ASATRU AND RELEVANCE If Asatru is to be anything other than a curiosity or a cult in todays world, it must be relevant to the needs of real people living in the twenty-first century. It has to offer solutions to ordinary men and women with ordinary lives on things like marriage, raising children, making a living, and leading a satisfying life. In addition to practicalities, it needs to address the big questions - Why are we here? What is the nature of the Gods, and what is our relationship to them? What happens when we die? How should we live our lives? It must appeal to all our Folk, not just those who are academics, RPG enthusiasts, viking wannabees, and mead drinkers. We have some excellent guides; the advice of the Havamal holds up really well across the centuries. Codifications like the Nine Noble Virtues and the Twelve Thews are useful even though they are modern distillations. Our bedrock truths are constant and do not need to be revised, but we must be able to sort these truths from things that are superficial. For example: Do we really need to dress up in viking garb at our gatherings? Is there any point in owning a sword in a world where we can own a semi-automatic rifle instead? Do we need to adopt Norse pseudonyms, or are our birth names just fine? Do the Gods and Goddesses really want animals slaughtered as a sacrifice, or will our might, our main, our troth suffice? Here I need to state that some of the most dedicated AFA members I know DO put on Viking era clothes for gatherings - but they are exceptions rather than the rule. It is not my intention to say that others are wrong for doing any of these things; I am simply trying to offer an important insight in this discussion. I strive to practice Asatru not as it was a thousand years ago, but as it might have organically developed had the Christian conquest never happened. For me, it is important to keep the underlying principles of honor, duty, connections...to the Gods, and ancestors, and living kin. It is important to have practical answers for today while being true to that which is eternal. It is not necessary to recreate the Viking Age or the Migration Age. No one reading these words is a viking or an Iron Age tribesman. We are Asa-folk striving to live worthy lives in a degenerate age. runestone.org Hail the Gods! Hail the Asatru Folk Assembly! Steve McNallen
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 19:10:00 +0000