Theologically, British Traditional Wicca (think Gardnerians, Alexandrians, etc) and Neo-Wiccans (think Scott Cunningham, anyone from Llewellyn writing about Wicca, etc) share a few points such as:
- reincarnation, usually within species
- rule of three
- duotheism / usually soft polytheism (goddess and god / the belief that all goddesses are one goddess, all gods are one god)
- 8 Sabbats, making up the wheel of the year
- 4 elements
- circle casting
- some tranced based magic (ex, Drawing Down the Moon), but mostly symbol based magic (ex, spells done with with tools and ritual)
- etc
~*~*~*~*~
Heathenry has a very different structure. Going point by point in a list format is a bit tricky because the correlations aren't exact, but to give it the old college try...
- Complex afterlife consisting of Valhalla, Folkvangr, Helheim, Nastarond, and possibly other places like Adlang and Vidblain, which may be where souls go after/during Ragnarok.
- Nothing quite like the Rule of Three. Many Heathens go by the Nine Noble Virtues, but those were made up fairly recently, and variations exist. (Update: it should be noted that the NNV is a racist dogwhistle at this point within heathenry because the original maker of it was racist.)
- Hard polytheism. Odin, Thor and Loki are most definitely Not all names for the same deity, nor are Frigga, Sif, and Sigyn the same deity. Some, myself included, still believe in another unifying divine force larger than these individuals. (Sometimes gets associated with Odin, though I prefer the association with Freya's missing spouse, Odr, because it opens to some fabulous parallels to mystical traditions in other faiths, and given that Freya is most definitely a goddess associated with mystical work... But that's another topic.) Nature reverence tends to come from a belief in the Landvaettir, or land spirits, such as trolls and elves, etc.
- A variety of calendars. Some that are influenced by Neo-Wicca are similar to the 8 Sabbats, others are extremely different. The equinoxes, in particular, seem to have shown no real *religious* importance to the Norse Pagans historically, and are, if kept, mostly around at all because of Wiccan influence. One can, of course, argue for the objective scientific nature of those days being based on observable phenomenon, but all of that is still kind of up for debate. Even groups that parallel will often make holidays like that less significant than, say, celebrating Leif Erikson coming to North America without actually killing the locals. Because my new state requires me to do some religious group work, whenever I get that going, if I start from scratch, I'm personally looking at a collection of 12 or 13 holidays. (It would make it much more convenient for monthly meetings, at any rate.)
- No four elements, except due to Wiccan influence. Fire and Ice are, however, seen as significant polarities in the creation of the universe.
- Heathens
don't usually cast circles, outside of Neo-Wiccan influence, but do a
"hammer hallowing" instead. Nice thing about that is it doesn't have
boundaries, just gradually fades after a space, so people can come and
go as needed.
- magic is primarily trance based (faring free, high seat ritual), and only secondarily symbol based (runes, the occasional use of Icelandic magical staves by some, very few tools used in magic and ritual - which is a bonus for portability and packable altar kits, let me tell you!)
A caveat:
Heathens are also an extremely polarized lot, mostly on the far, far left or far, far right. Personally, I often have issues carving out a "sane middle ground," or moderate space, and finding such in the community. (Update: there are enough Heathens that it's easy to find non-tankies now, and the right has gotten abhorrent.)
Additionally, a lot of them like to play "more Heathen than thou" if they actually know Old Norse or Icelandic (which is remarkably close to Old Norse), and pulling obscure terms out of some dusty tome and making them mean so much more than they probably did to that culture is commonplace. (Update: I still think people who insist on linguistic purism and treat it like you need a doctorate in medieval studies to be heathen... are assholes.)
The “Loki's Tale” Ballad
(Lokka Tattur, as found on
northvegr.org)
{English Translation}
Loki's
Tale
1.
A peasant (1)
and a giant [held] a match,
The giant won and the peasant
lost.
Refrain:
What
avails me this harp (2)
That
is by my hand,
Will no stalwart man follow me
To another land ?
2.
"I have fulfilled
my [end of the] bargain,
Now I will have your son.
3.
I will
have the son of yours
You'll not conceal him from me."
4.
The
peasant said to his lad:
"Bid Odin (3)
to step in for me."
5
"Summon now Odin the Asa-king
(4),
Who
can guard him, hid away for long.
6.
"I wish Odin wert
right here,
And knew where to hide the boy!"
7.
Ere he
hath said the word,
There stood Odin before the table.
8.
"Hark
thou Odin, I bid to thee,
Thou shalt hide mine son for
me!"
9.
Odin fared off with the boy,
The wife and the
peasant were woebegone.
10.
Odin commanded a field of crop,
To
grow tall after scarce one night,
11.
Odin commanded the boy
become
A single ear among the crop.
12.
A single ear among
all the crop,
A barley-grain amid one ear.
13.
"Lie in
there, do not pain,
When I should hail, come to me!
14.
Lie
in there, don't you fear
When I should hail, come hither
out!"
15.
The giant has a heart as hard as horn,
He
grasps a whole arm's-ful at the corn.
16.
He now grasps the
corn in his sight,
Bearing a keen-biting sword in hand
17.
And
bearing a keen-biting sword in hand
He sets out to mow the boy
down.
18.
Then was the boy affrighted,
The barley-corn
squirmed out of the fist.
19.
Then was the boy overcome with
pain
Odin hailed unto him.
20.
Odin fared with the boy back
home
The peasant and his wife gave them embrace.
21.
"Here
I have the young son of yours,
Now I am done with hiding
him."
22.
The peasant said to his boy:
"Bid Hønir
(5)
to step in for me!"
23.
"I wish Hønir wert right
here,
And knew where to hide the boy!"
24.
Ere he had
said the word,
There stood Hønir before the table.
25.
"Harken
Hønir, I bid to thee
Thou shall hide mine son for me!"
26.
Hønir
fared off with the boy,
The wife and the peasant were
woebegone.
27.
Hønir gang over the green ground,
Seven
swans flew across the sound.
28.
Eastward flew two swans
They
alighted beside Hønir.
29.
Hønir commanded now the boy to
become
A single feather in the head of the swan.
30.
"Lie
in there, do not pain,
When I call you, come out to me!
31.
Lie
in there, don't you fear,
When I call you, come hither
out!
32.
The monster gang over the green ground,
Seven swans
flew across the sound.
33.
The giant dropt down on his
knees
And grabbed the swan which was at the forefront.
34.
He
took a bite out of the forefront swan,
Gashing its throat down to
the shoulder.
35.
Then was the boy turned affright,
A
feather slipped out of the giant's clutches.
36.
Then was the
boy overcome with pain,
Hønir hailed unto him.
37.
Hønir
fared with the boy back homeward,
The wife and the peasant gave
them embrace.
38.
"Here I have the young son of yours,
Now
I am done hiding him.
39.
The peasant said to his lad:
"Bid
Lokki step in for me!"
40.
"I wish Lokki wert right
here,
And knew where to hide the boy!"
41.
Ere he said
the word,
There stood Lokki before the table.
42.
"Thou
canst but imagine my dire need,
The monster means to have my son
dead.
43.
Harken, thou Lokki, I bid to thee,
Thou shall hide
mine son for me!
44.
Hide him so good, as well as you can,
So
the lad can never captured be!"
45.
"If I am to hide
your son,
You must do my bidding!
46.
You shall build a
boathouse,
While I am gone away.
47.
You shall cut out a
window wide,
And bar it with an iron rod!
48.
Lokki fared
off with the boy,
The wife and the peasant were
woebegone.
49.
Lokki appears over the strand,
With a skiff
ashore by the land.
50.
Lokki rows out to the remotest fishing
banks
That was told in the lore of yore.
51.
Lokki utters
not another word,
He casts the hook and sinker overboard.
52.
He
casts the hook and sinker overboard
And anon hauls in a halibut
(helliflounder). (6)
53.
He
hauls in one, he hauls in two,
The third had a blackish
hue.
54.
Lokki commands now the boy become,
An egg-grain in
the halibut(helliflounder)'s roe.
55.
"Lie in there, do
not pain,
When I call you, come out to me!
56.
Lie in there,
don't you fear,
When I call you, come out hither!"
57.
Lokki
now rows back towards land,
The giant awaiting in the
sand.
58.
The giant asked him straightaway:
"Lokki,
where have you been tonight?"
59.
"Little peace had
I,
For I sailed and fared all over the sea."
60.
The
giant rushes for the iron skiff,
Lokki shouts: "The waves are
bad".
61
Lokki speaks, and here's what he said:
"Giant,
let me tag along."
62.
The giant took the tiller by the
hand
Lokki now rowed away from land.
63.
Lokki rows a good
long ways,
But the iron skiff doesn't budge a bit,
64.
Lokki
swears by the truth,
"I can steer one better than
you."
65.
The giant then takes the oars,
The iron skiff
sped over the sea.
66.
The giant rows a good long ways,
Nigh
did Lokki to the sternpost stay.
67.
The giant rows out to the
remotest fishing banks,
That was told in the lore of yore.
68.
The
giant utters not another word,
He casts the hook and sinker
overboard
69.
He casts the hook and sinker overboard
And
anon did catch a halibut (helliflounder).
70.
He hauls in one,
he hauls in two,
The third was of blackish hue.
71.
Lokki
swears by his faith,
"Giant, let me have the fish"
72.
The
giant replies and nay says he,
"No, my Lokki, you shan't have
it."
73
He put the fish between his knees,
And counted
each egg in the roe.
74.
He counted each egg in the roe.
He
meant to catch the boy.
75.
Then was the boy turned
affright,
And an egg leapt out of the hand.
76.
Then was the
boy overcome with pain,
Lokki hailed unto him
77.
"Sit
yourself behind me,
Let not the giant see you.
78.
You must
leap lithely upon the land,
Do not leave a track in the
sand!"
79.
The giant then rows back to land.
Straight
into the white sand.
80.
The giant rows onto land,
Lokki
turns 'round the iron skiff.
81.
The giant runs the sternpost
aground on land,
The boy leaps lithely upon the land.
82.
The
giant gave gaze to the land,
There stood the boy on the
sand.
83.
The boy leapt so lithely on to land,
He left no
track upon the sand.
84.
The giant leapt heftily on to
shore,
Sinking knee-deep in the sand,
85.
The boy scurries
away as best as he could,
Scurries right through his father's
boathouse.
86.
He scurries right through his father's
boathouse,
The giant, after him in hot pursuit.
87.
The
giant gets himself stuck in the window,
Smashing his head on the
iron bar. (7)
88.
Loki
then did not bide,
He struck off one of the giant's shins.
89.
To
giant was rather amused by this,
The wound mended back to whole
again.
90.
Loki then did not bide,
He struck off giant's
other shin.
91.
He struck off the giant's other shin.
And
tossed in-between, a stick and stone. (8)
92.
To
the boy was rather amused by this,
Watching the giant sundered to
pieces altogether.
93.
Lokki fared with the boy back
homeward,
The wife and the peasant gave them embrace.
94.
"Here
I have the young son of yours,
Now I am done with hiding
him.
95.
I've kept my words to you,
Now the giant has lost
his life."
(translated by Kiyo using the
Danish translation and Old Icelandic dictionary, and with the
indispensible help of Anker Eli Petersen)
1.
peasant— Far. bónði is the same word as in Old Icelandic. I've
used the word "peasant" here (to match H.A. Gureber's short
story "Skrymsli and the Peasant's Child", which is
essentially a retelling of this Loki's Tale ballad). Anker Eli
Petersen uses "farmer" in his translation of the Skrímsla
Ballad. The word is also variously translated as "bondsman",
"franklin", or "husbandsman".
2. Refrain:
what avails me..— Even though hvat skalliterally reads "what
shall", it means "to what end," "for what use,"
or "why".
3.
Odin— In Faroese Óðin is pronunced "oh·vin", the
phonetic representation Ouvin (gen. Ouvans, acc. Ouvan) is used by
the early ballad-collector H.C. Lyngbye, and is also recorded by
Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology.
4.
Asa-King,— i.e. the king of the Æsir deities.
5.
Hønir— or Hoenir is another name of Vili. Odin, Vili, and Ve were
three brothers responsible for creating the first humans, Ask and
Embla (a man and a woman, and their names meaning "ash" and
"elm" respectively). I think the Icelandic form is Hœnir
("oe-ligature") even though Hænir ("ae-ligature")
is used in most e-texts. The character is mentioned in Völuspá,
str. 18. The trio of deities who are summoned in this ballad are also
the tree who are travelling together when they slay Otr and are
forced to pay the wergeld in the Volsunga saga. g
6.
halibut—Though the Faroese name of the fish is flundr, this
translates to "halibut" (not "flounder"). (cf.
Faroese Fisheries Laboratory's polyglot fish name list.) H. A.
Guerber, wrote a short story "Skrymsli and the Peasant's Child"
based almost entirely on this ballad, and in it he translates the
fish as "flounder". Interestingly enough, the Japanese
translation of Gureber's story calls the fish "hirame") (*
which, as can be confirmed using the polyglot fish list hotlinked
above, is a type of "fluke" in English, and called
reyðsprøka in Faroese.).
There is also different retelling of
the story(Loki's Trick), in which the fish is given as "haddock".
7.
iron bar — Far. jarnkelvi (OIc. járn- "iron" + kylfa
"club"). It was most difficult for me to comprehending what
was happening here, until Anker Eli Petersen sent me his rough
translation. In str. 47, Loki dictates the farmer to make a window
and set an "iron bar" in it. Since the boy is of much
smaller stature, he can run through this barred window without
problem. But the giant who comes running doesn't quite fit through,
and bangs his head so hard that it is "brast" (or broken).
It is revealed in the following stanzas that the monster has
regenerative powers, and one might surmise that even a smashed head
is hardly a lethal blow to it.
H. A. Guerber, in his story
"Skrymsli and the Peasant's Child" based on this ballad,
interpreted the iron implement to be a sharp spike:
"..Loki had cunningly
placed a sharp spike in such a position that the great head of the
giant ran full tilt [at full speed] against it, and he sank to the
ground with a groan."
8.
I have read (at the "Infinite Space" site below) that a
similar charm is used in the Thidrekssaga to prevent a dwarf (or
dwarves) from coming back to life.