#― ʟᴀᴛ ᴍᴇɢ ᴇɪɢᴀ ᴇɪɴ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴀᴠ ᴛæʀ . headcanons .

[asynjja]

                      𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄   𝐖𝐀𝐒   𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐂   𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍   𝐌𝐎𝐀   𝐙𝐇𝐀𝐎   𝐖𝐀𝐒   𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍     and   although   the   Count   of   Rouen   would   not   be   baptized   and   take   on   the   name   Robert   until   one   year   after   her   death   and   vanishing   in   910   AD,     Christianity   was   all   too   PRESENT.     The   depiction   of   her   baptism   varies   and   it   is   one   of   the   memories   that   she   desperately   attempts   to   FORGET,     but   one   detail   remains   the   same   whatever   elaboration   she   is   giving:     she   was   baptised   against   her   will.  

In   truth,     it   takes   place   LATER   than   she   often   says ;     Olav   I.   Tryggvason   becomes   the   first   Christian   king   of   Norway,     born   in   968   AD   and   baptised   in   994   AD.     Six   years   prior,     Moa   Zhao   migrates   to   Norway   and   carries   the   name   Ástríður.     She   begins   an   affair   with   the   then   twenty - year - old   Viking   and   accompanies   him   on   several   raids ;     it   is   her   first   relationship   and   for   a   long   time   after   his   death   in   1000   AD,     her   ONLY   ONE.

He   agrees   to   the   baptism   after   raiding   the   town   of   London.     Moa   objects ;     she   has   SEEN   the   Allfather   Óðinn   in   several   visions,     clings   to   him   like   a   hungry   wolf.     And   so   Olav   BETRAYS   her.     In   the   Orkneyinga   saga,     Olav   I   Tryggvason   summons   jarl   Sigurd   the   Stout   and   orders   him   and   all   his   subjects   to   be   baptised,     or   be   KILLED   upon   refusal.     She   loves   him   but   her   rejection   of   the   Catholic   faith   is   treated   the   same,     and   the   rest   of   Norway   is   also ;     she   can   follow,     or   she   can   die.     For   years,     she   pushed   the   REALISATION   away   ――     he   marries   the   same   year   they   begin   an   affair,     she   always   thinks   she   can   sway   him   to   RENOUNCE   his   marriage   to   Gyda   and   marry   him   instead.     But   when   she   is   baptised   with   her   teeth   gritted   and   her   tears   like   acid   on   paling   skin,     she   realises   that   loving   him   was   a   MISTAKE.     And   so   she   leaves.

Moa   Zhao   knows   the   Catholic   faith,     it   isn’t   entirely   unfamiliar.     But   she   takes   OFFENSE   at   being   called   a   Christian   and   consequentially,      also   PAGAN   or   HEATHEN.     Both   labels   are   rooted   in   the   vilification   of   polytheism   and   particularly   pagan   is   not   used   as   a   self - descriptor   by   new   polytheistic   or   pantheistic   movements   until   the   LATE   20THS   CENTURY.     She   takes   pride   in   her   beliefs   and   like   any   other   religion,     it   influences   the   way   she   lives   her   life.   There   are   FIVE   major   gods   that   are   regularly   honoured   with   sacrifices   ( BLÓTS ) :

Óðinn,     so   he   may   forgive   her   whatever   she   did   to   be   barred   from   Valhalla,     is   given   a   BLOOD   SACRIFICE   during   the   first   fall   storm   to   honour   the   Wild   Hunt.     Additionally,     the   last   handfuls   of   each   harvest   go   to   him.

Njörðr   always   receives   the   first   FRUIT   of   every   harvest   to   ensure   the   fertility   of   her   garden.

Heiðr   receives   a   BLOOD   SACRIFICE   every   new   moon   to   grant   her   knowledge   of   her   future.

Iðunn   receives   the   first   APPLE   of   every   fall   in   the   absence   of   a   better   explanation   for   her   immortality   and   eternal   youth.

And   Rán   is   given   a   BLOOD   SACRIFICE   whenever   she   crosses   the   sea   to   ensure   safe   travelling.

Despite   her   insistence   upon   the   IMPORTANCE   of   the   blood   sacrifices     (   which   to   large   extends   consists   of   her   OWN,   immortal   blood   ),     she   self - evidently   is   neither   demon   nor   antichrist.     She   can   enter   churches   without   suffering   any   supernatural   CONSEQUENCES.     Holy   ground   does   not   burn   her   feet,     holy   water   does   not   burn   her   skin,     and   the   cross   does   not   frighten   her.     And   it   does   not   do   so   for   ONE   reason,     as   Ubbe   says   to   Othere   in   History’s   Vikings   602,   Ep   11:

“   I   believe   in   the   Allfather,     the   father   of   all   gods.     […]     I   remember   all   the   ceremonies   in   Wessex.     In   all   those   ceremonies,   your   Christ   reaches   out   and   prays   to   the   holy   father.     Allfather.     I   know   that   your   divine   father   and   mine,     they’re   one   and   the   same.   ”

Moa   Zhao   was   christened   against   her   will   by   a   man   she   thought   to   be   the   love   of   her   life,     after   a   lifetime   of   physical   and   sexual   abuse,     several   miscarriages,   constant   ostracization,     no   identity,     no   name,     and   no   parents.     She   KNOWS   Catholicism   to   an   extent   that   she   can   effortlessly   mimic   Catholic   traditions   should   a   situation   ever   require   it.     She   knows   the   Pater   Noster   in   several   languages   and   can   cite   the   Bible   ―――     but   she   HATES   Christianity   all   the   same   for   what   it   represents   and   what   it   took   from   her.     She   respects   another’s   belief   only   as   much   as   her   own   is   respected.     In   CERTAIN   verses,     particularly   those   in   which   she   is   married   and   lives   together   with   Kua   Hale   who   is   a   practicing   Catholic,     she   allows   the   Bible   on   the   bedstand   and   the   wooden   crucifix   on   the   wall   of   his   room,     as   much   as   he   allows   the   wooden   depiction   of   Óðinn’s   HEAD   that   hangs   above   the   entrance   and   all   her   sacrifices.