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Ásatrú

ASATRU





Ásatrú is an Icelandic (and equivalently Old Norse) term consisting of two parts. The first is Ása-, genitive of Áss, denoting one of the group of Norse pagan gods called Æsir. The second part, trú, means "faith, word of honour; religious faith, belief" (archaic English troth "loyalty, honesty, good faith"). Thus, Ásatrú means "belief / faith in the Æsir / gods".

Throughout Scandinavia the religion is called Forn Siðr (which means the Ancient way or tradition), Forn sed (the Old custom), Nordisk sed (Nordic custom), or Hedensk sed (Pagan custom). The core belief of the Asatru is the worship of the Norse gods as living, real, super-human entities. Such worship is done in both private and public. The Asatru believe the Norse gods can and do wield power in the world today. Some Asatru believe that certain runes can channel the power of the gods, controlled, to a degree, by the rune carver.

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, knowledge and wisdom.
* 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 the 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 and the world will come to an end and be reborn again.

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, king of the gods, 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 (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. 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 is derived the word Easter. Ostara's symbols are the hare and the egg.

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 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".


{This symbol is for use by all Asatruar}

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 (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: Local religious communities are called Kindreds, Hearths, or Garths. Male priests are called Gothi and the priestesses are Gythia



The Blot: (pronounced "bloats"). This is the 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 was 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.

Adoption of the Faith: 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.

Nordic Celebrations: The major celebrations of course occur on both the solstices and equinoxes with the Spring equinox being dedicated to Ostara, the goddess of fertility and the winter solstice being Yule or Blot. Other Norse festivals throughout the year include:

* The Charming of the Plow in the first week of February is a celebration of Freya and Disir.
* The Merry Moon on May Day which celebrates spring and is dedicated to Njord and Nerthus.
* The Harvest of Freyfaxi on August 1st which celebrates the first harvest and Frey and his Horse. Even today this date is known as the day of the horse's birthday.
* Fogmoon is celebrated on the first week of November. Celebrations honour the war dead and Ragnarok and is dedicated to Odin and Freya.
* Einherjar which is held on November 11th. This 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.



Sources and References:

Religioustolerance.org
Wikipedia
Wikimedia
Wilsons Almanac
NeoPax Asatru & Essays
Staralfur (Asatru)

Ásatrú