Orgies, Bloodshed, and Psychedelic Plants- The Viking Midwinter Sacrifice at Gamla Uppsala
- Liliana Kotval
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 14
Every 9 years the Vikings met to provide sacrifices to the gods... what else did they get up to?
By. Liliana Kotval
The Vikings gathered together for a Midwinter ritualistic sacrifice every 9 years in Gamla Uppsala, Sweden. A total of 72 sacrificed bodies would hang from the holy tree, and the Vikings would celebrate with feasts, orgies, and psychedelic plants. Let´s get to know more about these "Berserkers" and their unconventional lifestyle.
The Vikings, also called the Norsemen, were Scandinavian seafaring warriors who raided many areas of mainland Europe during the 9th to 11th centuries. "Vikingr" comes from the Scandinavian term which means "pirate". Being a Viking meant being a raider, and contrary to popular knowledge, it did not depend on ethnicity nor gender, but was rather an occupation. Overpopulation, poor harvests, or just a hunger for riches were some of the main reasons the Vikings sailed to unknown lands. The Vikings shaped the political and genetic course of Europe- Cnut the Great became the King of England, Leif Eriksson reached North America 500 years before Christopher Columbus did, and Olaf Tryggvason brought Christianity to Norway. Their diverse diasporas established trade and settlements stretching from the American continent (they called "Vinland", land of wild grapes) to the Asian steppe. The sons of Ragnar Lothbrok- Halfdan, Inwaer (Ivar the Boneless), and Ubbe- conquered the ancient English kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia. The Vikings eventually suffered a significant defeat against Wessex, ultimately crushing their hopes of conquering all of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The Viking Age ended when the raids also slowed to an end.
Today, the English population has approximately 6% of Danish Viking ancestry, with the Scottish and Irish having up to 16%.
When the Vikings weren´t raiding and exploring new lands, what were they doing? Well, at home, most of them were farmers. According to them, the year began around 13 October, marked with a large public harvest sacrifice. The start of the war season began around 14 April. The great festival of winter (Christmas) began in January. During the summers, the Vikings held a midsummer sacrifice and farmed.
The Vikings practiced a pagan polytheistic Old Norse religion they called "Forn Sidr", meaning "the old way" (it was the old way when comparing it to Christianity, which then became known the new way.), which traces back to 500 BCE. This pagan religion worships the gods, giants, and ancestors. Depending on the time of the year and the season, specific gods are invoked through sacrifices and inspired their themes. For example, Thor, the god of thunder, receives sacrifices during times of poor weather. The Old Norse religion almost disappeared by 1050, when most Vikings became Christians due to extensive trade networks with European Christian areas and pressure from the German empire. Forn Sidr was then practiced in secrecy. Still to this day, about 1000 years after the Viking Age, there over 5,000 members of the Icelandic religious organization, Ásatrú, as well as many others around the globe who worship the ancient gods and the old Nordic religion.
Moving on to the sacrifice at Gamla Uppsala, every 9 Viking years (8 calendar years), on the full moon between 21 January and 19 February, the Vikings hosted a special type of sacrifice. As described by Adam von Bremen, a German medieval chronicler (1050-1085), in a magnificent temple, called Uppsala, not far from the Swedish city of Sigtuna, the Vikings gathered to worship the statues of 3 gods- Odin (god of wisdom and war), Thor (god of thunder), and Freyr (god of fertility and good harvest). At the site of Gamla Uppsala, there are 3 royal mounds with Viking remains.
Every 9 Viking years, 9 of every kind of male creature was sacrificed as offerings to the gods. The blood of these creatures appeased the gods. After the bodies were drained of blood, they were hung in a grove adjacent to the temple. 9 of each animal- dog, horse, ram, rooster, bull, pig, cat, and human- equaled 72 bodies hanging in the holy tree. Humans were the most sacred sacrifice and were made to Odin.
Not only for the religious aspect (which may have even been the least important reason, since the Vikings practiced sex tourism), Vikings from all around would travel to Uppsala for the ritual orgies, not limiting themselves to only those of the opposite sex. Viking society was not as homophobic, monogamous, or elitist as Christian societies were. Not only did they participate in orgies, but the Vikings would get high off of alcohol, cannabis, and psychoactive plants, particularly black henbane. The word "berserk" comes from the Old Norse "berserkr", which means "raging warrior of superhuman strength". The black henbane helped the Vikings be fierce in battle, fear nothing, and relieved pain from battle injuries. Magic mushrooms could have been used as well, however was most likely not the case, since the Amanita muscaria mushroom found in Scandinavia caused drowsiness, vomiting, and muscle spasms. Although in the popular television show, the Vikings, the Vikings are often seen eating shrooms, not all parts of the show are historically accurate.
Our predecessors lived wild and ruthless lives, often going by primal instincts. Their legacy is nothing of the ordinary, however, as their story lives on still to this day through their gruesome raids and empowering lifestyle.
References:
Henriksson, Goran. "The Pagan Great Midwinter Sacrifice and the ´Royal´ Mounds at Old Uppsala". https://www.astro.uu.se/archast/Henriksson.pdf
Natmus.dk. "The Old Norse Religion Today". https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/religion-magic-death-and-rituals/the-old-nordic-religion-today/
Margolin, Madison. "Who Were the Tripped-Out, Nearly Naked Berserkers?" Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/vikings-valhalla-who-are-berserkers-psychedelic-drugs
University of Bristol. "World´s Largest Ever DNA Sequencing of Viking Skeletons Reveals They Weren´t All Scandinavian". 16.09.2020. https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2020/september/viking-dna.html
Wikipedia. Ásatrúarfélagið. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81satr%C3%BAarf%C3%A9lagi%C3%B0
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