Can I mess up an offering?

Functionally speaking, no. If you end up spilling or dropping something, you can clean it up and offer a new portion. Gods know that human beings aren’t perfect, and what matters is the spirit in which you give the offering, not how well you perform when presenting it.

How should I dispose of offerings?

You have a few options: You can throw it out. You can eat/drink it on behalf of the entity you offered it to, or; You can put it in the refrigerator and consume it at a later time. Your decision will likely depend on the condition the offering’s in by the time you’re ready to clean it up.

When should I make offerings?

This depends on your preferences and what feels natural for you. You can make offerings on a schedule if that’s what you prefer (like once a week), or you can make offerings whenever the mood strikes. I personally make offerings whenever it’s a holiday, whenever I make a special dish, or whenever I feel like sharing the yummy food I have with the entities that matter to me. Heathens will sometimes choose to make offerings to deities according to their corresponding week-day, which are as follows: Sunday - Sunna Monday - Mani Tuesday - Tyr Wednesday - Odin Thursday - Thor Friday - Frigg / Freyja Saturday - Free Space!

Do I need to offer traditional foods?

Not necessarily. Gods and spirits like unconventional and modern foods as well as traditional ones, so it honestly just depends on the occasion.

This will all depend on what you feel like offering and who you’re offering to. Gods and spirits are very much like human people; they all have their favorite flavors, favorite ingredients, and favorite dishes. Some may be picky eaters while others are not. But like most people, none of them are going to be upset about getting free food. If you’re unsure, you can always offer water. Water is universally appreciated, and the gesture of giving water is one of our oldest and most sacred forms of reciprocity. Everything knows what it means.

In the context of this website, animism is the view that all things are part of the same ecosystem, and that all things were, are, and will continued to be shaped by and in relation to one another. You can read a full definition here .

How do I communicate with deities and spirits?

[fusion_builder_container type="flex" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="" rule_size="" rule_color="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" user_select="" awb-switch-editor-focus="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" width_medium="" width_small="" width="" min_width_medium="" min_width_small="" min_width="" max_width_medium="" max_width_small="" max_width="" margin_top_medium="" margin_right_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_left_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_right_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_left_small="" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_transform="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_color="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_delay="0" animation_offset="" logics=""] You can learn how to communicate with deities and spirits by reading the Deity & Spirit Work 101 module. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

[fusion_builder_container type="flex" hundred_percent="no" equal_height_columns="no" menu_anchor="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" background_color="" background_image="" background_position="center center" background_repeat="no-repeat" fade="no" background_parallax="none" parallax_speed="0.3" video_mp4="" video_webm="" video_ogv="" video_url="" video_aspect_ratio="16:9" video_loop="yes" video_mute="yes" overlay_color="" video_preview_image="" border_color="" border_style="solid" padding_top="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" padding_right=""][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type="1_1" layout="1_1" background_position="left top" background_color="" border_color="" border_style="solid" border_position="all" spacing="yes" background_image="" background_repeat="no-repeat" padding_top="" padding_right="" padding_bottom="" padding_left="" margin_top="0px" margin_bottom="0px" class="" id="" animation_type="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_direction="left" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" center_content="no" last="true" min_height="" hover_type="none" link="" border_sizes_top="" border_sizes_bottom="" border_sizes_left="" border_sizes_right="" first="true"][fusion_text] No, Loki isn’t evil. In Norse mythology, Loki represents behaviors associated with children / the inner child / the midbrain, which all make decisions based on emotion and gratification. Just like with children, Loki’s mischief only becomes malicious when he feels regularly condemned or disenfranchised. The interpretation of Loki as evil comes from a few places: [/fusion_text][fusion_checklist type="icons" icon="fusion-prefix-icon-norsen-icon-arrow-right" iconcolor="var(--awb-color5)" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" circle="no" circlecolor="" textcolor="" size="" item_padding_top="" item_padding_right="" item_padding_bottom="" item_padding_left="" divider="" divider_color="" odd_row_bgcolor="" even_row_bgcolor="" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="20px" margin_left="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" class="" id="" parent_dynamic_content=""][fusion_li_item icon="" awb-switch-editor-focus="" iconcolor="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" circlecolor=""] In his Prose Edda , Snorri describes Loki the same way Lucifer is often described; beautiful to look at but wicked in character. It appears Snorri added this description knowing it would mislead Christian readers unfamiliar with the myths. [/fusion_li_item][fusion_li_item icon="" awb-switch-editor-focus="" iconcolor="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" circlecolor=""]The philologist Sophus Bugge further compared Loki to Lucifer in the 1800’s.[/fusion_li_item][fusion_li_item icon="" awb-switch-editor-focus="" iconcolor="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" circlecolor=""] The popular Marvel Cinematic Universe portrays Loki as a villain—or at least as a terribly misguided antihero. [/fusion_li_item][/fusion_checklist][fusion_text columns="" column_min_width="" column_spacing="" rule_style="" rule_size="" rule_color="" hue="" saturation="" lightness="" alpha="" user_select="" awb-switch-editor-focus="" content_alignment_medium="" content_alignment_small="" content_alignment="" hide_on_mobile="small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility" sticky_display="normal,sticky" class="" id="" width_medium="" width_small="" width="" min_width_medium="" min_width_small="" min_width="" max_width_medium="" max_width_small="" max_width="" margin_top_medium="" margin_right_medium="" margin_bottom_medium="" margin_left_medium="" margin_top_small="" margin_right_small="" margin_bottom_small="" margin_left_small="" margin_top="" margin_right="" margin_bottom="" margin_left="" fusion_font_family_text_font="" fusion_font_variant_text_font="" font_size="" line_height="" letter_spacing="" text_transform="" text_color="" animation_type="" animation_direction="left" animation_color="" animation_speed="0.3" animation_delay="0" animation_offset="" logics=""] Today, Loki is a popular deity amongst both American and Scandinavian Heathens and can be safely worshiped. [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Can I worship the Norse gods and gods from another pantheon at the same time?

Yes, this is known as being polyaffiliated and it's very common in neo-paganism. However, different pantheons of gods come from different cultures with different ideas around veneration. I advise you to keep that in mind as you go about your practice.

Is Heathenry a viking religion?

Some vikings were Christian while others were pagan. While Heathenry is called “the religion of the vikings” for this reason and others, it’s not and has never been “the religion of being a viking.” “Viking” was a very specific occupation similar to “pirate” or even “mercenary.” Very few Scandinavians were vikings the same way very few people today are part of the navy. Trying to understand Heathenry by looking at the activities of the vikings would be like trying to understand Christianity by looking at the activities of the US military: It’d leave us with a very aggressive and skewed impression of what people actually valued and believed in. Our stereotype of vikings is also inaccurate to the way vikings actually were. The image of bloodthirsty, axe-wielding “viking warriors” is actually a reflection of the Varangian Guard . This was an elite military force whose members protected and obeyed the Byzantine emperor even unto death. Varangian guardsmen were known for their massive statures, axes, long hair, fearlessness in battle, ruthless combat behavior, intense sense of duty, and unwavering loyalty. But this loyalty was to the Byzantine throne, not to pagan gods. We can’t say for sure how much their activities reflected pagan values, considering many of the guards were also Christian, and considering their warrior culture was likely shaped by the forces they served, rather than by their spirituality. Many Heathens today incorporate a degree of viking-ness into their practice simply because the interest overlaps with their spirituality and lifestyle. If this brings you joy, I encourage you to embrace it. But if it doesn’t, then there’s no need to add it in.

FAQs Archive | Skald's Keep

Can I mess up an offering?
December 15th, 2025
How should I dispose of offerings?
December 14th, 2025
When should I make offerings?
December 14th, 2025
Do I need to offer traditional foods?
December 14th, 2025
What should I offer?
December 14th, 2025
What is Animism?
August 28th, 2025
How do I communicate with deities and spirits?
August 23rd, 2025
Is Loki evil?
August 23rd, 2025
Can I worship the Norse gods and gods from another pantheon at the same time?
August 18th, 2025
Is Heathenry a viking religion?
August 18th, 2025

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FAQs

Contents

Can I mess up an offering?

How should I dispose of offerings?

When should I make offerings?

Do I need to offer traditional foods?

What should I offer?

What is Animism?

How do I communicate with deities and spirits?

Is Loki evil?

Can I worship the Norse gods and gods from another pantheon at the same time?

Is Heathenry a viking religion?

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Getting Started

Theory

Practice

Intro to Norse Heathenry

Norse Deities

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FAQs

Contents

Can I mess up an offering?

How should I dispose of offerings?

When should I make offerings?

Do I need to offer traditional foods?

What should I offer?

What is Animism?

How do I communicate with deities and spirits?

Is Loki evil?

Can I worship the Norse gods and gods from another pantheon at the same time?

Is Heathenry a viking religion?

Recent Posts

Recent Articles

Books