The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I've seen a few people across the internet talk of honouring specific gods, and worshipping that one god. I'm slightly confused by this, I thought that Asatru had more a pantheon of gods that were revered. Is it worshipping just one god, or is it more akin to patron saints in Catholicism - where all are shown respect but there's one particular saint that is the primary one to the adherent?

(N.B. This might be a general question, I'm not sure, but I'm looking towards Asatru, so would appreciate an explanation from that perspective).

 
They are not worshiping one god they have a special relationship or workings with one of the many gods. I consider myself Vanatru and I honor them and some of the Asa gods but my spell work and rituals are usually around Vanir gods. It's not Christian or Catholic.

They are not worshiping one god they have a special relationship or workings with one of the many gods. I consider myself Vanatru and I honor them and some of the Asa gods but my spell work and rituals are usually around Vanir gods. It's not Christian or Catholic.

 
Ah, ok thanks - so the god they honour is more of a first point of call than a lone deity to follow?


I'm aware it's not christian or catholic, I was using that as a reference point since it's what I know.

Hey Alchemist,

The more familiar you become with the Asatru/Heathen community the more you'll see terms like "god of function", "tribal gods", "local gods".

Gods of function are gods in a  specific role that may seem like a patron at first but are really just the major functioning influence at the time. For example, you may see a lot more worship of Skadi during the winter and hear a little less about Freyr. Likewise, during the spring more fertility gods pop up in conversation.

Some gods function year round in a more abstract capacity, like Frigga and maintaining a household. So she would be consistently honored throughout the year. Odin is a consistent deity, as well as Thor. This is a big reason why you hear of them more often.

Tribal gods are gods of a particular tribe, like, but much more sacred then, a mascot. An example of these would be the Matronae, Saxnot, and even Freyr.

Local gods are the unnamed deities of your particular area, or even your area's version of Thor and Freyr.

The lines are blurred between a lot of these gods and in what capacity because there wasn't a distinct form of worship and belief. Heathen and Asatru is folk religious, meaning it was just the traditions and customs of whatever particular folk and not a religious school of thought everyone adhered to.

I probably raised more questions than I answered but definitely ask away if that's the case. There's a lot of great people here who'll help you out.

 
Thanks, that's really quite helpful, but how do tribal and local gods differ? The description of local gods that you gave sounds like they'd have been the gods of a specific tribe. Or are they closer to the idea of mascots you mentioned in the tribal gods?

As for gods of function - so they're the gods you'd look to in certain times, like for instance Sif being mentioned more in the fall when harvest comes around. Are they honoured in the same way as a patron god (which as far as I can find seems to involve making some sort of offering e.g. mead), or is it just making more references to them at the relevant times?

It only works if it works for you.

 
I feel I should clarify. I don't mean this in that specific way people hate, and I do think if you move so far away from a particular philosophy of a religious system then what are you even doing in that system? But I also think that you shouldn't just go through the motions without any sort of personal investment in what you're doing, because what's the point in that as well?

Thank you, this is really helpful for understanding it. So, the god being honoured and when they're being honoured is down to the individuals preference? I suppose the other question is choosing which god to honour - does it tend to be the god you feel the most affinity/most comfortable with, or is there more to it than that?

First I think I should explain how gods are viewed in the general heathen community. Rather than 'god' being a spiritual species of divinity (like God), 'god' is a position of authority, the ruling force. The idea is that the very air and earth is made up of a living spiritual community, and some of that spiritual stuff tends to take charge and have more influence. That influence upon us and our environment is what gives that spiritual intangible "god status". Maybe it's easier to speak in terms of Thor as a person swinging a hammer causing lightning, but really, his 'god function' is as the mitigating and controlling force of the storm. And when you develop a sort of rapport with that force of order it's supposed to bring more order to your life.

So, choosing what god to honor really comes down to who/what is the prevalent ruling/mitigating force in your life or situation. And that varies for everyone. I don't remember the name of the saga but some son has just taken over as king and his court teases him about his father being a Freyr's man and he's all embarrassed because he's super militant and thinks his father should have been more of an Odin's man as a good king would've been. But his dad was way more happy being more agriculturally focused and that worked for him. Then again, people like to worship and honor several deities simultaneously.  People in the past were farmers and fighters so it made sense to honor a god of agriculture and a god of war together. At the temple of Uppsula there were the three main gods worshiped together: Thor, Odin, and Freyr.

Something I've felt recently, and maybe this isn't relevant to you especially as someone just approaching this (?),  is that I've made the mistake of thinking I needed to figure out how to fit in the gods and how to worship properly according to their needs. Like, I would need to go out and by mead or decorate an altar with old viking crap. I think instead it's about inviting the gods into *my* life. Offering drinks I like, decorating the altar (I don't actually have one, this is all hypothetical) with things *I* enjoy and connect with. This particular existence is my journey, not theirs, but I would still definitely like the spiritual to participate and so I invite it.

First I think I should explain how gods are viewed in the general heathen community. Rather than 'god' being a spiritual species of divinity (like God), 'god' is a position of authority, the ruling force. The idea is that the very air and earth is made up of a living spiritual community, and some of that spiritual stuff tends to take charge and have more influence. That influence upon us and our environment is what gives that spiritual intangible "god status". Maybe it's easier to speak in terms of Thor as a person swinging a hammer causing lightning, but really, his 'god function' is as the mitigating and controlling force of the storm. And when you develop a sort of rapport with that force of order it's supposed to bring more order to your life.

So, choosing what god to honor really comes down to who/what is the prevalent ruling/mitigating force in your life or situation. And that varies for everyone. I don't remember the name of the saga but some son has just taken over as king and his court teases him about his father being a Freyr's man and he's all embarrassed because he's super militant and thinks his father should have been more of an Odin's man as a good king would've been. But his dad was way more happy being more agriculturally focused and that worked for him. Then again, people like to worship and honor several deities simultaneously.  People in the past were farmers and fighters so it made sense to honor a god of agriculture and a god of war together. At the temple of Uppsula there were the three main gods worshiped together: Thor, Odin, and Freyr.

Something I've felt recently, and maybe this isn't relevant to you especially as someone just approaching this (?),  is that I've made the mistake of thinking I needed to figure out how to fit in the gods and how to worship properly according to their needs. Like, I would need to go out and by mead or decorate an altar with old viking crap. I think instead it's about inviting the gods into *my* life. Offering drinks I like, decorating the altar (I don't actually have one, this is all hypothetical) with things *I* enjoy and connect with. This particular existence is my journey, not theirs, but I would still definitely like the spiritual to participate and so I invite it.

 

Ah, so the god you pick to honour above the rest would tend to be an embodiment of what you value most - so those who consider the seeking of knowledge to be most important would gravitate towards Odin as an example?

I've seen a few people across the internet talk of honouring specific gods, and worshipping that one god. I'm slightly confused by this, I thought that Asatru had more a pantheon of gods that were revered. Is it worshipping just one god, or is it more akin to patron saints in Catholicism - where all are shown respect but there's one particular saint that is the primary one to the adherent?

(N.B. This might be a general question, I'm not sure, but I'm looking towards Asatru, so would appreciate an explanation from that perspective).

 
I'm not well versed in Asatru, but I can give a (possibly wrong) Kemetic perspective if you'd like. Some people feel pulled towards a few specific gods or a god/ess for no real reason, some feel pulled because of that god's attitude, role in the myths, role in the pantheon, ect. Though I'd like to point out that, at least for the netjeru (ancient Egyptian gods), many gods have/had different 'functions' and many of them would overlap. For example, there were multiple gods associated with magic, each of them distinct. That could be because the different areas of Egypt had different gods they worshiped, or different ways of seeing them, but I still find it helpful to think of them more as 'personalities' than as 'functions'. This is just my perspective though, and I could be way off the mark.

You'll also find people who feel as if they got whacked over the head by a god or gods with a 'clue-by-four'. So, uh, don't feel intimidated by people saying they're 'god-bothered' or such. Such a thing isn't exactly the norm, as much as it may seem like it is. You aren't doing anything wrong if a god isn't 'claiming' you in that way. Everyone's experience of the divine is different. Some people have different experiences at different times.

A lot of pagans do basically worship only one or a few gods, but a lot have other ways of doing things, as has been said further up the thread.

Personally, I have a few deities I honor specifically and feel that I have a 'relationship' with (not like...a romantic relationship or anything that normally comes to mind when people use that word, but a feeling of having been led by those deities and the feeling that they accept that I worship them). There are other deities I still honor, but I don't really have the same sort of feeling towards them.

I uh, hope that helped and wasn't too rambly. I sort of just woke up.