Where Do We Go When We Die? Just About Anywhere!

 

 So what does heathenry say about death and the afterlife? A lot. The fact is that our sources, historical and archaeological, vary from region to region, country to country, and age to age. Most modern practitioners will focus on one " flavor" (Nordic, Germanic, Saxon, Slavic) but the bottom line is there are a lot of similarities in the Germanic world dating back to the Bronze Age.

If you think of the cliche we have from Western pop culture about dying and going to Valhalla, you're getting a very tiny glimpse of ancient afterlife thought. In point of fact, according to the lore only warriors who died in battle would have the option of going to Valhalla. However the imagery is so strong and romantic it really stuck through the centuries and was especially glommed onto by the Victorians.

Now some people do focus on that concept, and it is often expanded to include anyone who has lived a life of service. That may mean people who have served in the armed forces, or people who are in jobs like law enforcement, emergency services, etc. 

However the full range of ideas entertained by our ancestors over the course of thousands of years is far more complicated. For instance in various times and places they had different ideas of what constituted a soul. One idea was that of a "soul complex" -- different parts of the Self which would not necessarily stay integrated after death. This is where words like 'mind' and 'might' and 'luck' that we have inherited spring from. (it's complicated, trust me)

Different cultures and even areas within cultures would focus on different expressions of an afterlife. The most common is the idea of joining one's ancestors. In the Prose Edda by Snori Sturlson, he describes the realm of 'Hell' (Niflheim) as a cold, gray, dark and unpleasant place. However, this was an extremely Christian-influenced idea. Snorri used it to contrast with the gleaming realm of Asgard and Valhalla. He was basically interpolating Christian ideas of heaven and hell onto the ancient lore he was writing down and reinventing a tad as he went.

In fact Hel's realm (Hel or Hella being the Goddess of Death) is often seen more as a place of calm or a place of waiting. In Germany, a similar goddess Frau Holle was said to care for the souls of unborn children or children who had died and was the keeper of an afterlife. She survived into Christian times as the folk character Mother Holly.

Anyway, Hel's realm, in our view, is seen as a place of communion with one's ancestors. The metaphors used to try to understand it in terms of feasting in a Great Hall.

Another version of this idea was that when you passed away you went to dwell underground with the ancestors; to live in the mound. The god Freyr was said to be not only the Lord of the World (as in good things and life as a process) but also the Lord of the Mound, Lord of the Alfar (a vague term for spirits, especially ancestor spirits). In popular culture this eventually evolved into the idea of the elves - a tad like the Fey in the Celtic world.

Meanwhile back up the World Tree in Asgard, many people believe that if you feel strongly connected to a certain god or goddess you will have the option of communing with them in the afterlife. So again we have Odin and Valhalla. But also Freya and her hall Sessrúmnir (Old Norse "seat-room" or "seat-roomer"), Thor and his hall, etc.

The whole deal with all of these feasting halls comes from upper class Germanic society. I am pretty sure that the idea of the ancestors as living among other ancestors was probably much more common with the majority of the population. Generally people dealt more with their ancestors or local spirits than with Big Gods in their daily lives.

So anyway, if you want some kind of a metaphor for an afterlife there is a lot to choose from. I think it's essential to realize that any religion that presents you with a vision of the afterlife is merely trying to put into words something we have no capacity for understanding on a conscious level. Many religions are essentially the same in their outlook on death. They vary in terms of how they see things like reward and punishment, justice on a cosmic level, or growth. The bottom line being that these are all cultural filters. None of them can fully express what death is or what it is like because death is a unique experience for each individual and is something that goes deeper to the core of our being as animals than we can really comprehend with our overly developed brains. We are always looking for mechanisms, symbols, stories. Really if you believe in any sort of supernatural beings, this is the same exercise you have to engage in for that aspect of religion. After all the word 'religion' translates to "to reconnect."

So yeah, we have multiple choice!

These days I myself can be pretty agnostic, and Zen, about death. (I was a Buddhist before I became a pagan). We can never truly know what happens after we die. And it's possible that it is actually nothing at all ... Oblivion. However I don't think that's a useful way of thinking.

When I consider the myriad ideas surrounding the afterlife, and take the concept of a soul as fact, I center my thoughts on a basic thesis: You go where you are most needed.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Water seeks the lowest point. I think therefore I am. 

I feel that some, or all of us after we die must be drawn to places and things where we will integrate. One of the old heathen ideas regarding mound dwellers was that the reason they lived in the mound was to be closer to the living family in order to watch over them. We also have concepts of family spirits sort of like guardian angels that follow a family throughout the generations (Fylgja). And it's easy to imagine that you join with that sort of energy or become such an entity yourself. Really the possibilities are endless.

We tend to trust our feelings, our instincts. Fear of death is instinctual. So is grieving. It stems from our drive to survive. Contemplating death is to not merely try to comprehend what we don't know, its grappling with something that is utterly unknowable. Speculation will always be all we have, unless we experience something neumanistic and sublime and decide for ourselves it is reality. There's nothing wrong with engaging with that. Therefore, each person's concept of the afterlife is basically valid. There is no wrong path to wisdom and peace.