Finding the Still Point

Heathenry, Norse paganism, Norse polytheism, norse witchcraft, and any other variation of Nordic paganism in all of its glory ARE NOT CLOSED PRACTICE.

You do not need to be Norwegian, Swedish Icelandic Scandinavian, whatever to be a Norse pagan.

The loudest group who tries to say otherwise, is the AFA a white supremacist organization. So possible food for thought, maybe you don’t want to agree with a white supremacist organization.

"Ottar made me a temple of stone, and the stones of that temple glisten like glass, reddened with fresh blood from sacrificed oxen - Ottar believed faithfully in the goddesses" -- Voluspa en skamma, Translated by Jackson Crawford

Historical References

While altars and shrines are commonplace in modern pagan practices, we don't have a ton to go off of when reconstructing/reviving old Norse practices. Our understanding of hörgar (a form of Old Norse shrines) comes primarily from three sources within the Poetic Edda:

In Völuspá, the Aesir gods meet at Idavallen and construct hörgar (shrines) and hofs (temples).

In Vafþrúðnismál, Oden (in disguise) references Njord ruling over many hofs and hörgar.

Finally, in Voluspa en skamma, Freja references her follower (Ottar) building a hörgr for her. This account gives us the best picture of what a hörgr is.

Freja describes the hörgr as a shrine made by piling stones. These stones are then ritualistically reddened with sacrificial blood as an offering to Freja.

Modern Practice

"Sacrificial blood of oxen" isn't a common offering to Norse deities and spirits anymore, but building shrines can still be a useful way to anchor deities, ancestors, etc. to our spaces. What are ways we can bring the practice of building a hörgr into our modern practice?

To start, you can collect stones for a hörgr. Collecting the rocks can be a devotional act in itself. In pagan and witch circles, we often talk about asking permission before foraging (rocks, plants, etc.). However, you should also be mindful of where you are collecting stones from -- moving rocks can be detrimental to an area's ecology. Avoid stacking rocks or moving rocks away from public land, wildlife preservations, etc. Animism is important to Norse paganism, and part of acknowledging our interconnectedness also means respecting the life of others over our own desire to have an aesthetic practice. Minimize your impact!

A hörgr can be build inside or outside, depending on your needs as a practitioner (again, just consider the ecological impacts on where you build). Stacking the rocks can be a meditative process -- take your time to find an arrangement that works for you. Similar to modern shrines and altars, many Norse pagans choose to decorate the rocks and the surrounding area with images/symbols associated with the deity/spirit(s) the hörgr is dedicated to. Get creative!

Posted Odin's crows, Huginn and Muninn, a few days ago, and I finally finished the next set; Pride Thor Bindrunes

(If there's a particular pride flag you wish to see with this design that I haven't made yet, always feel free to send me a request!)

Like always, I’ve got the full-res designs hosted on my Ko-fi as free downloads for anyone who wishes to use them. Print them on a shirt, make yourself stickers, use on gifts for others- whatever.

I also have them available on Threadless for those who don’t want to or can’t print them on stuff themselves but still want something with the design on it. Each sale will also make an automatic donation to one or more of several related LGBT+ charities.

I’ll be making the Jörmungandr design I mentioned next, so stay tuned for that- it may take me a few days.