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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7511052" data-attributes="member: 58172"><p>The æsir are nature spirits, vættir.</p><p></p><p>The æsir are one of the seven ‘clans’ of nature spirits. The other kinds of nature spirits include jǫtnar, alfar, dvergar, vanir, náir, and menn, living humans. All of these kinds of nature spirits are about equally powerful. Some individual members are more powerful, some individual members are less powerful. But as groups, the clans are roughly equal. </p><p></p><p>Some Norse homes have a shrine dedicated to one of the æsir or vanir. For example, a shrine to Þórr is a popular choice in Norway, as is a shrine to Freyr, Njǫrðr, or Ullr. At the same time, many shrines are dedicated to one of the other nature spirits, and seem to have no regard for the æsir. These might include one of the alfar or jǫtnar, such as Logi (not Loki).</p><p></p><p>One saga mentions that the fylgja of a particular hero is a certain goat, who brings good fortune. Many Native American communities call this a ‘power animal’.</p><p></p><p>Even when Norse texts describe invocations of one of the æsir, it is for a cosmic activity, such as chasing away bad weather or bringing good weather. The Norse heroes never call on the æsir sky spirits for help in personal affairs. When æsir do get personally involved the outcomes tend to be bad for the humans. Worth mentioning, some people do ask the thunderstorm spirit to safeguard a sacred oath between people.</p><p></p><p>The Norse lack a concept of ‘worship’. It is difficult for Christians to understand a spiritual tradition that is neither Christian nor polytheistic. (With similar ethnocentricity, polytheists often assume everyone is a polytheist, heh, including Christians.) Christian cultures persistently misrepresent Norse and other animistic cultures. English sometimes misunderstands and mistranslates certain Norse terms as if ‘worship’. For example, gǫfga really means ‘to honor’, and applies to any honored or honorable human. The term ‘blot’ is a sacred sharing of food, where offering food to a shrine is a method that allows a friend to share food with an other friend, in whose honor the meal is.</p><p></p><p>The Norse are animistic. The æsir are shamanic nature spirits, the lifeforces of the sky.</p><p></p><p>Spiritual customs are individualistic, tend to run in the family, and result from personal feelings of connection and friendship.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Norse texts mention who the Norse spiritual leaders are.</p><p></p><p>The only formal spiritual leader is the shaman, the vǫlva. The Norse shaman is always female. Her main function is prophecy. She functions somewhat like a ‘psychic’ who makes house calls. She discerns the situation of nearby nature spirits and foresees fates. The official duty is ‘prophecy’ (spá), but in the context of discerning difficulties and bad fates, in order to remedy them, some vǫlur might also master other shamanic skills, including mind magic (seiðr) and healing (grœðing).</p><p></p><p>There are also informal persons who happen to demonstrate shamanic skills, called a spá-kona or a spá-mannr, who people can turn to for help. The Norse revere anyone who demonstrates prophetic abilities.</p><p></p><p>Because mind magic can be used to attack from a distance, it is considered cowardly for men to use this magic. But seiðmenn are numerous enough, and the Norse respect the powerful ones for their skill, even if at the same time scorning them for lack of fighting courage. A polite informal nickname for a seiðmannr is a ‘finnr’, referring to the Sámi shaman, called a noaidi, who is often male and who the Norse respect.</p><p></p><p>Besides the shaman, the only other spiritual leaders are ordinary people who invite friends into their home for a special meal, often for an annual anniversary. Here an ‘offering’ of food (blot) is sometimes placed in a bowl in the household shrine to honor the nature spirit who has befriended the family.</p><p></p><p>Sometimes a wealthy farmer might make an impressive shrine and host a feast with many guests. When Norse texts mention a shrine, they usually mention the person whose home the shrine is in. The texts make clear that different individuals have different sacred customs, often unique.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Generally speaking, except for sacred meals, all sacred activities occur outdoors at sacred natural sites, such as a field, cliff, or river island. ‘Sitting out’ (úti-seta) to meditate and commune with a nature spirit is a common sacred activity. The local parliament is itself located on a field at or near such a sacred terrain feature. Government activity is sacred and also occurs outdoors.</p><p></p><p>For the Norse, nature is alive and sacred.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 7511052, member: 58172"] The æsir are nature spirits, vættir. The æsir are one of the seven ‘clans’ of nature spirits. The other kinds of nature spirits include jǫtnar, alfar, dvergar, vanir, náir, and menn, living humans. All of these kinds of nature spirits are about equally powerful. Some individual members are more powerful, some individual members are less powerful. But as groups, the clans are roughly equal. Some Norse homes have a shrine dedicated to one of the æsir or vanir. For example, a shrine to Þórr is a popular choice in Norway, as is a shrine to Freyr, Njǫrðr, or Ullr. At the same time, many shrines are dedicated to one of the other nature spirits, and seem to have no regard for the æsir. These might include one of the alfar or jǫtnar, such as Logi (not Loki). One saga mentions that the fylgja of a particular hero is a certain goat, who brings good fortune. Many Native American communities call this a ‘power animal’. Even when Norse texts describe invocations of one of the æsir, it is for a cosmic activity, such as chasing away bad weather or bringing good weather. The Norse heroes never call on the æsir sky spirits for help in personal affairs. When æsir do get personally involved the outcomes tend to be bad for the humans. Worth mentioning, some people do ask the thunderstorm spirit to safeguard a sacred oath between people. The Norse lack a concept of ‘worship’. It is difficult for Christians to understand a spiritual tradition that is neither Christian nor polytheistic. (With similar ethnocentricity, polytheists often assume everyone is a polytheist, heh, including Christians.) Christian cultures persistently misrepresent Norse and other animistic cultures. English sometimes misunderstands and mistranslates certain Norse terms as if ‘worship’. For example, gǫfga really means ‘to honor’, and applies to any honored or honorable human. The term ‘blot’ is a sacred sharing of food, where offering food to a shrine is a method that allows a friend to share food with an other friend, in whose honor the meal is. The Norse are animistic. The æsir are shamanic nature spirits, the lifeforces of the sky. Spiritual customs are individualistic, tend to run in the family, and result from personal feelings of connection and friendship. The Norse texts mention who the Norse spiritual leaders are. The only formal spiritual leader is the shaman, the vǫlva. The Norse shaman is always female. Her main function is prophecy. She functions somewhat like a ‘psychic’ who makes house calls. She discerns the situation of nearby nature spirits and foresees fates. The official duty is ‘prophecy’ (spá), but in the context of discerning difficulties and bad fates, in order to remedy them, some vǫlur might also master other shamanic skills, including mind magic (seiðr) and healing (grœðing). There are also informal persons who happen to demonstrate shamanic skills, called a spá-kona or a spá-mannr, who people can turn to for help. The Norse revere anyone who demonstrates prophetic abilities. Because mind magic can be used to attack from a distance, it is considered cowardly for men to use this magic. But seiðmenn are numerous enough, and the Norse respect the powerful ones for their skill, even if at the same time scorning them for lack of fighting courage. A polite informal nickname for a seiðmannr is a ‘finnr’, referring to the Sámi shaman, called a noaidi, who is often male and who the Norse respect. Besides the shaman, the only other spiritual leaders are ordinary people who invite friends into their home for a special meal, often for an annual anniversary. Here an ‘offering’ of food (blot) is sometimes placed in a bowl in the household shrine to honor the nature spirit who has befriended the family. Sometimes a wealthy farmer might make an impressive shrine and host a feast with many guests. When Norse texts mention a shrine, they usually mention the person whose home the shrine is in. The texts make clear that different individuals have different sacred customs, often unique. Generally speaking, except for sacred meals, all sacred activities occur outdoors at sacred natural sites, such as a field, cliff, or river island. ‘Sitting out’ (úti-seta) to meditate and commune with a nature spirit is a common sacred activity. The local parliament is itself located on a field at or near such a sacred terrain feature. Government activity is sacred and also occurs outdoors. For the Norse, nature is alive and sacred. [/QUOTE]
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