Lots of folks giggle at the story, of Freya being intimate with dwarves, and take it at face value... I knew there was a deeper meaning. I just didn't have any idea what, however, now, after hearing about the four directions being linked to elements, and the elements being linked to alchemy, where they are metaphors for virtues, and turning coal to gold is an inner practice(virtues)... I suddenly realized this myth has something to do with that, it's an earlier version. It even has the creation of gold mentioned. Her intimacy with them is really gaining deep intimate knowledge of these virtues, and the self. Unfortunately the guy who made the vid deleted all his stuff because of some Livestream drama and losing subs... I'll endevore to mention some supporting sources when I can.

I watched a video on yt a while back about how the story of Fenrir is paralleled by Cú Chulainn. I'm going to write with an assumption that you know the myth cycle of Fenrir. The vid is from Taliesin's Map, Vishnu/Cú Chulainn is FENRIR part 2. Cú Chulainn took over the role of a guard god as a lad, like Fenrir taken to Asgard? He needed to be submerged in three vats of water to quell his war rage where he was dangerous to friend and foe, cf. Fenrir and three bonds, when Cú Chulainn is killed, after tying himself to the stone pillar( I forget what it's called), A figure of sovereignty similar to Tyr , Lugh of the Long arm cuts his head off, then the sword falls from Cú and cuts Lughs' hand off!

Here's the incredible thing, the Fenris and Tyr lay was made around the same time as the Ulfhedhnar were banned and called outlaws! Explaining potentially why he was son of Loki and not the son of the Ulfhedhnar band God, Odínn. 13th century or 14th, as the scholars say. Odínn with his two wolves was the frenzied warband Koryós God, while Tyr is the Oath God of the civilized tribe, this why Tyr binds the "wolf" ( young violent warrior teens, research it) with the laws of the tribe the magical rope made from stuff we assume "doesn't exist" .roots of mountain, spittle of bird , beard of an old woman, those are kennings for our ancestral lore and kin law, or tribal law. I'm sure there's more, I'll add later. Any thoughts would be helpful. NOTES I'm not saying evil wolves were good, Fenris was also called famewolf, like an eager young warrior. I don't think it's a good idea to worship Loki the oath breaker law breaker... I'm saying Fenris had a more positive role, before being demonized. Also,Ragnarökr, him swollowing Odínn ( the spirit, so Frenzied war spirit here?) and then being ripped in half is likely from earlier myths about the initiation into the Ulfhedhnar, and then leaving his wolfpelt ( shedding it) , to join tribal society as a Man. Thoughts?

The myth is Hyndluljóð, who has to teach Ottar his lineage so he can recite it and gain his farm. His Odal land , from a challenger "Angantyr" if I remember right. From sacred texts: the Poem of Hyndla proper, is chiefly a collection of names, not strictly mythological but belonging to the semi-historical hero-sagas of Norse tradition. The wise-woman, Hyndla, being asked by Freyja to trace the ancestry of her favorite, Ottar, for the purpose of deciding a wager, gives a complex genealogy including many of the heroes who appear in the popular sagas handed down from days long before the Icelandic settlements. Hyndla is called a giant... But also a sister to Freya... I wonder what theological implications there are there. Freyja spake:

1. "Maiden, awake! | wake thee, my friend,

My sister Hyndla, | in thy hollow cave! Already comes darkness, | and ride must we To Valhall to seek | the sacred hall.

The part that explains why Ottar needs to know his lineage is here:

8. "Now let us down | from our saddles leap,

And talk of the race | of the heroes twain; The men who were born | of the gods above, . . . . . . .
9. "A wager have made | in the foreign metal Ottar the young | and Angantyr;

8. The first line is obviously corrupt in the manuscript, and has been variously emended. The general assumption is that in the interval between stanzas 7 and 8 Freyja and Hyndla have arrived at Valhall. No lacuna is indicated in the manuscript.

9. Foreign metal: gold. The word valr, meaning "foreign," [fp. 221] and akin to "Welsh," is interesting in this connection, and some editors interpret it frankly as "Celtic," i.e., Irish.]

p. 221

We must guard, for the hero | young to have, His father's wealth, | the fruits of his race.

10. "For me a shrine | of stones he made,--

And now to glass | the rock has grown;-- Oft with the blood | of beasts was it red; In the goddesses ever | did Ottar trust.

11. "Tell to me now | the ancient names,

And the races of all | that were born of old: Who are of the Skjoldungs, | who of the Skilfings, Who of the Othlings, | who of the Ylfings, Who are the free-born, | who are the high-born, The noblest of men | that in Mithgarth dwell?"

I wonder what any of you might make of the significance of this? What does it teach us today? Yes. I'm big on using and quoting sources, I believe it is important.

I have always been interested in the old religions and particularly the Norse ones. Recently I wanted to start to learn more about Ásatrú specifically but have not really been able to find good resources to do so.

So I am looking for videos and other easy to consume things that I can use to learn more about this faith. Can you help me out and provide links please?

I want to know like the beliefs practices etc yk

I have decided to take advantage of my approved poster status, and write short hello and perhaps explain what heathenry has meant for me the last decade or so. So as promised, a short hello: helo.

I have considered myself for sometime, a secular heathen. Maybe someone more educated than I can give it a better title. Religion, faith, and spirituality had always been unreachable desires when I was younger. As much as I had wished to believe, I could never buy into my family’s religion.

Like many others I’m sure, my transition from child into adult was a tumultuous. A break from parental supervision, combined with bad crowds and drugs offered me a few years of knife edge stupidity. By my early twenties I was a drunk and admittedly a criminal.

I think I knew there a void I needed to fill and attempted to turn to religion, though I continued bad habits. But even a blind squirrel can find a broken clock, and during a small window when I was a presentable human being I met Bill.

Long story short, Bill was a stranger who invited me to his farm to play a little guitar. It went terribly but he was a fantastic guy and I basically got a free concert. I’ll never forget when I was leaving he gave me a strange look, dug out a Mjolnir necklace and handed it to me. Said when he is feeling down, mythological stories cheer him up. I thanked him and with that I never met with Bill again.

But I gave it a go. I dived into Norse mythology, which I greatly enjoyed learning. It was then I discovered the reconstruction of these religions and it intrigued me much. I began to “practice” on my own.

Believing in the existence of the gods, spirits, wights and so on still eludes me. But trying to learn, and attempting to keep with the concepts of frith, wyrd, honor, and courage have fostered a mindset that has allowed me to build a happy life.

An altar to venerate my ancestors has pushed me closer to my family than I ever thought possible. By giving me a reason to learn my familial history, and a space to meditate, decompress and be grateful.

Celebrating “holidays” that center around my own family and our specific accomplishments I believe brings us closer and allows us to create traditions unique to my kin, lifestyle and area.

It pleases me that if my children ever seek to fill that same void, I might have more of an answer than I ever expected. I share this with you all, so that there can be a little context behind what I might bring to a discussion. We’re all constantly learning, and I know I’m doing it wrong! But thanks for letting me share.

I've been a long time lurker on this sub and had honestly kind of forgotten I was subscribed so was delighted and pleasantly surprised to see fresh posts begin appearing in my feed. I'm hoping my first post does not break any rules as it is a request for advice and opinions from the community.

I have been practicing my own form of Norse heathenry for the better part of a decade. I have a close friend who is also a practicing heathen of a less defined variety who is a leatherworker and is, at my request, making a gun holster for an old black powder pistol my father had refurbished as a gift for his birthday. I bought my friend a set of leather stamps that have all the runes in the younger futhark and would like him to emboss the holster for my father with some of these runes.

My father is not a heathen, I would consider him more of an agnostic deist, but he has a great appreciation for Norse culture and a respect for my practice. He intends to carry the pistol with him while hunting as a sidearm.

My question is what runes would make sense to include on an item like this? My initial thoughts lean towards Ansuz in a place of primacy with Tiwaz next as I consider Tyr to be my tutelary diety. Eihwaz is another that comes to mind for it's association with Ullr and hunting. Isa also makes some sense with it's association with winter (ice) and the hunting season.

With all that said, I would be grateful to hear some additional ideas and reasoning for them from this community.

If anyone has an interest I'd be happy to share pictures of the final product, or of the black powder pistol as it is a pretty neat item in and of itself.

Thankyou in advance!

Hi I’ve been practicing for two years now so still fairly new I’ve got my Altar set up - but some remodelling in the room needs to be done - as I work from home twice a week this can only be done on weekends.

The question I need help solving is - is it okay to box up the altar respectfully (each item is wrapped in bubble wrap and placed neatly in a cardboard box) for a two day stint and then unpack? Or should I leave it packed up until the work is complete?

Both feel wrong to me and unfortunately there isn’t another room I can set it up in.

Thanks in advance!

(Edit) thank you for all the replies i cant respond to them all atm cuz its kinda late but thx anyway

So yea im underage, i dont have thors hammer, but hey i have an entire day off so i reckon i might be able to prep in some sort of way. (Also where can i get thors hammer in vantaa finland)

Woot, first 'real' post in four years!

Anyway, a question I often find out in the wild, especially from new folks, is where they can find a calendar of Heathen holidays. It's one of those holdovers from larger religions, this need for a set schedule handed down from some nebulous ecumenical authority. I get it, especially when you are first starting out, you feel like you are floundering and flailing and just want someone to steer you towards safe waters while you learn to swim. That is totally fair.

Luckily, this question of holidays is one that doesn't require any kind of authority on high to dictate when you should hold observances or celebrate with a feast! I am of the not at all humble opinion that holidays can and should be determined by your own local environment, what is important to you and your people, and what is relevant to you. Holidays should have meaning, otherwise why are you bothering?

For example, I grew up in New Mexico. Our turning of the seasons was drastically different than it is here in Indiana where I now live. We celebrated the green chile harvest as an important, locally relevant, agricultural happening. And damn do I miss the smell of flames roasting chiles outside every grocery store and quite a few restaurants :)

No green chiles grow in Indiana. While I personally still hold some importance in the chile harvest, people not from NM would have much less interest. Why would they hold a harvest festival for a 'foreign' food crop? Instead we have adjusted our harvest celebration towards the corn and soy crops coming in. See, locally relevant.

Now of course there are some universal constants. My people celebrate the equinoxes and solstices as well. Those being astronomically based, people the world over from every culture have been known to celebrate them. But the trappings of it will differ from place to place. I don't happen to have a handy step pyramid upon which I can watch the shadow of the great serpent climb the steps to the sacrificial altar on top. Or a henge to mark the day and time. But yet we all are still observing the same phenomena.

So you see, find something that is relevant to you. It's ridiculous to think that someone in California would have the same concerns and environmental triggers that someone in Minnesota would have, nor should they. So don't go asking some rando in Canada what holidays and feasts you should observe in Florida.

Just my .02.

Welcome to /r/Asatru, a place for theological and philosophical discussions surrounding heathen religions. This includes Asatru, but is by no means limited to it.

To foster that space, we're doing things a little differently. The biggest and most obvious thing is that in order to post, or comment, you must request approved poster status, including confirming in your request that you have read all of the rules and agree to them, so please include that in any request to join. If you don't do that, we won't even have to remove your posts or comments, they just won't show up in the first place. Some may think this is unreasonably restrictive, but we disagree... There are several active subs for talking about heathen subjects, so if ours doesn't suit, you always have those.

Another difference, also reflecting our goals for the environment here, is disabled the posting of links. Links can always be included in the text of a post, and it's that text, that discussion, that matters. We're not here for the pictures, we're here for the constructive discussion.

Finally, please note that this is a place for cordial discussion and learning. Unless you are oath bound to someone else, it isn't your business how they treat with the divine. You can discuss, you can respectfully disagree. However, you cannot be rude, dismissive, or insulting. Such behavior will not be tolerated.

Heathen theology is still young, and it has a long way to go to become a robust, stable thing... There's a lot to discuss.

There has been fairly constant interest in the status of this sub in the 4 years since we locked it down to approved posters only.

This post is to let you all know that we will soon be opening up to more approved posters.

This has been something we've been discussing on and off over the last couple of years, deciding how to structure things to prevent the toxic cesspool that the place had become, and now we're nearly done.

It won't be the same sub that it was 4 years ago. It won't be a free-for-all place to post. For a time, and possibly permanently, it will stay "approved posters only", but you will be able to request to become an approved poster.

There will be another post in the near future discussing exactly what form the new rules and workings will take, as we finalize how things are going to be done. Stay tuned, if it's something you're interested in.

Edit: As comments aren't open to unapproved posters, I'm accepting questions via DM for now. If I don't respond, just understand that I can't address everything right now.

-/r/Asatru Mod Team

What types and how

Anything new you got and want to show it off? Any weird un-heathen related links you wanted to show the sub? Start going to the gym? Post it here! We'll upvote, we'll comment, we'll sometimes do neither of those things but who knows?

I've been lurking on these sub-reddits for a while and I've been wondering about something.

A while ago I had been interesting in Asatru/ Norse Paganism. But it's only been recently I've felt a pull as it where to the religion. I've been going through the "Poetic Edda" I've been wondering.

How many of you think Ragnarok has and will happen more than once? To me it seems that a lot of things are based on a natural cycle. And to me seems like Ragnarok has a cycle on its own.

I've been lurking on these sub-reddits for a while and I've been wondering about something.

A while ago I had been interesting in Asatru/ Norse Paganism. But it's only been recently I've felt a pull as it where to the religion. I've been going through the "Poetic Edda" I've been wondering.

How many of you think Ragnarok has and will happen more than once? To me it seems that a lot of things are based on a natural cycle. And to me seems like Ragnarok has a cycle on its own.

The way I see when the Christan faith had gone through and taken over all of Europe that was when the death off the gods had happened. And now with Paganism picking back up again it's the gods being resurrected again and if the future Ragnarok will happen yet again.

As the title states, do I have to be of European heritage to practice and connect with Norse deities? I am of Asian origin but very interested in Norse paganism.

Anything new you got and want to show it off? Any weird un-heathen related links you wanted to show the sub? Lay on the couch all weekend? Post it here! We'll upvote, we'll comment, we'll sometimes do neither of those things but who knows?

What is it? How do you define it? Can you influence it? How do you influence it? Do you separate your luck from your tribes or are they intertwined? How much do you feel is inherited?

I usually get a response to my own posts but I don't see very many posting themselves. Just a random thought. Just wondering if the community is dying or something.

Anything new you got and want to show it off? Any weird un-heathen related links you wanted to show the sub? Get excited about a new bird nest? Post it here! We'll upvote, we'll comment, we'll sometimes do neither of those things but who knows?

I was a Christian but I feel as though that Jesus and God have not done enough for me, and I never felt the "presence" so to speak, but for a few years something has pulled me to Norse Gods, specifically Odin. I've gone as far as to saying "Praise the Allfather" when something good happens. What more can I do? Is this even the right place for this? All help is welcome. Thank you. Ryan.

Hey all, so far I've read the first poetic edda: Voluspo, and I plan to read the rest, I was just wondering if there was some modern retelling of them, with easier to understand writing? If that makes any sense.

Edit: spelling.

Is there some sort of heathen/asatru thesaurus where I can learn the pronunciations of gods and terms?

I found this quote recently;

“Some sources also speak of the dead being reborn in one of their descendants, although never in someone outside of their family line. Here as well, the sources are unclear as to how exactly this would happen, but oftentimes the dead person is reincarnated in someone who is named after him or her.”

I’m having a hard time finding any sources though. I must say, however, that I love the concept. Does anyone have any thoughts or sources on this?

Let me first start off by saying I'm new to this community, I've been lurking and taking some notes about asatru in my journal to learn about the religion, and I find that it resonates with me in a big way, and I feel it is a good path for me. Though I have a question about it.

I've considered myself pagan for quite a few years, I just couldn't find a path that I could be grounded to. I've studied and practiced Wicca, but it just never resonated with me as much as shamanism, which I fully embraced and have been practicing for some time now.

The thing about shamanism is that we believe there are 3 primary levels of the spiritual world, the lower worlds, middle worlds, and the upper worlds. The lower worlds being where the spirits of the trees, rocks animals and sometimes humans and elemental reside. The upper worlds where the higher spirits and the gods reside, and the middle worlds where simply put, is the dream aspect of our "real" world.

With asatru, the spiritual worlds are quite different, and I'm wondering if there can be a balance with asatru and Shamanism. If there are any shamanic heathens in this community, I'd appreciate some insight on how you find a balance. Thanks in advance! Sorry if my question isn't really clear I'm not really sure how to word the question..

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knew of a pagan based disaster relief or response organization?

edit: I'm asking both out of curiosity and professional interest, I work in disaster relief as a first-responder. As I've been exploring the Astaru path lately it was just something I thought about. A side project some of us are working on is increasing communication and resources among smaller groups. I did appreciate the taco recipe!

Hail all, I wanted to know the tools that a Vitki would use and also information on the way that they cast their spells. I very much want to learn how to be a vitki, meditation and also warding spells.