The Frustration Of Having A Non-Traditional Religion

As anyone that’s found my lovely Instagram page by now, you know a couple things about me. I love Unicorns. I have blue hair (and I’m proud of it). I love Snapchat filters. And I hashtag the words “Heathen” “Freyja” and “Asatru” a lot. Many people have also asked about the necklace that I wear every day. It has one Mjolnir and one Freyja. I wear them all the time, yes, even to bed. I used to wear them with this cheap metal that would literally turn the skin on my neck black, but that’s not the point of this.

I get questions about them, and I’ll answer to the best of my ability. No, I don’t know everything about Nordic Heathenism. No, I don’t know everything about Nordic anything. No, I don’t know every single thing there is to know about Loki and Thor and every God or Goddess there is. I can’t sit and answer every single question that you possibly have.

Yes, my religious beliefs are different than yours. Yes, I am polytheistic. Yes, I know, I know, I’ve heard almost every comment you could possibly make about how “bad” that is for me. Thank you, save my soul, go for it. 

I have nothing against people with traditional religions, I have nothing against people with non-traditional religions. I have nothing against people that I don’t know. Let’s just leave it as something as simple as that. I have no issues with strangers. I don’t have any issues with anyone that I don’t know. When someone gives me a reason to have an issue then one arises. My issue is when I’m told horrible things about myself because my religion isn’t “traditional.” My religion isn’t “correct.”

Who are you to tell me that my religion is or isn’t correct? Who are you to tell me that the thing that might be saving me isn’t good enough? When I found a religion that I felt like I belonged to, when I found one that I thought that I could align with, I was elated. It was the first time in such a long time that I was overwhelmed with joy. I was so happy that something seemed to make sense. It was a sense of self. It was a sense of love.

I felt like I was “normal” for a minute. Like there were other people that could understand me, and that I could understand them. Things actually made sense for a few minutes, brief minutes, but a few minutes, to say the least.

Sometimes, when you’re looking at someone, and you decide that there’s something weird about them, think about what it took to get them there. Pause. Think about how maybe, just maybe that’s something that they found in themselves that they fell in love with. Maybe it’s a side of themselves that they didn’t know existed. Maybe it’s a side of themselves that they were so happy to find. Don’t take that away from someone.

Just show kindness to one another, show love to one another and show one another the best part of you that you can be. Show one another the best you that there is because sometimes, just sometimes, that’s all it takes. That’s just enough.