Asatru 101

What is Asatru?

By Gythia Jane Ruck

Asatru, also called Asetro, is one of the fastest growing non-Christian religions in the world today.

Its current resurgence began in the 1970s. Sveinbjorn Beinteinson in Iceland and Steve McNallen in the US were the people who brought it to the forefront. In 1971 Sveinbjorn Beinteinson petitioned the Icelandic government to accept Asatru as a legally recognized religion. Since its acceptance by the Icelandic government in 1972 Asatru has grown dramatically. It is now practiced by thousands of adherents worldwide. Asatru groups are called either Hearths, Garths or Kindreds. There are practitioners in the US, Australia, Britain, Germany, Ireland and of course the Scandinavian countries.

Asatru has since been accepted as a legal religion by the governments of Norway, Denmark and the US. There is a movement to get acceptance in Sweden also.

The Asatru religion, as practiced today, is a re-creation of what once was one of the widest spread religious beliefs in Europe. This re-creation is being accomplished by using literary sources from ancient times, archaeological and anthropological evidence as well as traditions passed down through the ages.

We have our own creation story, as well as stories about our deities. The Poetic Edda is just such a collection, and is read by most adherents. Tales of the Gods and Heroes are as important to Asatruar today, as they were in ancient times. The Havamal, or sayings of Odin include the wisdom of our principal deity and are as useful today as they were hundreds of years ago.

The place we gather to worship is called a Hof, Icelandic for temple. Our clergy is known as either Gothi or Gythia. Gothi being male clergy and Gythia female. Our religious service is called a Blot, and is done on our principal Holy Days. We use a blot bolli or wooden bowl to hold offerings given to our deities. This offering most often consists of mead. Part of the service also includes Sumbel, this is a ritual toasting where a drinking horn is passed from participant to participant.

Asatru followers believe in the pantheon of the old Norse/Teutonic deities. The Aesir, who live in Asgard and the Vanir who dwell in Vanaheim. The Aesir oversee such things as healing, family, knowledge and justice. The Vanir, more Earth based, oversee the natural world, crops, the animal world, reproduction and love. Men and women are equal in Asatru, neither is ever subservient to the other.

We look upon our Gods as esteemed elders and not as unknowable godheads who we need to bow down to or be in fear of. We practice our religion in our lives daily and follow a set of guidelines, called the Virtues. These rules usually are nine in number. They are Courage, Truth, Honor, Fidelity, Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self Reliance, and Perseverance. Some groups use different words to explain the virtues but they are essentially the same. These virtues were culled from our lore and sagas and we believe, are the way an Asatruar should live.

We never bow down to our deities. We do however always give them our respect. If we are in need , and have tried every method we know of to overcome the difficulty, our deities will aid us. If we whine and beg they ignore us. They expect us to shoulder our own responsibilities and burdens. They do not want us to come running to them every time we have a problem.

True Asatruar are tolerant of people of different races, religions and ethnic backgrounds and only want to be able to practice their religion freely and in peace.