/asatru/ - Asatru / Heathenry / Paganism

>>19703

This is a rather faulty premise. I get what you are saying; it's dumb to claim to revere something whilst not knowing anything about it. But with that said, not every God or Godly thing was worshipped, and they were certainly not worshipped like how christians worship God. Only a handful of them were subject of great worship at high festivals, and many gods were considered derivitives of other gods; if not as their children then a derivitive role. For instance, Óðr is the husband of Freyja, however, whilst he is considered a different character from Óðinn (less important), he has a derived role from Óðinn (and arguably Freyja had a similar relation to Frigg). Most of the "Smaller" gods work that way, as either children, servants, or otherwise related characters that are derivitives of those more important and powerful Gods, and such gods were not worshipped but respected (elves fall into that category as well, as the subjects of Freyr and "small gods" of local areas). Then there's the other issue of shared role (related to the issue mention previously), or that of a God in different bodies. The seperation lines between one God to another can sometimes be quite blurred, as with Óðinn and for instance Heimdallr. Both have very similar roles and function very similarily, and it is interesting how Heimdallr (or Rígr as he was portrayed in Rígsþula) is quite an important god to royalty in Rígsþula, however, historically Óðinn or even Ingvi(Freyr) are the most important ancestral gods to Kings and clans. So it would seem that Óðinn and Heimdallr had closly linked roles, and were possibly considered synonymous by some people (even Freyr, but he has more distinct lines than Heimdallr).

Then there's the issue of Gods having multiple names and appearing with different names, but that's an easier issue to solve as it's usually mentioned who he really is (and I assume you don't mean this). So to go back on to the main issue with your framing, knowing the names of all the gods is fine, but worshipping them all equally is not. There's a distinct hierarchy of the Gods, there's a hierarchy among Ásar and Vanar, and among Jötnar (and finally Hrímþursa but you definetly don't worship them).

>>19705

cont.

So, I'll try to answer that question with that in mind. I will first mention the most important regin among each branch (the ones you sacrifice to during high festivals and in temples), but not in order of importance.

Ásar (and Vanir as well, since their roles and importance were intertwined):

Óðinn (Lóðr, Hænir, Vilji, Vé, and then possibly Heimdallr as well, were all arguably aspects of Óðinn and therefor not revered seperatly from him, unless the occasion called to when they needed the special properties and symbolism behind the name)

Ingvi(Freyr)

Freyja

Frigg (possibly she and Freyja were somewhat synonymous, although, Frigg might have been a more Higher Mother figure, in the same vain as Óðinn is to Óðr)

Týr (a remnant of perhaps a more singular god of Óðinn, Heimdallr, Ingvi, and all other male primarily Father like gods)

Baldr (he was probably worshipped in a similar manner to Dagr, Sól and Sunna were, but more specifically as Brilliant Light in a more general sense, beyond just the sun and the seasons, but the beginning of the winter season is heavily linked to his death)

Þórr

Njörðr

Then there are the gods which likely weren't really temple gods, but were all deeply respected and revered in homes and individually (and according to the occasion), and would be sacrificed to during home blóts:

Iðunn

Eir

Lóðr (likely an aspect of Óðinn, and revered as such according to context)

Hænir (also likely an aspect or epithet of Óðinn, and revered as such according to context)

Vilji (also likely an aspect or epithet of Óðinn, and revered as such according to context)

Vé (also likely an aspect or epithet of Óðinn, and revered as such according to context)

Fulla

Gefjun

Ullr

Váli

Víðarr

Bragi (it can be argued that he is a specified aspect of Óðinn, not someone who is worshipped but highly revered by poets for giving them Óð)

Forseti (he was probably not invoked during religios processions at festivals and temples, but he was linked to justice and law, so likely referenced during a þing)

Gná

Lofn

Nanna

Rindr (arguably a kenning for Frigg)

Saga (likely an aspect or epithet of Frigg, and revered as such according to context)

Sif

Skaði

Snotra (also likely an aspect or epithet of Frigg, and revered as such according to context)

Vár (also likely an aspect or epithet of Frigg, and revered as such according to context)

Syn (also likely an aspect or epithet of Frigg, and revered as such according to context)

Vör (also likely an aspect or epithet of Frigg, and revered as such according to context)

Sjöfn (also likely an aspect or epithet of Frigg, and revered as such according to context)

Any of the elves (they are numerous, Freyr is their God, and most are nameless since they are strictly local)

>>19706

Then there's Loki and his kin (Fenrir and Miðgarðsormr) who will be the eventual enemies of the Gods. Loki is his own category, as he is both a Ás and a Jötn, and he definitly wasn't a figure that was revered in a very positive light, and definitly not his children (except for maybe Hel, who is more neutral than anything eles). So, he and his children belong to no strict category, other than that they will become the enemies of the Gods.

>>19707

cont.

Then there's Jötnar. Some also belong in the enemy category, however, since mythologically at least half ar neutral or even friendly, then I put them all in the same category as was done before. Some of them were indeed worshipped, so I will mention them first:

Búri

Bor

Bestla

Gunnlöð

Mímir

Bölþorn

Hel

Ýmir

Auðumbla (Auðumbla is generally not considered a Jötun, as she is a cow: however, I still catagorise her as related as these primordeal Jötuns such as Ymir are much less "humanoid" in their state, as they are primordeal and powerful. But If you disagree with my placement of her here then that's understandable)

Þorri

Góa

Then revered but unworshipped in festivals or temples (you also get into the territory of trolls, in which case they are even more numerous than dwarves):

Grýla

Fornjót

Kári

Logi

Hlér

Angurboða

Surtr (and all his children)

Any of the Dwarves

Any of the Trolls (Grýla is one of the principle trolls, but like with elves, most are nameless since they are local to their area)

So this was my counting of divine beings in Mordic Myth. Obviously here are more, I know, and I won't claim to know every single one there were. But one must also consider their hierarchy, and knowing every single one is not as important as knowing their role.