Untitled - Awaken Video

Chapter 3. Midgard 65
and in some places of the north, even funerals were held off until spring when ice
and snow had cleared enough so that traveling priests could perform the ceremonies.
The North is a land of extremes in terms of the weather and the soil, so, really, it is
inevitable that nature shaped and continues to maintain the shape of the northern
folk life.
It was stated above that the early Germanic people did not generally practice
an “Earth-Religion” as it is commonly defined today in that they did not worship
the “Mother Earth” as a specific deity. On the other hand, the ancient Teutons did
worship several deities who were closely involved in caring for the fertility of the
land, specifically, the Vanir, Nerthus (a Goddess who is often viewed by modern
interpreters as the Earth personified). Temples were known, at least at the time
of the Viking Age, but the names usually utilized in Old Norse to mean “temple”
had to do primarily with ”sacred land.” In general, these were groves, hills, mounds,
and in other cases, mountains, waterfalls and springs. There are many place-names
throughout the entire north ending in -lund (grove), -Vé (consecrated land), -hörg
(harrow or altar). Tacitus, the Roman historian, stated that Germans
“did not confine their gods within walls, and did not make images of them,
but rather consecrated forests and groves, calling by the names of gods that
hidden power which they beheld only with reverence of their own eyes. . .
. These passages show that, among the Germans, the belief in personal but
unseen gods was highly developed, and that worship was often conducted in
the open air, without buildings or idols. Later sources also show that open-air
worship was widespread.” 6
Worship, religion, and spirituality, for the ancients were continuous with the land
around them, and they apparently found no real need to separate them until the
coming of Christianity when the folk were finally forced under penalty of both
Church and secular law to cease the practice of leaving sacrifices for their Heathen
deities, land- and water-spirits, and ancestors in these sacred places.
Since folk-customs often die a very slow death, the Church even found it necessary
to sanctify many of these sacred plots to one saint or another and build churches
or shrines either next to the original spot or immediately on top of them.
“When Christianity was imposed, the most important Pagan sacred sites
were occupied and churches built upon them. The Vé at Jellinge, Denmark,
is a prime example. Similarly, At Gamla Uppsala in Sweden, a great wooden
temple existed until around 1100. It is thought that this site originated as a
6 In Myth and Religion of the North by G. Turville-Petre, p. 175.