One of the handouts available at the talk I gave during this year’s Pagan Pride Day in Albuquerque:
Glossary for The Basics of Asatru
(and other forms of Heathenry and Paganism inspired by pre-Conversion Germanic religion)
Æsir: One of the families of gods. Some of the better-known include Odin, Frigg, and Thor.
Alfar: Elves. Often called alfar to avoid people confusing them with fantasy, Lord of the Rings style elves. Believed by some Heathens to be deceased male ancestors.
Asatru: Literally, “faith in the Æsir,” though it isn’t strictly limited just to worship of the Æsir; all wights allied with the Æsir and humanity may be worshipped. It is the reconstruction and revival of the pre-Conversion religion(s) of the Germanic peoples.
Æ, æ: Ash. In modern Icelandic, pronounced like English “eye.”
Blot: Pronounced so it rhymes with “boat,” blot is one of the main rituals used in Asatru. It shares its etymological roots with the word “bless.” Prior to the conversion, blots were most often animal sacrifices that took place before a communal feast at which the animals offered would then be eaten. While this practice may still be continued in rural communities, most urban Heathens do not live where butchering animals is normal practice, and they are more likely to replace the animal sacrifice with a votive offering of drink.
Disir: While “dis” can mean “woman” or “goddess,” many modern Heathens worship their deceased female ancestors and call them by the name “Disir.”
Drighten/Drightning: The leader of a war band. Sometimes used by Heathens to designate the leader of a group.
Dvergar: Dwarves. Often called dvergar to avoid people confusing them with fantasy, Lord of the Rings style dwarves. Some Heathens believe they are a kind of elf.
Ð, ð: eth. A letter used to represent a voiced sound “th” (as in “the” or “weather”)
Forn Siðr: “Old Custom.” Many Scandinavians, especially Danes, prefer this term to describe their religion.
Frith: Often translated simply as “peace,” frith is more properly a state of prosperity and growth in which strife and conflict, when they exist, are constructive to the prosperity of the clan or tribe.
Galdr: A song, especially a magical one.
Germanic Peoples: The people of much of northern and western Europe, including Scandinavia, Germany, and England. English is a Germanic language.
Goði/Gyðja: Originally an individual who controlled a certain district, many modern Heathens use it to mean priest/priestess.
Heathens: In the United States, used with varying degrees of exclusivity as an umbrella term for practitioners of the different forms of Germanic reconstructionist/revivalist religions by many of those practitioners.
Hof: Literally a house or hall, in modern Heathenry it is sometimes used to mean “temple.”
Jotnar: One of the primal races. Often translated as “giants.” Some of the better-known individuals born of the Jotnar include Skaði, Ægir, and Hrungnir.
Kindred: One of the more common ways to refer to a Heathen group. Other popular names include Clan, Félag, Garð, Geleafa, Hall, Hearth, Hof, Lodge, and Tribe.
Landvættir: Land wights, natural spirits sometimes conflated with the alfar.
The Lore: In Heathenry, refers to the body of mythology, sagas, historical accounts, and similar sources from which much of the information about the pre-Conversion culture of the Germanic peoples comes. Sometimes used sarcastically or with scare quotes. In recent decades, the Lore has been increasingly supplemented with information from other sources, such as archeology and anthropology.
Mead: An alcoholic drink made with fermented honey, mead has an important place in the mythology and the practice of many Heathens.
Midsummer: One of the principal holidays celebrated by Heathens, usually near the summer solstice.
Nine Noble Virtues: A set of ethical guidelines first codified by the Odinic Rite in the 1970s; while different groups may create different lists, the most common is Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance, and Perseverance.
Norns: Female wights who help shape wyrd; the best-known are Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, but many norns are described in the mythology.
Northern Tradition Paganism: A form of paganism inspired by Germanic pre-Conversion religion(s). They tend to eschew the term “reconstructionist.” Practitioners rely far less on tradition and far more on personal divine revelation; thus, they tend to be far more accepting of UPG. Some of their practices include shamanism, giving themselves to one of the gods as slaves and/or spouses, and experimentation with bondage and the inflicting of pain on themselves and other consenting individuals.
Odinism: The term Odinist in its modern sense was coined in Australia in the 1930s; in the 1970s, it began to be used in the United States and the United Kingdoms. In the UK, many Heathens primarily identify as Odinist regardless of personal politics or style of practice.
Orthopraxy: “Correct action/practice,” contrasting with orthodoxy, or correct belief.
Polytheism: A belief in a multiplicity of divine beings as separate and distinct entities, polytheism is probably the most-frequently held theistic belief among American Heathens.
Reconstructionist/Revivalist: An approach to religion that recreates the religion of a particular culture as accurately as possible, making use of historical and archaeological evidence. Varying degrees of allowance are made for the realities and conveniences of modern life and for the loss of information that has occurred over the years.
Rokkatru: A form of Northern Tradition Paganism that focuses mainly on worshipping the Jotnar, including the ones traditionally viewed as destructive and enemies of humanity.
Runes: Literally, “secrets” or “mysteries.” Symbols that often represent both a concept and a sound. A number of different runic alphabets came about through the years to write various Germanic languages; their distinctive angular shape probably developed to make them easier to carve into wood and stone, and it helps keep them from disappearing in wood grain. The vast majority of runic inscriptions when translated are either memorials to the dead or statements of ownership. While there are some attestations in poetry and sagas to the use of runes for magical purposes, there is no definitive instance of runes being used for divination prior to the Conversion, making runic divination a controversial subject in modern Heathenry.
Seiðr: A form of magic that may have involved some sort of shamanism.
Spae: Prophecy.
Sumble: A formal drinking ritual composed of toasting, hails, oath-taking, the recitation of poetry or song, and other forms of verbal expression. Sumble is usually composed of three or more rounds.
Theodish Belief (Þeodisc Geleáfa): A form of Tribalism that focuses primarily on Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, though in recent years it has become something of an umbrella term for a variety of Tribalist practices.
Til árs ok friðar: “For a good year/harvest and frith.” A prayer/blessing often associated with blot.
Tribalism: A form of Heathenry that is based around the establishment and maintenance of a separate group of people (the tribe); these tribes often seek to recreate the culture of a specific pre-Conversion Germanic people, such as the Normans. The members of tribes are often bound to one another by a web of oaths. Most tribes have a well-defined hierarchy and believe in some form of sacral kingship, in which the leader of their group is the holder of the tribe’s luck.
UPG: Unverified (Or Unverifiable) Personal Gnosis. Information and insight that may come from educated guesses, dreams, divine revelation, or other non-traditional, difficult to replicate or check, sources.
Valkyrie: “Chooser of the Slain.” Female wights who in the mythology claim slain warriors, interfere in battle for or against certain characters, and take the fallen to Valhalla. Sometimes associated with the Disir and Norns.
Vanatru: Coined in imitation of the word Asatru, Vanatru implies a focus on the Vanir. Many practitioners of Vanatru have magic as a more central part of their practice than other Heathens.
Vanir: One of the families of gods. Some of the better-known include Freyja, Freyr, and Njorðr.
Vitki: A magician.
Wights: A catch-all term for any creatures, especially sentient beings. Sometimes used interchangeably with landvættir.
Winternights: One of the principal holidays celebrated by Heathens, usually in late fall.
Wyrd: Often imperfectly translated as “fate,” wyrd is a complex and integral concept in Heathenry. Entire books can and have been written about it. Wyrd goes as it must, but all wights help to determine, consciously or not, how wyrd goes. Everything that has happened affects everything that does happen, and some actions have greater effect than others. An individual’s actions help shape wyrd, and with great effort, insight, and/or luck, it may be possible to create significant changes in wyrd.
Yule: One of the principal holidays celebrated by Heathens, usually near the winter solstice.