So, I want to just voice my thoughts on how paganism, well the Norse Gods and their myths are portrayed in pop culture and how some people might find their way to the Gods through said media.

First, I want to state I am a Norse Pagan and a Lokean, I enjoy video games, anime, manga, and T.V and I get so happy when I see something or someone from the Norse Myths end up in the media somehow, especially in video games and anime.

I see nothing wrong in enjoying something that has the Gods and their myths in it, it is meant for entertainment and of course things will be changed slightly or completely or even exaggerated from the original source. My reaction is “ok, this is for the entertainment” and I either indulge or not, depends on what it is. Then there are times I will find myself saying “Hey! That is not cool! Why are people treating my faith as a source of entertainment!?” Here is where I must take a step back and approach things from other’s perspectives.

1. What I am watching/playing/reading is something NOT pagan related.
2. The creator(s) are not pagan and are creating something using imagery/Gods/Norse Lore to entertain.
3. The Norse Lore and Myths are seen as “Fantasy” rather than a people’s religion/faith. After all the old Gods are supposed have been replaced by Abrahamic God or other major religion, therefore do not exist as Gods but a “theme” for the fantasy genre.
4. Having to accept that not everyone is going to see my faith as “legitimate” and will be used as a theme for something within the entertainment industry.

These are some of the things that I check off before I get angry at something I see in pop culture. I think I’ll use Marvel’s Loki and Thor as an example. Now I am not by any means a fan, but I will admit I do enjoy the Thor movies and enjoy Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki respectively. I know the comics were here before the movies and Loki’s show, but this would also apply to them as well. Stan Lee from my understanding wanted to delve into Old Norse lore so he decided that Thor would be the one he would use. After some Googling I found out that Jack Kirby was quite familiar with Thor and His stories and even knew about Odin, Heimdallr, and Baldr and wanted to modernize them for comics. Ok, so you have two people who obviously had to either enjoy the lore and stories enough to want to bring these Gods to people’s attention albeit through comics but still it places the spotlight on them and the stories. If we can overlook the creative liberties taken, I see this as the Gods and their stories reaching wider audiences.

“But people are going to get the wrong idea!” Well sure, but the ones that get their interest piqued are going to do their research and find out the original and not exaggerated stories and some might even delve into the historic part too I.E Viking age Scandinavia. I think it solely depends on the individual and what and how they see things. We can’t force people into seeing our faith as anything other than a “fantasy” I hate to admit it, but the damage is done, all we can do is educate the ones who are willing to listen.

 Finding Norse Paganism through the popular media.

Ok so this is something else I wanted to address. I have seen lots of other pagans get so angry at newbies over how they made their way to paganism in the first place, especially if it was through pop culture. So, I have to say this; why does it matter how they found (insert deity here)? “They’re going to get the wrong idea about ____” or “That’s not how that deity is!” or my favorite “they are going to treat it as a phase!” Ok, so instead of getting angry why not offer help and advice? Why not encourage them to do their research? Why are more experienced Pagans so obsessed with gatekeeping? I have met fellow Lokeans that became interested in Loki after watching the Marvel movies, I mean deity Loki. They obviously have interest and want to learn more about deity Loki. Why not help them and of course remind them that Tom’s Loki is nothing like deity Loki. In fact, the Lokeans I’ve meet already knew that deity Loki was vastly different from Tom’s Loki. Now, yes some say that Loki did present as Tom’s Loki, but it changed over time, but then for some it did not and guess what? They are still Lokean and worship deity Loki. I just do not understand the anger towards newbies that found their way to paganism through the popular media. I was one of those people too, just not Marvel, but through a video game. Koei’s Warriors Orochi 4. I had become unusually obsessed with the Odin character in that game which I had done some reading about deity Odin and it just clicked for me. The experience that followed was so incredibly bizarre, that I don’t even believe it happened (will write about that later) anyways after I started honoring Odin I did get to “meet” Him just in a very, very vivid dream and He did appear as He was portrayed in that video game. Now yes that could have been me, but I also think it might have been a way to “break the ice” so to speak and grab my attention. That was almost two years ago. I take Odin very seriously, I even thought I was going through a phase myself but, nope here I am still honoring Odin now, but He does not present as that video game Odin anymore. When I first started working with Odin, I already knew that deity Odin and the video game portrayal were very different from one another, and I separate the two. Separating the pop culture and deity versions are important and I think we as pagans/Heathens/Lokeans should try to encourage and help them to separate the pop culture from the deity instead of going off on them and gatekeep.

Enjoying Popular culture as a Pagan

This is another thing that I also see a lot in pagan circles. That somehow you are not allowed to enjoy the pop culture or entertainment that portrays the Gods and the lore. Like its against the rules or something. I mean I get that some might find the portrayals offensive or disrespectful, or that they feel that the lore was not researched enough, and things get left out or changed, or that the faith was portrayed poorly. This goes back to my previous mention about how most of the people create these things are not pagan and do not see this faith as legitimate and as much as it hurts, must accept that there are people out there that see this as fantasy. I do not think it is fair to force people to drop their interest in what they enjoy just because you are offended by it. Let them enjoy their movies, comics, T.V shows, video games and anime by the end of the day those people are still pagan and know how to separate the pop from the actual lore and faith. This world already has so much anger in it already why not just let people be happy. So, if you enjoy the Marvel movies, love the show Vikings and play God of War and Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and are pagan too then enjoy away! Do not let people bully you into dropping what you enjoy just because something was portrayed incorrectly, and they got mad over it.

This is just an opinion and my take on the pop culture thing. I see both sides of the argument, I get why people get mad but me personally, I choose not to get too angry over it. I have my moments but I go through my little checklist and try not to waste too much energy over it, I’m pretty laid back honestly. All I ask is that if you are one of those people who get angry over pop culture or people that enjoy it or found their way to paganism through, don’t bully or force the ones that do to stop enjoying what they love, either offer advice or just ignore them. Why waste energy by being angry at happy people? Stay Wyrd, my friends.