#heiti

Is there an item your character doesn't like to leave without?

Would your character prefer something bought or made personally?

What are your character's opinion on scars?

What are your character's opinion on scars?What does your character smell like?

Does your character ever spend more than they have?

Is there an item your character liked that they can’t get back? 

Has your character had a meaningful encounter with an animal?

Is there a creature that scares your character?

Where is your character's comfort place?

What words could tear your character down?

OUGHH

Hi!

I would contend that heathens do this a lot. It just isn't the the form you might be expecting.

For one, many of the names we use to refer to the gods actually are titles. For example, Freyr and Freyja literally translate to "Lord" and "Lady", respectively. Tyr means "God." Aegir translates to "Sea." And so on. Of course, unless you're aware of the Old Norse meanings, you wouldn't parse these titles as such.

Referring to people and things by poetic alternate labels, known as heiti, is a big part of the skaldic artform. Here's a list of heiti for Loki used in the lore. Of course, it isn't exhaustive, and the same thing was done for lots of other gods, and people, and objects, not just Loki. The Skaldic Project has fun lists to browse, if you're interested.

And modern heathens don't limit themselves to heiti used in the lore! "Liesmith" and "Skytreader" are of modern origin (or at least, pretty divorced from the phrases in the Eddas you could argue they originated from), but you've probably seen those around. You've probably seen Odin referred to as "the Old Man" or "the Old Bastard." While some heiti, historical and modern, may be less flattering than what you might have expected, these too are technically titles.

Which leads to my last point: Heathens don't necessarily have the same views of divinity as some other religions you might be familiar with, including other pagan religions. The Norse gods aren't typically viewed as all-knowing or all-powerful. They can and do make mistakes, hence the whole Ragnarok thing. They don't always have the best interests of each individual human at heart. Heroes in the sagas can and do call them out on this, and are framed as justified in doing so!

A common analogy some heathens use for this dynamic is "elder kin." The gods are wise, and responsible for our existence, and worthy of respect in many ways, but they aren't the sole arbiter of what's right and wrong, and we aren't required to obey them in all things.

Titles like "Lord" that are commonly used in monotheistic religions have a lot of baggage for some people that they wish to avoid for the sake of giving the wrong impression. Not that these religions have a monopoly on the term Lord or that the pagans who use it intend for it to have the same connotations.

Referring to Loki as "Lord Loki" or whatever isn't wrong, if you're both okay with it. There are definitely people out there who do it. Again, it's just not as common as you may have seen in other circles for the reasons detailed above. Giving Loki and other gods titles is in fact the norm here, so flex your creative muscles however you see fit. Most of us have names for our gods that are unique for us that we simply don't share, and that too is perfectly normal!

Day 3: Does your deity have any alternate names or epithets? If they do, what are they, and what do they mean? What does the name you call your deity mean?

I am absolutely not listing all of Odin’s heiti here. Nuh-uh, nope, can’t make me, not gonna do it. I will list some of the ones I call Him by, though. Some -- this is not comprehensive because holy shit do I not feel like inflicting that headache on myself. In no particular order:

Odin (Oðinn): the inrush of breath and intensity associated with rage and madness and poetic inspiration. I… honestly use this less than most of the rest, so when I do use this name it’s typically with at least some reference to that aspect.

Old Man: Pretty self-explanatory. He’s notable for being one of the very few gods described as old, which is rare in warriors and poets and wanderers, and thus worth watching out for.

Old Bastard/Perv/Jackass: He is a queer pervy genderdeviant pain in the ass and He knows it. And unfortunately I love it. 

Old Warrior/Old Wolf: Associated with wolves both in battle and off the field. This epithet usually comes out if He’s showing a more predatory or hunt-driven aspect. Also Hildolfr, Battle-Wolf. Sometimes this is less immediately predatory and more just world-weary, jaded, sense of having seen it all and look what’s coming round again. I sometimes think of Him in that aspect as Brutus from Pixie and Brutus.

Gangleri: Wanderer. I’m moved around and traveled a lot, and identify strongly with this aspect; I kinda just pepper it in there.

Grimnir and Grimr: Hooded One and Masked One. Because He has a bit much fun with that. Usually at my expense. 

Hrafnass/Hrafnatyr: Raven-God. Used whenever He’s being particularly grabby about whatever catches His eye (shiny! mine! worse than flock of jackdaws, I swear.) I use Hrafnass more because then I can also call Him an ass and sometimes I am five. 

Hangatyr: God of the Hanged, also God of Suspension Bondage and Breathplay, and I use it whenever it comes up in any or all of those contexts (they overlap to a surprising terrifying high degree.)

Ygg: Terrible. Sometimes used in frustration, sometimes jokingly, sometimes entirely serious, really heavily depends on context.

Geirtyr: Spear-God. Used when He sees fit to pepper my dreams and/or trancework with images of being speared through; also when He’s dragged up something from my subconscious or traumatic history I need to look at with rather too good an aim, and painfully; also when He’s cracking too damn many terrible puns and I would like Him to FUCK ME ALREADY DAMN YOU.

Sviðrir: Calmer or Soother. I do a lot of work with Him around anxiety, panic, and C-PTSD. He’s absolutely my go-to if I need an anchor to hold onto while ramping up to an attack or at high levels of arousal. 

Healer: Basically a follow-up to the previous two. 

Fimbulthulr and Hroptr: Mighty Counselor and Sage. I also call Him Teacher. This is usually when I am looking for advice or help unpacking my head.

Oski: Granter of Wishes/Wished-For/Desired. I go with the last two connotations for this and generally use it as an endearment. I was absolutely terrified of Him and wanted nothing to do with Him for a while (yay more trauma!) and while I know He gets it, understood it perfectly well and does not bear a grudge for it, I like to emphasize explicitly that that is no longer the case: all my kvetching and grousing aside, I want Him around, I call Him desired and wished-for.

Thekkr: Welcome. Basically the same as above, an explicit statement that He’s welcome in my life and home and arms and bed.

Great question!

So, while people know that individuals interacting with deities can have very different experiences of their personalities and relationship types, the same is also true regionally. This isn't just a Norse-germanic Thing, regional "versions" of deities were pretty common. It makes things tricky for how to understand what's going on - is this the same god being interpreted in different ways or interacting in different ways because of the local culture, or are they different gods who happen to use the same name or were similar enough that we humans mistook them as having the same name, or...? You see how that's tricky. Too far in one direction, you get those Victorian sorts of reductivist arguments that "all the goddesses were secretly Frigga" sort of thing. Too far in the other direction and you start deciding each new bit you see is a separate new deity, which isn't going to be correct either and rather foolish to boot, given all the stories we have of the gods disguising themselves for various reasons. (Including prank playing and starting trouble.)

Heiti are essentially nicknames or aspect names of the gods, from the verb for "to call" or "to name". You can find lists of heiti for Odin, for Thor, and so on. They are similar to kennings, and some believe (and it's panned out to be true, in my personal experience) that if you call upon a particular heiti, you will interact with that aspect of their personality. Funny thing, the names of the gods are kinda heiti in themselves. Freyr just means Lord. Freyja just means Lady. Thor stems from the word that means Thunder. Odin is tied to the word for frenzy or raging. I suspect they have names we don't know.