When first looking at heathenry I stumbled across loads of thinly pseudo-academic titles, but without some serious digging it was hard know what to accept and what to reject. I have found that it takes many years and lots of research to filter for authenticity. I still feel that it is quite a daunting task for those new to this to find a solid portal or entry into a valid understanding of indo European ethnic religion. Easy traps are set and you can see why a number of folks end up grabbing a hold of structures like Wicca and such, or as in my case just walking away over and over again in frustration. I wish there was a better way to offer serious academic guidance.

I try to write often about this topic as well as others but when I read your insights, I always come away with a bit more than I had mapped out. Some writing is inspirational, and some is intimidating. Your posts tend to be both to me.

Thanks, Ulfrun. I think that Snorri was remarkably fair. He did not go out of his way to discredit or insult Heathen beliefs or mythology. I think its likely he got some of it wrong, at worst, and at best, he got only some of it. But I wouldn't completely disregard him by any means. I just think we have to be aware that our source material will never rival that of Mediterranean Paganism in reliability or depth, and that we have to be very careful who we trust with regards to what, exactly, it's telling us.

I've always gotten a chuckle from the Trojan thing too, not that I would mind being descended from Hektor

As to arguments about Snorri's Christian influence. Yes it was there, but I don't think he was trying to christianize the material. I am of the opinion that he was trying to preserve the information before it was lost. Though I have toa admit that the part about the Gods being Trojans made me laugh. At the time it was acceptable shcolarship but today, it's rather ridiculous.

As I've always said, people are entitled to their views and to their religion. I have no objection to Wicca as a legitimate religion. It is. It just isn't what it's often advertised to be (by its own adherents, no less).

I have always believed that the strength of Paganism is its diversity. We don't all have to agree or even approve; we just have to tolerate and co-exist. Ancient Pagans often thought other ancient Pagans had odd beliefs too, or customs or rites. But that didn't mean those activities had to be condemned or suppressed, and that is the key for us today as well.

People may think I have odd ideas about Paganism. That's fine. That's their right. But you won't see me suppressing or oppressing them and I trust I won't see that from them either. And that's the key.

And I thank you again for posting this information. While helpful, it does confirm my opinion that trying to recreate the ways of old and emulating beliefs that we have scant evidence for is not only extremely hard but riddled with gigantic holes.

As I've mentioned before, I respect a person's choice to reconstruct. But I prefer to just learn from my gods direct and do what I can in this world and time. I guess if that gets me painted with the New Age brush…meh. It doesn't matter.

But I suppose the issue here is ancestry. Since ancestors mean a lot more to Heathens than others, details of worship and belief do matter. And while I agree that it's important, I think the difference between me and Heathens is the degree to which it matters.

One thought stood out to me:

"The problem with Wicca is that it wants to incorporate the Northern Tradition as a cousin, as another way to practice a universal paganism."

I wouldn't say this is the fault of Wicca per se. But yes, it does happen.

I think it's a lot of people, myself once included, coming out of the monotheist/Abrahamic mindset and not realizing that it doesn't fit into the old ways of understanding the world. So they look at polytheism through the lens of monotheism because it's all they know.

According to this lens there can only be a "universal paganism". They haven't learned that polytheism isn't about revealed truths, holy writ etc…

So they try and reconcile the old ways into a homogeneous whole because…well, otherwise the world doesn't make sense to them. They can't yet understand the concept that some deities may not like each other. Why? Well, they see them as all sitting up in the one "heaven" chatting it up and being a cosmic, united whole.

I think that is what is holding up a lot of scholarship too. Indigenous beliefs were often labeled as "superstitions" or "occult" rather than religions because the people doing the research were probably Abrahamics. So they paste their monotheist/Abrahamic views over history and peer through that medium and interpret. Perhaps this was Snorri's problem? I don't know. But most agree that, while he was certainly biased, he tried to remain true when representing Heathen views.

At the same time, I think we do have to tolerate these people (the Wiccatru types) to hold their views. Why? Because some of them *are* monotheists and not polytheists. It drives me crazy and I do think the gods find it amusing but…I don't *know* that. It's my opinion on the matter. It's the same thing with the singular Goddess worshipers. I don't like the whole, "All gods are one God." I think it's BS. But…they are monotheists and I'm not. Hope that made some sense!