Alaric Albertsson

SAXON PAGANISM

SPIRITS AND GODS

Saxon Pagans, or Saxon Heathens if you prefer, honor a variety of personal gods and goddesses. The most prominent of these gave their names to some of our week days:

TIW, sometimes called the Sky Father, is a god of justice and order. He is associated with the North Star because it remains constantly in the same position. Tiw is also a god of battle, and his rune was often engraved or stamped on Saxon weapons. He gave his name to the third day of the week, Tuesday.

WODEN is the chief of the Saxon pantheon. He is a god who kindles the flame of inspiration for both the poet and the warrior. In the winter months he rides through the night sky in a Wild Hunt. Woden is also a master magician, a shape-changer and a trickster. It was Woden who discovered the mysteries of the runes. He was the inspiration for Tolkien’s fictional wizard Gandalf, and he gave his name to the fourth day of the week, Wednesday.

THUNOR is a protector of mankind. His name means “thunder”, and he is a god of storms and rain. Red-bearded Thunor is also a god of fertility. He rides through the sky in a chariot drawn by goats. Thunor gave his name to the fifth day of the week, Thursday.

FRIGE is Woden’s consort and, thus, the Queen of Heaven. She is perhaps the wisest of the Saxon deities. Frige watches over women in labor, and is a patron of domestic arts. For the early Saxons “domestic arts” included almost every activity other than fighting, fishing and farming, so in contemporary terms she is also a patron of the boardroom and factory. She gives her name to the sixth day of the week, Friday.

This is only a sampling of the Saxon gods and goddesses. And for all their importance, our deities are only a part of our spiritual landscape. The Saxon Pagan honors the spirits of nature, too; wood elves, field elves, sea elves, mountain elves. He or she may leave daily gifts of food for the local house elves. Offerings are also frequently given to the ancestral spirits. Módraniht, the night of the winter solstice, is especially sacred to our female ancestors – our foremothers – who continue to watch over us.

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