"Thor Drives a Tesla" : Ritual and Sacred Space in Swedish Heathenism

Sammanfattning: Heathenism is a branch of Paganism based on Germanic mythology, whose diverse spiritual beliefs are united by a common sacrificial ritual called blot. The Swedish Heathen organization The Swedish Forn Sed Assembly [Samfundet Forn Sed Sverige] is a self-described nature religion, who see nature as sacred and whose public blot ceremonies are held outside in order to commune with the gods. In this thesis I explore the relationship between ritual, space, and place by asking where blot are held, and why they are held where they are. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and written sources, I argue that practitioners transform sacred space into place by imbuing it with meaning through ritual. Blot locations are points of connection between the practitioners and the gods and spirits that dwell in nature. Furthermore, nature can be understood as sacred because it is less affected by historical processes characteristic of modernity, such as urbanization and industrialization. In this sense, the Heathen understanding of sacred space predicates upon the same modernity that it defines itself in opposition of: by seeking to reconnect with nature in a supposedly disenchanted world, Heathenism subverts the narrative of disenchantment.