Why Norse Paganism?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ส.ค. 2024
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The Wisdom of Odin is a vlog of my journey through Norse Paganism, a way to assist others along their journey, and a place to promote a positive image for all of paganism.
While I personally declare myself as a Norse Pagan, I speak on topics that also involve aspects of Asatru, Heathenry, and other pagan identities such as Slavic/Celtic/Germanic paganism.
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#norsepagan #heathen
I completely agree on the heritage part, you don’t truly have to be from Scandinavia to feel the gods or even see the signs around you. I have Scottish and Germanic background but also my father is half Hispanic. But I’m still super connected some how Spiritually on a level I can’t really explain because it’s so amazing. Never felt this way when I would go to a baptist church with my parents when I was young. I’m just blown away by it. I’m very thankful that I can experience the gods in this way.
💯
As a Scandinavian, I completely agree with you.
@@frekitheravenous516 I respect your opinion, I didn’t realize there were so many rules to the faith lol either way no one truly knows. There is ancient scripture and stories passed on through generations. Hell some of the heroes in the stories weren’t purely German, there is hunnic heroes in the sagas. The goths in Spain and even the vandals in Africa carry the Germanic blood line and probably there stories and faith as well. But like I said who knows. We all might be related in some form or another. Either way I believe what I see, and I tell you my friend the gods to me are very real and had some of the best experiences in my life interacting with them. I’m honored.
Same
I come from extensive Scandinavian heritage and german
Jacob, I am a 42 year old military veteran and this video is one of the most beautiful things I have seen in a long time. Thank you for doing what you do. Semper Fi.
I’m at a crossroads with this faith. Everyone in my family is Christian, it’s all I’ve ever known, and to a degree I understand what they mean. But this faith, this connection to the world around me, this relation to old and epic stories that have stood the test of time, those are the things that draw me in. And Odin himself, along with the other gods, I’ve felt them around me and heard thier voices. I’ve heard the voices of the trees and the waters and the mountains and they sing beautiful songs too. My family would tell me, “don’t worship nature, it’s a reflection of God, so when you look at it you see God.” But god seems so far away from me sometimes, and his “perfection” makes me feel like a failure in comparison. But Odin isn’t like that, he’s like me. He can fail, he can learn and grow, he can relate to me. That’s what draws me to follow the Raven rather than the Dove.
Don't be afraid to take that leap. Do what you know is right for you. People will always have their opinions for better or worse. I grew up in a very Christian household. I was a devout Christian most of my life, but lost my faith. The Gods found me, and I became a Norse Pagan a few years ago. I've never been happier.
You are not alone.
@@tomd.6488 your words are very kind, and I’ll take them to heart
I grew up Catholic and I feel similarly as you have and have drawn to Neopaganism. I find something appealing and meaningful about this, which is why I find this.
@@NegiTaiMetal011 Catholicism originated from paganism so it should feel familiar bud. Roman Catholicism…came from a blend of Greek gods with Jesus’s name and Christian phrases slapped on top. I mean look at the pope if that isn’t idol worship I dont know what is.
This video moved me to tears. I’ve been looking into my heritage and Norse paganism and your channel is helping so much. Your passion is amazing. Thanks mate
As a Scandinavian, I can say that I love the wisdom of Odin!!! Skål💀🍻
I'm Greek/Italian and was raised to respect our heritage, including the Greek Gods. I was raised as Catholic but knew early in my life that there was something much bigger. I studied mythology and history and noticed from someone giving me a Norse mythology book to surfing through my phone and finding your videos that Odin was calling me. Idt it matters where ur from; we're all connected.
Btw, now I want to come to Kentucky. That view is amazing! Thanks for sharing. 🍻
Agreed! I was raised south Louisiana catholic.
Portugese and Italian American here born and raised Catholic myself. I discovered the Northern Country lifestyle and got sucked into Norse Pagan gods and Viking mindset and it has been such an awesome part of my life
@@WyzardBlade 😈 🤘
Look into the Greek/Roman Gods seriously as well. With Greco Roman heritage.
One of the best videos by far. I do have Scandinavian and Germanic roots. And, I can tell you first hand, it doesn't matter much. What truly matters is the willingness to participate with the spirits of the world we live in. That is what all of our ancestors understood. And, that is why we are all here today. Thank you, Jacob for bringing us all together once again.
I’m going to be moving in with my father and his newlywed wife soon. They don’t understand, they don’t want me to bring my altar and my prayer spaces because it threatens Christianity. I just want them to understand how this faith saved me, how it rekindled my soul and my lust for life. This realm is truly beautiful, it is not perfect, it is not completely pure, but it is worth being alive for, and I’m proud to be a norse pagan. Even if others don’t think I should.
I am also a very proud Norse pagan I was also saved by lord Odin and lord Thor I have changed my self as a man I be staying this way skal my friend
@@cillianranngarsson2762 how or what did Odin and Thor do to save you?
@@josiahgarrison647 I was in a very dark place and lord Odin and lord Thor showed me a different path I have been blessed with so much knowledge and wisdom by the allfather of Valhalla and I have been blessed with strength by lord Thor I have been a Norse pagan all my life and I have been a heathen all my life skal
I chose it for the connection to the outside, something I lost sight of for a long time. I may not have any folk near me but i feel a deep joy talking to the gods and reading. Thanks for your continuous great content Jacob.
One thing I think most pagans share is an innate sense of the spirituality of nature itself.
P.S. love seeing your videography and editing creativity evolve with these videos
I do whole heartedly support your views on this faith, you put it in a language so simple, yet for some reason many people can’t understand, too wrapped up in this modern way of over complicating everything. Thankyou as always Jacob❤️
this video is so exceptionally beautiful, the poetry of your words is a testimony to your innate love to the energetic world. god bless your existence and the way you’re opening the conscious pool of so many.
Thank you for sharing your perspective.
I've been lost for months not really feeling anything, just going with life. This knocked me back into reality. Keep making these videos for people and the folk you are awesome!
Thank you for this beautiful explanation, it has me in tears. I resonate with your story deeply. The land, water, trees, sky... The breath of life in all things.. that is the connection. 🙏❤️
This has to be the best video on your channel. Very raw and emotional. Make more videos like this!
I didn't choose Norse Paganism.
Norse Paganism chose me.
Recovering Cathloic here. You are on the right path my friend. I was walking today in a local place that has a beautiful babbling spring into the river. Today, I sancationed my woodland place as "Odins Home." I go there regularly. Your videos demonstrating how you yell "Odin, Othin" always resonated with me. Yes this is what worshipping the Gods & Goddesses should be. Love and light to all.
Ever since I've began on the path, I am opening up to more and more of myself that I kept repressed for many years. Odin has definitely guided me, and Thor continues to protect me as I walk this road.
It's amazing how clear it is that the gods are watching if you just open your eyes and see the signs.
I feel the same, life for me got so much better.
Jacob my man, you definitely know how to speak as a Odin would, totally articulated. You just defined my feelings in this beautiful faith and somehow hearing you did make me feel like I'm in Valhalla.
Ok, this means something to me. I hope in other videos, you talk about the connections of nature to your beliefs. ❤ Your honesty is so raw and beautiful.
i feel a sense of connection and peace that i really never felt when trying to find an aspect of Christianity that meshed with me. that connection has been more noticeable in the past few months since i lost my job of 10 years and ended up spending a few months in retail hell.
one of my goals in 2022 is to get out into nature more and hopefully travel; even if it's just weekend trips away from Indiana. (Natural Bridge down in KY is on the bucketlist; always has been since i have kin down in that area!)
This made me want to call in sick and go get lost in the woods but sadly I need money so I'm stuck at my desk but at least I can stand outside in the sun today
I totally agree. The way I feel when I'm in nature is hard to describe but I connect with it on a very deep level. I like to go so deep into the mountains where I can't hear or see any human disturbance. I find I often feel like I was born in the wrong time. I have norse ancestry and I sometimes wish I could experience living thousands of years ago in the norse wilderness. Hunting, fishing and working. It's been said before but I feel homesick for a place I've never been.
I also feel like I was born into the wrong time...or maybe the wheel turned and somehow spat me back out again in this time of pollution and technology hell.
How nice it would be if we could have our own community if I ever had enough money I would 500 acres or more and start what our ancestors had at that time to be present now and have a our own community of people who all think alike .. Have our children grow up in that environment and to be proud.. That would be my goal.. My path.. Someday it could be possible again..
Beautifully expressed! Yes! I feel this to my soul! Thank you! ❤️
Very well put
I think being in touch with nature and community is something many many cultures have been losing in modernity- but we are reaching back. I think many are realizing THIS is what being human is about.
Thank you so much for all the knowledge you share, I've been watching your videos for over a year. My journey into Norse Paganism has brought me some comfort and a sense of belonging. For years I've left myself open to religions but none give me the same feeling as the Norse pagen path has brought me. Thank you friend. Odin is with us.
Thank you. Your vídeos are so inspiring, please dont stop.
Red River Gorge, just beautiful. Thank you , for all you do. May the Gods bless your endeavors, all of your days .
I'm English but have mostly Irish ancestry. I was raised as a catholic but was never strict, only went to church with my school etc. I never felt connected. I have recently been exploring my faith and have tried to connect to my Christian God and felt nothing. I then started exploring paganism and feel such a huge pull to this, to nature, particularly the Forrest and the ocean. Thankyou for your videos!
I can’t say for anyone else, but you speak for me completely here. And I can’t be the only one. Thank you Jacob!
Wonderful video! Keep doing what your doing! Your journey has inspired me and many others!
You really could just make some sweet videos of just the scenery of these places you visit. Maybe put the nice music in, or let the natural sound play. I'd watch those videos all day, then go hike the next.
I wholeheartedly agree that our connection to nature is inherently vital to our faith. It is what got me onto the path of being a Norse Pagan. Thank you for your content, it has been integral to my own practice.
Oh my friend. I hear the cry of your heart to connect to an aspect of your soul. You are not that meat suit you are wearing but, the soul that animates it. That Consciousness that dwells in it and also brings life to the trees and all of nature. In your heart you now feel this connection to the sacred Oneness. Odin dwells here. But, so do all natural spirits and gods. Now you have come home. So, welcome home to all the kindred souls that watch these beautiful messages you create here in this space. Now is the time to unite in our love of mother earth and each other. Much love brother. Namaste
Big, ugly cry happening right now. Thank you Jacob. You explained this so well. I am verklempt in a very happy way.
I absolutely love this. I'm a southerner as well, and I love to see people appreciating the beauty of Appalachia. These mountains are ancient and magical, spending time with them is a transformative experience if you let it be.
This was great man, good job.
This relates to me so much. I find extreme peace in the outdoors. So much peace, I almost fall asleep. I love the mountains and oceans. This is why I am looking more and more into Norse Paganism
Gods don't care what or who you are,they only care to be remembered,this path is for everyone and anyone whom is willing to honor the Gods and nature and all that dwells here ❤️😊
beautiful speech man
thank you jackob for this little, fresh reminder of why and what.
a small talk that content all the view with which we should carry on, over the world and arrguings, thank you
I respect all traditional & find them all so fascinating & wanna learn the most i can on the most, but ith the tradition ill choose is closer to home... greetings from Moldova, a small country in Eastern Europe. All the best ❤
Outstanding.
You are so passionate and inspirering. I am a Dane, and asatro (although still new at it). I don't believe it is a question about nationality. It is a question about understanding and being a true believer. I have searched the internet far and wide for histories about being a pagan, and although we live so far apart, I feel we have a lot in common about how to understand and practicing our faith. I agree with you a lot, and love your stories. All the feelings and energy in your videos. Thank you for sharing, and know that even around the world there are people listening to you.
Blessed Be Jacob! I love your channel and am wondering if you can personally recommend a fellow you tube teacher as dedicated as yourself, specializing on the Celtic path? Thank you!
I have made many videos on the Celtic beliefs ♥️
I don't know how this video slipped by me. But wow. Thank you for making this video and showing me I'm not the only one.
i don't agree with everything, but the spiritual energy that you are having connection to is very much real.!!!!
I love your passion.
Im a norse pagan because i felt the gods come to me because the wind the trees the mountains humans are all connected
Lord Odin and lord Thor have saved me as a person becoming a fully convert Norse pagan has changed me big time as a man all hail the allfather of Valhalla skal brothers and sisters
Come to Asheville! lets go hiking. :) i am originally from ky too .
thank you for what you do brother!
I’m a Norse pagan I believe the gods have brought me closer to being outside in Midgard hail to the gods
my religion as a Norse pagan has brought me peace in my life time of hell lord Odin and lord Thor has blessed me with so much love wisdom and knowledge skal
So moving - thank you.
Yes Sir, many view's have brought tears to my eyes.
I like I started getting drawn to Norse since I found out my dad's side I'm also Scandinavian but Irish on both sides also.
You touched upon an important message when you mentioned how simplistic it is to reduce all Nature to "God". To me this is one of the strengths of Paganism, one of its "proofs" (not that we need that for something which is instinctive). That the Deities are just one part of an Animistic cycle that includes various beings and land-spirits, as well as venerating the Ancestors. How we don't beg or grovel in front of our Deities, who want us to stand firm on our own two-feet, working and developing ourselves whilst still knowing we have an intimate connection with them and they are accessible. One cannot control the calling, although just in my own Path I am Tribalist and would urge people to study their own heritage foremost to taste the full richness contained within each heritage. But its not for me to dictate or even care who follows what, and I see such debates as too distracting and politically-charged. Its most about Animism and a highly-personal journey, while also knowing we are connected to others.
After finally abandoning Abrahamism for good in December 2017 - I resisted for a long time because of a fear of "Hell" and I tried to rationalize it as a monotheist, explaining away the polytheism and animism as some kind of henotheism - I tried to join an Asatru kindred in summer 2018, but that didn't work out because of a personality clash with an individual who came to crazy conclusions without even knowing me and poison the other's minds against me. That and the geography since they (or other Pagans/Heathens as far as I know) weren't in my immediate area anyway, forced me to instead study and come to follow my own Path, which was a tough road but necessary. I reconstruct the specific Pagan traditions of my continental German (Swabian), Flemish, and Spanish (Castilian and Gallego) ancestors. That means primarily Germanic without assuming its exactly the same as Scandinavian, and also still honoring the Celtic and Iberian aspects of my heritage (although in rituals to Deities there should be separation to keep it authentic). It was my travels to Germany and Spain in 2016 which planted that first seed on this journey; second was just getting out into the forests which I'm blessed to live near, and the experiences I had there. I have been able to deconstruct the Paganism beneath the ancestral traditions I thought were just Catholic. It has survived within folklore and folk traditions, herbalism and remedies, as well as the etymology of words (underscoring once again the magical importance of words), and backed up by archaeological findings and various Rune and other inscriptions.
2:57
Very influencial lines, we all should be proud of our ancestors
Love from india for your efforts jacob!!
All Germanics venerated the gods. They are not the exclusive domain of Scandinavia, but the Scandinavian (Icelandic) version is the one that survived to modern day.
The three bridge trail at Carter caves
Are you not scared of the animals while hiking? What do you do about it? Are you hiking in a group?
Commenting here since honestly, most of peers would probably consider me crazy. Long story but I have always grown up with a strong sense of spirituality, while I’m grateful for that it has brought with it a lot of internal strife. I grew up Catholic, then some mental health setbacks caused me to suspend my belief in the divine entirely. Explored many different religions and denominations including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Became born again Christian at 17 and spent the last 6 years or so as a charismatic Christian. Did an internship at my church, got Christian tattoos, moved to California and spent 3 years at a ministry school and almost took a youth pastor job in Australia before Covid came. Been back living with my parents since 2020 and now at 23 years old I feel the same internal strife rising and within me. I find Norse Paganism to be very compelling as like a lot of people I was introduced to it through viking media. I very much so resonate with your story and your love of nature but still I find myself afraid to explore it in depth over certain fears that the Christian culture I was apart of instilled in me. Great video nonetheless man, you got yourself another subscriber.
I'm English and a norse pagan I'm still trying to learn all I can about the gods your videos help me learn how to worship and learn about the gods thank you friend
We should keep honoring our ancestors and heritage, hail the gods
So when the Gods are calling, doesn't matter where you live. They are there, they are not bound to a place or country.
Kentucky is a very magic and beautiful place. I really miss the cardinal, the bright red bird.
But now I'm stuck in Sweden and longing for spring, which come around April.
Skål 😉
The beauty of paganism is that we don’t have to be limited to a dogmatic box. I’m not Scandinavian in heritage but I have some Germanic family but honestly my connection is just felt deep within just like you regardless of my own ancestors. Yes I agree they are important but I think honoring what is important & what you feel connected to is even more important. PS beautiful area! That land bridge is awesome looking & how cool would it be to be if you were able to walk it.
You are actually able to walk the land bridge! Thats how you get down there, in my video Wednesday you get to see it. Kentucky features one of the largest walkable rock bridges in the world!
@@TheWisdomOfOdin wow! Looking forward to seeing that.
I 100% Agree its Totally What Religion Should Be you said that Perfectly! And THIS is why Im pagan To You can Sense The Gods and Goddesses and The Others sprits Maybe Not always on your Terms But they will Show Themselves. Paganism Has Never Disappointed me I always feel Like I have Protection Almost Every time I feel Nervous or Scared I just Think of my Gods and Goddesses and other Beingings I interact with and all that Goes away I no I have said This many Times But thank you so very much For every Video you Do! :) you Really are one Of the best Norse Pagan TH-camrs out there and Im so very Happy I found you. Keep up the Amazing work! SKOLL!
If you had to be of a certain ethnic background to really believe in and worship their gods (or have their spiritual outlook), then all Buddhists would be Indian or Asian, and the Christian missionaries would have been out of a job. If a certain belief system resonates with you, then there’s nothing wrong with your celebration of that fact. There are many paths, but they all lead to “god”- it’s up to the individual to choose the path they feel is right for them. By the way, I put “god” in quotes just to denote either a non-specific higher power, or even an atheistic sense of connectedness. No one spiritual belief is the only one, or “right” one. Believe what you like, be good to others, and be true to yourself.
I am making up my own Pagan beliefs
Your view of "religiosity" is hyper-individualistic and perfectly reflects today's consumerist age, where one can choose anything in the form of a "product" (even faith as a product!) and have no authentic relationship or respect for anything, not even one's own exclusive roots. And by the way, if a European LARPs as an African animist, it's laughable, just like when an African LARPs as a pagan Viking.
Norse Paganism just felt right to me. I felt and still feel a wonderful connection to it. Christianity never did. Something always felt "off" and "wrong" about it. Paganism has been my journey, too, and I just love life now! I am also from the south and am of French, English and Scottish decent.
Imagine people saying ' You're not allowed to worship X because you are not from X'. Would that mean that most Christians aren't allowed to be Christian because they're not from Israel? And so on.
If a certain religion is calling out to someone that person should be free to practice.
Fortunately there are a lot of Scandinavians that are actually proud that their ancestral religion is being practiced world wide these days.
That being said. It's becoming more and more tiring that everything is being labeled as appropriation these days, and that people constantly try to forbid you from doing something because you're not from a certain part of the world. It really should not matter, in the end we are all one people. No matter where you are from, we all come from the same source.
💕
I didn't choose to be Asatru. It came to me and guided me through a difficult time.
I have recently began my path into norse paganism. I have came across your page and has help with my guidance on this path. What are some things to look into for my journey?
Sounds like my family. They too are sold on the christian church and I was for 34 years out of 46. I do not limit myself like I did back then as I know all true spiritual experiences come from an open mind and heart. In the church they limit knowledge searching and make it clear if you identify with anything other than jesus it's supposedly a bad thing. For me ancestors mean a great deal and that's my core. I appreciate your videos and I appreciate all the knowledge you share with all of us. May your search always be full of adventure and honor and may your wisdom grow with each journey.
That place is beautiful 💜 I totally agree with you. How can I find the Norse Gods in an island in the mediterranean? Don't know but I do and they're very clearly different from the local ones which I worship too. And in my beautiful island I sometimes see Laufey.....
Sounds very similar to alot of Indengious beliefs. Love of the land, respect, spirituality.
I am so proud to be a Norse pagan lord Odin and lord Thor saved me from my former darker self skal Jacob brother
Kentucky to the western side of Virginia is honestly one of the most beautiful areas of our country! Now don’t get me wrong I find just about everywhere beautiful(a lot of places in its own right/way) but there’s just something about that whole section of the country is completely unlike anywhere else.
Such as central southern Utah, which looks like Mars, seriously does. Nothing grows there and nasa uses it to test Mars rovers and stuff and motocross riders love it for the terrain. But it’s absolutely gorgeous! You honestly see on the sides of the cliffs and rocks which are like 200+ ft high, all the layers of the earths rocks. So your seeing the history of the earth displayed in front you.
And in the very north of Texas, the land is so flat you can actually take a level out and line it up to the horizon(whether your crouched down, standing or on top of your vehicle) and the land is 100% level.
Then Hwy 666 which goes from Southern Utah through Colorado and down to Gallup, NM; is the strangest place(WooWoo to the max, Natural Born Killers land!) Even with wind blowing it’s just still, sound and feeling. Strange stuff appears on the roads. And if you stop in the middle of the night always feels like your being watched.
Your explation for connecting to Norse paganism makes sense. I am happy that you did not say "I watched Vikings and..."
In some ways the emergence of american asatru is strange to me, because my ancestors are so important and mine have lived here in Denmark as far back it has been recorded, because I have a very old family name.
On the other hand I understand why you find meaning and I know finding that meaning is important to escape the spiritual prison of modern society.
I have Danish blood in my veins, as well as a mix of others. I gave up on Christianity recently because I was thoroughly disappointed by the waiting, so I’m hoping that the Gods will provide
“Nature is bliss but of it comes chaos “
I can understand where you’re coming from I was born and grown in the Christian faith forced to go to church wasn’t really into it so I ended up with zen Buddhism it just made sense to me it all clicked but I never truly felt at home I found saw a video on TikTok about Norse paganism and I felt a draw to me though I personally don’t feel in really good enough I have a few books added in my cart I’ve been watching TH-cams and researching online but I don’t know if I’m worthy to call myself a Norse pagan.
Based on your own reasons, you may as well have chosen any of the Native American belief systems as well.
Indigenous belief systems are almost universally closed practice.
Jacob, devotion=destination. There were so many Vikings that were not of Nordic heritage and still devoute. I don't think Odin would pass them over for Valhalla because they had to much Irish blood. That's crap.
I think you need to watch the video again. I say having ancestry is not needed in this video. And that emulating ancestors that are not your own in a respectful way still honors them.
@@TheWisdomOfOdin yes, I was agreeing with you. It doesn't matter where you come from it matters who you follow.
a spiritual life isn't complicated...it's the connection to the world around us...every natural thing on the planet has an energy that feeds into and out of each other...paganism shows us how to tap into and add into that energy...for you to have found this...is magic 🫶
Hello, Jacob. You know I love your channel but I only see former union of the Appalachian mountains and those in Scotland and Scandinavia as circunstancial. That being said, I did too feell I should investigate Buddhism but Thor and Loki found me pretty early. I had been following your content for a month or two when Thor appeared in my life and then I contacted you.
I also wanted to say I want to experience nature some more but can't really do that at the moment since I live in the city. As soon as I can, I'm going to try to at least go to the parks here.
Interesting get everyone's opinion but the ethnic group where the source comes from brilliant.
I am from Norway and was born there. Have been Lutheran most of my life but Christianity has left, and continues to leave, a nasty taste in my mouth so I disavowed it. I just couldn't do it anymore. And yet, I didn't want to replace it with other gods either. I felt the same way you did finding norse paganism when I stumbled across Druidism. I love and believe the idea that everything has a spirit, from rocks to clouds and to living things all over the world, and the idea of mother nature, or earth. As a lover of nature in all of it's forms, it feels right. I am also attracted to norse paganism, as norwegians still have many pagan elements in their holidays (julebokk and the solstice bonfires as a couple of examples) so I grew up with it and it feels comfortable. I am a little turned off by replacing one god with the worship of other gods, which is why the practice of druidism feels a little better, and also turned off by white supremacists utilizing this religion for their own nasty practice. I hope you aren't one of them. I like the idea of combining the best of both.
So why specifically Norse paganism instead of one of the other nature connected pagan religions, like Celtic druidry or Wicca or Hellenism?
The Norse gods chose me 🙏
I've been looking into wicca/paganism but I've always been kinda weird feeling because EVERYONE serves the helenistic/nordic/celtic gods and I'm over here like... wouldn't that make it too mainstream for me to do so? But... Maybe if what you say is true, then maybe I can find my own path even if it's mainstream feeling.
Before I watch, I think we all share a respect for mother nature and we all wish to understand the universe, and we observe it through a nordic lense, if that makes sense
When my eyes was first open to the gods I understood so much more and felt so much feeling tord the gods like I had existing connections with odin and the ravens I feelt there presents. And it's a feeling like no othor thing could offer hail the gods skål!
I don't think Scandinavians have a monopoly on Paganism--it originates from Ireland anyways, so if anyone has a claim to it, it's the Irish. However, I do respect their particular version of it and think they are entitled to holding on to their own variation of it. It's just difficult to put yourself in a Pagan category when you're a mixed European like most north Americans.
Didn't have a choice the God's have chosen me for this. Were 1 race with many colors being equal men and women. To say you want to live a Norse Pagan Heathen life is just saying you want to live a life of truth. It is a hard life being Heathen but after all haven't you heard the truth hurts. Be selfsuffient and love our neighbors.
Hail Odin Allfather
If your celtic, germanic, or norse ancestry wise, then you have an ancestral connection to all 3 since they are all rooted in early germanic paganism and before that, indo-european paganism. I actually have only 20% norse and majority celtic but I find myself drawn more to the norse gods. What i'm saying is, its just different flavors of the same, as long as your one of the 3.
I know that I have Germanic and Scandinavian ancestry but I would never say that if your not Scandinavian or if your not Germanic that you can't be a Norse pagan.