Pre-Christian Northern European Traditional Living

Ancestral Pre-Christian
NorthEuropean “Pagan” “Heathen” Living

Our emphasis here is on open-minded child-rearing. We focus on teaching the noble values of pre-Christian Europe and restoring the religion of our ancestors into the lives of our children and young adults. Parents and beginners to ancestral traditions will find our material of value, too. We focus especially on children and young adults because we don’t want them to be deprived of the ancient ways of their people. Studies show that happiness, self-esteem and a sense of security are all connected to religion. Children reared in a faith believed by their parents (not just following along, but real belief) live way better than the doubters and the followers of dogmatic religions. See Beliefnet.com for some interesting articles on Earth Based religions and all religions of the world, for that matter.

For generations the Old Ways of the Northern Europeans, Anglo-Saxons, Celts, Teutonics and Scandinavians have been brutally suppressed. We have been forced to swallow a mediterranean faith which just doesn’t fulfill our Indo-European souls.

“Too long has the Westerner suffered ‘bearing the cross of alien fruits.’ They have had their chance and have failed time and again in their impotent effort to satisfy the depths of the Indo-European soul.” —Edred Thorsson, from his book Futhark, A Handbook of Rune Magic.

No Eastern religion truly can satisfy the souls of European-Americans. The Western way has failed repeatedly, too. Like the Native Americans, we resist just blindly going along with the new religion. We want to keep in touch with our ancient fore-mothers and fathers. It’s time to “come home,” to our kin and Elder Kin (Deities of the North).

If you have felt drawn, heard the Elder Kin call your name, or notice them mess with your life to get your attention, then you know what you’ve got to do. Study, read, and “remember” your past. Best of all, relay this valuable faith to the next generation. Free them from rigid sin-based dogma. Give them a religion they can say is their very own, not just something they believe in or practice, but something they just ARE. They’ll thank ya for it.

Check here for “heathen” parenting links and family ideas/activities. There are a several parenting/children’s ideas to be found at Northvegr.org, as well as a fabulous array of other information, translations and articles.

Keep checking back, and feel free to email with any suggestions, ideas or questions, and especially to send us YOUR link! We love links! Interconnectedness of the Kin is the best way to survive and thrive in this oftentimes hostile world. The Northern way of our ancestors and their gods teaches fearlessness in a world of fear. It is the warrior code, but also the honor code. Our ancestral traditions provide a marvelous way to bring up the young ones to stand on their own with healthy self-esteem fired up and powered up. The Old Ways instills all the values and virtues so praised by other religions, but they are coupled with strength and a hearty dose of viking stubbornness! Now what kid doesn’t get THAT trait honest?

Great reading for ages 10 and up is: Orson Scott Card’s the Tales of Alvin Maker series. The first book of the series is called Seventh
Son. This series is not specifically about “heathenism,” but focuses on earth based religions in America and American Folk Magic. The books show what life might have been like with a thriving American Folk Religion. That folk magic has since been taken away from us, ridiculed and encouraged to die out, but in these books it is alive and well, and much can be learned about what we’ve lost. Orson Scott Card does flawless research, and you will discover many eye-openers such as, “my grandmother did that!” or “my grandfather taught me that!” Alternative religious beliefs have always been with us, but usually not for long before they get stamped out as “heresies” or “satanic.” American Folk Magic is our heritage, brought over when many of our ancestors fled Europe’s religious persecution. We have a right to keep it alive, and our children deserve to know their roots.

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Common Modern Folk Practices
That Are originally from pre-Christian Northern European Ancestral Traditions

Tooth-Faerie – Done as a sacrifice to honor the Alfar & Frey, there king, in thanks for the growth of the kids teeth to come.

Christmas-Tree – Actually a Yule practice to represent Yggdrasil. The ornaments are sacrifices made to the gods. Probably (maybe; just a theory) also given to appease Odin and the wild hunt. Notice how many ornaments are human like? Maybe this was so the wild hunt would take these symbolic people instead of real people.

Wishing-Well (Fountain) – Is a magical practice used to place something into the 3 sacred wells (Hvergelmir, Wyrd, Mimir) so that it may manifest into ones Wyrd. Like as an example. If one wanted a car they could toss a matchbox car into a body of water while wishing for a new car and picturing what kind of car they want (and the tiny toy car should be one that reflects this model).

Piggy-Bank – Represents Frey’s golden Boar. Frey is the god of fertility and abundance (which is associated with money in modern times).

Drinking-Toasts – This is merely the modern survival of the sumbel frinking ritual of scandanavian, anglo-saxon and other northern european tribes.  In the sumbel a god or goddess is praised and the glasses are raised. It goes around the circle.  Now we raise a toast to each other, not the gods, but the custom has ancient roots.