Why Asatru?

(If you're not sure what Asatru is, I recommend starting with Erich Campbell's brief but informative essay entitled What is Asatru?)


Asatru is a faith with deep roots and tradition, and it can still change and grow. The advance of science and the growth of human knowledge are good things in my faith; they don't threaten my beliefs. In fact, Asatru, "the religion with homework", encourages learning and the acquisition of wisdom, something I've eagerly done my entire life. My gods make more sense to me than the supposedly completely benevolent, all-loving, omnipotent, omniscient, omni-whatever deity who appears in some other faiths. Suffering and evil in the world aren't part of some inscrutable master plan on the part of the gods, nor are the gods testing us in some way. The world at times can be a horrible place, but the Elder Kin have given us gifts we can use to help us meet the challenges of life with dignity.

By establishing and maintaining right relationships with my kith and kin- present and past, biological and adopted- I've found joy and contentment. Asatru has helped me to create an ongoing state of frith (a condition that promotes prosperity, if not always peace) with few breaks. As well, Asatru encourages honor and right action. We reap the consequences of our actions, and sometimes our loved ones do, too. Asatru supports the growth of the individual while fostering an awareness of one's place in the environment and within the community.

The Asatru faith is one in which the crafting of poetry and storytelling are considered noble and perhaps even sacred, which results in some great stories that are easy to read but have multiple layers of meaning. The poems and sagas are great tragic and comedic literature, and they continue to inspire today.

Ultimately, I practice Asatru because I enjoy being myself. It's not an "anything goes" faith, but neither is it a faith that tells me to repress my strengths. It's a tradition that resonates with me at the deepest levels, that allows me to be me in the best sense of it.

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