Heathenry

After Death

Heathenry is focused on right living in the here and now and does not place as great an emphasis on the afterlife as do some other religions. Whereas Valhalla - Odhin's hall - is popularly seen as the Norse equivalent of heaven, this is a misconception. According to the mythology as recorded in the Eddas, Valhalla is only for warriors who die in battle. Moreover, half of these battle-slain warriors go to Freyja's hall and half to Odhin's hall. Those who drown at sea go to the goddess Ran's hall. People who die of natural causes go to the hall of the goddess Hel. Most of today's Heathens see Hel as a neutral place where they will be reunited with their ancestors.

Sources do not enable a complete reconstruction of the pre-Christian Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon views of the soul. One concept, however, which is still retained in folk stories, is that of the fetch or fylgia. The fetch was held to be a part of the person which might be contacted during life, but which would not be physically seen until just before death. The sight of one's fetch was, indeed, a signal of the ending of one's life.

There are a few passages in the sources which are interpreted by some as indicating an ancient Heathen belief in reincarnation, but they are far from compelling. Some modern Heathens believe in the continuation of part of a person through reincarnation, while others do not.