A common pejorative leveled at heathens who seek to include folk magic, ritual formulae, or direct contact with deities in their practice of Asatru or Heathen faith is ' Wiccatru ' : that the inclusion of such elements derives primarily from modern 19th-and 20th-century British and American Wicca, and therefore that some, most, or even all practices involving folk magic and mystical experience are invalid as reconstructionist practices. Reconstructionist methods seek to provide both a historical foundation and an inspiration for modern Heathen practice, yet many lay researchers and practitioners overlook, disregard, or are simply unaware of historical precedents for these elements in Heathen practice. The impetus for this research grew out of debates in modern-day Heathenry regarding the validity of including magical and mystical elements in a reconstruction of Heathen praxis and worldview.

* 2009, Mark Ludwig Stinson, Heathen Gods - Version 1.0, page 28, I've seen several Heathenry ' 101 booklets and articles that made a lot of comparisons between '''Heathenry''' and Christianity.I originally set out to explore the historical precedent for folk magic, shamanic practice, and mysticism in a Heathen context.Lewis (editors), ''Handbook of New Age, page 436, Thus Paganism has come to be an umbrella term for a diverse spiritual network, which also includes modern Shamanism and Heathenry. * 2007, Melissa Harrington, Paganism and the New Age'', Daren Kemp, James R.* 2005, Galina Krasskova, Exploring the Northern Tradition, page 23, Comparatively, they are understanding, if not accepting, of Neo-Pagan influence many Universalists even consider Heathenry to fall under the Neo-Pagan umbrella-a position most Folkish Heathens and Tribalists reject.People often discover ' Heathenry through finding the mythology of Northern Europe and attempting to learn more about the culture and spirituality of this part of the world. Thus, '''Heathenry''' is, in some sense, a reconstructed religion. * 2005 ', Jenny Blain, ''Chapter Five: '''Heathenry, the Past, and Sacred Sites in Today's Britain'', Michael Strmiska (editor), ''Modern Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives, page 181, In Britain, Heathenry''''' is the most common name used for an emergent religion based on the old gods, goddesses, and spirits (wights) that were part of everyday life in Northern Europe before the coming of the Christian era.Any modern reconstruction of one of these religions Germanic neo-paganism.

Heathen Gods by Mark Ludwig Stinson