Cont’d
As for symbolism, I’m not Asatruar so I can’t speak for those who practice Asatru, I will say that opinions most definitely vary. I’ll explain it the way I explained it to some of my co-religionists. One of my goddesses, Freya, possesses an amber necklace called “Brisingamen” (Fire-Jewel). Is this necklace a literal necklace or a symbol of her sexual power? The correct answer, in my view, is that it could be one of those things, or both of those things, or perhaps someone says: “I think both are true, but it could also mean X.” I accept that both of those things could be true, but opinions as usual, vary.
latin_rite:
How do you know what you are doing is correct? As our knowledge of paganism in Europe has all but disappeared. And How do you trace your name back to pre christian times?
And if Jesus didn’t exist how did your gods allow a fake religion totaly to wipe them off the map, to the point where people only know their name, but know nothing of their religious practices. How do you know what you;re doing is pleasing to your gods as you don’t know what the require?
This is where reconstructionism comes into play. Please keep in mind that I am not a reconstructionist, but I don’t believe I will be able to adequately answer your question without referencing it because it has had a HUGE impact on how some people practice.
When speaking specifically of Heathenry (although other reconstructionists do this as well) it’s often referred to as “the religion with homework” that is, there is an expectation that you will read the surviving lore (particularly the eddas and the sagas) for yourself. Most Heathens don’t stop at reading the eddas and the sagas, though, they also look at folklore and folk customs, archaeological evidence, medical texts (particularly Anglo-Saxon materials), as well as secondary sources from scholars of Germanic Studies. Some even learn the original languages (Old Norse, Icelandic, etc.) that the source materials were written in so they can read them for themselves without needing to rely on translators, but this isn’t a requirement to practice.
However, all of these things give us pieces of the puzzle. The eddas themselves were not meant to be a “how to” guide to honour the gods, so modern practitioners supplement their understanding with UPG (Unverified/Unsubstantiated Personal Gnosis) to put it simply, UPG is information that is not found in the source material. For instance, a common UPG is that the goddess Freya likes strawberries as offerings. This isn’t found anywhere in the primary sources, and early Heathens wouldn’t have known about them, but it is something that has come to be accepted as appropriate, strawberries are sweet, vaguely heart-shaped, and thought to be an aphrodisiac, which would make them an appropriate offering for a goddess connected with fertility, love, and sex.
Based on those sources, then, I don’t think it’s fair to say that we know “nothing” more like we know “bits and pieces” and that sometimes we need to supplement those bits with things that we have intuitively felt. The issue of “lore vs. UPG”, btw, is a complicated one, and the general consensus is that “feelings” need to be informed by what’s in the actual sources, where applicable.
As for the gods letting someone “wipe them off the map” obviously Christianity didn’t do a very good job, or no one would be Pagan.
There is a story of Thorgeir of Lightwater, who was a Lawspeaker (a bit like a Chief Justice) in Iceland who went “under the cloak” (a method by which one communicates with the gods by literally going under a cloak) in order to ask whether it was possible for Iceland to avoid civil war because Pagans and Christians were fighting. When he finally came out of his trance, he said that it would be best if Icelanders converted to Christianity, if only to avoid bloodshed. In any case, the gods are not omnipotent, nor are they the type to force the hands of their followers. I would say that Christianity succeeded not because “my God beat up your God” but because of a variety of factors: it was customary to convert when your leader converted to preserve social harmony, aspects of the new religion appealed to people, “convert or die” is the sort of ultimatum that will convince a lot of people that your new religion is the bees’ knees, etc. etc.
As for whether what we’re doing is “pleasing to the gods” here again we delve more into feelings. Some (who have close relationships with a particular deity/deities will say that they feel something that lets them know that their offerings have been accepted, or, conversely, that they feel something when they haven’t given their god/dess something that they like. There are many lists of what some have deemed to be “acceptable” offerings, but the individual is often encouraged to experiment and figure out what works for them, and of course, we have historical accounts of offerings and sacrifices, but I personally don’t know of anyone who can obtain wild boar meat, and no one in their right mind would consider human sacrifice, although there is evidence for that as well.
