The Vikings usually worshipped their gods in open-air forums located at ancient sites, sacred grounds or on Islands which they inhabited. Occasionally people congregated in wooden temples as well, which contained carved images of their various deities. The Viking culture was known to have practiced sacrificial offerings. Sacrifices of animals, crops and even sometimes humans were regularly made to their gods, and no matter of importance would ever be undertaken without first petitioning the relevant gods for guidance.

From their religious beliefs, the Norseman viewed their world as a flat disc, surrounded by a vast ocean and here to them, coiled around the earth, was the Midgard Serpent. Supporting the earth was a giant ash tree, known as Yggdrasill, whose roots stretched from the freezing depths of Hel (the world of the dead) to Jötunheimr (the home of the giants), which lay on the far side of the ocean at the world's end. In Viking mythology, it was said that beneath the roots of Yggdrasill that lay the great Well of Fates and Wisdom, which was tended by the Norns, who were three spirits that wove the threads of destiny for all life. Also, the Vikings believed that chained to a rock at the centre of the earth was the ravenous wolf known as Fenrir, whose jaws stretched across the entire universe.

According to their ancient religion, humankind dwelt in a realm known as Midgard and lived under the protection of many deities, the most important of which were the Aesir who lived in Asgard, the stronghold of the gods. First and foremost in this pantheon was Odin, the 'All-Father', the god of kings, knowledge, understanding, magic and poetry. He was also known as 'the helmeted one', the god of war. The worldly creatures associated with him were the wolf and the raven, battlefield carrion the feasted on the corpses of slain warriors. It was every Viking warriors wish to die a hero's death on the battlefield and be chosen by the fierce spirits known as Valkyries, who would carry the bravest of them to Odin's great 'Hall of the Slain' called Valhalla, a majestic and enormous hall located in Asgard.