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When I first heard the stories of the Aesir and Vanir they seemed ancient.

Honor-bound and battle-ready gods vs the gods of peace and plenty, celebration and fertility.

Later I heard the theories that this legend is a sociological allegory, a representation of the peace between two Scandinavian cultures with different ways of life.

For as opposed as these two ways of life are, there is an interdependence. You must be able to defend yourself, or else be a slave; but who can enjoy the spoils of victory if there is no harvest, feast, or children?

After the truce, there was an exchange of hostages to cement the peace. The Aesir gained Njordr, Freyr, and Freyja1 while the Vanir gained Mimir, a Jotun, an uncle of Odin, and a pillar of great wisdom. While the Aesir appreciated their new cohabitants, the Vanir for whatever reason decapitated Mimir (wisdom) and sent him back to the Aesir, who preserved the head (and thus his knowledge).

Now I am an Aesir identifier. It's hard to come to grips with Freyr, who sacrificed his good sword for the love of a Jotuness, or to not feel a little judgemental of the unspeakable acts Freyja was willing to perform for her Brisings necklace.

But I love a good coffee shop. Something spacious with great furniture and a calming ambiance and good coffee, the blue- and purple-haired pierced and tatted probable-cat-owning, wine-guzzling, pot-smoking, easy-lay-on-bumble cashiers. You can only find this kind of thing created by the softer types -- the types who have no sense of self-preservation or awareness of the world as it really is. This and so many other things: the music, art, bookshops, bakeries, cocktail bars, etc etc etc.

And the point I'm getting to is this: Now more than ever, we (preaching to the Poal choir) find ourselves in opposition to this living, breathing Vanir archetype, this incestuous, Jotun-loving, cat possessing, sword sacrificing, clean-footed, wisdom-rejecting type of person who reminds us just what year it is and why that means we should be more enlightened (as if they had any inkling of what that meant).

And that is my observation. I don't know what the outcome will be and I have no prescription for how to act, but isn't it interesting these ancient archetypes are still alive and well today? Is that not a sign enough for you that your essence will walk the earth, embodied in your progeny, in a future generation? (Do you still need an afterlife Christians?)

1 It is suggested, compellingly, that Frigg and Freyja were once the same goddess, transliterated across two different cultures, who then were recombined into the same pantheon yet retained distinct identities representing female duality. Frigg chaste, wise, and gifted in the ways of Seidr magic; Freyja firey, sexually immoral, and possessing of cats.

When I first heard the stories of the Aesir and Vanir they seemed ancient. Honor-bound and battle-ready gods vs the gods of peace and plenty, celebration and fertility. Later I heard the theories that this legend is a sociological allegory, a representation of the peace between two Scandinavian cultures with different ways of life. For as opposed as these two ways of life are, there is an interdependence. You must be able to defend yourself, or else be a slave; but who can enjoy the spoils of victory if there is no harvest, feast, or children? After the truce, there was an exchange of hostages to cement the peace. The Aesir gained Njordr, Freyr, and Freyja^1 while the Vanir gained Mimir, a Jotun, an uncle of Odin, and a pillar of great wisdom. While the Aesir appreciated their new cohabitants, the Vanir for whatever reason decapitated Mimir (wisdom) and sent him back to the Aesir, who preserved the head (and thus his knowledge). Now I am an Aesir identifier. It's hard to come to grips with Freyr, who sacrificed his good sword for the love of a Jotuness, or to not feel a little judgemental of the unspeakable acts Freyja was willing to perform for her Brisings necklace. But I love a good coffee shop. Something spacious with great furniture and a calming ambiance and good coffee, the blue- and purple-haired pierced and tatted probable-cat-owning, wine-guzzling, pot-smoking, easy-lay-on-bumble cashiers. You can only find this kind of thing created by the softer types -- the types who have no sense of self-preservation or awareness of the world as it really is. This and so many other things: the music, art, bookshops, bakeries, cocktail bars, etc etc etc. And the point I'm getting to is this: Now more than ever, we (preaching to the Poal choir) find ourselves in opposition to this living, breathing Vanir archetype, this incestuous, Jotun-loving, cat possessing, sword sacrificing, clean-footed, wisdom-rejecting type of person who reminds us just what year it is and why that means we should be more enlightened (as if they had any inkling of what that meant). And that is my observation. I don't know what the outcome will be and I have no prescription for how to act, but isn't it interesting these ancient archetypes are still alive and well today? Is that not a sign enough for you that your essence will walk the earth, embodied in your progeny, in a future generation? (Do you still need an afterlife Christians?) ^1 It is suggested, compellingly, that Frigg and Freyja were once the same goddess, transliterated across two different cultures, who then were recombined into the same pantheon yet retained distinct identities representing female duality. Frigg chaste, wise, and gifted in the ways of Seidr magic; Freyja firey, sexually immoral, and possessing of cats.

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You make some good points regarding productivity (or lack thereof). The tenders of the fields and the producers of food are indeed overwhelmingly conservative (unless you count the swarthy pickers and farmhands). What's more, I have a hard time seeing Freyr in the modern day farmer or Freyja in the farmer's wife, mother, or sister. I would like to say that people connected to the land are spiritually tuned in, but I believe nowadays most real farms are big business, as far away as you can be from quotidian life.

Nor am I, a so-called "Aesir identifier," really connected with nature, other than my chickens and garden and weekend warrior-type fondness for hiking and cross-country skiing.

But I still see that there are persistent types that inhabit different realms. Some of us own weapons, honor promises, open our eyes to truth, and hunt; others sacrifice strength for love (and are proud to do so), are materialistic, and are given to tolerating sexual immorality (in their day it was incest, but maybe in ours it is homosexuality). The parallels, while not complete, are there.

I was purposefully trying to avoid the liberal-conservative distinction, since many conservatives, I think, belong to the cult of the Vanir. It's confusing where exactly the lines are drawn, but I do believe there are types.