In part because ours is a reconstructed belief, and in part because it represents a more primitive form of Teutonic myth, Anglo-Saxon Heathendom has an ambiguous and dreamlike feel to it when compared to Norse Heathendom. The lines between god, giant (ettin), elf, ancestor, and hero are at best blurred and, quite often, nearly nonexistent. Take Wéland the Smith for example. He is a prince of the elves, an apparent god of blacksmithing, depicted as a semi-divine yet semi-human hero, and is said to be the son of an ettin. Likewise, Wóden, the king of the gods, is also said to have been an earthly king who sired noble lines that are with us still. For many, such ambiguities would seem like a weakness yet, for we Anglo-Saxon Heathens, they are a great strength to our religion.
Truthfully, it is the dreamlike quality of the belief that draws many of us to Anglo-Saxon Heathendom. Because our mythic understanding is piecemealed from Norse lore, English folklore, and the scant Anglo-Saxon references that have survived, the only way for us to truly reconnect with our gods is through holy-work (honorary feasts, offerings, sacred dramas, songs, dances, and magic). This, coupled with the dedication to scholarship that is required to reconstruct such ancient rites, makes for a Heathendom that compels the true seeker closer toward the gods. To grasp the holy mysteries of Anglo-Saxon Heathendom one must search out the dreamlike mythic landscape of Olde England wherever and however it may be found. It is in this search that one rediscovers the gods in a way that those equipped with a more answer-ready corpus of lore might otherwise overlook. Or, as we are so often heard to say, “everything you are taught is false, everything you learn is true.”
Of the gods themselves, who can count them? Some we know from the holytides (holidays) of the year or the days of the week, yet most are the very gods worshiped by our Norse neighbors or our Germanic continental cousins and are thus known to us through poems, songs, sagas, hagiographies, and histories that have survived the Middle Ages. Yet it may be that not every goddess who was given offering on Hálogaland was worshiped by the West Saxons. Of such things no living man may say for sure. As such, we Théodsmen, we find it wiser to err on the side of belief. Far luckier is it to worship more gods than our Anglo-Saxon fore-elders did than it is to risk godlessness.
What follows are the names of many, though by no means all, of the gods that are given worship by most Théodsmen and also by a great many other Anglo-Saxon Heathens.
Of the Ése (Æsir), there are:
- Wóden, the All-Father
- Fríg, his wife. Some hold her to be Frówe.
- Tiw, the one handed and god of the moot.
- Þunor, his bairn and god of thunder
- Sibb, wife of Þunor, goddess of kinship
- Wuldor, the glorious stepson of Þunor
- Bǽldæg/Bealdor, bairn of Wóden and Fríg
- *Nóþe, the daring goddess, wife of Bǽldæg
- Fositie, the presiding one, son of Bǽldæg. He is also a god of the moot.
- Háma, who wards Heaven
- *Edunne, goddess of orchards
- Geofon, goddess of the plough. Some hold her to be Erce.
- The Wælcyrgan, goddess who choose the slain in battle
Of the Ælfas (Vanir and Alfar), there are:
- Ing, the lord and god of the wain, who is also call Fréa and Seaxnéat.
- *Gierd, the wife of Ing
- Frówe, the lady, who is the bearer of the Brósingamene (neck ring of the Brósings). Some hold her to be Fríg.
- Hearding, who is sometimes called Sætern and who was known to the Norse as Njordr
- Erce, who if oft called Eorþan Módor (Mother of Earth), Folde, and Nerthus
- Béowa, god of barley
- *Béole, goddess of bees
- Wéland the smith
Of others who we worship, there are:
- The Wyrde, who weave the threads of wyrd. They are also called the Mettena, “those who mete out”
- The Módru, the Mothers, of which there may be hundreds
- Gársecg, known as Égor (ON Ægir), an ettin of the seas and friend of the gods.
- Móna, god of the moon
- Sunna, goddess of the sun
- Hréþe, the goddess of early spring wind and hailstorms who drives off the ettin
- Éastre, dawn goddess of spring. Some hold her to be Frówe.
- Earendel, god of the dawn star
- Wade, the ettinish father of Wéland who wades the seas
Of godlings (divine ancestors) and hæleþ (heroes) who are worthied — some whom are worshipped as gods, there are:
- Ægil, the archer and brother of Wéland, who is seen on the Frank’s Casket alongside his wife, the wælcyrge, *Ealrún (Ale-Rune or All-Rune)
- Beadohilde, who bore Wéland’s bairn. She may be looked to as a comfort to women who are with child.
- Béowulf, who slew Grendel, the ettin’s mother, and a great wyrm.
- Brego, the scóp of the gods
- Deor, who was once a scóp of the Heodenings. So great was his song and harpsway that only Heorrenda could best him and take his position.
- Géat, “who for a long time the Heathens worshiped as a god.” Many believe him to be Wóden
- Hengest and Horsa, the first Anglo-Saxon kings and brothers who are believed to be twin horse gods
- Heoden, the son of Heorrenda who took Hild away as his bride. He leads the Heodenings in an unending battle against Hagena, his father-in-law. Each day both warbands battle and die and each night Hild sings spells to bring the slain back to life.
- Heorrenda, the father of Heoden and the greatest of scópas. Many believe him to be Wóden.
- Mæðhilde, Géat’s beloved, who drowned in a river but brought back to life by his harpsway.
- Offa the Angel, a yore-old king of the Angles. He may be called upon for duels.
- Scéafa, the father or forefather of Scyld and a god of the wheat crop.
- Scyld, a scion of Scéafa whose name means “shield”
- Sigemund the Wælsing, who with his nephew Fitela, slew many ettins and who also slew a wyrm.
- Swane (Frisian: Swana), the swan sister and mother of Hengest and Horsa
- Wærmund (Garmund), who is the father of Offa the Angel. He is called upon to curse cattle thieves.
- Wídsíð, the far traveler and scóp. Many believe him to be Wóden.
- Wudga (Widia), the son of Wéland and a friend of Háma.
The Wínland Ríce 