Animism Norse

Animism is the belief that all things—living beings, natural features, and even inanimate objects—possess a spirit or some sort of consciousness. The term animism was first coined in the 19th century by anthropologists and historians of religion as they sought to describe and classify religious beliefs around the world. Often regarded as the father of the term, Sir Edward Tylor introduced animism in his influential work, Primitive Culture (1871). He defined animism as the "belief in spiritual beings" and considered it the earliest and most basic form of religion. It is arguably the oldest spiritual concept, deeply embedded in the worldviews of indigenous and ancient cultures across the globe. In animistic traditions, every element of the natural world is imbued with agency and significance, fostering a sense of interconnectedness between humanity and the environment.

This is where we lose most people in the modern day! But it is not that we disagree on the existence of a spirit or consciousness. It is where each individual and culture draws that line. For example, most of us know that we humans have a spirit/consciousness. Well how about your dog or cat? Ok, most people would agree that our pets have a consciousness. How about a tree? Ok that is understandable, we have much modern science to confirm that not only do trees and plants have a consciousness, but they actually communicate with each other. Mycelium is a network of fungal threads that acts as a communication system for trees, plants, and other organisms to send and receive signals, such as defense signals, nutritional resources, and allelochemicals. Ok even the biggest skeptics today can admit that. How about a rock? Does a stone or a cliff or a mountain have a consciousness? That is where most modern people will draw the line at these inanimate objects. However, in an animist beliefs system, there is no such thing as inanimate objects. Everything is believed to have some sort of spirit or consciousness: trees, rocks, mountains, the sun and moon, the sea, the land, seeds, soil, storms, thunder, lightning, the sky, the world itself even! Once you understand this, it is easy to see how ancient cultures were so obsessed with things such as sun or sky worship. It was not that they blindly worshipped a bright orb in the sky. They believed that this hot, bright orb in the sky had a consciousness and spirit. They personified this phenomena in order to connect with it and ideally bring some benefit as we will explore in the next chapter.

Norse Paganism Animism

In the Norse worldview, animism is not just a peripheral concept but a foundational principle. The cosmos is alive, its forces personified by gods, spirits, and mythical beings that interact with humans. From the sacred landscapes of Scandinavia to the intricate myths of the gods, animistic ideas permeate the Norse religious tradition. These beliefs emphasize the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of maintaining balance within the spiritual and natural worlds. Although we do not think of the Norse in the same way as we perceive an Animist culture living in the jungles of South America, there are hundreds of examples in the Norse sources including the gods names themselves that reflect an animist culture.

In the Norse tradition, natural features such as mountains, rivers, trees, and stones were not mere elements of the environment but sacred entities imbued with spiritual energy. Certain landscapes were considered holy, serving as sites for rituals and communication with the divine. Sacred groves (lundr) were considered animate and inhabited by spirits or even gods. Tacitus’s Germania describes Germanic tribes worshipping in forests and groves.

"They conceive it unworthy the grandeur of celestial beings to confine their deities within walls, or to represent them under a human similitude: woods and groves are their temples; and they affix names of divinity to that secret power, which they behold with the eye of adoration alone."

--Tacitus, Germania 1st century

This is a practice echoed in Norse veneration at groves such as near the temple of Uppsala as mentioned in Adam of Bremmen's account from 1000 years later.

On top of that, we have spiritual beings in the Norse sources such as the landvættir("land-spirits"). The very name confirms the animist belief in spirits residing in the land. The Landnámabók details a law requiring sailors to remove dragon-head carvings from ships when approaching Iceland to avoid frightening the landvættir.

"It was the beginning of the preamble of the heathen laws that men should not take ships to sea with carved figure heads upon their stems, but if they did, they should take them off before they came in sight of land and not sail to land with gaping heads or yawning snouts lest the guardian feys of the land(landvættir) should be scared thereat."

--Landnámabók ch. IV, 7

Similarly, other natural features, such as waterfalls, groves, mountains and boulders, were often regarded as dwelling places of spirits. These sacred sites became focal points for worship, offerings, and communal gatherings, reflecting the profound respect for the spiritual energy inherent in the natural world. Another example in Landnámabók actually tells of a bergbúi ("rock-dweller") spirit making an agreement with a man and how these spirits were able to bee seen by people who had "second sight."

"Bjorn dreamed one night that a rock-dweller came to him and made him an offer of partnership and he thought he accepted it ; whereupon a he-goat (hafr) came to his goats, and his flocks then bred so quickly that he was speedily rolling in riches ; thence he was called Hegoat- (Hafr) Bjorn (or Bjorn of the he-goat). Men who had the power of second sight saw that all the guardian spirits of the land followed Hegoat-Bjorn to the Thing, and that they accompanied Thorstein and Thord in hunting and fishing."

-Landnámabók ch. IV, 7

This belief even persisted into much later on folk belief when trolls, huldufólk or elves were said to live in mountains, hills or large boulders. These other spiritual entities will be covered in chapter 4. An ideal illustration of animist belief can be found in Ynglinga saga through a euhemerized portrayal of Odin.

"Odin knew finely where all missing cattle were concealed under the earth, and understood the songs by which the earth, the hills, the stones, and mounds were opened to him; and he bound those who dwell in them by the power of his word, and went in and took what he pleased. From these arts he became very celebrated. His enemies dreaded him; his friends put their trust in him, and relied on his power and on himself. He taught the most of his arts to his priests of the sacrifices, and they came nearest to himself in all wisdom and witch-knowledge."

-Ynglinga saga, ch. 7

Odin, portrayed as a genuine living person in this source, could comprehend the songs revealed to him by the mountains, earth, stones, and mounds. He shared this wisdom with the priests, who would later carry on this tradition. It doesn't get more animist than that.

Animism in Norse Mythology

A further, most obvious, example of animism in the Norse religion is in the names of the gods themselves. Norse gods Ægir("sea"), Jörð("earth"), Dagr("day"), Nótt("Night"), Sól("sun") and Máni("moon") are simply a few very clear examples of how aspects of nature are personified along with the consciousness or spiritual traits they embody. These deities are very easy to translate and find their meaning within the myths reflecting animist belief. However, it is not always that easy. There are some gods we don't even know the translation for and others who we know the translation but not the function or what they could represent. 

Check out our Norse Gods Translated banner for sale here with all the meanings of the gods!

[Norse Gods Banner]

Norse Animism in Animals

A further illustration of animism is the belief that the skins of animals embody a spirit that humans can adopt. This concept is referenced in numerous sagas, most notably in the Volsunga saga.

“Þeir Sigmundur fóru í hamina og máttu eigi úr komast og fylgdi sú náttúra sem áður var. Létu og vargsröddu. Þeir skildu báðir röddina.”

“Sigmund and Sinfjolti put the skins on and could not get them off. And the weird power was there as before: they howled like wolves, both understanding the sounds.”194

-The Saga of the Volsungs (Byock translation)

A common characteristic of animist cultures worldwide is the belief that the skin, referred to as "hamr" in Old Norse, holds the spirit of the animal. Additionally, many sagas depict heroes who consume parts of animals and subsequently acquire their traits. For instance, in the Ynglinga saga, a young king's son named Ingjald, who was somewhat weak, was given a wolf's heart to eat during a Yule feast, and it is said that he grew in strength and ferocity throughout his adulthood. This reflects another prevalent animist belief that consuming specific parts of an animal can bestow its qualities upon the eater.

Finally, it is worth noting the naming of inanimate object in Germanic culture. We may laugh at our ancestors naming their rings(Andvaranaut, Draupnir), swords(Gram, Tyrfing, Hrunting), or ships(Ormr inn Langi, Hringhorni, Skíðblaðnir). But, even we today do this in the West don't we? We still name our ships, although we do so more for superstitious tradition, it reflects the old animist origin of this tradition. We still say "she's a beauty" when referring to our prized automobiles. There are even some linguists who suggest the use of gendered nouns in our modern languages(ex. German- der, die, das) reflect animist origins. Although in modern English, these gendered classification of nouns have disappeared from our language, almost every other Indo-European language has incorporated this classification of their nouns as masculine, feminine and neutral. A very interesting comparison to this is the Native American Ojibwe language, that classifies objects and entities are as either animate or inanimate, reflecting the language's animistic worldview.

Finally, one must take into account the hundreds of amulets and runic inscriptions discovered in archaeology. These items were carved with various inscriptions or designs and were believed to possess magical properties. These were discovered from post Viking Age all the way back to the Bronze Age and were documented in the 6th century specifically for this exact purpose.

"fylacteria sibi diabolica et caracteres adpendunt"

[The germanic peoples had a] "habit of hanging demonic inscribed (?runic?) amulets on themselves seeking health"

-Caesarius of Arles Sermones 225, 6th century

The objects themselves held power, but the runic inscriptions enhanced their effectiveness for their intended purposes. Most are thought to be associated with promoting good health in some form. This reflects beliefs similar to those in animist cultures around the globe, where objects that we might view as inanimate today are considered to have some form of spiritual energy. There is an excellent book on these runic inscriptions that categorizes them by their intended uses, titled Runic Amulets and Magic Objects by Bernard Mees and Mindy MacLeod. Below are a few images of some of the most famous amulets along with their transcriptions.

These sources and finds emphasize the cooperative and often reciprocal relationships that underpin the animistic worldview. Animism serves as the foundation of the Germanic religious worldview, shaping its cosmology, mythology, and rituals. By understanding these animistic principles, not only do we gain a deeper appreciation for the spiritual connection between our ancestors and the world they inhabited, but this understanding is key to comprehending all of the sources that we will go over in this book. When we understand animism and the symbolism of the religion, these old tales become incredible meaningful and logical as opposed to just a religious text that we are supposed to have "faith" in and have to convince ourselves to believe.

I highly encourage all who want a deeper understanding of animism to see some of the earliest works in this field of study. Primitive Culture (1871) by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, The Threshold of Religion (1909) by Robert Ranulph Marett , The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) by Émile Durkheim and The Golden Bough (1890) by Sir James George Frazer. There is of course much more literature in more recent years on animism. However, these 19th century sources were often based on first hand accounts during European exploration of the undeveloped world. We are fortunate that the beliefs of these cultures were documented at a time where they still held their native beliefs.