Neo-Nazi Prevention & Dog Whistles
White supremacists are misappropriating Norse mythology
Dog Whistles in the Gender Critical Movement
Guide to Anti-LGBTQ Online Hate and Disinformation
What To Do When Racists Try To Hijack Your Religion
Inside Asatruism's Fight Against the Co-Opting of Their Religion by White Supremacists
Sources and Sites:
GLBT in the Northern Tradition (site)
Vikings are Gay! Podcast (podcast)
Academic Research
Excerpts and Essays:
Sex, Status, and Seiðr: Homosexuality and Germanic Religion
Sons of Frey
Ergi: The Way of the Third
Being Ergi
The Tale of a Transsexual Norse Pagan Spirit-Worker
Scholarly Articles:
Queer Themes In Old Norse Myth
Feminism in Medieval Scandinavia: How Paganism Forged Gender Equality
Magic, Genderfluidity, and queer Vikings, ca. 750-1050
Mythical beasts: How queer bodies expand the religious imaginary
Practices:
Rite of Passage for an Ergi Child
Honoring Ancestors: Queer Rite of Elevation
Queer-friendly Creators:
Ocean Keltoi (YouTube)
Nordic Mythology Podcast (Spotify)
The Norse Gods: Loki: An Evil Queer Icon? (YouTube)
Storied (YouTube)
The Welsh Viking (YouTube)
Hearthkvlt (online shop; artist)
Lockwood Metaphysical (online shop; artist)
Ludvig Levin (online shop; artist)
Queer/queer interpreted passages:
Grettisfærsla
The Birth of Sleipnir
Þrymskviða
Lokasenna
Earlier today, I posted about a survey of Heathens and/or Pagans being done by a group at Grinnell College. It's a pretty interesting survey that asks about your beliefs and your Ideals, and is trying to get a picture of what the most common political views in the Heathen/Pagan communities might be. The more people who take the survey, the more accurate the report should be.
Unfortunately I mis-entered the URL for the survey itself. If you'd like to participate, please go to https://grinnell.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_00VzyU1huPe0Wjk
16 Ways to Connect with the Gods when you don't have an Altar
So I'm currently away from home for 10 days (pet/house sitting) and I don't have an altar space with me. I have my tarot deck and that's it. I decided to write this list incase it might help someone else who is away from home or is just in the pagan closet. Enjoy!
Read your Deity's myths or listen to people read myths on youtube
Sit outside and just think about them
Set your phone background to something that reminds you of them
Wear their colours or symbols
Make or listen to a playlist dedicated to your Deity/Deities
Do a digital offering on tumblr or another site
Just talk to them about your day
Write some poetry for them. Anything can be poetry, it doesn't have to be good
Scroll through their tags on social media
If you have coloured shoelaces wear their corresponding colours on your shoes!! (I can't believe i didn't think about this earlier)
Do your make up to honour them
Talk about them in a (dedicated witchy/pagan) discord server
Do something nice for someone. I know it's cheesy but it's cliche for a reason. For me it definitely makes me feel closer to my Gods
Draw/make art of them or one of their symbols
Youtube ambiance videos are great! If your Deity has an association with fire, water, birds, communal spaces or music there are heaps of videos on Youtube that you can play. Think coffee shop ambiance (communal space), waterfall/rain/water ambiance, nature/bird chirping ambiance, fire place ambiance, studying at the library ambiance, etc. endless possibilities
Draw their sigils/symbols on your face with skin care
I hope this helps!! Feel free to add any other tips. I tried to keep these relatively accessible for everyone.
worship evolves with time. yes, the people who worshipped the gods back in the day had specific offerings to be given. but what is stopping you from giving modern offerings? things around your house? offerings shouldn't have to cost you a fortune. your deities aren't holding you at gunpoint to only receive what you can't easily get. they are a means of showing your love in your day-to-day.
so yes!! give your deities candy bars! show them a silly little doodle of them in the corner of your notebook!! make a spotify playlist and play it for them!! dedicate a journal to them!! make a pinterest board and fill it with pins that remind you of them!!
the important aspect of these offerings is that you are thinking about your deities. thinking about them and feeling love and devotion to them is a means of offering! you are devoting your energy in these acts!!
Listen. Abandoning the idea of what a proper pagan is was the most rewarding experience. Your intuition is stronger than you think.
This isn't a science. You don't have to treat it like one. Go with your heart, go with your intuition. It will help you grow more than you've ever dreamed of.
Witchcraft and poetry are inseparable for me. What is a poem but a spell, every word woven with care and intention? A poem has the potential to craft new worlds, to open a portal into unseen realities, to rewild our hearts and souls. Poetry is spellcraft.
You are a practicing pagan. You don't have to do spell work everyday. You don't have to talk to your deities everyday. You don't have to spend every waking second focusing on your practice to be a valid pagan.
Your valid. No matter how often you're able to work with your deities. No matter how often you do spell work. No matter if you dedicate little or big things to your practice.
You make an effort once in awhile and thats more than enough. Save your spoons, it's ok.
When appealing to a deity or making an offering, it’s wise to know how this was traditionally done in the past so you can be as respectful as possible and build a true reciprocity with the gods. This type of prayer structure is found in all manner of pagan religions from Norse paganism, Hellenic (Greek) polytheism, Kemetic (Egyptian) prayer and so on. I got the inspiration and much of the information here from @Ocean Keltoi on Youtube who is a fantastic scholar and Norse heathen who actively stands against prejudice and is all around a wonderful resource.
Now, there are three main elements of a pagan prayer, which should be done in this order:
1. The Invocation. This is where you call upon the specific god you’re hoping to connect with. Think of it as writing the name and address on your letter to the Gods - it lets the deity know that this prayer is directed at them, which is important in a polytheistic religion with many gods. To start your invocation, address the deity directly by name, or use an epithet or kenning that they're known by. It's especially wise to choose an epithet that relates to what you're praying for, like using one of Apollo's healer epithets while addressing him in a prayer about a loved one's sickness, for instance. It’s also a good idea to praise them highly and with a certain air of reverence. These are ancient deities after all.
2. The Argument. Here you give your reasons for why a deity should fulfill your request and favor you. If you’ve brought offerings, cite them here. You can also include reasons for why you’re reaching out, such as love in a prayer for Aphrodite or matters of justice with the god Tyr. This is where you make your case to them. And if you’re reaching out to a deity you don’t have a working relationship with, which let’s be honest will be the case many more times than we’d like, then you can tell them this here also. A good example might be “Oh Tyr, one-handed war god and son of Odin, though we have not met before I have heard your name and been called to it…”
3. The Request. Finally you ask the gods to look kindly on your request and to grant you their blessing. Again, be as respectful and reverent as possible towards them.
Prayer Example: “Grey-eyed Athena, daughter of thundering Zeus, if ever I have poured out sweet wine for you, look kindly on me and grant me your wisdom.”
How to stand when making the prayer
This depends on which God you’re reaching out to and, of course, your own personal comfort. The most common ways of praying are to stand and perform some gesture of reverence, kneel while praying and even prostrate, kneeling fully on the ground with your head down as you appeal to the gods. Some might also choose to wear veils when performing prayers or rituals for deities, though this is naturally up to the individual.
In Hellenic tradition, if you’re praying to an Ouranic god (deities of the heavens) you would traditionally wear your hair up and stand with your arms raised to the heavens while reciting your prayer. Meanwhile, if you are praying to a Chthonic god (deities of the underworld), you would kneel and face downwards towards the Earth with your hair flowing freely.
Some Norse sources tell of ancient pagans prostrating before the gods, and yet this is still not entirely necessary. Pray however you see fit and what is most comfortable for you at the moment.
^ This is what prostrating looks like
Sources:
Ocean Keltoi's video on pagan prayers
Hearth and Fire Work's blog post on Hellenic prayer structure