The Old Gods of the Forest or also just known as Old Gods are worshipped by most of the People in the North in Televisions “Game of Thrones”. It is an old religion of Westeros in which there are a collection of innumerable and unnamed spirts of nature. Now an old religion of Westeros it coexists as one of the dominant two next to Westeros main religion the Faith of the Seven (see other tab). There has always been tension between these two faiths compared to others.

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       The Old Gods were first worshipped by the Children of the Forest, which are the non-human original inhabitants of Westeros (Thousands of years before the arrival of the first men from the east twelve thousand years ago). The Children if the Forest carved faces into the weirwood trees. The Children and their priests, the Greenseers, fought the first men and they signed a pact to mutual peace and cooperation. This gave the deep forests to the children and all other lands of Westeros to the first men, who promised they would not cut down any of the sacred weirwood trees. The First men over time also came to worship the Old Gods as well.

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      This religion believes in innumerable and unnamed gods, the spirits of each tree, each rock and each stream. People who worship these Old Gods do not have any elaborate ceremonies, holy texts, hierarchies of priests, or large structures of worship. Instead they practice in quiet in godswoods, small areas of forest which have been enclosed within a castles walls. Worship is then centered on heart trees, which are the weirwood trees with a face carved into the bark. Weirwoods are considered sacred and the heart trees are most similar to a “shrine”. Any oath or promise sworn at the heart tree is considered binding. The only ceremony of such for this religion is marriage, during which the bride is brought to the weirwood tree to beg the blessing of the Gods for her marriage.

 

       When it comes to comparing this religion to Real-world religions, it is most comparable to traditional Paganism and various other Celtic systems and Norse systems. Most similar to the Pagan religions in Europe before Europe became Christian. he pagan Celts perceived the presence of the supernatural as an essential and integral part of the natural world. Every mountain, spring, bush, tree and rolling hill was imbued with a spirit, as well as that of the creatures that inhabited them. The Celts believed that trees had spirits and revered and worshipped certain trees. The most sacred trees of Ireland were the bile trees. Ancient, sacred trees that stood in a central area and were often the social and ceremonial meeting place for a tribe or village. Very similar to how the Heart trees are sacred in the religion of the Old Gods of the Forest, these sacred trees of Celtic religion are the closest thing to a “shrine” that the religion possesses.