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Ask me about the Esan (Gods)

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
No, not because I know a lot about them and want to educate the uneducated masses. Quite the contrary: I know very little about them and want an excuse to look deeper at what survived, particularly regarding the Esan I might not think to look into, or answers to questions I might not think of. I can then answer as best as I can, and provide sources without forgetting where I got the information.

A quick note on the word: "Esan" is a plural form of the word "Os." Both are basically words from Old English that mean "god". (Ōs/Ēse in Old English directly).
 

Shiranui117

Pronounced Shee-ra-noo-ee
Premium Member
How do the Esan compare to their Norse counterparts? Are they the same, or are there some differences in how they're worshipped, popularity, attributes, stories, etc.?
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
BTW, since I'm going to research the questions I get asked as much as I can (that is, beyond Wikipedia), it could very well be a bit before I get to answer.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
Ishana is Shiva and is the Lord of North-Eastern direction.
Wiki
Isana - internal aspect that conceals - associated with all that exist - represents ether.
 
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Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
Ishana is Shiva and is the Lord of North-Eastern direction.
Wiki
Isana - internal aspect that conceals - associated with all that exist - represents ether.

...wha...?

EDIT: Oh, are you talking about the word "Esan?" @Aupmanyav, that word "Esan" is one of the Modern English renditions of the Old English word "Ēse", the plural form of "Ōs". These are the Old English forms of the Old Norse words "Æsir" and "Áss", respectively. These words are descended from the Proto-Germanic word *anzus, itself descended from the PIE word *h₂émsus. The Sanskrit descendent of this word is "ásura."
 
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Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
How do the Esan compare to their Norse counterparts? Are they the same, or are there some differences in how they're worshipped, popularity, attributes, stories, etc.?

The short answer (all I can give at the moment, since I don't currently have access to one of my primary books) is that... this question isn't as easy to answer as one might hope. While some Norse Lore is decently preserved in some surviving Lays, Snorri's Edda, and the Icelandic Sagas, Anglo-Saxon Lore is almost completely lost. This is partly owing to the fact that the Anglo-Saxons were Christianized almost half a millennium before the Norse finally were. So if there's one thing that separates the two, it's that we know a LOOOOOT more about the Norse forms than the Anglo-Saxon.

Something of note, however, is that there's not always a clear one-to-one counterpart between the two sets of Lore. While there are Gods who make appearances is both (Woden/Odin, Thunor/Thor, Frige/Frigg, etc), there are Gods who appear in one but not the other. Seaxneat is an Anglo-Saxon God who's name doesn't appear at all in the Norse Lore, and there's some speculation that he's the "Patron" God of the Saxons. There's also the Goddess Eostre, who's a bit controversial since she's only named in one source, largely in reference to a month. There's every chance that this is not actually an historical Goddess at all, but a misunderstanding. (She is a Goddess now, though.)

https://larhusfyrnsida.com/fundamentals/godu/
http://fyrnsidu.com/node/118
https://ealdrice.org/trow-thew/the-gods-of-anglo-saxon-heathendom/

You may note a bit of a bias on my part to stick to websites that are for modern Anglo-Saxon Heathens. In many ways that's deliberate, since the form of AS Heathenry called Theodish Belief is often HIGHLY reconstructionist, which means that there's a strong emphasis on historical accuracy and research. (Not that they're always perfect, but they can at least provide some sources.)
 

The Emperor of Mankind

Currently the galaxy's spookiest paraplegic
Seaxneat is an Anglo-Saxon God who's name doesn't appear at all in the Norse Lore, and there's some speculation that he's the "Patron" God of the Saxons.

Is he possibly a war god given that he seems to share a name with the sword called the seax?

Are there any gods you honour more than others? Are there any gods you avoid honouring?
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
Is he possibly a war god given that he seems to share a name with the sword called the seax?

That's definitely possible, and even likely. However, it's still unknown if that's actually the case.

He is, however, listed as the Progenitor God of the Essex Kings, which is unique given that Woden typically gets that role.
https://larhusfyrnsida.com/fundamentals/godu/seaxneat/

Are there any gods you honour more than others? Are there any gods you avoid honouring?

Well, when it comes to personal practice, I tend to rely heavily on UPG (unverified personal gnosis), and some of my MUS (made-up ****) derived from that. So I can't exactly be as reliant on sources for that.

But lately I've been drawn a lot to a Goddess I name Frith, who is the equivalent to the Norse Sif. I tend to avoid Tiw, since I have a real problem with authority. :D
 

Pastek

Sunni muslim
That's interesting, i have many questions then.

In how many gods do you believe ?

Why did you choose this path and what do you like in your religion ?
Do you have a book, rituals ?
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
That's interesting, i have many questions then.

In how many gods do you believe ?

"Believe in" doesn't really apply, here, I'm afraid. Traditional polytheisms frequently cite huge numbers of Gods, simply to express that nobody can truly keep track of them all.

But I tend to focus my reverence on Gods like the aforementioned Frith, and on "Frowafree", my Anglic name for Freyja.

Why did you choose this path and what do you like in your religion ?

It's familiar and closer to "me" than any other.

Do you have a book,

Nope.

rituals ?

Not yet.
 
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