That'd be the name of my religion. Asatru is an Scandinavian term consisting of two parts: ASA (Genitive of Aesir) referring to the Germanic Gods and Goddesses (of both the Aesir and the Vanir), and Tru meaning faith. The faith is also referred to as Norse Heathenry. The Old Norse term for 'heathery' is "Heidi". Yet another Old Norse designation is "Forn Sidr", meaning "the ancient custom". Asatru is a hard-polytheistic, nature-oriented belief system and yes it is based on what is commonly known as Norse Mythology. Asatru would not be Asatru without the Scared Lore, the two cannot be separated. Those who practice Asatru are called Asatruar, Asafolk, Tru Folk, Heathens or just worshipers of the Old Gods, etc..
Strictly speaking, since Asatru is the religion which springs from the specific spiritual beliefs of the Northern Europeans, it is as old as this particular branch of the human race.
An Asatruar is a priest of the Asatru religion. The Asatru religion is a modern revival of the ancient Norse religious pantheon, including Odhinn, Fenris, Thor, Loki, ET AL.
Asatru is Norse re constructionist paganism; in other words, it attempts to follow the ancient Norse paganism as closely as possible without injecting contemporary beliefs into it. They worship the gods and goddesses of the Norse pantheon, such as Odin, Thor, Freya, ET AL.
?satr? (Icelandic "?sir faith") is a new religious movement whose focus is reviving the Norse paganism of the Viking Age - as described in the Eddas - prior to the arrival of Christianity.
Adherents of ?satr? are called ?satr?armenn (singular ?satr?arma?ur) in Icelandic (literally "people of Aesir faith"); in English usage, the genitive Asatruar "of Aesir faith" is often used on its own to denote adherents (both singular and plural).
?satr? was established in the 1960s and early 1970s in Iceland, by the ?slenska ?satr?arf?lagi?, an organization founded by Sveinbj?rn Beinteinsson. ?satr? is a religion officially recognized by the governments of Iceland (since 1973), Norway (since 1994) and Denmark (since 2003). The United States government does not officially endorse or recognize any religious group, but numerous ?satr? groups have been granted nonprofit religious status going back to the 1970s.[1]
While the term ?satr? originally referred specifically to the Icelandic adherents of the religion, Germanic neopagan and reconstructionist groups widely identify themselves as ?satr?. In this wider sense, the term ?satr? is used somewhat synonymously with Germanic neopaganism or Germanic paganism, along with the terms Forn Sed, Odinism, Heithni, Heathenry and others.
Asatru is a Norse Reconstructionist religion. If you want more information, go to WNW.religioustolerance.org and click on other religions.
Blessed Be,
Amina
What is an Asatru?
