying a religion is pagan is derogatory the word (pagan) was invented to slur ....😕 and you still have people that believe in those Gods of old so calling it mythology is super disrespectful 😕 the view your trying to educate is from a typical judicial/Christian view doest do it justice at all