In the process of this, I signed up to a number of forums and mailing lists, for that was how the internet was back then. This helped me interact with fellow heathens (albeit virtually), which helped me explore the faith of which I had chosen to be part.
One of the first questions that new heathens often ask themselves - or that they have asked of them, is: "What form do you believe the gods take?" (or similar).
My answers back then were as confused as you might expect for someone new to the faith. These posts from the old Kindred UK forum (now sadly defunct), illustrate that perfectly.
(Linked for those that might still have access)
How do you see the gods thread - post one
Well, as I said, I am still new to the faith. I have not yet been blessed with a 'meeting' of any sort with a divine entity. Or, at least, I have not recognised one as such.
I am not saying the gods and goddesses aren't real entities. I am saying, having not been exposed to them that long, I can't honestly think of them in that way. Just in the way I think of Trevor McDonald as 'that newsreader guy on the tv' or David Bowie as 'that musical artist'. They are real people. But, having never met them, I have no means of thinking of them in that way.
And, yes, I think I am an aspect of humanity, in the same way I am an aspect of masculinity, an aspect of life, an aspect of anything and everything that goes into making me what I am. That is a whole other quest, discerning precisely what I am. I hope the gods and goddesses (whatever form they take) can help me with that, too.
So, essentially, at my current stage of 'spiritual development', I can't really think of the Aesir and Vanir as individual entities. At least not and be able to easily learn and grow from the knowledge of them. I think of them as I described and it helps me get an easier handle on them and my relation to them.
Okay, I accept that is pretty weird, and probably the opposite way that our ancestors would have learned about them. They would have learned about them as 'people' first. But they also would have learned about them from birth. Without years of christianity and rationalism polluting their opinions in the first instance, to boot.
Maybe the gods and goddesses are bodiless, and the fact they appear to some in a human guise is simply the easiest way for our minds to comprehend a divine being/presence/concept? Or maybe they are humanoid, simply with godly powers. Maybe they only exist as energy. As of yet, I do not know. But I don't want to assume anything about them this early on my spiritual path, simply because others claim to have seen them in the form of an individual.
Essentially, I am playing safe and keeping my mind open. Well, that is the way I look at it.
My views are just that - mine. Based only on what I have experienced thus far. Others have been a lot longer on the path than I. But I've got the rest of my life (40 years or so, if I am lucky) to find my own path. I'm just enjoying the scenery for now.
How do you see the gods thread - post two
I have to say I fall heavily on the side of their being anthropomorphic representations of the forces of nature/the cosmos or abstract concepts promoted in a form that people can more readily understand. Explaining renewal/order/'justice'/culture to people even today is pretty hard. Explain that there are gods and goddesses who personify these roles and people can relate to them. Especially with the teutonic gods who are peculiarly more 'human' than many others.
But, more than this, I see there is a counterpoint to this in that the gods can also represent similar aspects of our own psyches. Thor might represent my protective instinct, my pragmatic side and also my no-nonsense approach to problem solving. Freyja might represent the my sexual side. Loki my mischevious side. The stories in the eddas and other sources can be seen as a guide to how these various aspects of ourselves interact and/or how they should be viewed/nurtured.
But, then on another level entirely, I think by following the gods, honouring them in our day to day lives, we breathe a life/more life into them. To all intents and purposes they become independent beings. All we ever know of each-other (as humans) is what our eyes see, our ears hear and, essentially, what our brains process about that person. It is the same when we bring the gods and goddesses into our lives. We see them active in the world and they have an effect on and through us.
Whether what I have reasoned means they are or are not actual, real entities, I am not yet sure. I have only just come to heathenism, but I hope through studying diligently on the evidence of how our faith was practiced traditionally, by reasoning how that should be interpreted in a modern context, and maybe with the odd moment of spiritual enlightenment, I might find out one day.
Also, please note, my knowledge of the gods and goddesses is very primitive at the moment. Forgive me if I have made any inappropriate connections or somesuch 'newbie mistake'
To be quite frank, my beliefs are no more certain now than they were all those years ago. I have had experiences and episodes of enlightenment which have shaped the way I feel about the aesir and vanir. But the only lesson of value that I have learnt is that it really doesn't matter how you see the gods and goddesses of our faith. More important is to be "a good heathen" - however that is expressed for you. Keeping your word, being resilient and self-sufficient or blotting often and offering sacrfices whenever you can.
Hours spent debating what form the gods take is just time wasted. Instead we should try to learn their lessons and accept the wisdom they are offering us - if only we will take it, and them to heart.
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