An Archetypalist Approach to the Norse Pantheon: Toward an Initiatory, Personal Practice

Introduction

There has been, of late, a resurgence (it may rightly and more accurately be called a renaissance) of interest in the old gods of Europe, most particularly the gods of the Norse pantheon of Scandinavia (Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden) and, as well, Iceland. In large part this is no doubt related to the historical chronicles of the Vikings, their religion and myths, and, arguably more so, the place of the Vikings in popular culture, e.g., Vikings (2013) the TV series produced by History, the film The Northman (2022), and video games such as Skyrim (2011) and Assassin's Creed Valhalla (2020), just to name several, of the more popular recent examples.

Truth be told, since the 13th century, there has been an interest in the mysterious peoples of the North, their religion and their gods, especially among the peoples of Europe. This culminated in the Romanticism of the 19th century in grand crescendo in Wagner's Ring Cycle in what would become a major revival in interest in all things Norse and, then again, interest would reach fever pitch in the 1930s in, of all places, Nazi Germany. Space, herein, however, does not permit a more detailed survey of all things Norse in popular culture or, more generally, a survey of relevant history.

Suffice it to say that the rise of a simultaneous and more spiritually-oriented interest in the Norse gods is, no doubt, related to the general popularity of the same. However, there is, in fact, more to this than mere trendiness and spiritual fashion.

Many have found traditional Christianity in its Catholic, Orthodox, and mainline Protestant forms lacking. At the same time, they have found atheism, secularism, and scientism hollow. As such, there exists a spiritual vacuum and people are searching for something to fill the void. There is a growing desire for something more mystical, esoteric, and magical even.

There exists also a great sense of disconnectedness and, so begins the inner journey of many to reconnect, though there is often only a vague sense of just what it means, exactly, to “reconnect” and to just what one is to be connected to. Is it to themselves? To others? To the ancestors? To nature? To God or the gods?

Such spiritual stirrings coupled with, if only superficial, knowledge of the Norse gods as is common in popular culture, many, especially of European ancestry, are drawn to the old Norse religion (today most popularly referred to as Asatru, i.e., “Faith in the Æsir”). There are burgeoning communities of Asatruar (practitioners of Asatru) in every Scandinavian country, in Iceland, all over Europe, in the US, and in many other countries around the world.