What is Asatru?

Answer

Asatru is a Nordic religion based on the ancient paganism of the Viking age. The term Asatru translates to “belief or faith in the gods,” specifically a group of Norse gods known as Æsir. In recent times, there has been an increase in neo-paganism, which includes a contemporary interpretation of Asatru.

According to Norse creation mythology, the gods named the initial man Ask and the initial woman Embla. From this couple, all the humans who inhabited “Middle Earth” descended. Initially, the world was either jungle or desert. The Æsir cleared the jungle, establishing a space for themselves and humans to dwell. The gods constructed a dwelling for humanity and named it Midgard. At the center of Midgard lies Asgard, where the gods planted a tree known as Yggdrasil. As long as this tree endures, so will the world.

In pre-Christian Scandinavia, Norse deities like Odin, Thor, Frey, and Freyja were venerated. Followers of Odinism are polytheists who believe that the gods and goddesses are actual beings with unique characteristics. Presently, Odinism aims to reconstruct ancient European paganism. While Odinism is occasionally associated with racist Nordic ideologies, Asatru may or may not align with racist beliefs. Nordic racial paganism, synonymous with the Odinist movement, represents a spiritual rediscovery of the Aryan ancestral deities.

A resurgence of this Germanic paganism took place in the early 1970s when the Icelandic government acknowledged Asatru as a religious institution. Subsequently, the Odinic Rite was established in Australia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and North America.

Asatru teaches a fundamental, omnipresent divine energy or essence that manifests in the various forms of gods and goddesses. There is no concept of “original sin,” hence no requirement for “salvation.” Adherents of Asatru offer prayers to their gods and goddesses, engage in communion with them, honor them, and seek their blessings through formal rituals and meditation.

According to Asatru, individuals who have lived virtuously will receive rewards in the afterlife. However, the primary focus is on living a good life in the present and leaving the next life to unfold as it may.

By aligning themselves with Nature, adherents of Asatru become collaborators with the deities, believed to reside within people.

The deities venerated in Asatru include Odin, Thor, Tyr, Frigga, and Loki. Ancestors are also to be respected. For instance, a devotee of Odin who dies honorably in battle is said to journey to Valhalla. Each god and goddess has their own realm where followers are believed to go after death. Some followers believe in reincarnation, while others think that matriarchs transform into “disir” – spiritual guardians of the family. A fundamental belief is the eternal cycle of creation and destruction, signifying that the universe will continuously be both created and destroyed.

Despite certain parallels with the Genesis story of Adam and Eve’s creation, Asatru bears no resemblance to Christianity. In Asatru, life and death are overseen by a whimsical pantheon of deities; in Christianity, a single sovereign God reigns over all «And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: », (Acts 4:24). Asatru teaches the existence of an afterlife, where one’s destination is determined by the deity they honor; biblical Christianity teaches that individuals go to heaven by trusting in Jesus and to hell if they do not «He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. », (1 John 5:12). Asatru lacks the concept of a holy and righteous Creator offering humans salvation from their sins. The Bible conveys that God’s love for the world led Him to give the opportunity for redemption.

God gave His one and only Son to die for us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”, (John 3:16).