why does Norse deity worship have to be so historically accurate?
okay, so this pisses me off about Norse Heathenism specifically. Such a large (or seemingly so) portion of modern heathens seem to deem any UPG as frivolous and/or borderline dangerous (from my POV and understanding). There is such a huge focus on historical accuracy and being like the heathens of old. THERE CAN BE NO EXACT HISTORICAL ACCURACY.
I see nothing wrong with heathens who strive for historical accuracy (as long as they don’t shove it down my throat and try to force my practice to look like theirs), but we simply do not have enough solid sources to be able to actually have a complete and historically accurate practice. And that’s okay. Don’t get me wrong, I am NOT saying that it is meaningless or unnecessary to look at the sources, history, archaeological finds, etc. etc. I absolutely think there’s value in that. I like to take the route of trying to balance historical accuracy with my own actual experiences. But to say that someone’s personal, modern experience is invalid because “there’s no proof that xyz was practiced” or “there’s no historical evidence that so and so was worshiped.” is honestly sad. like I feel sorry for people who feel so boxed in. this is not Christianity, you have freedom, there are no 10000% set in stone commandments you must follow. have your own opinions, thoughts, actual experiences. Don’t *just* look to history.
we are not in the viking age. The year is 2026 people. We are living in the here and now and religion is meant to evolve and grow and change. It was a dead religion before people found interest in it again (at least as far as I'm aware). It’s beautiful and wonderful to have had this revival, but why are we trying to keep it chained to the past? The dust has settled, it’s time to move forward.
If you need history to tell you how your relationship with the gods should go, yikes. You aren’t actually creating a relationship with that god, you’re creating a relationship with the idea you’re forcing on them from over a thousand years ago (IMO). Just like humans, gods evolve so let’s stop trying to force them to be a certain way and just let them come to us as they are.
This has been heavy on my mind for a while and man I just needed to rant. I know a lot of heathens would probably disagree with me, which is perfectly okay. We are allowed to all have our different opinions, this is just mine.
also f*k f*scists, f*k r*cists, f*k b*gots. those are heathens I do NOT respect and will not try to have meaningful discourse with. otherwise I’m curious what other people might think…