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Mylinkay Asdara said:Captin: Hey, it's okay to be in the middle. Keep seeking within yourself and you will be okayInformation is abundant, but sorting it all out takes a lot of time and wisdom.
I simply believe that reality is the only testimonial to God, and no holy book will ever do the job as well as reality does.
Mylinkay Asdara said:
Mylinkay Asdara said:I think it's time to start a thread to discuss our non-christian faiths. Maybe people who are christian will read and maybe they won't. Just the same I'd love to hear about other faiths and I'd love to discuss mine with people who are willing to listen and be open minded.
This thread is for non-christians mainly to talk about our faiths with eachother, but if any christians have legitimate (non flaming) questions I'm sure we can make a quick detour to answer them.
Who wants to start?
Thurisaz Sowulo said:Gee, amazing. 130 postings and still I seem to be the first Asatruar here?
Okay, for those who don't know that term: Asatru means "true to the Aesir", the gods of the Viking and German people. Odin, Thor, Loki... you know the names, don't you?
I've just arrived here to see if this site really isn't as much tainted by fundie fanatics as the various newsgroups I read. Until now it looks okay, I hope the disappointment doesn't just wait around the next corner...
Well, so much for a quick start. Feel free to ask whatever you want...
Mylinkay Asdara said:Really? My boyfriend has a good deal of Viking blood in his heritage and has been asking me about the gods of his people. Unfortunately, though I have much knowledge about Celtic and Egyptian and some Native American gods, I have little to tell him. Could you please inform me of some basics (though I do have some basics from collections of gods that are listed in many Wicca books) or some good sources for more Asatru knowledge?
ALW said:
Thurisaz Sowulo said:Hi,
I'm not surprised that you did not find that much about the Viking faith... while there are some interesting parallels with Celtic religion, there are also many differences.
Well, I guess describing all the beliefs and gods of the Asatru pantheon would be too much to post here. Let's see what I can combine in one posting...
Basically, the deities of Asatru can be grouped into the Vanir (mostly associated with fertility, fishing and agriculture) and the Aesir (covering many other aspects, like Odin/Wodan as god of wisdom and magic, Tyr as god of justice, Thor/Donar as defender of Midgard - the world of the humans - against the dangerous giants, and Loki who represents the antagonist and mischievous trickster). Possibly the Vanir once were the most important deities of the north, later mostly replaced by the Aesir.
An Asatruar does not "worship" his gods in the usual meaning of the word, it's more considered to be based on loyalty and friendship. Say, I'm a dedicated follower of Odin, but feel that Odin lets me down again and again, so I'm free to say "That's enough - I'll turn my back on you and honor Thor instead". I once read about my German ancestors describing their relation to the gods as "fulltrui", meaning something like "absolutely faithful and trusting".
What I find very interesting is the concept of Ragnarok, the Doom of the Gods. According to the Edda, which basically contains all the sacred poems and songs that survived, the gods themselves made a gross mistake when the worlds were young, and thus all that is is doomed to be destroyed on the day when the giants finally assault Asgard, the home of the gods. Even the gods themselves will die in battle, most of them anyway.
It is for this very day that Odin's valkyries collect the bravest fallen warriors from the battlefields, bringing them to Valhalla where they train for Ragnarok - so that the devastation caused by Surt, the ruler of the fire giants, and his army is not even more severe - to ensure that there will be a new world after Ragnarok.
That's what occurs to me spontaneously. Your boyfriend may find the web site of "the Troth" interesting, it gives much more details on how Asatru is defined and practiced today. You should be able to google it up. The Edda is also available online, though I can't give you the URL right now (I'm posting from my workplace and noted the link at home...).
Hope to have helped
It's always good to read about something new! Thanks for a good description. It sounds very very interesting.
What's more amazing is 130 postings and no bigotry. It's so awesome to see people share their beliefs and people with DIFFERING viewpoints encourage and praise them.Thurisaz Sowulo said:Gee, amazing. 130 postings and still I seem to be the first Asatruar here?
) It takes us all a while searching before we find our place and our path and for some people the path right for this life is atheism. I don't think that I could sustain myself as well as I have if I was an atheist, but that's just because that's not my road this life - it doesn't make atheism inferior to theism in my opinion. Just another path Hope you stick around, the thread moves slowly, but it's never gotten nasty yet so I'd rather be slow and happy then quick and nasty in our conversation 
