The Troth: Faith in the Aesir

In the Norse Tradition, which in modern days is known as Asatru (which means being true to the Aesir, a norse race of Gods), the mystery tradition is centered on the runes, or the Norse alphabet. Each letter is a mystery (which is what the word "rune" stands for, a "whisper", "secret", or "mystery"), or an archetype. In addition to a script system the runes are also a divination system. I have worked with the runes for more than five years now and I'm quite familiar with the principles that are associated with the runes. I have a strong belief that the runes are powerful vehicles of sacred archetypal content. I also happen to believe that the Aesir and the Vanir (the Gods of the Norsemen and women) are very real and can provide valuable guidance and protection, as well as love and kinship, when called upon. They are powerful allies and teachers.

Unlike other traditions, Asatru is not a faith of humble followers, but of kinship and honor. One is not to prostrate before the Gods, but rather they are celebrated as Humanity's Ancestors, our Protectors, and our Gods. They are seen as part of our family. Asatru is, for the most part, still a patriarchal tradition. However, before Europe was invaded by the Warrior tribes from the East, it had elements of matriarchal and ecstatic forms of religion. Those religious forms and the tribes that practiced them were conquered and assimilated into the Warrior religion of the Aryans. This is what explains the war between the two races of Gods in Norse mythology: the Vanir (the more ancient, native race of Gods, whose cult centered on fertility and the Earth) and the Aesir (later brought from the East) who were more concerned with war and conquest. Asatru affirms both elements and value systems: the Earth-centered form of Asatru (sometimes known as Vanatru), which focuses on Frey, the Horned God, and Freya, the Goddess of Love, Shamanism, and Magic, and the noble faith of the Aesir. I will not offer a complete introduction to Asatru here, but there are many resources online for those interested, including the "Book of Troth", which is the most complete compilation of Asatru lore, the Norse version of a "Bible", although not considered sacred scripture in the traditional sense.

Heimdall, the Shining Ase

When I asked the runes who my Parent or Patron Deity was in the Norse tradition, the rune that came to me was Mannaz, the rune of Humankind, of Charity, of Society and Cooperation, a rune that indicates the importance of lending a hand to help others and accepting the help of others. It is ruled by Rig, the White or Brilliant God, (also known as Heimdall), who fathered Humankind, and does not have a partner or consort. It is not clear whether he is of the Vanir or the Aesir. In myth, he fathered Humankind by spending three nights with the parents of the three castes or social classes that ancient Norse culture was divided in: the Thralls, the Farmers, and the Leaders. For three consecutive nights he would sleep with Great Grandfather and Great Grandmother, then with Grandfather and Grandmother, and finally with Father and Mother. This is how Humanity was conceived. We are all the children of Heimdall. However, He is usually known and depicted as the Guardian of Asgard (the Realm of the Aesir race of Gods), who stands on the other end of the Bifrost bridge that mediates between Asgard and Midgard (Earth, the Human realm). He is therefore the Mediator of the Gods and his favor must be seeked if we want to know the Deities. He also teaches the runic mysteries to humans, and is of course a powerful protector. Because he does not fit easily into most categories in Norse myth and religion, there are many theories about him out there, not all of which may be accurate. There are many resources online and in books that are worth reading. Any search engine will take you to resources on Asatru and on Heimdall, if you're interested in learning more about this deity.

My rising sign is Capricorn (I was also born on the cusp between Sagittarius and Cap). I believe Heimdall to be associated with or perhaps to even rule Capricorn. The dominant traits or concerns of this sign are responsibility, (professional) reputation, righteousness. We are usually perceived as very serious individuals, and therefore trustworthy and with lots of integrity, and are called upon whenever there is need for a person whose stand is always neutral to provide fair judgement. I see these attributes in Heimdall, and they mirror my personality in many ways. Heimdall is also a very faithful and noble god, he defends and stands by what he believes in or what he is there to protect at all costs. Because of his sacred role, responsibility is very important to him.

All humans are modeled after one (or several) deities, who mirror the different personality types. Many polytheistic religions have systems by which we may know who our Patron or Parent Deity is, usually through divination. In some traditions (as in the Kemetic tradition) it is believed that we are chosen by these deities, and in others it is believed that we choose who "rules our head" before we are born (the Yoruba tradition), so that once we're here we may be divined and learn who rules our head, but we have no control over who that orisha (deity) is and we have no choice but to follow the path that we chose for ourselves before birth. Yet in Hinduism, a person may choose whatever deity that person identifies with, and then that deity becomes his or her ishtadevata -- a chosen or personal deity. In all these cases, there are traits that the initiate or devotee shares with his Parent or Patron Deity, similarities of character and mythical themes that we cannot escape because they are part of our nature, and knowing who our Parent is helps us know and understand ourselves better, and therefore it helps us find and fulfil our archetypal or true destiny, avoiding confusion, and knowing that we have the help and protection of our Divine Parent or Model Deity. Because the ancient Norse faith was so fatal (meaning that they believed that Fate or a person's Wyrd could not be changed) it would be likely that humans have no choice over who rules their character or destiny, and it would therefore make sense that divination of some sort would be necessary for identifying a Patron or Parent deity. Hence I used the runes. Whether or not this process of divination is necessarily or even legitimate, I leave it to the Seeker to decide. I can only say that I prayed for guidance regarding this matter, and the parallels that I discovered between me and Heimdall were very fascinating. At first I wished there was more information on Heimdall out there, but then I realized his mysterious facade is part of his character, his silent wisdom. This is a trait I also share with Heimdall. There are, however, many in Asatru that CHOOSE a deity whom they identify with without consulting the runes. This is also a legitimate step.

Heimdall's eternal foe is Loki, the trickster. Loki is his shadow side, and he stands for chaos, whereas Heimdall defends the divine order in the Universe. At the end of the worlds, during Ragnarok, it is believed that they will slay each other. As a son of Heimdall, I am forbidden to call upon Loki, a very dangerous deity. He always goes against whatever Heimdall stands for.

Being the "Shining Ase", Heimdall is associated with the light of day, he's a Solar deity, whose other rune is the rune Dagaz, "Day", the very auspicious rune of clarity and knowledge, that helps us SEE. The key word for Dagaz is clarity. If we look at the shape of Mannaz and Dagaz, we can easily see that they are related. Mannaz seems to be an evolved form of Dagaz. I see the evolution of our path under Heimdall's guidance in this relationship between his two primary runic vehicles.

Dagaz and Mannaz

The rune of day is associated with change, but not of a critical nature (that is, it does not bring crisis). It is not a chaotic rune like the crisis rune Hagalaz (which I do not recommend using unless you know what you're doing), it's a rune of fulfilment, it signals the light of day, the dawn. It is the last rune, and it also signals a new beginning, the dawn, a new day. It basically means "the Sun will shine (again), if it's not shining already". It is a very auspicious rune of good energies and vitality, and a rune of awareness, conciousness, awakening. Dagaz brings good, refreshing change. It also symbolized the reunion of opposites, reconciliation, harmony, balance. This is the rune that rules Two Spirits on the archetypal or symbolic level. It is a rune of integrity. It is also the rune of illumination, as it helps bring light where there is occult knowledge to be sought, hidden matters or treasures. Chant this rune to learn the mysteries, to see new realities, and to hear secrets. It helps us see with clarity; the unknown becomes known through the power of Dagaz. It is worth noting that, being the Guardian of Asgard, Heimdall can see by night as well as by day and he needs no sleep, attributes that he developed to better perform in his sacred role as the Watcher of Asgard.

Mannaz is the rune of Rig, and it's associated with the myth of the fathering of Humankind by Heimdall in his form of Rig, which is sort of his incarnation or avatar at the beginning of the history of Humanity. Two Spirits have always been associated with fertility, which explains why they have frequently been called upon to bless marriages and newborn in India, the Americas, and elsewhere. Rig acts as one such Two Spirit bringer of fertility in the myth, and the rune Mannaz looks like two people embracing each other, this embrace being a popular Mannaz metaphor.

Mannaz also is a metaphor for Humanity or Human-ness. It means everything that being human means, vulnerability, the capacity to err, the need for others, pride, violence, love, and on the more mature and spiritual level, the search for Self (or for God). In other words, it's a rune of all-embracing wholeness, of Spiritual thirst, and it stands for our inner Godhead, the ancestral memory of our immanent divinity, the Heimdall that we all carry within us.

Dagaz is the rune that helps us see all things as they are and gain vision and perspective, but then Mannaz helps us experience all that we are and realize our divinity. This can be accomplished under the guidance of Heimdall, the mediator between Gods and humans.

Seidr: Norse Shamanism

Freya Aswynn, Northern Mysteries and Magick, Chapter 6: "Feminine Mysteries"

I have not experimented enough with Norse shamanism to be able to share much about it here, although I know some things in theory, but Freya Aswynn is one of the most respected authorities, and her feminine revision of Asatru has earned her much renown. There are many resources online, and several communities whose members share an interest in Seidr. They can be found with the help of any search engine. The purpose of the ecstatic practice of seidr, as with any other shamanic system, is to lose control, to leave the body, and to travel through the nine worlds within the world tree of Yggdrassil, to contact spirits, or search for answers. Asatru values honor, strength, and virility, and this practice used to be looked down upon in ancient times, to the point where even the god Loki once humiliated the Allfather Odin for practicing witchcraft like a woman. There seems to be a mythical or psychic parallel between a man's ability to be sexually receptive and his ability to be spiritually receptive -- to lose control and let Spirit take over.

The patroness of Seidr, of magic and shamanism, of love and fertility is Freya, the Venus of Northern Europe, whose sacred day is Friday. Because of this idea that gay, effeminate, or androginous men have a special gift for Seidr, She can also be considered a special protectress and patron Goddess of some gay men, who may identify with her. In particular I see her as a Muse or Patroness of artists, writers, painters, musicians, dancers, and all those who somehow have a gift that allows them to create beauty and art. It is my personal belief that these artistic gifts are revelations of Spirit, who communicates and expresses itself through art. It makes sense that, being a Goddess of Love and Beauty, her children should have a natural tendency to feminine perceptions of the world, just like the divined male children of Oshun, Love Goddess in Western Africa, are often gay or bisexual, and her son in myth, Erinlé, is androginous and gay, and the patron of gays, lesbians (in Cuba), and transgendered folk.

Freya Aswynn believes that even Odin, in his unending search for wisdom, cross-dressed at some point in order to gain knowledge of the feminine mysteries. There *is* a group that meets regularly and seeks to re-introduce the berdache tradition within modern Asatru. It is the Fensalir Circle.

The Alcis: The Celestial Twins

There is a mysterious account about twin deities, the Alcis, who were young brothers and sons of the Sky god. They were worshiped in a forest sanctuary by priests who crossdressed. They may be a male European version of "Double Woman", a Lakota Two Spirit deity, who appeared to those who in their youth were called to become winktes (TS shamans). Once they had a vision of her they were able to experience their own Two Spirit reality and conciousness, and they were called forth to be trained and initiated in the ways of the Two Spirits. Their tribes recognized their special powers and spiritual identity by means of special initiatory rituals. Not much is known about the Alcis, they are not found in the norse myths that we still have. We do know from the account of Greek geographers that they were worshiped during the third century A.D. along the coast of the North Sea, and according to Tacitus they were worshiped by the Germanic tribe of Naharvali. In other parts of Europe, the Sacred Twins were also believed to rescue men from perils on sea and land (H. R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe, p. 169).

The Twins have been mentioned in books about gay archetypes as the archetype that models Gay relationships. The archetypal image of the Double was first proposed by Mitch Walker, who believes this to be the archetype that models competitiveness, war, comradery and love between men. Twin myths have existed in almost all mythologies, including many Creation myths, and the zodiac air sign of Gemini is ruled by them, and by the planet Mercury, which rules communication, the mind, and intellectual matters. These are all matters ruled by Gemini, as well as our relationship with our siblings, and many other things. These astrological associations may provide us with hints on who the Alcis may have been in the past, and who they are today.

Queering the Troth

As more queer individuals join in helping revive this fascinating ancient tradition, it will be enriched with a unique queer perspective, and with the research and the practice of queer Asatruars. Please note that this page may never really be complete, and it will be updated whenever more information is considered appropriate to be included here.

Saadaya