Heathen to the core! We have gods and goddesses that appreciate good mead, warriors, and honor.
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To another poster: Asatru is not about bigotry. Those that have hijacked our symbols and deities to justify their own hatred are the worst kind of human beings and not accepted by the majority of true Heathens.
Well, I've been practicing 'craft' for over 13 years... Asatru. "Wicca" is a bastardized brainchild of an overzealous Aquarian Age experiencing its Mid-Life Crisis.
At least Asatru has DIRECT links to a culture that survived many evolutions to still be distinctive in the world, today.
?satr?..started with Wicca though but it didn't sing to my heart.
As already stated heathery has NOTHING to do with racism or bigotry of any kind, if anything we're among the most tolerant of people except when it comes to tolerating Noe-nazis nicking our cultural heritage and using it as an excuse to justify their vile hatred.
Asatru: a reasonably accurate reconstruction of an actual Prue-Christian religion. Optional magical element. Expect to read thick books written, in many cases, by PhD's as well as specifically religious material. Nutty racist fringe but it's easy to identify. Also, there are specifically non-racist, gay-inclusive groups like The Troth that you can join if you want to avoid racists/fascists. Many prisoners embrace Asatru, and often benefit greatly as Asatru tends to have fairly mainstream values with libertarian overtones; many if not most Asatru tend to be conservative to moderate politically. Openness to ex-con Heathens varies greatly from individual to individual and from group to group. Asatruars tend to be more non-hierarchical than Wiccans; no degree systems or belief in being initiated in some sort of succession in a lineage of High Priests/Priestesses. Expect jeans and t-shirts or Viking-Age clothing at gatherings. Folks tend to keep their private, especially sexual lives to themselves, and can be quite judge mental toward irresponsible people. Gender polarities not stressed in worship and magic, has an undeserved reputation of being very male-oriented and male-run. In case you are wondering, I'm an Asatruar. I'm also pretty conservative politically, and openly gay. A conservative gay person would have difficulty in many Wiccan communities, due to politics, not sexual orientation.
Wicca: A (Judeo-Christian) ceremonial magic base with the religion in many cases an afterthought. Heavy emphasis on magic. No real historical basis as a Pagan religion, although it incorporates bits and pieces of such, being especially fond of Celtic lore. It is heavily influenced by the 1960's counterculture and hippy movements. Wiccans tend to be well to the left of center politically. There is a tendency among many Wiccans to flaunt sexuality, etc.; the gatherings usually have a prowly, sexually-charged feeling and sometimes tents are set aside for sex, including group sex. Large nut and flake fringe but many solid people as well, which are easy to identify in most cases by such things as being gainfully employed at a middle-class salary, homeownership, stable legal marriage if heterosexual, absence of illegal drugs and other addictions, well-behaved children... Expect anything and everything, including nothing at all, to be worn at gatherings. There are strong feminist overtones to much of Wicca, with their Goddess stressed much more than their God by a great many Wiccans. Some Dianic groups exclude men. Expect a high percentage of hard-core feminists and more than a few man-haters. Wiccans tend end to be non-judgemental to a fault about many things; I've seen groups and individuals become quite upset when some people want to exclude dishonest, grossly irresponsible and/or insane people.
All the above is based on 14 years experience as a Heathen and 4 years before that as a member of the larger Pagan community; your experience may be very different and both communities often vary greatly from region to region.
Wicca or Asatru???
Of which Asatru is one XD
