Hey SoM go-ers! I plan on making an article fairley soon on a Heathen F.A.Q to answer the most commonly asked questions about Heathenry. I present this thread to you as an oppritunity to ask your question and have it answered in the upcoming article. If you have any questions or concerns about heathenry, how it works, or how to start out, leave your questions below! Many thanks and brightest blessings!
P.S I apologize if this needs to be in the advertising forums instead of the Norse Paganism forum.
I think it would be helpfull for outsiders to explain the different pathes within Norse Paganism, from Runelore, to germanic shamanism, from Seidr to Rokkatru etc.
@LunaBlood05 In Heathenry or Paganism in general? Yes to both, just not sure which you meant.
While there are several groups [like Asteru, The Troth, Theodism, Odinism, Wodenism, and Odalism] Heathenry tends to come in 2 flavours, those who actually read the Futhark and understand Heathenry as an inclusive religion [Asteru, The Troth, and Theodism] and the alt-wrong nazis [Odinism, Wodenism, and Odalism]
If you read the Futhark [Norse mythology which the religion is based] you'll hear tales of cross dressing, gender fluidity, woman as equals [Google Valkyries and Shield-Maidens] and many teaches which can be boiled down to "If you're a good person, you're my brother."
However, then you have the white supremacists who see Oden as this alpha male and Thor as this manly man giga Chad and it was all white and amazing and insert every toxic view here. They usually identify themselves as Odinists [see also Wodenism, and Odalism] and their faith is shaped less by historic evidence and more by whatever nonsense Hitler believed in [If you've seen the first Captain America movie where Hydra is searching for the Tesseract and they've got a bunch of Tree of Life and Norse imagery everywhere, that's essentially what the Nazi higher ups were into] This is also who a number of their symbols were ancient symbols they turned into symbols of hate [this isn't me advocating "reclaiming" them, especially if you're not from the cultures they were appropriated, it's just a historic fact] this is why many people are cautious when they meet a Norse Pagan/Heathen because "Are you a big teddy bear, or should I run?"
With that said, I want to stress all the Heathens I know are wonderful and it's more common to find the Asteru and Troth type of Heathen. It's just the Odenists are loud [and give people who actually work with Oden a bad name] Most people I know who either work with Norse deities, or identify as Heathen, are LGBT [Everyone I've met who works with Loki says they're gender fluid with they/them pronouns. And when you've turned yourself into a female horse to seduce a male horse, thus giving birth to your eight-legged horse child Sleipnir, I'm inclined to believe the god of mischief doesn't really care about gender as a construct]
With all of that said, I'm not a Heathen, just someone with a minor in folklore and mythology. If you're interested in researching Heathenry, I'll link some stuff for you.
Heathen Branches: https://theelementalmind.com/2024/10/12/what-are-the-many-branches/
Pagan Federation about Heathenry: https://www.paganfed.org/heathenry/
The Troth about page: https://thetroth.org/asatru-our-religion/
Information on Heathenry: https://www.asatruuk.org/whatisheathenry
Elder Futhark: https://www.shieldmaidenssanctum.com/blog/2019/3/12/the-elder-futhark-runes-and-their-meanings
Norse Heathenry: https://skaldskeep.com/norse/
