Finnish paganism
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Finnish paganism was a form of ancient pagan religion in present-day Finland and Karelia. It shares some ideas with the Ásatrú religion of the Germanic Nordic peoples, and has similarities with Baltic paganism as well. Sometimes it is considered as a form of Ásatrú; for example both Finnish paganism and Ásatrú have a similar thunder god with a hammer. But Finnish paganism also has many features of its own as a result of its unique Finno-Ugric heritage. Finnish paganism has many layers originating from different periods of time. Its roots are deep in the shamanistic religions of stone-age Europe, while Ásatrú is more influenced by the later Indo-European beliefs.
Finnish neopaganism is an attempt to revive this religion.
Shamanism
The oldest layers of Finnish paganism are shamanistic. Shaman was a kind of wizard and wise and respected person, who was believed to have a special relationship with spirit world. Shamans went in trance to travel the spirit realm. In trance shaman could ask forefathers and nature spirits for guidance and hidden wisdom. Nature was full of information to them who could ask it.
According to tales, foreign seafarers bought from Finns some kind of knots. By opening the knot a bit, a seaman could raise a wind to make his ship go faster. Opening it too fast would raise a storm. Finnish wizards were known and feared by neighbouring peoples around the Baltic sea.