The Aesir Gods: A Vanatru perspective

The Death of Baldur by Christoffer Eckersburg

First of all I would like to state that this post is in no way intended as a representation of the personal values or beliefs of Vanatru as a community. The following is simply my own explanation of the way THIS Vanatru sees the Aesir Gods, and a bit of explanation as to why their is at times conflict between Asatru and Vanatru beliefs.

It is much easier to understand the difference between Asatru and Vanatru if one views them in much the same sense as one views different sects of Christianity. The same basic cosmological system, yet viewed from two different perspectives or viewpoints. Not always in agreement on certain aspects of divinity or practice.

So, let's start with the facts, or atleast the things most of us can agree on. The Aesir are race of Gods that are best known to the layperson. Odin, Thor, Frigga, Baldur, Sif, Tyr, all these Gods are traditionally Aesir. Most of the Eddic Lore that has survived is directly concerned with the Aesir Gods, and their personal belief system, ideas such as the World Tree, The weaving of Wyrd, and other well known cosmological aspects of Heathenry.

So who are the Vanir? Well, it is hard to say. They are Gods in the same sense of being as the Aesir. They possess power in equal measure. And at some point in time, the Vanir came into conflict with the Aesir. They warred for a time, and from what is said in the lore, Odin and the Aesir eventually came to the conclusion that they were not able to defeat the Vanir. So as an act of truce they exchanged hostages, the first attempt at which came to create yet more conflict.

 Eventually these conflicts were settled, and the Vanic Gods Njord and his son Freyr came to live among the Aesir as equals. Also joining them was Freyja, the sister of Freyr, another well known Vanic Goddess, though it is not implicitly stated that Freyja herself was part of the truce. Indeed one is more apt to think that Freyja came to be among the Aesir wholly of her own accord. For Asatru and Vanatru, the circumstances of this exchange create a conflict of belief. This can be explained partly by etymological issues.

The Old Norse language can be confusing in that one word may have a variety of possible translations which might effect the meaning of a sentence or concept. Take the word Disir, which is commonly used to describe female ancestral spirits. But in other circumstances it can describe one's animal double, a female giant or spirit, a goddess, or even a human woman. Indeed the word Disir at it's simplest simply denotes a female gendered being. Yet it's most common usage in the historical text indicates a common connotation to female ancestors. Therefore one word may have a variety of possible meanings which simply are unknown now.

The word Aesir is similar in this. The word Aesir simply denotes God status (plural). In specific context it refers to the Aesir tribe of Gods, as separate from the Vanir tribe of Gods. In our modern understanding of the lore, there is simply no way to know which sense the authors presented this relationship between the Aesir and Vanir.

Asatru would argue that when the principle Vanir God joined the Aesir as companions, they in essence were absorbed into the Aesir pantheon, simply becoming Aesir as well. Whereas a Vanatru  typically will doubt this assumption, and believe that though the Vanir lived among the Aesir, they kept their own seperate tribal identity intact, and remained Vanir.

This is a very simplified account of one of the major differences which create conflict between Asatru and Vanatru. There are many others. The simplified view of the Aesir as enlightened sky Gods and the Vanir as earthly fertility gods is one that may make sense to Asatru but for Vanatru may be degrading and at times insulting.

So what is the major conflict for Vanatru, the major difference that calls some to the Aesir and others to the Vanir. This can be answered in one word. PATRIARCHY.

Thought the Aesir Gods are worlds away from Christianity, nonetheless the Aesir cosmos is one which is essentially patriarchal. The masculine force is the rule. The Aesir Goddesses have much depth but for all this they never quite move beyond their role as wives, mothers, and hearth keepers. In examining the Eddic Lore, transcribed by a Christian author, it is at times hard to tell how much Christian thought influenced the stories Snorri wrote. There are gaps in stories, empty spaces that lead the reader to wonder what was being hidden, or what information was simply "too pagan" to include.

Sadly for the Vanatru, much of this absent information seems to be directly related to the lore of the Vanir. Also worth noting is that the Vanir tribe of gods does not reflect patriarchy.In fact the best loved of the Vanir is Freyja, and in many ways the most powerful. It is Freyja who teaches Odin magick. It is Freyja who embarks as a lone female into the world in search of Odr. She was free with her sexual favors, and her father Njord defended her in this during the Flyting of Loki. Indeed the only instance of Freyja being obedient to male commands involved her being blackmailed. Freyja herself is a powerful argument against patriarchy in Vanir myth.

There simply is NO implicit gender based social hierarchy among the Vanir reflected in the Eddas or any other historical text. Sadly their is little left of Vanir cosmology or belief either. Many wonder if the abscence of lore indicates that Vanir myth and practice was perhaps that part of the myths that Snorri found to be "too pagan." Of course these are all questions that no one can answer.

The important thing to understand is that Vanatru do not seek to demonize the Aesir. We simply wish to worship our Gods, that we feel personally connected to, while keeping possible cultural and cosmological value systems separate, as we see them, rather than view our Gods as simply an absorbed faction of the Norse pantheon.

The wisdom and the lore of the Aesir is relevant to Vanatru. Regardless as to how one views the Gods and their hierarchy, there is no denying that both cultural races of Gods had much in common, just as they had many differences. The Aesir should be important to a Vanatru, simply because there Lore is often the only source, though sparse, for Vanic Lore in literature. The Aesir should be respected, as many of them were close friends and helpmates to the our own Gods.

In Frith,
Cena


 This Post Created for the Pagan Blog Project by Rowan Pendragon