Forn Sed

ScienceDaily (Feb. 25, 2008) — Vivid colors, flowing silk ribbons, and glittering bits of mirrors - the Vikings dressed with considerably more panache than we previously thought. The men were especially vain, and the women dressed provocatively, but with the advent of Christianity, fashions changed, according to Swedish archeologist Annika Larsson. 

Swedish viking men’s fashions were modeled on styles in Russia to the east. Archeological finds from the 900s uncovered in Lake Malaren Valley accord with contemporary depictions of clothing the Vikings wore on their travels along eastern trade routes to the Silk Road. (Credit: Photo by Annika Larsson)

She maintains that Swedish Viking women in the pre-Christian period probably dressed much more provocatively than we previously believed. She bases her theory on a new find uncovered in Russian Pskov,

She maintains that the Birka women’s skirts consisted of a single piece of fabric and were open in front. The suspenders held up the train and functioned as a harness that was fastened to the breasts with the clasps. 

ScienceDaily (Apr. 27, 2010) — Vikings are associated with weapons and warfare, machismo and mayhem.

ScienceDaily (Oct. 23, 2011) — The UK mainland’s first fully intact Viking boat burial site has been discovered by archaeologists working in the Scottish Highlands. The 5m-long grave contained the remains of a high status Viking, who was buried with an axe, a sword with a beautifully decorated hilt, a spear, shield boss and bronze ring-pin.

Oliver Harris and Phil Richardson conducted the excavation while at Newcastle University. (Credit: Dan Addisson)

crotchetyoldheathens:

sinnsreachdheathen:

unholyheathen:

I’ll make up my own gods-damned virtues if I want, thanks.

I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Some adherents to heathenry follow these as a code, some do not. Me, I do my own thing and pay no mind to people’s made up moralities. Basically I see the NNV as a “heathenised” Ten Commandments or, even for…

I am not a fan, tbh. 

I’ve always wondered how the “Nine Noble Virtues” came to be so popular. Back in the 70’s, most Heathens were first generation, most likely coming from a Christian background. It seems a bit weird that Heathens of all people would need to make up a structured and explicit moral code when really the lack thereof is one of the things that makes Heathenry so appealing in the first place. Why hang on to such an inherently Christian concept if the point was to go back to your pre-Christian roots?

This is why it is so important to take your time and study. Familiarize yourself with the worldview and try to adopt it as fully as you can, instead of focusing primarily on gods and rituals. Heathenry is not a belief in a set of gods and goddesses that can be overlayed onto any worldview. It does no good to call yourself a Heathen if you still maintain a majority of the Christian worldview.

marcelgomes:

tinypagan:

crotchetyoldheathens:

marcelgomes:

I couldnt find anything that even remotely had anything to do with Odin or Thor.

Only movie and comics crap.

Excuse me if that scares me a bit.

I´m not entirely keen on having my Deities and culture reduced to spandex wearing…

Me (the OP)

“Also, blasphemy what? This is Heathenry, there is no blasphemy here. No one cares if you want to dress up as Thor for Halloween or take Tyr’s name in vain. The gods do not care if you call them big stupid poo poo heads. We have no sacred doctrine to be blasphemed.

What are you smoking?”

Me: This is one of these many misunderstandings. Heathenry (to give it a name) is /was orthoprax. The fact that it is not orthodox (no sacred doctrine) gives you room to belive what you want. However, conduct is / was still “regulated” and calling the Gods “poo poo heads” would most likely have turned more than one head when heathenry was the dominant religion (depending on how / why and where you said it).

“Incorrect” conduct that was of the more serious kind even had terms (“ergi” being one).

A respectful attitude towards the Gods was seen as natural in the Roman, Greek and Egyptian cultures too.

I see nothing wrong in dressing up as the Gods.

A bit of fun is nothing wrong either and i will make jokes about both the Gods and my culture quite frequently, but remain within what i personally  feel is respectful.

“you know the countries that Heathenry come from (the modern countries and cultures) have tons of pop culture revolving around the gods? The same blasphemy you’re complaining about?”

Me: I happen to be Swedish.I have lived here for 48 years and my family longer than there are written records and i havent seen anything i would call “tons of pop culture”  There is one humorous comic called “Valhalla”, a Danish one , .

It kids around with the Gods (as does the Sagas themselves) but it remains respectful and close enough to the original myths to have recieved prizes.

There is “Hagar The Viking”

 and Marvel comics have been published translated to Swedish too.

There is tourist crap like little glass, horned “vikings” in some stores but my opinion on those is the same as with little green leprechauns in shops in Ireland and so on.

I dont really mind comics, movies, LARPs, bands and so on using Norse mythic motifs. I  enjoyed Stargate, Xena AND Marvels “Thor” comic book despite  my opinions.

Censorship would be worse than anything i complain about.

I am a big fan of Mythopoeia and an interesting story about the Gods , or variations / inspirations of Norse or other myth (Tolkien, American Gods by Gaiman, Prachett and so on) are very enjoyable.

It is however sad that the real McCoy gets drowned out by it (i tried Googling the same names too).

“Blasphemy” might have been a silly choice of word though.

It is however worth noting that “Xena” had a disclaimer saying how they respected the Hindu Gods after portraying them in some episodes.

Greek and Norse Gods are just “petty and cruel (intro)”.

“I’m sure if you looked you could find funny superheroes based off of Jesus.”

Me: The Ori priests in “Stargate” reminds me a bit of medieval Christian prests and the Cylons in “Battlestar Galactica” have a religion resembling the Christian one slightly, but even that is more respectful (despite the Cylons being the antagonists).

“Supernatural” and horror movies often draw  on Judeo / Christian motifs (especially Catholic) and “Constantine” might be argued to be respectless towards God.

Still, it is enough with a movie like “Passion Of The Christ” by Mel Gibson to make certain people spit their coffee over the table.

Drawing Muhammed pretty much invites riots.

“Looking at Tumblr tags for an accurate representation of Thor and Loki is like talking about Edo-era Japanese culture on 4chan.

Also, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that most guesswork recreations of ancient belief systems are closer to appropriation than media derivatives of myth, partly because the latter happens all the freaking time, partly because that word does not mean what you think it means.

Me: “I agree that some versions of modern Heathenry are exactly that (and i have heard complaints about it here).

However, in Sweden, what is considered “Heathen” is really a number of things, from regional folkloristic customs to “recreationism”. It is part of something more than the “Pagan” sphere so to speak.

Even our Christian celebrations are done in ways that are identifiable as pre Christian in origin.Place names, traditions, personal names, folklore, language.

People here base what they do on folklore, local traditions and academic works (as a general rule among Heathens i have met), not “guesswork”.

The ones that identify as “Heathen” usually study works of history, anthropology, linguistics,archeology as well as local customs. It is the same material studied within academia  in general (and they dont over emphazize mythology ).

There must be a boundry where it is at least reasonably ok to react?

It is not like i go ballistic everytime i see a reference (correct or not) to anything Norse.

Neither do i consider all Heathens outside of Scandinavia as less learned or “real” than Scandinavian ones.

But i do know my own culture and history and it is important to me (in a non “superior” way).

Cultures in general interest me and i assume (hope) people of other cultures know more about theirs than i do.

What do i think “appropriation” means?