Heryos Chad FAQ (2024)

Frequently Asked Questions of Heryos Chad on Paganism and history.

Once every few months I like to host a Q&A on Instagram for my followers. Below will have the most commonly asked questions in addition to answers that history enjoyers and followers of traditional European Paganism may find helpful. Plus, miscellaneous questions at the end.

Q: 'I'm starting my journey into Germanic Paganism. Any advice on what literature to get?'

A: Start with the source literature on our religion. The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are the two texts you must have. Then, purchase saga material, such as the Vǫlsunga Saga (which is The Iliad of Germanic Paganism). Couple this with secondary historical sources on Germanic culture, religion and history, like Tacitus' Germania.

Q: 'How do I introduce my young children to Paganism?'

A: There's no need to 'introduce' them to anything - Paganism is simply the truth of the matter, thus, all you need to do is live and lead by example. Teach your children the correct manner of praying to the Gods and ancestors, take part in household worship of your Gods (preferably have the father conduct the prayers - see the Roman pater familias tradition). Then, generally live a life colouring the soul with the thoughts, ideas and beliefs of your ancestral tradition.

Q: 'Is Celtic reconstructionism truly hopeless?'

A: No. Not at all. The Gods will make known all things in the end. For now, though, there are many positive ways people of Celtic descent can practice Celtic Paganism. One, everyone has the ability to know their ancestors and venerate them (for my thoughts on knowing your ancestors and its relation to reincarnation, see this post).

Q: 'Thoughts on the worship of chthonic deities? Morrigan, Hel, Hades, etc?'

A: You are free to worship any God or being you want to. However, it should be noted that you will be inviting the presence and power of the deity in question into your life in worship. Note, for example, how the Roman temple to Mars was located outside of Rome's consecrated boundary in history because of His association with war. The Romans did not want to invite war into their city. Other questions you should ask yourself are: Why do you want to worship Hel or Hades? Is there a particular reason why you have an inclination towards worshipping Hel or Hades? Do you have a spiritual goal in which Hel or Hades are the right Gods to worship to achieve this goal? The freedom of choice within Paganism is limitless, but the Gods and other beings in our universe aren't abstractions here for our entertainment. They are real divine personages with Their own agency, presence and power within our world. You must be aware of th implications that worshipping a cthonic deity may have on your life and whether or not that aligns with your own personal goals.

Q: 'Is Viking Age Paganism peak Germanic theology? Why not worship older Proto-Indo-European Gods?'

A: Europeans and our culture, Gods, and ancestors do not come solely from the Proto-Indo-Europeans (I.e., Western Steppe Herders). Moreover, PIE reconstructionism is academic reconstructionism based on hypothetical linguistics and is, at best, an academic curiosity. Additionally, recent evidence (see Allentoft et al. 2024, McColl et al. 2024 and Sunqvist 2024) suggests that the Nordic Bronze Age ancestors of the Proto-Germanic people originated with the indigenous European Hunter-Gatherer fathers - carrying Y-haplpgroup I1 - that mixed with females carrying Western Steppe Herder ancestry and Anatolian Neolithic Farmer ancestry. It would be disingenuous to assume that absolutely everything we have inherited regarding Germanic Paganism comes solely from the Proto-Indo-Europeans. Additionally, scholars such as Kroonen advocate for the Germanic Substrate Hypothesis, which suggests that the Germanic languages contain a hunter-gatherer component of up to 33%. For example, the Proto-Germanic word *selhaz ('seal') is believed to come from a maritime hunter-gatherer source, which would be consistent with recent evidence surrounding the original East Scandinavian cluster possibly being a fusion of paternal Western/Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherer and maternal Battle Axe Culture origin.

Also, it comes down to common sense: the Early European Farmers and Western/Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers had been living along the coastal regions of Denmark, Sweden and Norway for at least 1000 years prior to the arrival of early Western Steppe Herders. It seems more likely to me that a deity like Njǫrðr, who, in Norse myth, is associated with a bountiful catch and the sea in general, would be an indigenous God to the maritime hunter-gatherers or farmers of Neolithic Scandinavia, not cattle herders that lived on flat grassland without the sea around them for miles.

Q: 'Should we do an Atheistic/secular interpretation of Pagan mythology?'

A: No.

Q: 'Thoughts on folk magic? Magical plants and such?'

A: Absolutely real with a solid basis in the English tradition. See Anglo-Saxon Pagan Spells, an article on reworked metrical charms English Pagans can use today.

Q: 'How do I channel blood memory?'

A: Pray to your ancestors and research your genealogy. Look at photographs of your ancestors and learn about what they did in life. In Hyndluljóð, a man named Óttar the Simple prayed to his patron Goddess, Freyja, to reveal his family tree to him. Freyja then rode to Óðinn's hall, Valhǫll, and retrieved Óttar's pedigree for him. You could also pray to your patron God or Goddess and ask Them to reveal your ancestors to you as you are studying your genealogy.

Q: 'When and why did you become Pagan?'

A: Over half a decade ago, I had a life-changing spiritual experience which confirmed the existence of the Gods in my life, particularly Wōden, and so I now follow His advice and guidance in life. I may share more in the near future.

Q: 'Do Pagans of different Gods consider yourselves as one religion like Christians?'

A: No, not the same religion. However, I believe that Paganism is the natural understanding of every traditional culture on Earth. I believe that the Truth with a capital T is, in an ontological sense, generally the same for most European Pagan paths, irrespective of how that Truth uniquely reveals itself.

Miscellaneous questions:

Q: 'Favourite era in history?'

A: I don't have one favourite era, but my favourite timeframe across history is the Early Medieval Era all the way through to the Early Modern Period. The Middle Ages is of particular interest to me, say from 1000-1500 AD.

Q: 'How old are you? You are very knowledgeable.'

A: 22

Q: 'If you could recover one lost text in full, what would it be? Or what's one mystery you'd like answered?'

A: This is such a great question. Technically this counts as multiple texts but I would choose to recover the Library of Alexandria.

Q: 'Do you think the British Empire colonisation would have happened if they remained Pagan?'

A: Yes 🇬🇧

Q: 'What is your ethnicity?'

A: I am 75% English (part Scottish at ~2.5%, part Irish and part Danish with ancestors from Copenhagen) and 25% Portuguese. My Y-haplogroup is I1 which was introduced to England when my ancestors settled in Southeast England as minor Norman nobility after the Norman Conquest.

Q: 'How do you see the future of Paganism?'

A: It will be the standard understanding for humanity because that is how it has been since mankind was first created. The Gods will also make all known in time and we won't have to define our tradition(s) as 'Paganism'. We won't even have to think about it. We will simply live it.

Q: 'What has 10 legs, 3 eyes and 1 tail?'

A: Óðinn riding Sleipnir!