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Thread: Ask An Asatruar

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    Ask An Asatruar

    When it comes to a life philosophy, I consider myself an Everythingist. I believe that there is some truth, even if it's only a teeny tiny bit, in everything. I don't believe that mankind is capable of developing an idea that is The One And Only Truth (TM) as long as we remain the imperfect, flawed creatures that we are.

    I was born and raised Christian. When I was twelve, I fell out of the faith. It didn't feel close to me, didn't feel meaningful to me. Now lacking a home, I went looking for a new one. A great Messianic Jewish couple I knew from my parents' church took regular trips to Israel, and for two years I went with them and lived in Israel. It was there that I felt like Judaism was the faith that called out to my heart. I still hold Judaism in a special place in my heart, but that's ultimately not the faith I have chosen.

    After I came back from Israel at age 15, I met a guy who lived in Norway, while I was in Texas visiting family. We struck up a great friendship, and when he left to go back to Norway, I got permission from my parents to go with him and spend some more time abroad. I lived there for a few months, and in those few months, had so many great experiences. One of them was in my buddy's (at the time, we dated briefly) Odinist Kindred. It was Odinism (also called Asatru) that I felt most at home in and follow to this day.

    Asatru is simple: it is Norse paganism, the same Norse paganism that has been passed down for thousands of years, since before Christianity came to Europe and Scandinavia in particular. We believe in all the gods and goddesses attested by history and things like the Voluspa and Havamal. We believe that Earth, or Midgard, is just one of nine total realms, arrayed around Yggdrasil, the World Tree. We gather in various Kindreds around the world. Some of these Kindreds are part of the Asatru Alliance.

    We belong to an often misunderstood religion. Some people don't even know we exist, but our numbers continue to grow worldwide. So, ask away. No question is beyond answering.
    "Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most — that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least."
    - Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), five-time Socialist Party candidate for U.S. President

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    what do the norns have in mind for me?

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    How interesting! I am one of the ignorant, I never knew that such a faith existed....I always thought the Norse gods and goddesses were only legend. Does this faith have a specific dogma that they teach and adhere to? A holy book of some sort that outlines the "thou will" or "thou wilt not" rules? Do you have a specific place of worship, a Kindred I think you called it, nearby; or do you follow your creed in your own home? Obviously the Kindreds are going to be more widespread in the Scandinavian countries....any idea how many followers the faith has?

    Thanks for posting such an interesting topic!

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    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    what do the norns have in mind for me?
    Good question. Was your family visited by a Norn when you were born?
    "Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most — that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least."
    - Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), five-time Socialist Party candidate for U.S. President

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanloverOH View Post
    How interesting! I am one of the ignorant, I never knew that such a faith existed....I always thought the Norse gods and goddesses were only legend.
    A lot of people get their knowledge of the Norse pantheon from the Eddas written by Snorri Sturluson, a 12th century Norwegian scholar. Sturluson was a Christian in the early days and believed that the Norse pantheon were once great kings and generals of Norway, or other high-profile individuals. Once those individuals died, their memory lived on throughout history in the tales of their exploits, until eventually they became revered as gods.

    Obviously, I disagree with that idea. A mere man who died and that was that could not speak to us in the ways I and my fellow Asatruar have heard and felt. It is possible, however, that the gods and goddesses WERE once mere mortals, but I'll explain that with the next point.

    Does this faith have a specific dogma that they teach and adhere to? A holy book of some sort that outlines the "thou will" or "thou wilt not" rules?
    Our basic dogma is that there is a great, divine energy that is all around us and part of every thing in the universe. That divine energy is beyond our understanding. We believe that this energy affects us, and that we affect it. The divine energy expresses itself to us through the gods and goddesses. It is possible, then, for Snorri Sturluson's theory to be partially correct. The divine energy may have taken special men and women throughout our history and gave them the powers of the divine, and thus they now serve as our gods and goddesses.

    Who can say for sure?

    Beyond that, there is no specific holy book outside of the Voluspa and the Havamal, among others. Our practices and laws are based mostly on historical tradition. If you go to asatru.org, they actually have copies of the Havamal and Voluspa that you can read. They aren't terribly long and are in the poetic verse.

    Do you have a specific place of worship, a Kindred I think you called it, nearby; or do you follow your creed in your own home? Obviously the Kindreds are going to be more widespread in the Scandinavian countries....any idea how many followers the faith has?
    We meet in our Kindreds, and once a year all the Kindreds meet in what is called the Althing. The Althing is the overall Asatru governing council, where we set our bylaws and such. Outside of the Kindreds and Althing, we practice in our own homes. We have shrines to the gods in our homes, with particular importance put on our patron god or goddesss.
    "Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most — that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least."
    - Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), five-time Socialist Party candidate for U.S. President

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    Quote Originally Posted by Green Arrow View Post
    Good question. Was your family visited by a Norn when you were born?
    i don't know.

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    Quote Originally Posted by del View Post
    i don't know.
    I don't know that we can really understand what the Norns see. They are at a level far above us.

    In truth, I don't even want to know what they see.
    "Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most — that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least."
    - Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), five-time Socialist Party candidate for U.S. President

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    Quote Originally Posted by Green Arrow View Post
    A lot of people get their knowledge of the Norse pantheon from the Eddas written by Snorri Sturluson, a 12th century Norwegian scholar. Sturluson was a Christian in the early days and believed that the Norse pantheon were once great kings and generals of Norway, or other high-profile individuals. Once those individuals died, their memory lived on throughout history in the tales of their exploits, until eventually they became revered as gods.

    Obviously, I disagree with that idea. A mere man who died and that was that could not speak to us in the ways I and my fellow Asatruar have heard and felt. It is possible, however, that the gods and goddesses WERE once mere mortals, but I'll explain that with the next point.



    Our basic dogma is that there is a great, divine energy that is all around us and part of every thing in the universe. That divine energy is beyond our understanding. We believe that this energy affects us, and that we affect it. The divine energy expresses itself to us through the gods and goddesses. It is possible, then, for Snorri Sturluson's theory to be partially correct. The divine energy may have taken special men and women throughout our history and gave them the powers of the divine, and thus they now serve as our gods and goddesses.

    Who can say for sure?

    Beyond that, there is no specific holy book outside of the Voluspa and the Havamal, among others. Our practices and laws are based mostly on historical tradition. If you go to asatru.org, they actually have copies of the Havamal and Voluspa that you can read. They aren't terribly long and are in the poetic verse.



    We meet in our Kindreds, and once a year all the Kindreds meet in what is called the Althing. The Althing is the overall Asatru governing council, where we set our bylaws and such. Outside of the Kindreds and Althing, we practice in our own homes. We have shrines to the gods in our homes, with particular importance put on our patron god or goddesss.
    This has really got me gripped....thank you for sharing your beliefs with us. Is Eir your patron goddess, or may I ask which one is? Knowing you, I would guess a scholar or justice/lawgiver of some sort........?

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanloverOH View Post
    This has really got me gripped....thank you for sharing your beliefs with us. Is Eir your patron goddess, or may I ask which one is? Knowing you, I would guess a scholar or justice/lawgiver of some sort........?
    I actually have two patrons. Eir, the goddess of healing, and Skadi, the goddess of winter and the hunt. I have also set aside Forseti and Syn as closer to me than the other gods and goddesses, too, though they do not hold the status of patron. Forseti is the god of justice, and Syn is the goddess of the accused at trial.
    "Those who produce should have, but we know that those who produce the most — that is, those who work hardest, and at the most difficult and most menial tasks, have the least."
    - Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), five-time Socialist Party candidate for U.S. President

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    Quite aware of it. Some are allowed to come together in prison for this religion.

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