Why I call myself Heathen

I think about this a lot, Why do I call myself a Heathen and not a Pagan, Neo-Pagan, Odinist, Asatruar, or any other sort of label? I think I enjoy the term Heathen, because it is still pretty generic, it is specific without telling of a rigid set of beliefs, for instance, I may call myself a follower of Asatru, but some may beg to differ, citing my obvious lack of a kindred or real desire to seek one out. I might call myself a Pagan but others would say otherwise, citing the fact that I am not Wiccan and I have no desire to learn about magic (I refuse to spell it any other way by the way) But I think saying I am a Heathen says that I am not Pagan or Asatru, just that I follow other Gods and Goddesses and if you ask, I might expand upon my beliefs, and that's exactly what I want to portray, if someone wants to know more about my beliefs then I will get them a drink and we'll sit down as I tell them what my beliefs are and how I have come to them, and they can tell me theirs, but if they're not interested then that is okay as well.

What are my beliefs you may ask? We'll I believe in all the Gods and Goddesses, I believe they all exist and that they all have their own followers, I have absolutely no way to prove this, and I don't care to, all I know is that when I was a christian, I felt the christian gods presence, when I was a Deist, I felt that god, and as a Heathen I have felt each presence as a distinctive presence from the others, encountering Freyja is wholly unlike being around Odin and so on. I celebrate the holidays of the Heathen calender, I live by the nine noble virtues, even though I know they are a modern invention, I see no reason to not use them as a short hand way of remembering the values Heathens cherish. I am not a Folkish Heathen, and by that I mean that I don't think Heathenism is only for those of Scandinavian blood or any other bloodline, my belief is that the Gods want who they want, and if Odin chooses to bring a Jamaican into Heathenry, then who are we to deny that person a place at our table? Politically I am fairly moderate to liberal depending on the issue, but I am honestly not conservative at all, and that is enough to get me banished from most Heathen circles. I suppose you could say I am fairly Pagan in my more political views but Heathen in my religious views.

To tell the truth I would love to find a group that would have me, and I would love to find a place away from Heathenry, with its name having been blackened by the taint of Nazi politics. I am bitterly ashamed that racist bigots have been the loudest voices in the Heathen community, but in the end, I have made my oath to the Aesir and Vanir, I have sworn never to leave them, and to always honor them and I hold to that oath, solitary Heathen or not, I have chosen the path I will follow.

And So I hold my head up high and call myself Heathen.