A heathan view of the afterlife

[Breathe]

Oh! Quick question!


What happens to those who are of another faith when they die according to Ásatrú beliefs?

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

Aparantly, in a tale, where Thor goes to hell, he runs into trouble with a ferryman at a river, to cut a story I barely know, short, the ferryman said "Odin gets all the warriors and the nobles, while you get all the farmers and thralls." So does this mean that Thor has people go to his hall?

I have never heard that tale before, so I really don't know. I suppose that common people who had Thor as his patron could possibly go to his Hall rather than Nifelheim.

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

Oh! Quick question!


What happens to those who are of another faith when they die according to Ásatrú beliefs?

It isn't really discussed much between Modern Asatruar, because we don't normally concern ourselves overly with the Afterlife. Me mainly focus on our lives on Earth. We want to live good, honourable lives that will make our names a good memory for future generations. However, just from my own speculations and beliefs, I would say they would go to Nifelheim to dwell with the other dead souls of the "common folk." They wouldn't be punished or anything as long as they led good lives. Our Gods don't punish the non-believers haha. There are actually stories of the Gods being friends with Christians during the Christianization. Of course, they were tolerant towards the tolerant Christians. That was generally the way it was in pre-Christian Europe. Pagans were very tolerant of other faiths, however, when the Christians came calling Pagan Gods devils and evil, they weren't tolerant towards them. It's like a "you be nice to me, and I'll return the favour" kind of thing.

So anyways, (sorry for rambling haha), the dead would go to the Land of the Dead, and dwell there. Nothing horrible, yet nothing that good.

 

[Breathe]

I know there wasn't a punishment for not believing, but I decided to ask because I wondered whether or not they would get into an appropriate realm of Odin, Freyja, etc, despite not being of that religion.

Do you think it would always be Nifelheim or could there be other places?

 

[Antibush5]

I know you guys don't concern yourself much with the idea of what happens after death, but this needs to seriously be digusted in detail. Theres a lot of theories and they need to be settled.

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

I know there wasn't a punishment for not believing, but I decided to ask because I wondered whether or not they would get into an appropriate realm of Odin, Freyja, etc, despite not being of that religion.

Do you think it would always be Nifelheim or could there be other places?

I am not sure. I would think that at least in most cases, it would always be Nifelheim. There might be a few non-Asatruar who are specially favoured by one of the Gods, so in that case it might be different.

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

I know you guys don't concern yourself much with the idea of what happens after death, but this needs to seriously be digusted in detail. Theres a lot of theories and they need to be settled.

I disagree. The afterlife is not the big concern, because if we are wrong and concern ourselves only with the afterlife, our Earthly life will be neglected. No matter what, it will never be settled. That's the glorious thing about Asatru. There is no dogma, there are no set "rights or wrongs" for the religion. It's more than a religion, it's a lifestyle. Each community had it's own version of the belief system, much like the denominations of Christianity, however they did not concern themselves with the differences. They were still somewhat of a whole. Everyone will always have their separate interpretation, and in my opinion that is a great thing. There are definitely constants that are the same throughout, such as the Nine Noble Virtues, yet there are differences in beliefs of the afterlife. And it will always be that way, no matter what. Trying to "settle" these differences is just like evangelism; trying to get someone else to follow your belief. That is something looked down upon by ALL Asatruar.

 

[WayFarer]

I can not speak for all, but I can speak for what a distillation of the Sagas and some of the other stories tell us. This will be as brief as I can make it and still be fairly thorough.

First the Valkyries take the worthy dead from the field battle and carry them across Bifrost to Asgard where they go to either the hall of Odin or Freya. (Though some seem to indicate that all dead go through the Helgate first.)
For those who do not die in battle Urd sends a servant to show them the westward path to the Helgate. The Gilling unlocks the Helgate and it opens (most say at twilight) when the dead of that day have gathered to let them continue the journey.
The path goes to a deep dark valley where there is a thorny heath with no path around or across. He we see that the care given the dead by the living has it's first impact. Those dead whom the living have given shoes will be wearing those shoes on this journey. If no one has appropriately cared for the corpse and no shoes were placed on it then those who have been merciful in life shall receive mercy and shoes will be provided them when they reach this heath. Those who were cruel will have to cross the thorny way unaided.
After that has been crossed there is a rushing river whose waters are filled with the blades of assassins and the treacherous. There is a narrow bridge however and for those who where honest and forthright in life it holds stead and true, for the deceitful and traitorous the bridge twists where their feet fall and they fall from the bridge and must wade the freezing waters being terribly mangled all the way across. Yet once they reach the shore no wounds (from the river or the thorny field) remain.
Once on that far shore light begins to shine upon meadows through which the path continues its way. The dead continue on.
When the dead arrive at the thingstead they sit on long rows of benches and are greeted by their fylgjas. Here the dead await the Gods as they come by the southern Helgate to judge the dead. They sit upon judgment seats before the rows of the dead. The fylgjas presence is enough to prove that no unforgivable sin had been committed by her ward. Those whom their fygjas have abandoned due to their horrendous deeds in life must sit in silence and watch the proceedings of the court unless they are fortunate enough to have been buried with speech runes which would allow them to speak in their own defense. The Gods judge leniently except in the case of treachery and villainy (nithing deeds) these are punished most severely. Al the dead are given a drink. The drink given to the worthy reinvigorates them. It sooths the mind of its past troubles and lets them forget pains and regrets and remember clearly joys and happiness. Those who are found unworthy are given another drink with strips away from them their humanity and they take on the appearance of the evil that was in their soul and deeds in life.
The blessed are then taken to a valley with green fields and spring flowers. There they meet their ancestors and friends and are given a beautiful home that their fygjas have prepared for them. Here they will joy themselves until it is time for them to be reborn.
Those who committed nithing deeds are taken away to their destiny. They are driven on their way north along a rocky trail that climbs Nifhels mountain walls. This gives them a view of the beautiful fields and valleys below. They are driven onward to the corpse-gate through which they are carried off toward their punishments.

That was about as short as I can make it and still get the high points across. I hope this helps.
For more in depth study of the subject I would like to recommend the following:
Our Fathers' Godsaga: Retold for the Young. by Viktor Rydberg
ROAD TO HEL: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature. by HILDA RODERICK ELLIS. M.A., Ph.D.

Cut and pasted from my reply to a similar question found here: http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/heathenry-dir/96005-heathen-view-afterlife.html

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

I can not speak for all, but I can speak for what a distillation of the Sagas and some of the other stories tell us. This will be as brief as I can make it and still be fairly thorough.

First the Valkyries take the worthy dead from the field battle and carry them across Bifrost to Asgard where they go to either the hall of Odin or Freya. (Though some seem to indicate that all dead go through the Helgate first.)
For those who do not die in battle Urd sends a servant to show them the westward path to the Helgate. The Gilling unlocks the Helgate and it opens (most say at twilight) when the dead of that day have gathered to let them continue the journey.
The path goes to a deep dark valley where there is a thorny heath with no path around or across. He we see that the care given the dead by the living has it's first impact. Those dead whom the living have given shoes will be wearing those shoes on this journey. If no one has appropriately cared for the corpse and no shoes were placed on it then those who have been merciful in life shall receive mercy and shoes will be provided them when they reach this heath. Those who were cruel will have to cross the thorny way unaided.
After that has been crossed there is a rushing river whose waters are filled with the blades of assassins and the treacherous. There is a narrow bridge however and for those who where honest and forthright in life it holds stead and true, for the deceitful and traitorous the bridge twists where their feet fall and they fall from the bridge and must wade the freezing waters being terribly mangled all the way across. Yet once they reach the shore no wounds (from the river or the thorny field) remain.
Once on that far shore light begins to shine upon meadows through which the path continues its way. The dead continue on.
When the dead arrive at the thingstead they sit on long rows of benches and are greeted by their fylgjas. Here the dead await the Gods as they come by the southern Helgate to judge the dead. They sit upon judgment seats before the rows of the dead. The fylgjas presence is enough to prove that no unforgivable sin had been committed by her ward. Those whom their fygjas have abandoned due to their horrendous deeds in life must sit in silence and watch the proceedings of the court unless they are fortunate enough to have been buried with speech runes which would allow them to speak in their own defense. The Gods judge leniently except in the case of treachery and villainy (nithing deeds) these are punished most severely. Al the dead are given a drink. The drink given to the worthy reinvigorates them. It sooths the mind of its past troubles and lets them forget pains and regrets and remember clearly joys and happiness. Those who are found unworthy are given another drink with strips away from them their humanity and they take on the appearance of the evil that was in their soul and deeds in life.
The blessed are then taken to a valley with green fields and spring flowers. There they meet their ancestors and friends and are given a beautiful home that their fygjas have prepared for them. Here they will joy themselves until it is time for them to be reborn.
Those who committed nithing deeds are taken away to their destiny. They are driven on their way north along a rocky trail that climbs Nifhels mountain walls. This gives them a view of the beautiful fields and valleys below. They are driven onward to the corpse-gate through which they are carried off toward their punishments.

That was about as short as I can make it and still get the high points across. I hope this helps.
For more in depth study of the subject I would like to recommend the following:
Our Fathers' Godsaga: Retold for the Young. by Viktor Rydberg
ROAD TO HEL: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature. by HILDA RODERICK ELLIS. M.A., Ph.D.

Cut and pasted from my reply to a similar question found here: http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/heathenry-dir/96005-heathen-view-afterlife.html

Thank you so much. I read both those articles, but could not for the life of me remember what they were, so I didn't want to go too in depth for fear of misinformation.

 

[Donn Cuailnge]

If I might summerise what I have read into this. </p>Asatru, basically had no individuel spiritual basis, it was entirely communally centered and had a great deal of ancestor worship. Then you went on to ethier Hel, Valhalla or Ran's Hall. So if you were cursed to be healthy and live a generally peaceful life, you got cursed with eternal bleakness until Ragnorak comes about, where you HAVE to fight with Loki. It all sounds so depressing, I now know this is not a religion for me.

Death and violence are natural parts of human culture. Recognition and praise for these ideals is a beautiful part of Asatru faith. The heathen tradition is also longstanding and has had a better time surviving than most other regional faiths and when it comes to the value of a religion, I think that group centered faiths are better oriented to the human experience than any "individual spiritual basis"

 

[paygan]

If you connect heathens with druids, they believed in metempsychosis (re-incarnation).

I assume they meant immediate re-incarnation, which I personally think is the most socially acceptable form of afterlife.