Ansī and Idis: The deities of Frankish heathenry.

Wuodan is the god of the winds, magic and the afterlife. The main epithet of Wuodan is Ans which simply means 'god' or 'divine force', as he is the high chieftain (druhtin) who rules over all the other gods (ansī) from the heavenly realm of Ansgard. Wuodan blesses those who gain his favor with victory and success in their endeavors, in addition to seeing over all trade and mercantile activities, and granting fortune if propitiated with sacrificial offerings or bluotan in old Frankish. The sacred trees of Wuodan are the ash (aska), the beech (buoka) and the yew (īwa); all symbolic of the mighty Ermensūl, a giant cosmic pillar which links the realm of the spirits with the realm of mortals. Wuodan was also the psychopomp who acted as the guide of the heug (soul) of the deceased to the afterlife, which caused the Romans to identify him with their god Mercury. 

Wuodan is associated primarily with the nobility, although he was also venerated by all folk as the god who rules over the ancestors in the afterlife and as the provider of protection and victory against enemies. Wuodan is also the patron of wisdom, poetry, eloquence and knowledge; who in addition to being warrior-king of the ansī, has the role of shaman and sage, and is chiefly associated with the magic of the runes, healing, and the power of incantation (galstar). Wuodan is named by many other titles and epithets including Got ('divinity immanent in a burial mound'); Ermen ('immensely strong'), and Alfader ('All-Father'). Wuodan manifests in Middangard, the mortal realm, as a shadowy hooded sage with one eye and a beard and carrying a spear, accompanied with storms and blustering winds, riding a spectral horse as part of a ghostly cavalry called the Wild Hunt which included the spirits of deceased warriors called the einheri; female storm-spirits called the walkuren, and ghostly black hounds. The sacred animals of Wuodan are the wolf, the horse and the raven.

Thonar is the god of the weather, governing over the phenomena of lightning, rain and storms. Thonar appear as a red-haired bearded giant who carries a long-handled hammer (sometimes an axe), and thunders across the sky in a chariot drawn by goats, scorching the souls of evildoers with flaming bolts of lighting. His position as a divinity of rain and storms makes Thonar closely associated with the fertility of fields and agriculture in general, and is thus a patron of the everyday folk; in particular, farmers, who would plant small hammers or sometimes neolithic axe heads in the soil to bring the blessing of weather god. The status of Thonar is in contrast to that of Wuodan, who although celebrated by the ordinary Frank, was chiefly associated with the aristocracy. The tree which is most sacred to Thonar is the oak (eik); with the god himself being worshiped as a lofty old oak tree, or as god-pole/sacred pillar that was located in a sacred grove (nimid) of oak trees.

Tīo: the god of the sky, law and order, the war-general of the ansī who is tasked with maintaining the stability of the universe and upholding cosmic order. The other name of Tīo is Erken ('The Pure One'), as his physical manifestation is the pure blue sky as well as being associated with purity of action and thought. The sacred animal of Tīo is the bear.

The blue sky, the embodiment of Tīo, was under where the thing or tribal assembly was held in woodland clearings (lō) and Tīo was widely regarded as the patron god of the thing. Frankish and Frisian warriors in the Roman army honored Tīo under the name of Mars Thingscus and devoted altars to him in the areas they were stationed, such as Britain. Pools and springs of pure, clean freshwater which are located in a nimid were specifically associated with altars that were consecrated to Tīo, with the hornbeam and the hazel being his sacred trees.

Ertha (or Folda) is the goddess of the earth, a primordial and ancient deity who was at one time the wife of Wuodan and bore him a son, the god Thonar. The worship of Ertha was especially important for the rural Franks who made a life from agriculture, as bluotan offered to Ertha would increase the fertility of the soil and the yield of the crop harvest.

Tīza is the goddess of bravery, justice and protection, and wife of the sky-god Tīo. Tīza destroys those who seek to do evil; removes curses and obstacles from the paths of the righteous, and stands guard over those who seek to do good and fight in the name of just and pure causes. The holy tree of Tīza is the pine.

Frīa is the goddess of the atmosphere, prophecy, peace (friþu), healing, and motherhood; the queen (kwena) of the ansī and wife of Wuodan, the almighty druhtin. Frīa, seated on her throne in the heavens, weaves the clouds from her loom; she is all-wise and all-seeing, knowing of all things past, present and future, and grants the gift of foresight to her favoured through dreams and visions but discloses her own knowledge to no soul. The sacred trees of Frīa are the linden and the elm, and her holy animal is the heron. The goddess is called upon especially to protect women and children, and also in healing spells. Incense of the best quality, which was called wīrōk in the Frankish language, was used in sacrificial offerings to Frīa as it was imagined that the smoke carried prayers to the goddess in the sky.

Holda is the goddess of woodlands, wild animals, winter and magic and who protects those who call upon her during journeys into the countryside and before hunting. Holda, who is also called Berhta ('Bright One'), is a graceful and kind goddess, but is also associated with the darker and wilder side of nature and punishes those who hunt or chop wood in her forests without first performing bluotan (sacrificial rites). The tree considered to be most sacred to Holda is the hulis, or holly, and sprigs of holly are hung around the home to guard against the malevolent spirits who wander the earth during the winter months.

The goddess was known to Frisians as Hludana, but another ancient epithet of Holda was Hurstrga, who was worshiped at and associated with a particular feature of the landscape called a hurst in the ancestral Frankish homeland of Gelderland; a hurst was a specific form of the nimid which was located on a hilltop. The sacred animal of Holda is the deer. Holda, along with Wuodan, was one of the deities who were especially honored with bluotan during the Joul festival to gain their blessing of protection, health and plenty during the winter months when life was a lot more difficult.

Merovech is the god of the river Merwede, son of the goddess Nerða and legendary ancestor of the Salian Franks. Rivers were sacred to the Franks as they were primary routes of travel, as well as important sources of food and water, playing a part in nearly every aspect of life in the watery homelands of the Frankish clans. Merovech gave his name to the Merovingians, who claimed direct descent from him and became the dominant clan of the Franks, with them thus claiming divinely sanctioned authority over all other clans. The bull is animal which is sacred to and symbolic of Merovech.

Frouwa is the goddess of battle, wealth, beauty and magic whose domains are meadows and fields, in particular those which are left uncultivated and full of wildflowers. A goddess who is associated with the beauty and fertility of the untouched countryside, Frouwa granted success in love and fertility, and was appealed to with sacrificial rite grant these. The sacred tree of Frouwa is the elder and her sacred animal is the cat. Frouwa is the leader of the idis, a class of fierce virgin nature goddesses who assist those who appeal to them in matters of battle and grant victory against enemies.

Baldruo is the god of light, healing and peace who is chiefly associated with the beauty and goodness of nature, in addition to the concepts of warmth, joy and pure love; he is the son of the chieftain of the ansī and all-father Wuodan. The name of Baldruo is known from a inscription from Utrecht in the homeland of the Frankish tribes. The foal is the animal which is most sacred to Baldruo.

Sibba is the goddess of wheat fields and agriculture, appearing as a beautiful woman with long golden hair. Sibba is the wife of the rain-god Thonar and is associated with marriage and family, bestowing fertility upon people, animals and fields if venerated with sacrificial rites (bluotan) and given the appropriate offerings (offringa). The rowan is the tree sacred to Sibba.

Ingo is the alf-god of summer, happiness and peace who bestows prosperity, fertility and pleasure upon those who worship him. Ingo is also associated with the continuation of tribal lineages, the notion of sacral kingship, and the peace enjoyed by the ancestors in the afterlife; for Ingo the divine king of the alfen: the spirits of nature who dwell alongside mortals in Middangard, but mainly resides in the dreamlike otherworld of Alfhaim alongside the spirits of deceased ancestors; accessible through burial mounds (burgisli), caves and sacred woodland groves (nimid). The sacred animal of Ingo was the boar, which would be sacrificed to the god and the meat distributed among the worshipers.

Nerða is the goddess of rivers, lakes and wetland who rules over all sources of freshwater and is the provider of its bounty. Nerða, or sometimes Nerthus, was venerated by the Franks as the mother of the divine progenitor Merovech, but was also worshiped by many other Teutonic tribes including the Jutes and Anglians, with a festival to bring fertility that including a ritual procession of a wooden carving of the goddess that stood on a chariot drawn by heifers and was lead by priests (goteman), with the final destination being a sacred lake where slaves were drowned as a sacrificial offering (offringa). At other times, such as private worship, offringa to the water goddess took the form of lighting floating cressets and tying cloth to trees located beside the rivers, pools and fountains. The sacred animals of Nerða are the swan and the cow, and her sacred tree is the willow.

Stuffo is the god of the mountain peaks, venerated by the Frankish clan of the Chatti who gave their name to their homeland of modern-day Hesse in Germany.

Sinthgund is the goddess of the night sky and the stars and an assistant of the godesss Fria who was called upon in healing charms such as the ones found at Merseburg.

Burorina is a goddess of plenty who was the guardian divinity of Domberg in the Frankish homeland of the southern Netherlands, and was invoked to bring bounteous harvests and success.

Hariasa is a goddess of war and assistant of Wuodan who protected warriors on the battlefield. Hariasa was imagined as having long hair and her cult was attested to at Cologne in the Frankish homeland.

Hruoda is the goddess of glory and victory. The festival of Hruoda was celebrated during March as part of the springtime fertility rites, where she would be called upon by her worshipers to bless them with the growth of vegetation and to grant an advantage over ones enemies, as well as fortune in times of conflict over the coming year.

Tanfana is the goddess of the fir tree, an idis who was believed to grant soil fertility and improve the health of plant crops. The Frankish tribes living near the Rhine performed her bluotan, or sacrificial rites, in consecrated fir groves.

Baduhenna is a goddess of war, an idis who granted victory and protected the warriors who invoked her name in battle as a mother would protect a child. The warriors of ancient Frisia would thank Baduhenna for her protection by sacrificing enemies at her nimid.

Nehalennia is the goddess of ocean bounty who was venerated to bring success in trade and to protector of ships; Nehalennia was worshiped particularly by those who were traveling on the seas for her ability to ward off storms, pirates and other forms of misfortune. The sacred animal of Nehalennia is the dog who is shown as sat beside her in art.

Folla is the goddess of prosperity and comfort who was associated with bounty, plenty and good fortune whose symbol is a golden band. Folla is the handmaiden of Frīa, the kwena of the ansī, and is invoked alongside her in a healing charm in the Merseburg Incantations.

Vagdavercustis is the goddess of military honor and also of woodlands who was worshiped at sacred groves (nimid) and whose sacred symbol was a tree. Vagdavercustis was of a particular type of virgin warrior goddesses called the idis whose leader is Frouwa, and she was invoked with ritual dances (leih) before a battle to bring victory.

Scrado is the god of the deep forest who protects flocks and shepherds, and is the guardian of field boundaries. He is the father of the moswīfa ('moss-women'), the wild spirit-women of the deep forest, and his body is made of leaves and moss which was believed to have influenced the Green Man archetype of western European folklore. Scrado was is known by the names of Alfgast ('alf-guest') and Alfrīk ('alf-king') and is known to grant riches to poor people who encounter him in the forest, but is also able to charm people into a magical deep slumber.

Ōstra is the goddess of the dawn, flowering plants and springtime who was associated with fertility, the growth of vegetation and the blossoming of flowers. A great festival was held by the heathen Franks in honor of Ōstra which included feasting, bonfires, sword dancing and offerings of baked goods to bring healthy crops for the coming year. The totem animals of Ōstra are the hare and the bee, and her symbols are eggs and spring flowers.

Alīsō is the god of alder trees who protects the mountains and also the fertile hills, known to the Gaulish predecessors of the Franks who inhabited the Cote d'Or region as Alisanos.

Māno is the god of the Moon and brother of the sun-goddess Sunna, who is chiefly associated with the passage of time and the rhythm of the tides. Charms that are cast when the influence of Māno is at his highest have an increased effect and greater potency. The tree sacred to Māno is the silver birch.

Sunna is the goddess of the Sun, who provides warmth, healing and bounty in the form of crop growth. Sunna is venerated by all wihte including the ansī, alfen and even the etune (giants), as her light melts the forms of malicious wihte, in addition to melting ice, thus protecting all life. Sunna also observes the actions of all during the day time and is therefore able to punish those who commit evil acts with curses.The Midsummer festival was held by the heathen Franks in veneration of Sunna, and was celebrated with bonfires, sacrificial rites and feasting.