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Why be an Ásatrúar?
- Thread starter Toxikmynd
- Start date
Toxikmynd
Demir
No, ahah, I don't have enough knowledge on the subject to answer too many questions, I mean I can try, but I'd like if I had some other Asatruars or Heathens here to help.
If I had any sense I would not try to answer, knowing virtually nothing of Asatru and all.
All the same, it seems to me that Asatru is appealing to people with strong feelings about Norse ancestry and/or about gratitute to their ancestors in a more general way.
It also seems to have a very appealing, healthy tendency of valuing personal merit and commitment over preconceptions from larger society.
Needless to say, I may be very wrong...
All the same, it seems to me that Asatru is appealing to people with strong feelings about Norse ancestry and/or about gratitute to their ancestors in a more general way.
It also seems to have a very appealing, healthy tendency of valuing personal merit and commitment over preconceptions from larger society.
Needless to say, I may be very wrong...
JRMcC
Active Member
Yo that was me!
What is the purpose of this religion? What I mean: In Islam it's to obey Allah and go to heaven, in Buddhism it's to attain Nirvana, ect. What about Asatru?
Also, does it offer an explanation for "why we are here" or how existence came about?
Sees
Dragonslayer
I think the main reason is if you feel the way of living and perceiving things in this life, per some investigation, resonates deeply inside of you - it matches how you intuitively understand "spiritual" matters, your actual life experiences, your instincts to connect with your past and your world in this specific way.
Some have visions or dreams related to it before any or hardly any contact with the concepts, names, mythos. More rare today of course.
Another reason is depending on your current culture there can be a lot of the ideals, virtues, views, etc. underlying your current understanding of things. Throughout Germanic languages are little cookie crumbs that deal with the old worldview.
Will add more in a bit
Some have visions or dreams related to it before any or hardly any contact with the concepts, names, mythos. More rare today of course.
Another reason is depending on your current culture there can be a lot of the ideals, virtues, views, etc. underlying your current understanding of things. Throughout Germanic languages are little cookie crumbs that deal with the old worldview.
Will add more in a bit
No Luis, you are not wrong. Ásatrú (there's a pronunciation reason for using the diacritics) is very much more a way of life and code of ethics than a religion, as religion is generally portrayed. There is a strong feeling of ancestry and kinship, but it's not necessarily direct blood ancestry. We're all related in some way or another. Maybe 6 million degrees of separation, but a connection nevertheless. There is a schism in Germanic Heathenry, though schism may be too strong a word, between 'folkish' and 'non-folkish' ways. The folkish believe that only those who know beyond any doubt they are Germanic can and should practice. The non-folkish are open to people of any ethnicity embracing the practices.
I follow it because it's present, even if in faint echos, in the culture I was raised in. From the stories, songs, rituals, and even the very English language itself, the Old Way still exists. I've simply put on a new coat that uses more pre-Christian conceptions and imagery, as I feel it's more in line with our culture.
Yo that was me!
What is the purpose of this religion? What I mean: In Islam it's to obey Allah and go to heaven, in Buddhism it's to attain Nirvana, ect. What about Asatru?
Ásatrú is more than worshiping gods or a God. In fact, the Aesir probably don't give a rat's patoot if they're worshiped or not. They do what they do, and that's that. That is, Odin gives wisdom and has control over death; Thor protects the universe from the bad guys, and makes the Earth provide sustenance. He does that with or without me.
How? Yes there is a creation story. Why? No one seems to know or care... it is what it is, and we have what we have to make the best use of what we have. Life is for living, not pondering why we live. The Norse didn't have time for such philosophies... not when they were trying to survive day to day, tending farms and keeping the other tribes out of their hair.
I'm sorry, I just had to...
"They're called longenhurden!"
"They're called longenhurden!"
It's taking us a little time to get some traction, but I think that by Midsummer we can easily take over Point Pleasant Beach, NJ.
Sees
Dragonslayer
Basically it's the Germanic peoples in many tribes having battles more so than wars - typically for resources caused by migration, growth in numbers, outside Empires, etc. Carried over into the Viking age where they targeted a new enemy to their self-rule, culture, etc. named Christianity. That's when real armies and any form of naval forces develop.
As far as any history source I've ever read/heard of, it was never to spread their religious ideas that were interwoven into their culture. They didn't care if other people adopted their culture or any of the religious traditions. Out of Indo-Euro peoples that was a Roman, Greek, and Persian thing during their dominant years. Celts and Slavs didn't care much for assimilation either. Same with old Vedic Hindus.
Nietzsche probably knows this stuff best...
I brought it up because you seem very critical of Islam's violent history, and obviously rather apologetic of the Vikings violent history, if you're killed by an invading force, I don't think it matters to you what their religious motivation in killing you was, you're dead..........
I was drawn in by my deep abiding love & passion for Germanic culture & history. I also feel a sort of bond towards Odin. Many Ásatrúar feel a connection with Thor, others with Tyr, some with Frey or Frigga, and some even with Loki.
But I'm not drawn to any of those. I am drawn towards wisdom & knowledge. And there is no deity who strove for knowledge more than Odin. Gave an eye, hung upon Yggdrasil pierced by a spear for Nine days & Nine nights as a sacrifice of himself to himself. To learn the secret of the Runes, to peer behind the veil of Death.
That is something I can hold dear to me.
This is more or less it. The Vikings were never interested in proselytizing, they only sought wealth & power. They were an extremely meritocratic society for their time, or even compared to today in some cases. Anything you could take yourself you could keep. If you owned property you could vote in the Althing, even if you were a woman. You want to go a'Viking? Can you wield a sword? Good enough. Women could and would often go out on the longships.
And to be elected King? A Thrall could be King if it were so decided. Viking society was structured remarkably similarly to both Roman and Spartan styles of rule.
But I'm not drawn to any of those. I am drawn towards wisdom & knowledge. And there is no deity who strove for knowledge more than Odin. Gave an eye, hung upon Yggdrasil pierced by a spear for Nine days & Nine nights as a sacrifice of himself to himself. To learn the secret of the Runes, to peer behind the veil of Death.
That is something I can hold dear to me.
This is more or less it. The Vikings were never interested in proselytizing, they only sought wealth & power. They were an extremely meritocratic society for their time, or even compared to today in some cases. Anything you could take yourself you could keep. If you owned property you could vote in the Althing, even if you were a woman. You want to go a'Viking? Can you wield a sword? Good enough. Women could and would often go out on the longships.
And to be elected King? A Thrall could be King if it were so decided. Viking society was structured remarkably similarly to both Roman and Spartan styles of rule.
What?! Why would we invade Nastrond?!
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Vikings weren't trying to convert anyone, nor were they interested in anything beyond wealth in the lands they took & raided. A better comparison would be the pre-Christian Roman Empire or Genghis Khan's Mongols. They walked in, beat your ***, told you what they expected insofar as taxes/tribute...and then left. Weren't interested in anything beyond that. They didn't care how you ruled yourselves, they didn't care what you worshiped. You keep sending the coin and you can live your life just as you did before they came.
Náströnd would be a resort compared to the crowds you have to fight in the summer at PPB.
Sees
Dragonslayer
My problem isn't with fighting or war, it's the reasoning, purpose, goal...method to the madness. Killing over religious beliefs being different or "wrong" is a much different animal. Trying to assimilate other cultures as well.
Again much Viking violence was a display to keep Europe's own Abrahamic juggernaut from wiping out their way of life and freedom. Surviving Saxons carried stories to them about what was headed their way before heavy militarization took place. Massive beheading sessions and other familiar goodies for those who wouldn't assimilate and drop their pagan ways.
We were the pagan Arabs of another land - who often fought. We were the Native Americans of another land - who often fought. Not trying to consume whole peoples and cultures.
Germanic folks weren't angels, Muslims weren't demons...I do heavily dislike Islam though. I've done bad things my self.
Apparently the Nordic are rather more honest with themselves about theirs.