I did the Greeks and the Roman last time. Now lets focus on the Norse/Viking but little warning the Christians are writing a lot of the Viking mythology so errors and Christians' morality due happen.
Homosexuality in the Viking Age shows clearly that the Vikings had words (and therefore mental constructs and concepts) of same-sex activity; however since the needs of agricultural/pastoral living require reproduction not only to work the farm but also to provide support for the parent in old age and warfare, it was expected that no matter what one's affectional preferences were that each individual would marry and reproduce. There are no recorded instances of homosexual or lesbian couples in the Viking Age: moreover, the idea of living as an exclusively homosexual person did not exist in most cultures until present day Western civilization appeared.
Odin himself, the Allfather and King of the Gods, was justly accused of ergi or unmanliness because of his practice of seidr (magic normally the preserve of women and ergi men), as initiated from the goddess Freyja. We are not certain what it is about seidr that made it "unmanly" for a man to practice the art: it could be anything from the idea of cowardice as a result of being able to harm your enemies through magic rather than in open battle, to overt sexual rituals involving the seidr-practitioner as the passive sexual partner, or even as the passive homosexual partner. And depending on whom you ask, Odin and Loki might have been lovers in the past as well, so Odin wins the battle of who is the biggest horn dog.
Freyr, (phallic God of Fertility) and his father, Njord were worshipped by a sect of homosexual or effeminate male priests who rang bells and that other homosexual rites may have been involved in his worship.Like Óðin, many heterosexual and more dominant gay men see him as a spiritual role-model and wing-man. Many heterosexual women, and more submissive gay men, relate to him as a divine lover, similar to Rumi’s conception of the divine. Also like Óðin (whose primary spouse is also female), Freyr is commonly acknowledged by modern Norse pagans as a god of diverse male sexuality, including homosexuality, bisexuality; masculinity and maleness. Working with him can help you develop your own healthy masculinity and forge fraternal friendships.
Loki is comfortably into his gender swapping. Apparently he had sex with a ton of men in the form of a human female and gave birth to quite a few children on earth. He transforms into a mare, couples with a stallion and gives birth to the magical steed Sleipnir, the “Glider”, the eight-legged horse who can take its rider through to different worlds. He cross-dresses and changes into a woman just as Odin does, and sees no shame in it at all, although he, like sorcerers generally, is sometimes accused of “shameful” and “unmanly” behavior. Loki was never worshipped in any Norse cult, and seems to have been a purely poetical character, somewhat like the hero of a folktale, or rather an anti-hero, popular and infamous in his trickster role at the same time.
Comments
Post a Comment