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Happily Heathen: Offerings for the Gods – Part 2 – The Aesir

Happily Heathen: Offerings for the Gods – Part 2 – The Aesir

Last updated on: February 12, 2016 at 10:01 pm by Cara Freyasdaughter

Happily Heathen: Offerings for the Gods – Part 2 – The Aesir 2016-02-12T22:01:35+00:00 Cara Freyasdaughter

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As I shared in the first article in this series, the foundation of any Heathen’s spiritual practice is the giving of gifts. Heathens back in the day (as well as Heathens today) understood that a constant exchange of gifts was required in order to grow our relationships with the Gods, ancestors, and land spirits. For example, we can offer to Thor a round of hails and a rich, dark beer, and in return he sends us rain for our crops, or courage in a tough situation, or helps us out in some other way. A gift begets a gift, back and forth, and so a relationships is grown. In the Germanic and Norse worlds, that is the way things work

The question often arises, though, as to which gift is most appropriate for a given deity or situation. This article will offer suggestions for gifts for several of the Aesir gods, based on the examples in the Lore and recommendations from modern worshipers. (The last article in this series, which will run at the end of the month, will focus on offerings for the Jotnar; rather, those specific Jotnar who are interested in interacting with humankind in a beneficial way, anyway).

My general rule of thumb for appropriate offerings is that anything that you yourself value will also be valued by the Gods. If it is something that you worked hard to create, or earn, or if it is just something that you really enjoy and rather keep for yourself (and not give to a non-corporeal entity, for example), then giving it up is a sacrifice. No offering is too small; at no point in the Lore do we ever hear of the Gods turning down Sven Sveinsson’s humble offering of brown bread and a small mug of ale. If that is all that Olaf has to offer, and he has worked hard to earn it then it is a worthy offering. A sacrifice can be anything: food; a drink; an action (or lack of action); or something you have created, such as poetry, art, or music. The below list is just meant to help get Heathens started; it isn’t meant to be exhaustive or prescriptive. Please feel free to share your own suggestions in the comments section.

Odin

a drawing of Odin behind a shot glass of mead with a dead bee floating in it

Sometimes Odin claims his own sacrifices! Photo by author.

The All-Father is the head god of the Norse pantheon, especially in modern times, and it is best to treat Him as such. Offer the best of whatever drink or meat you have access to, even going so far as to “make a statement” with the generosity of your offering. (This is not always necessary, but I am sure is always noted and appreciated.)
Odin also has gained somewhat of a reputation among modern Heathens (based in no small part on His actions throughout the Lore) of being a God who takes what He wants rather than what you’re comfortable giving Him. As I mentioned previously regarding Gullveig (and, to be truthful, most of the Vanir), Odin is not a “safe god”, despite all of his charm. I’ll leave you the tale of the death of Norse King Vikarr as a warning.

Food: Large cuts of meat. Beef (served rare and bloody), or a nice pork roast, for example. Smoked salmon and pickled herring on rye bread or rye crisps. “Spear-foods” such as asparagus, leeks, and garlic (“spear-leek”). Perhaps an ideal Odin meal would be a large prime rib with an au jus made from its drippings, and plenty of “spear”ish side dishes.
Drink: Snorri states in the Gylfaginning that Odin only drinks red wine, possibly alluding to his role as Chooser of the Slain; but I have it on the highest authority that he enjoys plenty of other liquors as well. Mead is an extremely popular and appreciated libation for him—if you can get it, offering Viking’s Blood mead covers both the “blood” color AND the mead flavor. He also enjoys rum and expensive whiskeys. (He’s always been happy with the Honey Jack whiskey that I offer him, I think because the honey taste is reminiscent of mead.)
Other offerings: Odin is god of poetry, so writing some of your own can be a great offering for him. Acts of courage in battle (any type of battles) can be dedicated to him. Any hunt for knowledge that requires much effort and willpower on your part (earning a doctorate degree or passing an algebra class can both be extremely challenging,example, depending on your individual abilities and resources). Learning the runes and creating your own set of them. Making an oath and following through on it.

Frigga

The All-Mother flourishes in the domestic sphere—motherhood, hearth, and home are her primary areas of concern. As a true mother (and match for Odin), She knows all, but may decide not to tell you any of it. (She also has twelve handmaidens working for Her, but that will be a post of its own.)

Food: The less “sweet” of the sweet spices–cardamom and allspice, for example on cardamom-sugar rolls. Savory and hearty meals such as stews, roasts, and savory porridges.
Drink: Sweet white wines; plum wine or sake; milks (both dairy and nut).
Other offerings: Hand-spun fibers of any kind; anything to do with spinning or weaving. Frigga, like Holda, is notorious for instigating house cleaning and organizing projects. Any housework will make a great offering for her. Also anything hand-spun or woven. Babysitting might fit in here as well. As Frigga’s Hall, Fensalir, is located in a marsh, feathers and pictures of marsh birds also make great offerings.

An offering for Frigga – by Angela Montillon – originally posted to Flickr as erste Spinnversuche, CC BY 2.0

Thor

bottles of mead

Photo of Viking’s Blood mead. Viking’s Blood, made from a 300-year-old recipe. Photo by author.

Thor, defender of Midgard and god of the common man (god of the 99%, you could say) arguably has a larger and less refined palate than his father, Odin. If you end up having to choose, my suggestion is to err on the side of quantity over quality.

Food: Goat, pork, or other meat in large quantities. Salmon and pickled herring. Large cookies.
Drink: Stout or other dark beers (Gulden Draak is a favorite). Goat’s milk. Mead.
Other offerings: Hammers and tools of all kinds, including those currently in use; blacksmith’s tools; manual labor; all acts of protection for the ones you love. Anything that’s been struck by lightning. And, as one Thorswoman of my acquaintance delicately put it, “Getting off your butt and helping out in the community.”

Heimdall

Heimdall is not only the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge into Asgard. He is also the father of humankind and has brought many gifts to us, including knowledge of the runes. He is a watchful god who must always been awake and on guard, hence His preferred choice of beverages.

Food: Lamb and mutton (Heimdall’s animal is the ram). Also, as with most of the Gods, pork works as well.
Drink: Coffee and other caffeinated drinks; mead.
Other offerings: Teaching or mentoring others; guiding students through a project. Retrieving lost items. Protecting boundaries.

Tyr

Tyr binding Fenrir – Public Domain

Tyr, who sacrificed his hand to help bind the wolf Fenris, does not appear to be as up close and personal as many of the other Norse deities profiled so far. When I spoke with several Tyrsmen about this, they described Him as being a guiding light or an ideal that they strive for: “What would Tyr do?” Still, Tyr does appreciate being honored, and they did had a few suggestions for His preferred offerings.

Food: Beef and pork.
Drink: Strong red wine or port; Guinness or another rich, dark ale.
Other Offerings: Keeping oaths. Choosing an action that is fair and just over what is convenient and easy. Making a sacrifice to help the greater good.

Idunna

Idunna, wife of Bragi, the god of poetry and storytelling, tends the Apples of Immortality offers a great treasure to the Gods as well as to us mortals. (The Norse gods are not technically “immortal”; however, with Idunna’s help, they are very long-lived. ) In my work with Her, have always found Her to be generous and loving. If you find yourself in a depressive funk, you can turn to Her, and She can offer some of Her life-giving essence to help guide back to the land of the living.

Food: Apples, apple pie, apple donuts, applesauce…, etc. (You can also offer pears or other fruits; the old Norse word epli actually meant any kind of fruit or nut.)
Drink: Apple or pear ciders, alcoholic or non-. Fruit nectars.
Other offerings: Any other apple or fruit product. Poems or songs in Her honor. Also, the act of taking care of yourself (in whatever way is most appropriate to you) can be an offering to Her as well–for example, keeping up with necessary doctors’ appointments and medications, or working out, or eating healthy.

AkS_phOtOs / Pixabay.com

Other Aesir did receive offerings–for example, Bragi could be offered any story, song, poem, or a drink of any kind of alcohol. When in doubt, an offering of mead, beer, or wine will always be appropriate (though in the case of Heimdall, it might be better in the form of an Irish coffee.) It could also easily be argued that Loki belongs in this grouping as well; the myths tell us that He is “counted among the Aesir”, and He is Odin’s oathsworn blood-brother. However, for the purposes of this series of articles, I will put Him back with his jotun kin and discuss His offerings next time.

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