Well, having finished American Gods at about 3am this morning, I've decided it easily ranks in my top 5 favorite books. This is something, as I've probably read thousands of books in my lifetime.

I am Asatruar, meaning I am of the modern Norse heathen faith. While we are not as prolific as many of the neo-pagan faiths, there are a good many of us in Northern Europe, Australia, and North America.

It was interesting to see the representations of various gods in American Gods. Obviously the one that sticks out most is Mr. Wednesday, or Odin. While I think the characterization of Odin as a god without followers is misleading, that's not to say that his portrayal in that sense is wrong. In fact, were he to be without true worshippers I'd say he may have turned out exactly as portrayed. That Shadow meets a more "true" version of Odin in Iceland makes sense: Asatru is strong there, and he would not have fallen on hard times.

There are many points in the book that I wanted to discuss, but I think I should look over the current topics a bit before expounding further. LOL

Hello Kithless. Nice to see another heathen here. Could I just point out that "hailsa" is the infinitive of the verb and thefore means "To hail!" and that's probably not what you meant to say. Yes I know, lots of people say it but lots of people get it wrong .

Heh. I've been saying it for years, as do most of the Asatruar I know. I'll probably continue to do so, just out of habit.

I expect you will, like most do! But it does make people who know Old Norse, Old Icelandic or even Modern Icelandic wince and cringe, especially if they're fellow heathens like me. I expect it comes of living with someone who is both a heathen and a linguist - as editor of PD my wife is a stickler for avoiding sloppiness!

What is the correct form, out of curiosity?

The correct form depends on whom you are addressing, whether they are male or female, one or many. The correct singular form is "Heil!", but sadly this is unpopular nowadays because of associations with Nazi Germany. The other different forms can be well illustrated by an excerpt from an ancient Eddic poem, the Sigdrífumál. In one part it says:
"Heilir Æsir, heilar Ásynjar
heil sjá hin fjölnyta fold
mál ok manvit gefið okr mærum tveim
ok læknishendr meðan lifum!"

Which roughly translated means:
"Hail Gods! Hail Goddesses!
Hail bountiful Earth!
Grace us both with the gift of speech
And healing hands while we live."

My recommendation is cut through all of this and use modern English, as unpretentious as it may be, and simply say, "Hail!"

Hope that helps,
Storm

Hail to you all. Interesting to find several Heathens here. I am an Asatru practicioner from North Carolina. I've been practicing for quite a long time now. Not too many Heathens around here.

American Gods has been my first foray into Gaimans works. I was turned onto it but another Pagan I know (though she follows the Celtic path). I look forward to talking with you all.

~Lauren

quote:

Originally posted by Lothiriel0421:
Hail to you all. Interesting to find several Heathens here. I am an Asatru practicioner from North Carolina. I've been practicing for quite a long time now. Not too many Heathens around here.

~Lauren

We are here, it's just sometimes hard to find us all.

Plenty of Heathens on this board, also a good number of Pagans, Heretics and good ol' fashioned Cynics. If you don't mind the irreverence, we're very welcoming over in the World's End section of the board. And if you're ever feeling alone, we're there.

Hi Everyone...

The Bro is reading, but scared to join the board.. he is asking me if I would vouchsafe anyone I haven't officially met from the board.. I told him "yai".. been trying to get him on the board.. silly brobro...

Btw, has anyone given Woody a Welcome thread?