The Rational Heathen

My last blog was about trying to do too many things all the time. When I looked at it while it was still scheduled (I write these things ahead of time and set the date for publication), I realized that Loki led me off on a tangent again.  This becomes infuriating after a while, but understandable. The trickster god is constantly looking for ways to throw my life into chaos — some good, some bad. And sometimes he’ll do it in a heartbeat when I’m trying to write a blog post.

So, rather than tear out my assorted ramblings and get rid of them, I looked them over and found them worthy for another post. The god of mischief still gets his say, but like Tyr trying to hold back Fenrir, I’ve at least put some bindings on it.

Why Loki?

In my mind’s eye, I can see a grinning Loki.  For those who are Tom Hiddleston fans, forget it. He doesn’t look like the actor.  (At least not to me.)  But despite his mirth, Loki isn’t the troublemaker here — it’s me. I’ve been writing about more than I can possibly, sanely accomplish and the god of chaos is amused.  He still has a job to remind me about self care, but it’s far more fun to watch me crash and burn because I don’t listen to him.

But why in the names of the gods would Loki bother with someone who follows Tyr?

I suspect it’s because despite Tyr and Loki being opposites, they still rely strongly on each other.  If we take their existence as simply raw forces of the universe, nothing could have existed had it not been for either.  Tyr imposes laws on things; Loki is entropy. Without the order and the disorder, we would have a very stagnant universe indeed.

So, what does Loki have to do with me?  With self care?  Why would he give a shit, I mean, really?

Pervasiveness of the Gods

I’ve read others talk about whether the gods of one land are the gods of another land, or if there are other gods. Some people actually believe that the Asatru gods only exist in the Scandinavian countries. Wow, they’re saying Thor can only exist as thunder and lightning in Norse countries, and some other god is in charge of it in America. I look at it and say, “Hmm” because there is undoubtedly electric storms on other worlds outside of our own. And certainly Thor is there as well.

Here’s my take on whether the gods exist one place or another. They have to exist everywhere in this universe or things wouldn’t be how they are.  Think about if they were actually right about being local gods. That suggests that Tyr with his laws, (which incidentally include the laws of physics) takes a holiday outside of Scandinavian countries. That would suggest that there could be other laws of physics in England, China, or America.

But there isn’t.  Thankfully.  Otherwise we’d have one set of rules when it came to physics than another set of rules. I believe that the gods are pervasive in their element in this universe. When you see a lightning strike in Texas, it’s the realm of Thor, just as it is in Norway.  The Laws of Gravity don’t change themselves anywhere on this planet, or in this Universe, as far as we know, with the possible exception of black holes. (If they do, then I would agree that maybe there might be another god to deal with, but mathematical laws are Tyr’s domain.) So, that makes Tyr pervasive in our lives. It also makes Loki pervasive in our lives as well.  When Loki chatters in my brain, I know it’s because he’s always here with me, just as Tyr is.

Pervasive, But Not Omnipotent or Omnipresent

So, what had started as a rant about the holidays and me doing too much ended up as a deep discussion how the Aesir and Vanir are part of the Universe. Thanks, Loki.  Thanks.

The gods are pervasive through our lives. Whether we’re dealing with Universal Laws, or simple governing of  biological drives and behaviors, to growing the crops, to wild animals and the hunt. In many cases, the gods are here every moment of our lives, but they are bound by rules that they set in place. For example, Tyr is a very powerful god, but he is held in check by his own laws, by the Wyrd, and by chaos. I don’t know if he is in other universes within the Multiverse, but seeing as I probably won’t get there, it has little meaning to me. He might actually provide rules in other universes, but whether they are the same as our universe is inconsequential.

That is Tyr’s pervasiveness.  But it doesn’t mean Tyr hangs out with me all the time. Yes, a good portion of his power is with me, with you, with everything in this world and universe because otherwise the laws of physics wouldn’t work. Little wonder why he is considered a celestial god.  You got that much power to enforce physics, which see in stars and galaxies on a large scale.

But Tyr isn’t omnipresent in the sense of the Christian god. Tyr’s “consciousness,” if you want to call it that, isn’t always on me, you, or the guy down the street. His laws are with us, and the control he governs is immense.  But the constant watching you isn’t his thing.  It isn’t any of the gods’ things.  They leave that to Santa Claus. If the gods were always watching us, you’d have to admit, they’d be pretty bored.

What the Hel was THIS About?

Looking back at this post, I realize it’s a lost cause to wrangle this into some sort of order.  I should just dump this post and tell Loki to fuck off. But the post has some good points about the differences between the heathen gods and the Christian god. The heathen gods can be characterized as laws of nature and the universe. The Christian god, not so much — according to the Christian beliefs, he is the one and only. Laws are something the Christian god makes, but can break at any time. Can the heathen god break the laws?  Yes, but there is a price to pay.

Look at the price Tyr suffered for violating an oath. He lost his right hand; his sword hand.  But it was worth it to keep chaos (Fenrir) from running amok and bringing about the end of the universe. When you realize that the difference between our gods and the Jotun are simple intentions toward humans, it all makes infinite sense. (Don’t believe me, look at Skadi, Tyr, and Thor — all which either have Jotun blood or are pure Jotun.)

I honestly hope you could glean something out of this post that is worthwhile.  Otherwise, I’ll be back to less rambling things such as Yule in my next post.