Asatru: Norse spirituality

INTRODUCTION

This book reflects my attitudes and my way of doing things. Therefore, you will probably encounter other Asatru who absolutely do not agree with what I write, as there are many different attitudes and ideas among those who collectively describe themselves as Asatru.

This is not meant as an Asatru textbook. In my opinion, such a textbook cannot be written at all. Asatru is very individual, and you must form your own opinions and attitudes and find out, what feels right to me, otherwise it will not work. I do not think that, in this faith, you can just take over someone else’s opinions. You can agree on many things and then disagree on others. The disagreements do not usually disassociate sensible Asatru, they just make a debate more interesting. We usually say that if two Asatru are present, there are three opinions. I will also mention other people’s points of view, but in those cases, they are made clear.

For good measure, I would just like to mention that named persons and their deeds are always mentioned with their knowledge and acceptance.

And who am I then?

I have been interested in Norse mythology as far back as I can remember. Helped by my father’s similar interest. I also found the Viking era exciting, long before it came into fashion. I have been a Viking Age Educator since 1996 and employed at Ribe Viking Centre since 2007.

I am a Goði. This is the person who is responsible for the various rituals at, for instance, weddings and funerals, i.e. a kind of priest. I am also a Völva, a kind of shaman or sorceress who, among other things, gives good advice with the help of runes. I was instrumental in founding Forn Siðr, an approved religious community for Asatru in Denmark. In 2016, I was honoured to be selected as Forn Siðr’s first Thul – religious inspirator – a task I had for 5 years. Times are changing, for me it was time to move forward, to leave this community, so now we have founded a new religious community for Asatru people in Denmark called Nordisk Skik.

And what exactly is Asatru? To me, it is not the literal belief in the Aesir¹. Sure, they are there, but as images of myself and nature. I do not really believe Thor is driving his chariot cross the sky when there is thunder, but I still pay tribute to him during a thunderstorm, because that is where his power, the force of nature, feels strongest.

When, during a blót², I pay tribute to Freyja, it is to become more aware of the love within myself and thereby become better able to convey this love. Or it could be to become more aware of the love that surrounds me, and thereby use it better. And yet – I’m sure the Aesir and Vanir exist in another dimension. Their roads rarely cross ours, but we come to them in a form of afterlife. I also want to go more into that.

Folklore³ is very important to me. There is much valuable knowledge stored here. The old ways of doing things and the old customs are very much a part of my world. I remember to thank the elder tree when I pick her flowers and berries to make juice, and the wights – the natural spirits – are also part of my universe. At blót I always pour a little mead on the ground for the wights, because it is their territory – nature – I borrow.

This book is not a review of Norse mythology. For that you can be inspired to read some of the books on my literature list which contains books recommended to me by good English speaking friends.

More information is also available on the internet.

There are quotes in this book from The Edda, one of the most important sources for knowledge of Norse mythology.

In the Danish edition of this book, I have mainly used my own translation of verses from the Edda. Obviously, I have looked at some of the excellent translations available, but I enjoy putting words together myself.

The translations in this English edition are mostly done by Henry Adam Bellows, because he is true to the old way of making rhymes.

When I quote from the Edda, I have chosen to use the old Norse name of the relevant poem. It is simply because different translators do not fully agree on what to call the poems. The stanzas are given the numbers given to them by the translators. The numbers are slightly different from translation to translation.

Also, in the Danish edition of the book, there are a number of modern poems, most of them written by my father, but also some by me. To translate them into proper poems with the right kind of rhymes, is too difficult for me at the moment. I have decided to put some of them in an appendix in Danish, along with a non poetic translation. If anybody has suggestions for translations that will follow the old poetic way, feel free to contact me.

Occasionally, the question pops up: Who can be Asatru, and when are you one? To that my answer will be a poem by my father, Ole Gotved:

Asatru

everyone can be called

Who owns the joy

by ancient myths

who pay tribute to the high

holy powers

or is simply friends

with the friendly wights

So, if you declare yourself to be Asatru then you are!

There are some (fortunately few) who have the idea that you can only be Asatru if it is in your blood. This is, in my view, terrible nonsense. I have met people from completely different backgrounds than the Nordic, who are Asatru; also, people with completely different skin colours than the one usually associated with the Scandinavian, but they are just as much Asatru as me and others I know.

And who is to say when one is a real Asatru? I would like to put it this way:

Some hear the call of the gods in the rush of blood

Some hear the call of the gods in the whisper of the land

Some have such good hearing that they need neither blood nor land to hear the gods call.

Those who answer the call of the gods with the heart are asatru, no matter how the call is heard.

In 2001, I wrote the book Asatro –De gamle guder i moderne tid (Asatru – Ancient Gods in Modern Times). The present work is not

exactly a second edition of the original book, but a whole new book, which nevertheless contains elements from the old one. When I find it necessary to revise and rewrite my first book now, it is because things are changing. Faith is not static to me and through conversations and experience I have gained a different attitude to some things. Furthermore, I have conducted several rituals, including funerals, of which I would also like to share my thoughts and experience.

I want to thank my family, and especially my father, for the upbringing I have had. It has greatly contributed to my attitude to life.

Also all my friends, who has been by my side through the years.

Jim Lyngvild needs a huge thank you for sparring and some of the photos. Marie Louise for critical reading. Thanks to Aziza, Søren Ryge and Ove Thomsen for their photos. Thanks to Suzanne for help and inspiration in the publication of the book. Thanks to Kirsten from Lemuel books for being the publisher of the Danish edition.

Thanks to Laila for the translation, and thanks to Leo for making the translation possible.

Thanks to Rachel and Sarah for the proofreading

Thanks also to all my fellow believers. Especially those of you, I disagree with. You are the ones that really makes me grow. Unity is boring because there is no development, whereas disagreement – especially when it is constructive – reveals thought and creates new thinking.

I will end this introduction by citing a creed written by my father. I have not managed to make it into a correct poem, but I think it is very important for understanding my background, so therefore I will include this version.

Even the Old Northern

gods live

as well as everything that came

of Ymer’s body.

Soul was me bestowed

by the sons of Bor,

and life itself emerges

from Ragnarok.

My fate is due to

the spinning Nornir,

My self I control

like the fate I take.

Take adversity,

endure success,

like the fate I meet,

my memory stays put.

The face of the gods

nobody knows,

we create a picture,

that looks like us.

We see the same thing,

but look differently,

no one can say

whose vision is more true.

(This translation is not poetically correct)

¹ The Aesir are the dominant family of gods in Norse mythology. Together with the other family of gods, the Vanir, they governed the cosmos of the Norse world understanding.

² Blót is what we call the ritual in which we pay tribute to the gods – more on that later

³ The professional term for superstition, notions of supernatural or inexplicable forces, beings and contexts.

IT WAS ALWAYS SO

Believing in the old Norse gods is not something I have chosen. It just seemed like something completely obvious and natural as far as I can remember. Although my father was Asatru, I was not brainwashed to be. I was baptised as a baby, as babies were back then (1964), and when puberty came, I had to actively opt out of the confirmation when the family figured that of course I was to be confirmed. However, I did not want to be, and it was respected, but there was no alternative, so no party.

I remember once – I must have been around 8-10 years old – when I started attending a Sunday school. It was mainly because one of the leaders, a sweet and lovable older lady, who may well be described as from the Inner Mission, wanted to see me there. I wanted to please her, so I started coming to the meetings. Pretty soon I agreed with myself that it was not really for me. My mother told me that I once said, The meetings are nice, but why is the d... Bible necessary every time?

At school I made a Thor’s hammer in a craft lesson, and I was quite familiar with the stories from Norse mythology. This was not so strange, as my father often used to read them aloud to us kids, just as his grandmother had done to him.

There was an oak tree that I went to when I wanted to be alone, and I calmed down there, I was in tune with nature and the forces that meant something to me, but otherwise I did not actively pursue the religion.

I was probably around 12-14 years old when I borrowed The Poetic Edda at the library and read it, in practically one sitting. When I was about 20, I found my first Edda in an antique shop.

The Asatru faith was almost always there, in the background. It was just there. When the talk fell on religion, I presented my Thor’s hammer (a gift from my father and mother) and proclaimed that I believed in Odin and Thor. However, without being able to explain what it entailed.

Gradually, however, I became aware that something that I found most important were life values such as "You must approve