The norn have a shamanistic religion where they revere totem animals of the Spirits of the Wild, the spirits of the strongest, bravest, wisest, or most cunning animals of the Shiverpeaks. The Great Spirit is Bear, who is seen as the strongest of all the spirits and is said to have granted the norn with the ability to 'become the bear'. The worship of the spirits Snow Leopard, Raven and Wolf is also prevalent because of the assistance they gave the norn in the past on their exodus south. There are many other totem spirits among the norn, such as Ox, Eagle, and Wurm, but they are not as widely revered.
Each spirit has any number of shaman. A shaman devotes themselves to a spirit's sacred area, serving as guardians to that area and teachers of the lessons of that spirit. The four most important spirits have huge Spirit Lodges built in their honor in Hoelbrak; these are governed by the most powerful shamans – the Speakers of Hoelbrak. Each spirit animal has a Havroun shaman, a single norn with a connection to the spirit through the mists.
As with other aspects of their lives the norn take an individual approach to their religion. Groups of norn, such as families, larger lodges or isolated homesteads tend to revere a particular animal spirit over the others, calling forth its special attributes so they might emulate it. This means in some areas a particular spirit is well known where in others it is not. There is some tension between the adherents of some spirits; for example, adherents to Bear might see Raven's approach as deceptive and therefore weak and dishonorable.
The norn draw strength from their totem beasts, calling on them in battle enabling the transformation of the norn to their were-form. They do not worship the spirits as greater beings but venerate them for the strength that they bring to the norn that calls them.
While they do not worship or revere the Six Human Gods, they do acknowledge them and their power. However, they do not refer to them by the names humans give them; instead, they refer to them as the "Spirits of Action" as a whole and by what they govern individually; for example, Balthazar is War, and Kormir is Knowledge.[3]