Hello, I'm new here and I have a few questions about Asatru belief. First, to be an Asatru follower do I have to be a norseman? Second, is there a hell and a heaven afterlife? I know Valhall and hall of Freyja but to be able to enter Valhall you have to die bravely in war but these days it's not possible to do that.
I like Norse mythology and I'm wondering about these questions.
P.S. Could you direct me to some reliable websites about Norse mythology and Asatru belief?
A Norseman, not quite. Most Heathen groups I know are pretty folkish though. Heathenry (or Asatru or Irminenschaft or Odinism or whatever you want to call it) tends to have a pretty hefty ancestor-veneration component, and for a lot of us folkish folks, our Germanic ancestry is our connection to the gods. But yeah, not necessarily Norse. Hell, I only know like two or three other Heathens who actually hail from Scandinavia. Most of us locals are Germans, Dutchmen, or Frisians (and some like me are all three!). There are a lot of regional varieties too, as there were quite a few differences between Icelandic proto-Heathenry, English, and continental. There are universalist groups too, but in my experience at least they're usually pretty fluffy.
As for the afterlife, that's where things get fun. There are like a bajilliondy different afterlifes. The exceptional may wind up in one of the gods' halls (like warriors in Valholl, musicians in Bragi's hall, etc.), but the vast majority of us will find our way into Hel. It's important to note that Hel isn't anything like the Christian Hell. It's actually supposed to be pretty pleasant. Kind of chilly, but with good food and lots of hanging around with your ancestors. There is also Nastrond, which is a part of Hel where the really bad folks go (oathbreakers, kinslayers, that sort of dude). There they get chewed on by Nidhogg when he's not busy chewing on Yggdrasill.
As for websites...here we go.
The Havamal. A scripture full of practical advise? Yes, it does exist!
Hávamál
Odinist.net...or .com. One of them is good and the other is full of Nazis. I can't remember which is which at the moment, but it should be obvious.
