Asatru, Norse, Heathen web blog full of pictures and other Heathen related stuff.
Ran by the Gothi of Kaerhrafnr Kindred in Central Southern Wisconsin.
This is NOT about the comic put out by Marvel.
(Note: Heathen Temple is submitting various rites and ways of Asatru. Some may be ‘fluffy’ others not so much. The goal is to increase your knowledge and give you a framework of practice seeing there is really no step by step given in Lore. this includes all information on the page in general as well unless Historical context is provided)
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Courtship, Love and Marriage in Viking Scandinavia
(from the Viking Answer lady page)
Part I — Forward and Introduction
Forward
Some time ago, some friends of mine came to me and asked me to tell them how a Viking wedding was conducted. Although I write a column entitled”The Viking Answer Lady” for my local SCA newsletter, I hadn’t a clue as to the answer. When I turned to the sagas, they didn’t tell me, either. Thus began the start of a massive research project that has produced the work you are about to read. The study is still not over… I am still discovering new information as the number of scholars in the fields of Viking history and Scandinavian womens’ studies increases. Whenever I discover new information, I either correct or augment my work, so it is as current as I can make it.
The Heathen Soul
(this information is also debated by various Heathens. This idea has been argued as being created by Thorsson by just word association, some say that it is supported by the lore.. up to you to decide)
What I find interesting as far as this subject is concerned, while clearly there will be a great deal of imagination and cultural influence involved is that many apparently unrelated religions often share similar themes. The pre-Christian societies of Europe for instance also tended to adopt the multi-layered approach to the body and soul. It wasn’t so much that you had the physical body here and some kind intangible astral body floating around in the ether elsewhere which was only an issue once you were dead it was all integrated as part of a whole and was something that influenced you here in this life as well as the next. Here is an interesting site regarding some of the beliefs of the old Norse religion.
http://www.englatheod.org/soul.htm (actually it is Theodish aka Anglo Saxon )
Investigating the Afterlife Concepts of the Norse Heathen: A Reconstuctionist's Approach
This paper reviews the modern heathen movement’s commonly ac-
cepted beliefs regarding the heathen concept of Afterlife and compares
them to what is known about the ancient Germanic sense of Afterlife.
The discussion is a continuation of this author’s proposal that the stan-
dards of research among modern heathens be at least consistant with
standards currently acceptable to researchers in other
Establishing the Innangarð Some Concepts Relating to Custom, Morality, and Religion
As modern heathens who have dedicated our lives to reestablishing the pre-Christian traditions of Scandinavia and Northern Europe, we know how important the concept of heathen worldview is. It’s well understood that in order to develop practices that are rooted in ancient heathen religion, we need to be able to understand and adopt the outlook that heathen peoples may have held.
This requires recognition of part of the spatial and cosmological landscape that helped shape heathen societies. This landscape is essential to comprehending every other bit of mythological and cultural information, because the protocol for religion, custom, and morality was built into it. The concepts and basic layout presented here can be used to establish part of the foundation for a working modern heathen worldview, from which lore and academia may be processed and applied, and modern traditions may be developed.
On The Taking Of Oaths (old article)
by Gunther Hraefngrim
One of the first things the candidate for acceptance into an Asatru kindred should learn is what taking a kindred oath means. It is easy to speak the verbiage of an oath, but what about its substance? Oath taking was serious business in ancient times among the Scandinavian peoples. An entire culture was built around the intricate web of dependency and responsibility created by pledging oaths and blood kinship. We will begin a very cursory examination of the types of oaths commonly seen in modern Asatru, and what each can mean to the one making it.
The Institution of Oathing and Oath-Taking in Modern Heathenry
Bringing Forth the Gods of My Kin
A Heathen perspective on the Hamingja, the Gods, Manifesting the Family Soul, and the “Problem of Other People in the World”
The First Fire and the Hamingja
When I became Heathen in 1995, it was on the coat-tails of what still amounts to the most powerful blot and burnt offering to Odin I have ever attended. That pyre burned as the sun came up, and it was piled with food and precious, valuable personal offerings. We gathered, spoke our words, drank our mead, poured our mead for the Sacred Guest, and we never knew then what a powerful thing we had done until years later.
Domestic Cults, Land Spirits, and the Worship of House-Wights
It has been my experience that the old Heathen faith doesn’t really become strong and clear in the hearts and minds of people who follow its ways until they join with others. When you work with a family or a kindred, or other people of like mind and faith, you experience a more primal and essential layer of ancestral religion.
In older times, there was no way to separate the realities of tribe and kin from Troth or the Elder Faith. This is because human groups, from families to tribes, are a reflection of the natural and sacred manner that humans are supposed to live. We are not solitary beings; we all feel the urge to gather with others, to take shelter with others, to share our joys and sorrows with others. The sacrifices and religious observances of the Heathen past were done largely in groups, entire families or communities coming together to worship. The religion re-affirmed their bonds to one another, and to the Holy Kindreds who are also related to us, but who dwell unseen.
Uncovering the Effects of Cultural Background on the Reconstruction of Ancient Worldviews
This 70-page document looks at the difficulties in reconstructing an ancient worldview, specifically within the Germanic Reconstructionist Movement, when most reconstructionists have been born and raised within and urban environment…and with a herd mentality and world-rejecting spiritual outlook.
The Eddas - The Keys to the Mysteries of the North
This 2005 translation and practical guide to the Eddas was composed by James Allen Chisholm. Chisholm only provides the Lays of the Gods, the first half of the Poetic Edda. But then follows this with Chapters that focus on practical applications of the Eddas: Runic Keys to Edda Myth, Working with Holy Wights, Natural Forces, and Holy Names, Spring Drama and Eddic Myth, Magical Initiation, etc. Chisholm is a Heathen, and this likely has some impact on the content and tone of his translation
Germanic Spirituality
This 59-page document is Bill Linzie’s attempt to protect Germanic Heathenry and Germanic Cosmology from being watered down by the baggage and cultural beliefs of those that are new to the religion. It attempts to purify Germanic Cosmology and preserve it.
Drinking at the Well of Mimir
This 253-page book represents Bill Linzie’s views of Ásatrú and the his view of the world after 30 years of “Drinking at the Well of Mimir.” He does not claim this to be the best research/scholarship or a revolutionary work. He is simply sharing his views.
Investigating the Afterlife Concepts of the Norse Heathen
This 77-page document is subtitled “A Reconstructionist’s Approach.” In the book Bill Linzie’s attempts to describe the afterlife concepts of modern North Heathens and compare them with historical views of the afterlife among our ancestors.
Honoring One’s Ancestors - Heathen Lessons
(me with my son, mother, and Grandfather ( who passed) old picture )
A large part heathen practice involves honoring our ancestors.
While living, our ancestors were living breathing people, with
hopes and dreams, families and friends they loved, successes
and hardships, and if not for their hard work, dedication, and
sacrifices we would not be here. A part of our heathen soul,
our Orlog, is passed to us by our ancestors. We work hard all
through our lives to pass good Orlog to our own children, and
thus our descendents. We share blood and culture with our
ancestors, and it is through our ancestors that we find
connection with our Gods.
MAGICAL MEDICINE IN VIKING SCANDINAVIA
MAGICAL MEDICINE IN VIKING SCANDINAVIA
by
DAVID ROBERTSON*
Resourceful article on healing, magic, and medicine of Viking scandinavia
