🌞 🥂 ⭐ 🧭 for the polytheist and pagan ask game!
Thank you so much for the ask!
🌞 - Which deity(ies) are you closest to/do you worship the most often?
The answer to this has changed a lot over time, and will likely change again. I have worked closely with Skaði, Óðinn and Loki in the past. For the past two-three years or so, I have mainly worshipped Yngvi- Freyr, Baldr and Thórr! All Gods have been a joy for me to worship, but I feel I have developped an especially close bond with Freyr and Baldr. Within the heathen circles I am active in, I have earned myself the nickname Freysgoði, meaning priest of Freyr. The name is a nod to the Icelandic saga character Hrafnkell Freysgoða, whose patron God was famously Lord Freyr.
🥂 - What is your favorite devotional act or offering to give?
Tough question! All acts of devotion are enjoyabel to me. I love to dedicate prayer readings and songs, as well as to sacrifice offerings into a bonfire. I often do the latter in honor of Yngvi-Freyr, generally at the beginning and at the end of the harvest season. Devotional toasts and the ritual pouring of alcohol is also a personal favorite, due to its established historical roots!
⭐ - What is something you wish people outside your practice knew more about?
I have answered this question already in the previous ask, so I will now come up with another answer! After all, there is much I wish non-pagans, or non-heathens knew about the heathen path.
Something I feel I must say is that yes, norse paganism has earned itself a bad reputation, thanks to highly conservative, folkist groups. It's a heartbreaking fact, but one that should drive us to fight even harder against prejudice and hate. Especially considering the large amount of LGBTQ+ people who make up the norse pagan demographic. A lot of the people who go against the traditional norm when it comes to their identity naturally drift towards unconventional spiritual paths as well, and to try and push them out of pagan circles is to deny them a fundamental right. What I wish more people knew about heathens is that so, so many of us are kind and open-minded people. I have met amazing people thanks to this path, all of whom fought fiercely against exclusion and hate in heathen circles. As practictioners of an open practice, we have a duty to make it so all may feel welcome to join if they desire. I'm proud to say that as it currently appears, at least in my area, we are making progress in that direction. The only ones who are not welcome in the norse pagan path are those who discrimate against gender, sexuality, ethnicity and religious roots.
🧭 - What led you to your practice?
I'm proud to say that I have been pagan for nearly eight years now! The story of how I became pagan is really quite ordinary. There was no "grand reveal", no being somehow "called out to". No God came down from the sky in a flash of light to tell me to worship them. I had already been practicing witchcraft for a little while, and had been atheistic pretty much forever. I didn't know about the existence of paganism at the time, and I had never even heard about it once. While browsing the web for witchcraft inspiration, I stumbled upon a prayer to Óðinn and two main thoughts crossed my mind: A. for some reason, the fact that such a religion exist feels so amazing and relieving to me; and B. this is the religion I was supposed to practice all my life. It was as if spiritually speaking, I had subconsciously been waiting for this specific moment to happen and now, every piece of the puzzle had clicked into place. This was the simple, logical and natural beginning of my spiritual life.
