Lessons for Heathen Women: Part 1

Dismantling the Obstacle to Empowerment

Then Gangleri said “Which Aesir ought men to believe in?”

High answered, “There are twelve Aesir whose nature is divine.”

Then, Just-as-High added: “The goddesses are no less sacred,

Nor are they less powerful.”

Gylfaginning 20

There is much made of the heathen faith, especially among Reconstructionist groups, that may give many pagans reason to turn away from the call of the Old Gods. There are those who would wish us to believe that patriarchy is the rule when it comes to being heathen. They call Odin the All-Father, and there are many who would use these simple words to place the Northern Gods into a system of hierarchy which never existed. Yet if they only followed the wisdom of this All Father as he spoke above, heathenry and our life in general might be vastly different.

It is time for heathen women to stand and speak, and to break down these false beliefs about the old ways. Not only amongst ourselves, but to other pagan women, and more importantly to the men who would seek to relegate our Goddesses and ourselves to the sidelines in favor of an “authentic” heathen lifestyle. As a woman and a heathen, I may face scorn from others when I say this but… I for one, am happy to see that some of those old ways have died.

And when I speak of the old ways, I do not speak of the ways of the Gods. I speak of the ways of men. The ways of men which in history oppressed the wisdom of woman. I believe the Goddesses would be happy to see that now, some of us have found our voices. I believe the Gods would be proud that we live in a world where men and women no longer must naturally oppose each other. We have the freedom to choose in ways that never existed for the old ones. But sadly, many of both sexes are still choosing the wrong ways. Instead of being oppressed without choice, now we are simply choosing our oppressor.

Which bring me to the first lesson for heathen women which I feel is more important than any other. Learning to love ourselves not by comparison, but by the power that resides in us. Though we are now free to work, to speak, to think as freely as men have, we are still chained by the pressures of the world we live in. Is it possible for any of us to escape our childhood and become women without being brainwashed to some extent? No.

Since birth the media presents us with ideals of what a woman should be. Before we are old enough to even comprehend the extent to which the image of Woman is manipulated in media, we are already swept away in the need to match it. Before we can understand that the pornographic materials we are so often exposed to present false desires and relationships that are dangerous to both our mental and physical health, we are addicted to them. Before we are mature enough to be honest with ourselves emotionally, we have already been nearly crippled by our failed attempts to achieve happiness in some fantasy dream life that never existed in reality, but was marketed to spur consumption.

Let us start again. We as heathen women are the spinners of Wyrd itself. Was Frigg’s spindle and distaff a symbol of her willingness to be the shadow of Odin? I do not believe so. For Frigg is said to know the fate of all men, but speak not of it. She did not simply sit and speak of wisdom, but took up her tools and spun fate itself. Even when her wishes conflicted with her husband, she put her knowledge to use to ensure the outcome she desired, and knew was best. Her wisdom in some cases exceeded that of even the All Father itself. Yet how often is such a thing spoken of?

And what of Freyja? Is gold found in a solitary space in the world? Or is it not throughout the world found? When Odr left her, did she not travel far and wide in search of him, spreading wealth among the entire world itself, wrung fitfully from her own heart, cried from her own eyes? She did not sit and bemoan her fate at the hearth, but carried on with sore heart, searching for her true desire to the ends of Midgard.

Is there one among all of the Goddesses who bemoans her own ugliness? Compares themselves to another woman? Do any of them shed tears for the size of their breasts, or bewail the thickness of their waist? Is their one moment described when our Goddesses express malice, or outright hatred for another woman? I have never read or heard of such a thing.

The point is that as heathens, and as women in general, we have to free ourselves. We must realize that we have been taught falsehood since the day our eyes opened. When we attack another woman, or even when we compare ourselves to them, we are belittling ourselves. Have the wisdom to know that every female holds the same force within her. Creation. Even if she never has a child, she brings forth into the world.

You cannot negate that sacred part of another without killing a bit within yourself. Everything we see from the media, is designed to make us hungry. In hunger we become weak. In weakness, we are easily controlled, and dominated. Do you truly believe that men enjoy domination? Do you think they are fulfilled by a woman who bends to their every whim? Do you think they need some ideal of perfection to find desire in the feminine? Or in reality, are they left as empty as we are?

As heathens, let us begin as women by having confidence in ourselves. Let us be strong enough to show those around us the uncompromising face of True Womanhood. Then they will all know that heathen women are not simply shadows of the warrior. We are warriors in our own right, and that is why we are equal to, and not less, than our male counterparts. Let us be the foundation which holds our ways always on the firm ground of wisdom.