Disting - A holiday honoring the Disir, the femaleancestors, celebrated about February 2.

Sigrblót - Feast beginning the summer half of the year,the Spring Equinox, for success in the coming season.O

stara/Easter/Sumarmál - A celebration of the firstday of summer which, in Icelandic law, alwaysbegan on the Thursday between the 8th and 15th ofApril. Now often celebrated around the Spring Equinox.

May Eve/May Day - A common Germanic festivalcelebrated from April 30 through May 1.

Midsummer - A folk-holiday throughout the Germaniclands, especially Scandinavia, on the Summer

Solstice.Freyfaxi/Freysblot/Freysfest/Loaffest -A celebrationof the season’s harvest in honor of Freyr on July 31.

Winter Nights - Celebration of the harvest in honor ofthe disir, female ancestors and fertility spirits, often cel-ebrated on the Saturday between October 11th and 17th.

Yuletide - Beginning at Mother Night, the eve of theWinter Solstice, a celebration honoring the ancestorsand family, and continuing through “Twelfth Night,” acelebration where New Year’s resolutions are sworn.

Heathens honor the old Germanic Gods...the Northern European Gods, they honortheir Ancestors, and they give gifts and respect the Vaettir (spirits of the land,water, etc.). Its a reconstruction religion, meaning Heathens attempt to honor theGods, Ancestors, and Vaettir in the same ways that our Ancestors honored theGods, their Ancestors, and the Vaettir.

Viking is the Norse word for Pirate

While we do not know exactly what they referred to themselves as, the term Vikings is a 19th century phrase. At the time of the Vikings, other nations referred to them as Norse, Norsemen and Danes.

Vikings were all about physical strength and were known to abandon sickly children. Abandonment methods included leaving them alone in the wildnerness and throwing them into the sea...

While Viking men and women certainly weren't treated as equals, Viking women did have some basic rights. These included being able to inherit property and request a divorce.

Beowulf is an Epic poem written in Old English around 700-1000 C.E. This book is important for many of its pagan elements, including its depiction of sumbel.

Archaeology remains an important source for understanding Old Norse and Viking culture. We gain insight into the Norse culture by looking at the things they made, the tools they used, the burials they laid, and the settlements they established. While archaeology can’t tell us everything about their ancient religions, it can help inform our modern-day Heathen practices.

Anthropology is the study of culture. Echoes of Old Norse culture can still be seen in Scandinavian countries today. By comparing these with what we know of the Norse past, we can identify key values and observances that endured throughout time.

Many regional stories, creatures, sayings, and superstitions persist in Scandinavian countries. For example, Iceland is careful about where it builds roads and houses so as not to disturb the Alvar. Folklore gives us further depth into the animistic worldview that informs Norse Paganism.

An Old Norse word meaning “being.” This refers to any kind of spirit, from deities, to earthly spirits, to human ghosts, etc. The English equivalent is “Wight.”

The name of the primary tribe of Norse deities, often anglicized as “Aesir” in English. The word “Æsir” is plural for áss or ǫ́ss, which simply means “god.” The words Ásatrú and Asatro gets their names from this term.

In Norse mythology, the Aesir go to war with another tribe known as the Vanir. The Aesir are sometimes thought to represent civilization while the Vanir are thought to represent fertile land and agriculture. These two tribes are sometimes contrasted with Jötnar—beings that embody the untamable and even hostile wilderness.

However, the word “Aesir” describes a community of gods as opposed to a divine species. Many of the Norse gods are descended from Jötnar, if not fully Jötunn themselves.

Despite popular belief, Vikings never wore horned helmets. Christians in contemporary Europe added the detail to make the Vikings look even more barbarian and pagan, with horns like Satan’s on their head.

Just as in today's society, being blonde was highly desired. So much so that brunette Viking men had tactics for lightening their manes. One method involved using a strong soap with a high lye content to bleach their hair.