Last Updated: Saturday, July 10, 1999

Asatru

Asatru is a living religion, currently practiced by a growing number

of people in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. Asatru is

separate from, and not connected to, any other religious faith

(although there may be superficial similarities in some respects).

The word Asatru means Faith in the Aesir and the Vanir, who are best

known to most people as the Gods and Goddesses of the Old Norse

legends, although these same Deities were once worshiped by most of

the peoples or pre-Christian Europe, and others as far east as India

(they are the Deities of the Rig Veda). However, because the Old Norse

legends provide the best knowledge of them, we usually refer to them

by their Old Norse names -- Frigg and Odinn, Tyr and Zisa, Sif and

Thorr, Freyja and Freyr, and so on. Traces remain in modern English:

Tuesday means Tyr's day, Wednesday means Odinn's day, Thursday means

Thorr's day, and Friday means either Frigg's day or Freyja's day

(scholars debate which).

Asatru is open to everyone, and there are many different sorts of

Asatruers (members of the Asatru Religion). Anyone who wants to join

Asatru can do so -- regardless of gender, race, color, ethnicity,

national origin, language, sexual orientation, or other divisive

criteria. Asatru today is no more "European" than Christianity is

"Jewish" or Islam is "Arabic" etc.

Asatruers often form local groups for the same reasons that people of

other religions band together. These Asatru groups are sometimes

called Hearths, or Kindreds, or other names. However, many Asatru

believers live too far away from any of their coreligionists to be

able to join such a group.

The Asatru Way of Life esteems: courage, honor, hospitality,

independence (and liberty), individuality (with self-reliance and

self-responsibility), industriousness (and perseverance), justice

(including an innate sense of fairness and respect for others),

loyalty (to family, friends, and the society of which one is a part),

truthfulness, and a willingness to stand up for what is right.

An Asatru religious ceremony is called a Blot. (Note: Linguistically,

the Old Norse word Blot means a blessing, and has nothing to do with

blood.) Eight major Blots are celebrated by Asatruers each year. These

are listed below, with the modern English name of each given first,

followed by its Old Norse name in parenthesis, and the date --

although the usual practice is to hold the Blot on the nearest

weekend.

Disfest (Disablot) 31 January

Ostara (Ostara) 21 March

May Eve (Valpurgis) 30 April

Midsummer (Midsumarsblot) 21 Jun

Freysfest (Freysblot) 31 July

Fallfest (Haustblot) 23 Sep

Winter Night (Vetrnaetr) 31 Oct

Yule (Jol) 21 December

Other Blots are held for special events, such as weddings, or on

occasions such as the Feast of Vali (14 February). Besides the Blot,

there is another kind of Asatru ceremony, called the Sumbel, which is

a kind of formalized religious toasting. Sumbels are held whenever

people want to hold them. There are also numerous social and cultural

activities.

For more information about Asatru, write --

THE TROTH, P.O. Box 25637, TEMPE, ARIZONA 85285 U.S.A.

Click here if you want to drop us a line or two.

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