What is Asatru?  Asatru is the name commonly given to the indigenous, pre-Christian religion of the Northern European Germanic, or Teutonic, peoples.  It is an ancient religion - far older than Christianity, in fact - that was practiced by our ancestors; tribes such as the Goths, Saxons, and Jutes, to name just a few.  In Europe, geographically speaking, Asatru was practiced from Scandinavia (including Iceland and Greenland) and Great Britain in the north down through France and Germany in the south to as far east as Russia.  Basically, as the Germanic tribes migrated so did the religion.

What does Asatru mean?  The term Asatru means "true to the gods."  The term's origins are obscure and there is debate as to when it came in to use, but I've seen it in print as early as 1889 in the two volume set, The Viking Age, by Du Chaillu - which shows it was in use prior to that.

What do the followers of the Asatru faith believe?  That question is a little difficult to answer in this type of forum.  After all, books have been written on the subject.  But I'll try to give you some basics.

To begin with, we (the Ulfhethnar Kindred) view Asatru as the natural spiritual expression of people of Northern European descent.  It is a religion that sprang from our ancestors unique evolution and experiences, and therefore most in line with our (their descendents) psyche and spiritual needs. 

Asatru is a polytheistic religion.  Our pantheon of deities consist of many gods and goddesses, whom we view as sources of inspiration and knowledge.  We consider them friends, albeit powerful ones, and we gather on our holy days to commune with them.  Again, we do so as friends - we don't bow down to them because Asatru is not a fear based religion.  Asatruars stand strong in the presence of their gods. 

We don't believe in "original sin," and we don't believe that people are born "bad" and need to ask forgiveness to be redeemed or else face an eternity burning in hell or some other unimaginable torment.  The whole concept of an eternal afterlife of suffering is alien to Indo-European religious thought.  Why should one fear the afterlife?  Everyone makes mistakes, it's how we deal with them that's important.  We don't ask our deities to forgive us.  We try to learn from our mistakes and live our lives as honorably as possible.  If we live life fully (not to be confused with frivolously), continually strive for self improvement, and learn from all the obstacles we face in life, we will be prepared for whatever afterlife we earn.

Our gatherings are not somber affairs designed to make one feel guilty.  They are joyous events to celebrate communion with friends, family, and our gods and goddesses.

What are the names of your deities, and what roles do they play in the Asatru pantheon?  Again, this format only allows for some basics.  I'll just mention a few of the more popular gods and goddesses - ones whom even people that don't follow the religion probably know.  Odin is the chief god and, as such, is known as the All-Father.  For us he represents the never ending quest for knowledge, wisdom, and self-improvement.  His wife, Frigga, is the archetypical "mother" figure.  Thor is the fiery, temperamental, fun-loving god who serves as the protector.  Freya is the goddess of female sexuality and pleasure.  She is also connected to war and strife and half of the warriors slain in battle spend their afterlife in her great hall.  Her brother Frey represents male virility.  Tyr is the god of justice and sacrifice.  Loki is the archetypical "trickster."  There are others, but these well known examples should give you an idea of their names and roles in the religion.

How does one of the Asatru faith practice their religion?  It varies from group to group, but there are some common practices.  Our main holy days are the solstices and equinoxes.  Asatruar gather on those days and conduct rites, share a large meal, and enjoy the company of our friends and family - much like practitioners of many other religions do when they gather, I suspect.  Some groups gather at hofs (temples) and conduct their rites indoors, while others prefer to gather in a place of natural beauty.  To get an idea of what the Ulfhethnar Kindred does, you can read our summaries of past gatherings. 

Many religions have strict moral codes written down in a book that is considered required reading for the faithful, such as the Bible or the Koran.  Has Asatru produced anything of this sort?  You mean besides this web page?  Sorry, couldn't resist. 

We have a few such books, though I wouldn't say they preach a strict moral code in the same way a book like the Bible does, and they certainly aren't dogmatic.  As I mentioned earlier, we don't have rules that, if broken, will result in eternal damnation. 

The closest text we have to what you're thinking would be the Havamal.  The Havamal offers ethical, realistic advice on behavior. 

We also have the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda.  These two books contain the mythology of our people and are where you would read about our deities and heroes.

I've read some of the Norse Myths.  Are they meant to be taken literally?  No.  A people's mythos is meant to express both religious and secular truths important to that society. 

The modern literary descriptions of our gods developed over eons to help explain their nature and power.  The gods and goddesses of our folk are very real but to take, for example, the well chronicled physical descriptions of a god like Thor literally is the same as Christians believing that the "Satan" of their mythology really has horns and a pointy tail.

Myths are also a means of teaching ethics and behavior.  Much can be learned about a people by what is idealized in their mythos.  And though many of the myths may seem over the top and obvious in what they are attempting to express, they should be read carefully and pondered for they contain many subtleties that can be easily overlooked.

Other than this FAQ section, there's not a lot of information regarding Asatru on this website.  How come?  This is a kindred site, not an Asatru site per se.  We view this site more as a way to introduce people to the Ulfhethnar Kindred than the religion of Asatru.  There are plenty of resources out there for those wishing to learn more about the religion, whether it be through books or other websites (browse our links page).  There is also our article page, which features various articles and essays by our members on a wide variety of topics.

Earlier you mentioned Asatru as being "the natural spiritual expression of people of Northern European descent."  Is Asatru only open to Whites?  Asatru is practiced in a variety of manners around the world.  One of the basic groupings of worshippers is called a kindred, which is comparable to the Christian congregation.  Some kindreds are open to all peoples and are classified as "universalist".  Other kindreds believe that Asatru is the natural ethnic, tribal religion of those of Northern European descent.  These kindreds are referred to as "folkish."  The Ulfhethnar Kindred falls into the folkish category.

So then the Ulfhethnar Kindred is only open to Whites?  Yes.

Are you neo-Nazi's?  The Ulfhethnar Kindred is a spiritual/religious organization, not a political one.  When we gather we are focused on our religious activities so discussions concerning political issues seldom come up.  The general rule of our kindred is that as long as a member's personal or political views don't interfere with our religious practices or kindred unity, they are free to attend our gatherings. 

But again, we are a folkish kindred, so potential Asatruar with a far left or multi-cultural mindset would probably mesh better with one of the various universalist kindreds in the area.  There are many in the San Francisco Bay Area.  If you need help locating one, we can point you in the right direction. 

Interesting logo, does it symbolize anything?  Cool logo, huh?  It was designed by Robert, one of our founding members.  Ulfhethnar translates to "wolf-coat," hence the wolf's head in our logo.  The background symbol is the rune "eihwaz," also known as the wolf-hook rune or wolf-angle rune due to its connection to Odin. 

Historically, the ulfhethnar were warrior bands who dressed in wolf skins.  They were elite soldiers and were dedicated to Odin.

How does one become a member of the Ulfhethnar Kindred?  The first step is to contact us through our email address: webmaster@ulfhethnar.com.  Tell us a little about yourself, your experience with Asatru, and what inspired you to contact our kindred.

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