My Life as Liz the Fire Witch

General Christianity

“The first and most important thing you need to do to practice Heathenry is read the Eddas.”

“You must worship Odin even if you don’t want to, because he’s the head god.”

“The point of being Heathen is to live life in a way that grants you entry to Valhalla.”

“Valhalla is the good/awesome afterlife and Helheim is the bad/boring afterlife.”

“The Æsir are good and the jötnar are evil.”

“Odin is like God, Loki is like the Devil, and Baldr is like Jesus.”

“Odin is more powerful than the rest of the gods.”

“Ragnarok is the End Times.”

(“Us vs. them” attitudes.)

(Not knowing what to do with the the goddesses in general, regardless of one’s gender.)

Catholic-Specific

“To be Heathen, you must serve the gods.”

“We can’t truly know the gods, only attempt to understand them through the Eddas.”

“The gods are distant and don’t care about our personal needs or lives.”

“We must act as the gods’ ambassadors on Earth.”

“Making sacrifices should be painful. That’s why it’s called a sacrifice.”

“Ragnarök is the End Times and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

(Treating the Hávamál as scripture.)

(Using medieval Icelandic law-tracts as a stand-in for Heathen religious orthodoxy.)

(Observing strict worship and insisting others do the same.)

(Adopting a very feudalistic relationship with the gods; lord/servant dynamics.)

Protestant-Specific

“Showing devotion to the gods is done by acting as their hands and feet on earth.”

“You must think about the gods all the time and involve them in everything you do.”

“Why should we merely ‘work with’ the gods when we can worship them?”

“Ragnarök is the End Times and we must prepare to fight on the side of the gods.” OR...

“Ragnarök is the End Times and we must help fulfill it.”

(Behaving as marginalized on the basis of their faith.)

(Reacting badly when confronted with new information about Heathenry.)

(Making bold or even standoffish declarations of faith.)

If you come from a Christian background and hear someone make statements like this, you’re probably going to feel pressured to come up with a counterargument for why it’s okay for you to disagree. What you actually need to do is dismiss the premise entirely. These arguments aren’t reflective of Heathen truths and you don’t have to argue with them as though they are.

This is also not a dig at those who’ve made these statements / done these behaviors before. It’s not exactly second-nature for us to break out of the habit of believing in a specific idea or behaving in a specific way when we believed / behaved that way for most of our lives. However, it’s still worth understanding how specific to Christianity these things are and trying to move away from them.

It’s up to you if you want to point out the nature of these arguments to the people making them. But if you do, I recommend doing so tactfully, with a clear head, and with a very clear understanding about what makes the premise Christian in nature.

May I add:

* Verses and prayers. Like: "may Odins spirit entering me and take out the evil and ... etc ...etc."

* Lists of heathen Virtues.

* Alternatively treating Thor or Tyr as Jesus.

* You can sin and be forgiven by saying the right things.

As Skaldish say, it is not a dig or admonishing. Everyone know it's hard to figure it out on your own. Especially when young. And those who make groups are often inspired by Christian ideals of a congregation.

Or receiving admonishment from other heathens for not doing what they think the heathen “values” are which, at the end of the day, was all made up by unsavory people.

A lot of us cross the line from humble to self-conscious, and it can be hard to see our own worth and understand why a deity, with all their awesomeness, would single us out. Obviously I can’t speak on behalf of any deity and I can’t diagnose every case, but I have some running theories about what makes a deity reach out. Note: The structure of this involves a lot of my personal experiences and beliefs about the divine, so take it as you will. You’re allowed to view it differently than me! Hopefully either way it can help you in some way.

SOME POTENTIAL REASONS:

You’re offering something unique. Everybody worships in a different way, everybody brings something unique to the table. Perhaps they see what you’re doing (or have the potential to do later on) and want a piece of it.

It’s part of something bigger. I’m of the belief that deities still actively orchestrate certain events, and will set pins in place to create change later on. Perhaps for whatever their wider plan is, having you in the fold is good strategic move.

They like what you’re doing already. You’re already living your life in a way that reflects their interests and values, or you’re getting there. You’re already acting as a good example of what they want their followers to be like. So why not make it a thing? 

They think they can help. There’s something you need to learn or understand, and deities are pretty known for giving guidance. Your learning style may line up with their teaching style, and there is something uniquely rewarding and satisfying about helping someone with something you know you’re good at.

They just feel like it. I can’t explain the origin behind every relationship I have, sometimes it just happens. Sometimes the reason I talk to someone new is just “They looked cool and I wanted to.” It could very well just be that you piqued their interest! 

“But I’m not cool enough for any of that to be me,” You say. Wrong-o! You’re super unique and cool, and absolutely a person of worth! Maybe you’re not measuring your coolness by the same standards the gods/other people are, but everybody has something awesome to offer to the universe. To share an inspirational quote-thing, “Ants are amazing; they lift 5,000 times their own body weight, but that’s just their normal. They can’t see how incredible that is because their perspective doesn’t allow it. It’s the same with you: we can’t see ourselves from the outside to gauge how amazing we truly are.”

I'd charge like five dollars for a reading. I could use the money and that way if you wanted a reading quickly and I wasn't open for free ones you could get your answer fast.

I would also make a graphic for you and everything so it would be well worth your time.

I didn't do free reading this week because of my health.

So free readings will come back at some point.

Probably next week or the week after?

Loki, the World Ender 🔥

I go into a slight altered trance state a lot in these videos, the music just brings me there, it just seems so primal, and wild and kinda animalistic, like I really get into the beat, it feels deeply fierce, this is of the Norse variety of feeling, like, the Norse Gods and Ragnarok and Loki, a more wild type of primal, powerful feel, like a Berserker dancing around a fire to music before a battle, or something, but instead.. more... Trickster like, like in Loki's world breaking aspects, The Tower falls, like The Tower Tarot card, the structures fall, in a purely primal destructive sense, which does indeed relate into a battle like feeling, like a berserker, it is destructive in nature. Just more like Loki's destructive world breaking aspect, instead of say, Odin's war aspect, although, I do know Odin is about Frenzy and Shamanic like altered states and trance states, ecstatic states, too. 

Something about the beat of this music makes me feel fierce and I resonate to a deep level with the beat of it, the drum, the voices, the rhythm, it hits deeply, to my core, it is like the beat resonates and vibrates deep into my core, my soul, my mind, body, heart and soul, everything, it is like the beat permeates into me, soaking into me fully, the deep rhythmic feel of the beat makes me feel this in my bones, beyond even my bones, and I feel like it carries me to somewhere ancient, like I become one with the music, like the music is in me, to my depths, it resonates to my mind, and beyond my mind, into something far more ancient for me to feel, and I get carried to a place where I am feeling deeply, this music, to my core, all of it reverberates in me, and I feel its vibrations in my whole Being, and I go into a slight altered state of trance. It is a deeply profound spiritual experience for me. A real shamanic altered ecstatic state, it isn't just me getting into the music, it takes me into a slight ecstatic trance like state, literally. I suspect in the future I will be able to go into a bigger, more deeper trance with this music, when the trance states are more available to myself, as a Gift from my Gods.