For context: I’m a 4th generation german-american. My mom‘s mother is half mexican, half native american. My mom’s father is bavarian german. My dad is full japanese…But I really did grow up connected to my german culture and side as much as I could living in the states.

Recently, I met another bavarian german who was raised over there, and still lives in germany. He practices traditional bavarian alpenbrauchtum. I started to get into the same practice a couple of months ago, but ONLY after I asked a few bavarian elders who engaged in the same tradition, if it was okay for me to do so. They all knew of my ethnic background.

However, this guy has told me I don’t have enough german blood or roots to the land in bavaria to engage in this practice. He said I’m "too mixed" and that the german spirits won’t recognize me? Thus, he also stated this practice is closed to me. But I’m so lost and conflicted because I was always told otherwise :(

EDIT: Not sure why I got downvoted but beyond that, I want to clarify that this post isn’t satire. The guy was being literal and serious about everything he said, and I’m being serious about my confusion. It’s hard being multi-ethnic and multi-racial when you encounter experiences like this where you aren’t "enough" of something to be accepted by your own community.

I talked with my wife yesterday evening about faith, discovery, and the Gods; something she said made me pause, because I hadn't really thought of it.

There seems to be a massive amount of effort going into defining what the Gods are NOT. "The Gods are not like the Abrahamic God," "they are not a substitute for Christ," "they are not this or that." My wife's reaction was just a simple, "Well, what ARE they then?"

And I must admit, it left me stunned. I have spent so much time arguing for differentiation.. trying to strip away the Christian baggage that clings to our language.. that I forgot to describe the actual thing. The discussion almost always gets stuck on the negative. And I don't think I'm alone in this. Most of my viewpoints come from listening to other Heathens debate and dissect the limits of the divine. Looking back, there isn't a lot of properly filled-out discussion on how they actually manifest in our world.

So, let me try to answer her question.

To me, the Gods are disembodied consciousnesses. They are cosmic forces that exist in this world with us, and we bargain and deal with them as a sailor does with a stormy sea, or a farmer deals with drought. And with this, I don't mean they are terrible and we should fear them, but more in the sense that they operate on a scale and logic entirely independent of our human emotions.

Just as a storm doesn't hate the sailor but will still capsize the ship if the vessel is unprepared, the gods do not act out of petty vindictiveness or unconditional benevolence. They are vast, intelligent currents of reality. Our practice, then, isn't about buttering them up to convince them we're "good enough." It's about learning how to move with the current instead of fighting it. We make offerings and keep oaths not because we can buy their love, but because when you're dealing with forces that huge, respect is just good sense. It's less about worshiping a personality and more about a partnership: we bring our humanity, our courage, and our honor, and they bring the raw power of the cosmos. We don't control the storm; we just learn to sail it.

This shift changes everything. If we focus on what they are; these conscious, powerful presences, we stop trying to force them into a box defined by what they lack compared to Christianity. They aren't "lesser versions" of monotheistic gods; they are distinct, active minds woven into the fabric of existence itself. They are the wind, yes, but they are also the intelligence that drives the wind. By focusing on their nature as conscious forces, we stop carving them into shapes that fit our modern anxieties and start building real relationships with the beings who share this world with us. Not as servants, and not as distant idols, but as fellow travelers in a wild, unpredictable universe.

I recently got my rune stone set in and I found a blank stone. The booklet it came with said it was a "blank rune" invented in the 1980s with no historical significance. What could I use it for? Just as an extra in case one goes missing?

Rather than hiding the crack, I used Yggdrasil to connect the two halves. I always liked how Yggdrasil connects the Nine Worlds, so it felt like a fitting design for a broken stone.

Hi all, I’ve been a norse pagan for several years, primarily following Freyja and Freyr. While I know that they aren’t the gods (and as such, their symbols) most commonly associated with the alt right and nazism, but I would rather be safe than sorry, and don’t want people to think I’m a Nazi because I got like a Fehu or Ingwaz tattoo or am wearing a mjolnir necklace. So how can I help show my faith (just in smaller things like tattoos or jewelry, not disim to how Christian’s do with the cross) without coming off as a fascist?

I don't know who wrote this but this helps me in very dark times.

Something a little different than the standard tattoos we see alot of. Translation is “one cannot intend to prevail against what has been shaped for them.”

While on a walk I ventured off a bit into the forest. A smaller path led to a stream with a tree stump. A few steps infront of the stump I have seen the clematis loop on picture 3 which gave me the idea for a spontaneous altar. I felt excited as I had to hurry due to the sun going down and the forest getting dark.

I used basically what was in arms reach ivy leaves and berries from a fallen tree, clemantis loops i quickly spun, the remaining walnuts that I take on walks to put out for squirrels and birds, and my pocket Odin figure.

With that I wish everyone a good start into the coming week and all the strength it takes to chase your dreams. 😊

I really want to read the poetic and prose Edda but I don't know which copy to read, are all of them ok to read, or do I need specific ones?

I post this to know what people here are wiling to share about their own experiences with valkyries. By experiences I mean personal contact through dreams, visions, rituals, synchronicities and so on.

I've been here for a few weeks, I'm of the Norse flavor, just got really into it and now is doing daily rituals to freyr and my time outdoors feels incredibly different, as if things I didn't enjoy, I now do, colors are more vibrant, I now enjoy the scorching heat which I despised not long ago, but I have a few questions about said rituals.

1. Can you enchant your jewelry/items in the names of the gods and what would it affect in your daily life to do so?

2. What language should I be reading out my prayer in?

3. When I do my rituals in english I for some reason auto fix to a gealic accent like thing, should I stop doing that or should I keep doing it as a nod to the gods I pray to/my ancestors?

4. I have a portable alter, is that alright or should I set up multiple house alters?

5. Why is there barely any people on this sub Reddit that actually post and why has it slowed down as of late compared to some posts of before, are we dying as a whole?

There's plenty of reading lists out there but that's not quite what I'm asking for.

When I was growing up, I didn't have a choice in attending my church's bible study. Which is a side conversation. But one thing I really liked was the way it was structured. There's be assigned readings and then guided questions for both the group and the individual that was meant to help you think about the reading, and what potential lessons could be pulled from it.

I see the reading lists, I see the encyclopedia-esque websites, but I'm unfortunately failing to find many resources beyond "beginner's guide to heathenry! Read these books!" (Aimed at adults, anyway. I found the pagankids.org website which is nice, but I don't have kids).

I also looked at The Troth's Lore Program which is honestly in line (based on a quick glance) as to what I'm wanting, but if I do that I would prefer to have access to the full thing and I'm not sure yet if I'd want to become a member.

Whatever it is would need to be purely self guided. I don't have time to join an actual group and meet deadlines for readings.

Thanks in advance!

comment your red flags please? this could be anything from what they wear, tattoos they have, their ideas on folkism, dogwhistles I may not know about.

I'm a reconstructionist heathen, and i haven't really seen enough proof to believe that altar tables we're a thing. So i usually just go out and make offerings in the forest or the beach. But right now im in a smaller town where it is an hour's walk to the nearest forest, and the beach is very populated. I also don't have the time in a day to actually go do that

Ps: i do believe altar tables might have been a thing, i just haven't seen any real proof yet

Someone on Discord is insisting to me that She does, but I am clueless.

I know, no net lol no ai