Lovingly Loyal to the Vanir....and Georgia Bulldogs
I disagree with what so many (Neo) Heathens think and teach; namely, that we are our deeds. We are our deeds but we are so much more. In my opinion, our relationships say as much about us, if not more, than our deeds.
Just as our family members and friends say a lot about who we are so do our goddesses and gods. In my experience those of us who are in relationships with the Vanir differ from those in relationships with the Aesir or any other pantheon of goddesses and gods. Those who say that they have relationships with both the Vanir and the Aesir or others tend to prefer one pantheon over the other and reflect their preference in themselves. I’m not talking absolutes here. There are exceptions.
Moreover, we tend to be in relationships not with pantheons but with individual goddesses and gods. After all, it can be difficult to have a relationship with a pantheon. We tend to relate to one or two divine ones at a time.
I also think that we reflect the goddesses and gods with whom we are in relationships. I think that those who are in relationships with one or more of the Vanir reflect the Vanir in their own personalities and lives. Those who are in relationships with the Aesir or others reflect them in their own personalities and lives. Can we reflect different goddesses and gods at different times? I think that we can and do. It depends on who we are in relationship with at the time. We experience the same kind of thing in our relationships with humans we love. We tend to rub off on each other. We even resemble the animals we have close relationships with. Pet owners and their pets often resemble each other.
In other words, I think that one way we can know the goddesses and gods of various pantheons is in knowing those who are true to them. The goddesses and gods are reflected in their people. Those who are Vanatru help us better know the Vanir. Those who are true to the Aesir help us better know the Aesir.
The differences between those who are true the Vanir and the Aesir prove to me that the Vanir and Aesir always have been and always will be two very different, separate and irreconcilable pantheons. Can some individuals reflect the Vanir one day and the Aesir another? I think so and in my experience they are different when they do so.
I am exclusively true to Freyja and Freyr. I have nothing to do with Odin and the Aesir or goddesses and gods of other pantheons. My loving loyalty to Freyja and Freyr includes a loyalty to all those with whom they are related-goddesses and gods, Elves and Disir, Dwarves and Jotuns, humans and other animals, the earth, sea, wind and fire. My loyalty includes an ongoing critique of Odin and other goddesses and gods who I think, from my point of view, are life-denying and harmful rather than life-affirming and helpful. I find nothing admirable in Odin. That’s me.
That being said, I have nothing against those who are true to Odin or other goddesses and gods. It is none of my business who others are true to. I live my life and let others live theirs. A few have slandered me because I am critical of Odin and the Aesir. They speak as though Odin is above reproach or as if he is so "complex" that only they and a few others can understand him. How self serving. That they slander me says more about them than me.
I have used the analogy of being a fan of the Georgia Bulldog football team. My granddad played for the Bulldogs. I grew up listening to or going to games with him. Granddad died serval years ago. We were and I remain a devoted Bulldog fan. I have little good to say about the teams the Bulldogs play. I have little good to say about the announcers who favor the other team and refs who penalize my team. I am unashamedly biased. That I am biased in favor if the Bulldogs and against other teams doesn’t make me a racist, a bigot, closed-minded or anything other than loyal to my team. I laugh at those who are fans of other teams who are offended by my loyalty to the Bulldogs. Why do I laugh? Because I know, win or lose, no team is better than my Bulldogs. Likewise, only more so, with Freyja and Freyr, the Vanir and all their kith and kin.