Nordic paganism (Asatru)
Asatru is frequently regarded as one of the Neopagan family of religions.
That family includes Wicca, Celtic Druidism, and re-creations of Egyptian,
Greek, Roman, and other ancient Pagan religions. However, many Asatruers prefer
the term "Heathen" to "Neopagan" and look upon their tradition as "not
just a
branch on the Neopagan tree" but as a separate tree. Unlike Wicca,
which has
gradually evolved into many different traditions, the
reconstruction of Asatru
has been based on the surviving historical
record. Its followers have
maintained it as closely as possible to the
original religion of the Norse
people.
Asatru or Ásatrú is is an
Icelandic word which is a translation of
the Danish word "Asetro." Asetro
was "first seen in 1885 in an article in the
periodical "Fjallkonan". The
next recorded instance was in "Hei<eth>inn
si<eth>ur á
Íslandi" ("Heathen traditions in Iceland.") by Ólafur Briem
(Reykjavík,
1945)." It means "belief in the Asir," the Gods. "Asatru" is a
combination
of "Asa" which is the possessive case of the word Æsir (Aesir) and
"Tru"
which means belief or religion.
Throughout Scandinavia the religion is
called Forn Si<eth>r (which means the Ancient way or tradition), Forn sed
(the Old custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk sed (Pagan
custom).
Other names are:
Norse Heathenism, Germanic Heathenism, the
Elder Troth, the
Old Way, Asetro, Vor Si r (our way), Forn Si r (Ancient
way), Forn sed (the old
custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk
sed (Pagan custom), Odinism or
Folkish Ásatrú.
The religion's origin is
lost in antiquity. At its peak, it
covered all of Northern Europe.
Countries gradually converted to Christianity.
In 1000 CE, Iceland became
the second last Norse culture to convert. Their
prime motivation was
economic. Sweden was ruled by a Pagan king until 1085
CE.
Icelandic
poet Gothi Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson promoted government
recognition of
Asatru as a legitimate religion; this status was granted in
1972. Since
the early 1970's, the religion has been in a period of rapid growth
in the
former Norse countries, as well as in Europe and North
America.
Corruption of
Asatru:
It is
not unknown for otherwise decent religions
to become corrupted by incorporating
racist, sexist, anti-semitic, and
homophobic beliefs. For example:
The
Christian Identity movement is one
wing of the Christian religion which has
adsorbed such beliefs.
During
the early part of the 20th Century, The
National Socialist Party in
Germany under Adolf Hitler attempted to pervert
Asatru by grafting parts
of the religion onto the Nazi racist beliefs. This
blasphemy died by the
end of World War II, although some neo-Nazi groups --
largely in the U.S.
-- are now attempting to continue the practice. This type of
activity is
in no way related to the restoration of Asatru as a legitimate
Heathen
religion. There is a very strong anti-racist, anti-Nazi stance among
national Asatru groups in the Scandinavian countries. This is also found in
almost all Asatru groups in English speaking countries. They typically have a
clear rejection of racism written into their constitutions. Unfortunately,
some
anti-racism groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the
Federal Bureau
of Investigation (in its Megiddo report) have mistakenly
accused the entire
religion of racism.
Many people are exposed to the
name "Asatru" through
role playing games, such as Mage: The Ascension.
Unfortunately, the Asatru of
these games bear little resemblance to the
real religion.
Asatru
Beliefs:
Asatru is a
polytheistic religion. There are three races of Deities in
the Norse
pantheon. They are all regarded as living entities who are involved
in
human life:
The Aesir: These
are the Gods of the
tribe or clan, representing Kingship, order, craft,
etc.
The
Vanir: These represent the fertility of the earth
and forces of
nature. They are associated with the clan but are not part of
it.
The Jotnar: These are giants who are in a constant
state of war with the Aesir. They represent chaos and destruction. At the
battle of Ragnarok, many of the Gods will die, the world will come to an end
and be reborn.
Specific
Gods: Some of the more important
are:
Thor is the Thunderer, who wields Mjolnir, the
divine Hammer. His chariot racing across the sky generates thunder. Thursday
(Thor's Day) was named after him.
Odin is the one-eyed
God;
he gave up one of his eyes in order to drink from the Fount of
Wisdom. He is a
magician and wise one. He learned the secrets of the runes
(Northern European
alphabet) by hanging himself on the tree Yggdrasil for
nine
nights.
Frey is the God of Yule (born on the
Winter
Solstice, typically December 21). He is a God of peace and plenty
who brings
fertility and prosperity. His father was
Njord.
Specific Goddesses: Some
important ones
are:
Freya (aka Freyja) is the Goddess of
love, beauty
and sexuality, and perhaps a dozen other attributes. She leads the
Valkyries who take the souls of slain soldiers to Valhalla (Odin's great
hall).
Frigg is Odin's wife. Her name has been secularized
to a slang term which refers to sexual intercourse. She is the patroness
of
the household and of married women.
Skadi is the
Goddess of
independence, death, hunting and skiing. Scandinavia was named
after her; the
English words shadow, skullduggery and shade came from her
name.
Ostara, is a Goddess of fertility who is
celebrated
at the time of the Spring equinox. She was known by the Saxons
as Eostre, the
Goddess of Spring, from whom we have derived the word
Easter. Ostara's symbols
are the hare and the
egg.
Other Entities:
Other Deities are Aegir, Balder, Bragi,
Forseti, Heimdall, Hel, Loki,
Njord, Ran, Tyr, Ull and Vithar. Followers of
Asatru also honor the
Landvaettir (land spirits) of the forest, earth and
streams.
Life Values:
Asatruars in North America
have created a list of Nine Noble Virtues: Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity,
Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance and Perseverance.
The
family is greatly valued and honored. They reject any form of
discrimination
based on ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, race,
sexual orientation, or
"other divisive
criteria".
Origins: Humanity is
literally
descended from the Gods. Three brothers, Odin, Vili, and Ve created
people
from two trees and gave them the names Ask and Embla. One deity, Rig
visited the earth and established the social
classes.
Od: This is the gift of ecstasy provided to
humans by the Gods. It is what separates humanity from other animals, and
is
our eternal link with the Gods.
Creation Story: A poem Voluspa
(Prophecy of
the Seeress) contains an Asatru story of the creation of the
universe. Between
Muspelheim (The Land of Fire) and Niflheim the Land of
Ice was an empty space
called Ginnungigap. The fire and ice moved towards
each other; when they
collided, the universe came into being. Odin, Vili
and Ve later created the
world from the body of a giant that they had
slain.
After
death:
Those who die in battle
will be carried to Valhalla by the
Valkyries. There they will eat Särimner
(a pig that is daily slaughtered and
resurrected) with the Gods. Some, but
not all, Asatruars believe that those who
have lived a very evil and
treacherous life go to Hifhel, (a.k.a Hiflhel). This
is a place of
torment. The remainder go to Hel, a place of calmness and peace,
from
which the name of the Christian Hell was derived. However, Hel is much
closer to the Christian view of Heaven than to its concept of
Hell.
Asatru Rituals and
Practices:
Their local religious communities are called
Kindreds, Hearths, or Garths. Male priests are called Gothi; priestesses are
Gythia
The Blot: (pronounced "bloats") This is their
most
common religious ritual; it is a sacrifice to the Gods. In olden
days, as with
almost all ancient religions, an animal was consecrated to
the deities and then
slaughtered. This was not seen as a bribe or as a
method of capturing the power
of the dying animal. It is simply the way in
which the ancient Norse shared
their bounty with a gift to the Gods.
Currently, the animal sacrifice has been
replaced by the offer of beer,
juice or mead. Afterwards, those present are
either sprinkled with the
liquid, or drink it in sequence.
The
Sumbel: This is a
ritual drinking celebration, in which a horn filled
with a drink is passed
around the group. Each person delivers a greeting; a
toast to the Gods,
ancient heroes, or one's ancestors; or a story, song or
poem. He or she
then drinks from the horn.
Profession or
Adoption:
This is the act of making a commitment to Asatru to the
exclusion of other
faiths, by solemnly giving an oath of allegiance and kinship
to the Gods of
Asgard, the Aesir and Vanir. It is a simple ceremony usually
done in the
presence of a Gothi or Gythia and the rest of the Kindred, Hearth
or Garth.
It is taken on an oath ring or some other sacred
object.
Seasonal Days of
Celebration:
In common with most
Neo-Pagan faiths, their main
holy days are:
Summer Finding,
at the spring equinox,
typically March 21. This is dedicated to
Ostara.
Winter
Finding, at the fall equinox, typically
September
21
Midsummer, at the summer solstice, typically
June
21
Yule, which starts on the winter solstice
(typically
December 21) on the Mother Night of Yule. It lasts for 12 days or
more.
This is the most important day of the year. Many Norse symbols have been
adsorbed by the Christian celebration of Christmas: evergreen trees, Yule logs,
holly, etc.Many also celebrate days between the solstices and equinoxes.
Various traditions within Asatru observe them on different
dates:
The Charming of the Plow on February 1st weekend, a
celebration of Freya and the Disir
Merry-Moon on May
1st
weekend, celebration of spring dedicated to Njord and
Nerthus.
Harvest or Freyfaxi on August 1st weekend, the
first harvest and celebration of Frey and his
horse
Fogmoon
on November 1st weekend, a celebration of
war-dead and Ragnarok Dedicated to
Odin and Freya.Asatruars in North
America observe Einherjar, held annually on
November 11. Thisi coincides
with Armistice or Veterans Day. It honors those
who have been killed in
battle and have joined Odon's warriors in Valhalla.
Some groups hold a
feast on the 9th of each month to honor Norse heroes. Other
groups hold
rituals at full moons. Additional days are celebrated at other
times
during the year by different traditions.
Note - If anyone has anymore infomation about this please email me at [email protected] (all lower case)
That family includes Wicca, Celtic Druidism, and re-creations of Egyptian,
Greek, Roman, and other ancient Pagan religions. However, many Asatruers prefer
the term "Heathen" to "Neopagan" and look upon their tradition as "not
just a
branch on the Neopagan tree" but as a separate tree. Unlike Wicca,
which has
gradually evolved into many different traditions, the
reconstruction of Asatru
has been based on the surviving historical
record. Its followers have
maintained it as closely as possible to the
original religion of the Norse
people.
Asatru or Ásatrú is is an
Icelandic word which is a translation of
the Danish word "Asetro." Asetro
was "first seen in 1885 in an article in the
periodical "Fjallkonan". The
next recorded instance was in "Hei<eth>inn
si<eth>ur á
Íslandi" ("Heathen traditions in Iceland.") by Ólafur Briem
(Reykjavík,
1945)." It means "belief in the Asir," the Gods. "Asatru" is a
combination
of "Asa" which is the possessive case of the word Æsir (Aesir) and
"Tru"
which means belief or religion.
Throughout Scandinavia the religion is
called Forn Si<eth>r (which means the Ancient way or tradition), Forn sed
(the Old custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk sed (Pagan
custom).
Other names are:
Norse Heathenism, Germanic Heathenism, the
Elder Troth, the
Old Way, Asetro, Vor Si r (our way), Forn Si r (Ancient
way), Forn sed (the old
custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk
sed (Pagan custom), Odinism or
Folkish Ásatrú.
The religion's origin is
lost in antiquity. At its peak, it
covered all of Northern Europe.
Countries gradually converted to Christianity.
In 1000 CE, Iceland became
the second last Norse culture to convert. Their
prime motivation was
economic. Sweden was ruled by a Pagan king until 1085
CE.
Icelandic
poet Gothi Sveinbjorn Beinteinsson promoted government
recognition of
Asatru as a legitimate religion; this status was granted in
1972. Since
the early 1970's, the religion has been in a period of rapid growth
in the
former Norse countries, as well as in Europe and North
America.
Corruption of
Asatru:
It is
not unknown for otherwise decent religions
to become corrupted by incorporating
racist, sexist, anti-semitic, and
homophobic beliefs. For example:
The
Christian Identity movement is one
wing of the Christian religion which has
adsorbed such beliefs.
During
the early part of the 20th Century, The
National Socialist Party in
Germany under Adolf Hitler attempted to pervert
Asatru by grafting parts
of the religion onto the Nazi racist beliefs. This
blasphemy died by the
end of World War II, although some neo-Nazi groups --
largely in the U.S.
-- are now attempting to continue the practice. This type of
activity is
in no way related to the restoration of Asatru as a legitimate
Heathen
religion. There is a very strong anti-racist, anti-Nazi stance among
national Asatru groups in the Scandinavian countries. This is also found in
almost all Asatru groups in English speaking countries. They typically have a
clear rejection of racism written into their constitutions. Unfortunately,
some
anti-racism groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the
Federal Bureau
of Investigation (in its Megiddo report) have mistakenly
accused the entire
religion of racism.
Many people are exposed to the
name "Asatru" through
role playing games, such as Mage: The Ascension.
Unfortunately, the Asatru of
these games bear little resemblance to the
real religion.
Asatru
Beliefs:
Asatru is a
polytheistic religion. There are three races of Deities in
the Norse
pantheon. They are all regarded as living entities who are involved
in
human life:
The Aesir: These
are the Gods of the
tribe or clan, representing Kingship, order, craft,
etc.
The
Vanir: These represent the fertility of the earth
and forces of
nature. They are associated with the clan but are not part of
it.
The Jotnar: These are giants who are in a constant
state of war with the Aesir. They represent chaos and destruction. At the
battle of Ragnarok, many of the Gods will die, the world will come to an end
and be reborn.
Specific
Gods: Some of the more important
are:
Thor is the Thunderer, who wields Mjolnir, the
divine Hammer. His chariot racing across the sky generates thunder. Thursday
(Thor's Day) was named after him.
Odin is the one-eyed
God;
he gave up one of his eyes in order to drink from the Fount of
Wisdom. He is a
magician and wise one. He learned the secrets of the runes
(Northern European
alphabet) by hanging himself on the tree Yggdrasil for
nine
nights.
Frey is the God of Yule (born on the
Winter
Solstice, typically December 21). He is a God of peace and plenty
who brings
fertility and prosperity. His father was
Njord.
Specific Goddesses: Some
important ones
are:
Freya (aka Freyja) is the Goddess of
love, beauty
and sexuality, and perhaps a dozen other attributes. She leads the
Valkyries who take the souls of slain soldiers to Valhalla (Odin's great
hall).
Frigg is Odin's wife. Her name has been secularized
to a slang term which refers to sexual intercourse. She is the patroness
of
the household and of married women.
Skadi is the
Goddess of
independence, death, hunting and skiing. Scandinavia was named
after her; the
English words shadow, skullduggery and shade came from her
name.
Ostara, is a Goddess of fertility who is
celebrated
at the time of the Spring equinox. She was known by the Saxons
as Eostre, the
Goddess of Spring, from whom we have derived the word
Easter. Ostara's symbols
are the hare and the
egg.
Other Entities:
Other Deities are Aegir, Balder, Bragi,
Forseti, Heimdall, Hel, Loki,
Njord, Ran, Tyr, Ull and Vithar. Followers of
Asatru also honor the
Landvaettir (land spirits) of the forest, earth and
streams.
Life Values:
Asatruars in North America
have created a list of Nine Noble Virtues: Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity,
Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self-Reliance and Perseverance.
The
family is greatly valued and honored. They reject any form of
discrimination
based on ethnicity, gender, language, nationality, race,
sexual orientation, or
"other divisive
criteria".
Origins: Humanity is
literally
descended from the Gods. Three brothers, Odin, Vili, and Ve created
people
from two trees and gave them the names Ask and Embla. One deity, Rig
visited the earth and established the social
classes.
Od: This is the gift of ecstasy provided to
humans by the Gods. It is what separates humanity from other animals, and
is
our eternal link with the Gods.
Creation Story: A poem Voluspa
(Prophecy of
the Seeress) contains an Asatru story of the creation of the
universe. Between
Muspelheim (The Land of Fire) and Niflheim the Land of
Ice was an empty space
called Ginnungigap. The fire and ice moved towards
each other; when they
collided, the universe came into being. Odin, Vili
and Ve later created the
world from the body of a giant that they had
slain.
After
death:
Those who die in battle
will be carried to Valhalla by the
Valkyries. There they will eat Särimner
(a pig that is daily slaughtered and
resurrected) with the Gods. Some, but
not all, Asatruars believe that those who
have lived a very evil and
treacherous life go to Hifhel, (a.k.a Hiflhel). This
is a place of
torment. The remainder go to Hel, a place of calmness and peace,
from
which the name of the Christian Hell was derived. However, Hel is much
closer to the Christian view of Heaven than to its concept of
Hell.
Asatru Rituals and
Practices:
Their local religious communities are called
Kindreds, Hearths, or Garths. Male priests are called Gothi; priestesses are
Gythia
The Blot: (pronounced "bloats") This is their
most
common religious ritual; it is a sacrifice to the Gods. In olden
days, as with
almost all ancient religions, an animal was consecrated to
the deities and then
slaughtered. This was not seen as a bribe or as a
method of capturing the power
of the dying animal. It is simply the way in
which the ancient Norse shared
their bounty with a gift to the Gods.
Currently, the animal sacrifice has been
replaced by the offer of beer,
juice or mead. Afterwards, those present are
either sprinkled with the
liquid, or drink it in sequence.
The
Sumbel: This is a
ritual drinking celebration, in which a horn filled
with a drink is passed
around the group. Each person delivers a greeting; a
toast to the Gods,
ancient heroes, or one's ancestors; or a story, song or
poem. He or she
then drinks from the horn.
Profession or
Adoption:
This is the act of making a commitment to Asatru to the
exclusion of other
faiths, by solemnly giving an oath of allegiance and kinship
to the Gods of
Asgard, the Aesir and Vanir. It is a simple ceremony usually
done in the
presence of a Gothi or Gythia and the rest of the Kindred, Hearth
or Garth.
It is taken on an oath ring or some other sacred
object.
Seasonal Days of
Celebration:
In common with most
Neo-Pagan faiths, their main
holy days are:
Summer Finding,
at the spring equinox,
typically March 21. This is dedicated to
Ostara.
Winter
Finding, at the fall equinox, typically
September
21
Midsummer, at the summer solstice, typically
June
21
Yule, which starts on the winter solstice
(typically
December 21) on the Mother Night of Yule. It lasts for 12 days or
more.
This is the most important day of the year. Many Norse symbols have been
adsorbed by the Christian celebration of Christmas: evergreen trees, Yule logs,
holly, etc.Many also celebrate days between the solstices and equinoxes.
Various traditions within Asatru observe them on different
dates:
The Charming of the Plow on February 1st weekend, a
celebration of Freya and the Disir
Merry-Moon on May
1st
weekend, celebration of spring dedicated to Njord and
Nerthus.
Harvest or Freyfaxi on August 1st weekend, the
first harvest and celebration of Frey and his
horse
Fogmoon
on November 1st weekend, a celebration of
war-dead and Ragnarok Dedicated to
Odin and Freya.Asatruars in North
America observe Einherjar, held annually on
November 11. Thisi coincides
with Armistice or Veterans Day. It honors those
who have been killed in
battle and have joined Odon's warriors in Valhalla.
Some groups hold a
feast on the 9th of each month to honor Norse heroes. Other
groups hold
rituals at full moons. Additional days are celebrated at other
times
during the year by different traditions.
Note - If anyone has anymore infomation about this please email me at [email protected] (all lower case)