A Woman’s Perspective Of Asatru

By on January 29, 2021   /   Faith, Religion   /   Leave a comment

It can be hard to know where we, as women, fit in today’s modern society; what exactly our role is; our purpose… guerrilla feminism has torn the fabric of collective female self-awareness and we are all led from birth on a journey away from ourselves, destined for confusion and depression via mass media marketing. We are brainwashed from birth to believe that our value as women is dependent on a combination of base sex appeal and a willingness to imitate our male counterparts in both personality and lifestyle. We’re taught that aggression is a virtue, promiscuity is empowering, and only oppressed women stay home to raise their own children. As a result we are lost adrift. We are the victims of an ideological war – one that has taken us so far from our natural state as nurturing mothers, spiritual vessels, Creators, Goddesses, that many of us barely recognize those aspects of ourselves anymore.

Discovering Ásatrú, and thereby reconnecting with our ancestral values, helps us find ourselves again in the deepest and most meaningful way. Ásatrú lights the way home for our spirit so that we might find some illumination in the dark. It offers us guidance, community, and TRUE empowerment as women, so that we may better understand and fulfill our roles in the community, and find our true purpose as individuals.

Ásatrú is not just a “boy’s club”, where men reconnect with their inner barbarian and learn to fight for glory; there are likewise innumerable lessons to be learned and inner connections to be made for women who follow the old ways as well. If you look you will find examples of feminine strength and power all throughout the lore – from tales of a Mother’s love, to the unending sacrifice of a wife; the cleverness of the female who wields magic, and much more – wherever you look you can find reasons to be uplifted and inspired by our Goddesses and the roles they play in our myths. Their wisdom will help you navigate your relationships with others (and your relationship with yourself), and help you in your quest to be the best Sister, Daughter, Mother or Wife that you can be.

Ásatrú is all of this, plus the swelling pride and indescribable comfort of sharing these unifying experiences with all your fellow folkish sisters. Ásatrú, and especially the Asatru NW, is nothing if not a close community. We are your people. We share a long history, rich culture, ancient blood, and inescapable fate. This is your home… and when you come home to the true faith of your people you not only gain the insight and power of our Gods, you gain the love and support of an extended family – and there is nothing more special and more sustaining, as a woman and as a human being, than that.

Written By a Local Woman of the PNW

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The Aesirian Code of Nine

By on December 31, 2020   /   Belief, Faith, Religion   /   Leave a comment

The Aesirian Code of Nine

  1. Honor- Honor oneself with truth and fairness. Your word is your bond. Give power to your word by adhering to it. Honor your family and friends with reverence and respect. Honor your love and the way above all else. Honor is the mark of strength and nobility.
  2. Protect- Protect with savagery your blood and kin. Let no one or nothing violate your love or the way. Let there always be inequity in defense. Always protect thrice as fiercely as one is attacked. Protection is the mark of the warrior spirit.
  3. Flourish- Prosperity and growth are key to the survival of the way. Such is the mark of intelligence.
  4. Knowledge- Knowledge is power. Seek ever to expand the mind. Never stagnate, for knowledge is a gift from the gods.
  5. Change- Adapting and changing are important for growth and survival. That which cannot adapt or change is doomed to perish. Change is the mark of insight.
  6. Fairness- Pay all of your debts and pull your own weight. Always hear and consider all sides. Treat all others with equity and fairness. Expect the same from them.
  7. Balance- Remember the law of balance; all that which you do or wish for, good or ill, shall return to you one day. Strive for good.
  8. Control- Never loose control to your anger or be baited by the hostility of another. Never strike a woman unless your very life hangs in the balance. Never violate the weak or the innocent. Never tolerate those who do. Control is the mark of a disciplined mind, a sign of the greatest of warriors.
  9. Conflict- Those who follow the way of the warrior must know the art of combat, weapons and vengeance. War is an accepted part of the path. Always be prepared for hostility against you. It is a destiny woven into the very fiber of our people. Keep your body, mind , and training up at all times. Have no remorse when you must be savage during a conflict. Win, prevail, and survive.
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What Is Asatru?

By on October 5, 2020   /   Belief, Faith, Religion   /   Leave a comment

What Is Asatru?

“Asatru is an expression of the native, pre-Christian spirituality of Europe. More specifically, it is the religion by which the Ethnic European Folk have traditionally related to the Divine and to the world around them.

From Iceland to Russia, from the frozen north of Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, the Ethnic European Folk wandered and settled over a span of thousands of years. Today, their descendants are spread around the world. We may refer to ourselves as Americans or English, Germans or Canadians, but behind these labels lurks an older, more essential identity. Our forefathers were Angles and Saxons, Lombards and Heruli, Goths and Vikings – and, as sons and daughters of these peoples, we are united by ties of blood and culture undimmed by the centuries.” (S. McNallen)

“Asatru” roughly means “belief in the Gods”, “true to the gods” or “faith in the gods” in Old Norse, the language of ancient Scandinavia. Other names often used by practitioners of our faith include: Odinism, Theodism, Forn Sidr, Sedianism etc. Our ancestors most likely did not use the word “Asatru” to describe their religion, instead they probably used the word “Forn Sidr”, which roughly translates as the old customs. These customs refer to the traditions passed down through the ages which included belief in the gods and goddesses of our folk, ways to worship and connect with these divine beings, and how to live a morally sound life with within our communities. Our ancestors were a people of law and order and paved the way for us, their descendants. As a practitioner of Asatru we seek to connect to our ancient roots by observing the customs that have been left behind by our predecessors.

Basic Beliefs Of Asatru:

  1. The Nine Noble Virtues (Courage, Truth, Honor, Loyalty, Self-Discipline, Hospitality, Industriousness, Self Reliance, and Steadfastness). We believe in striving to develop these characteristics in ourselves. We also believe that the amount of the virtues that we carry with us through our lives directly affects how well respected we are by the gods, and the likelihood of us being offered a place in Asgard upon our death. We believe that the amount of these virtues we observe in our friends is a valid way of measuring that person’s worth as a friend, just as the gods use this measurement when considering our worth as a friend.
  2. We believe we have a right to happiness, strength, strong community (frith and grith), strong friends and security.
  3. There is no one way that Asatruar come to see the gods, as each comes to the path as they may understand.Although there may be differences in understanding the divine, practitioners of Asatru recognize the northern European pantheon as the gods and goddesses of our ancestors and seek to exclusively connect with these divine beings.
  4. We believe that our Orlog (fate set in motion by the events of our own lives, which are set in motion by our ancestors lives) is effected by our success or failure at following those virtues we consider most important. So much so that if we are in the right, we believe that Orlog itself will shape the Wyrd (mystical web of energy that connects all things in the world, following the rules of the Norns and of each person’s Orlog) of the universe.
  5. We believe the spirits of our ancestors are often accessible after death.  Do you still “talk” to your dead mother, grandmother etc? If so, you are speaking to a type of spirit that we call a Disir. We gather once a year to honor the ancestral mothers that have passed over to the next world. We believe our ancestors can influence our “luck” or fate and can intervene in matters.
  6. We believe that our loyalty lies first with our immediate family (including blood or sworn family members), secondarily with our extended family (including kindred members), then with our friends and eventually with our community locally and then nationally, in gradually expanding circles of inclusion. We believe that family can be claimed or denied, and thus our loyalty can be withdrawn if the person or group shows themselves to be unworthy of it. This is a family religion and loyalty to our family (and our chosen family – our kindred) is of utmost importance to us.
  7. We believe we are honor-bound to honor the gods at least during the great blessings of the year, which we call “blot”. We believe that part of honoring them involves making an offering of some sort, even if that is just pouring out a bit of alcohol to them on the appropriate feast-day.
  8. We believe in living in a community governed by law, and that enforcing that law should be an effort of the entire community if necessary. This is one of the central beliefs of Norse Heathens, and those beliefs are still alive and well in our people today.
  9. As Asatruar we believe in hard work and enjoyment of life. We believe we should be physically capable, have a well rounded education, familiar with the laws of the land, a good public speaker, capable of defending our selves, hardworking, and enjoy all the luxuries of life.
    We believe in living our lives forthrightly. We do not believe in hiding who we are.
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