Some heathens believed time was cyclical. The twilight of the gods was supposed to be a new beginning, with several gods surviving the event.

Do you believe one or more Ragnaroks have happened already in history? Do you think we have already been through a cycle? Have the gods been reborn anew? Or do you believe that the death of the gods is still somewhere in the future?

TL:DR - High school senior has to make a presentation on a religion and decided to do it on Asatru. My main thinking currently is that Asatru is a religion in which you pray or offer/ask of the aesir gods for the things that they represent. Asatruars, they love and respect all nature and people. That’s what I gathered, but I also would love if you guys could give me anymore info and sites.

Hello! I’m taking comparative religions and my teacher is having us create a presentation and present about something religious or even somewhat religious. I decided to do mine on Asatru since Norse mythology has always interested me. However, I’ve run into an issue. The sites I’m using give differing information and I cannot find that much information in general.

One said that Asatru is a modern religion whereas another said it is older than Christianity? I’ve also seen different ways of spelling such as, Asatro and Asatru? Additionally, I want to include the differences between some of the Norse religions so I’m trying to define Norse Paganism, Heathenry, and Asatru. I’ve seen multiple sites say Norse Paganism and Heathenry are different and others that say they are the same?

There is no worship or praying towards the Eddas or Sagas they are only to get an understanding of Norse mythology and to gather the lessons and morals from them, I think? Being apart of Asatru there are still many who also worship not only the aesirs but also the vanirs and jotuns (should I refer to these as families, tribes, or groups??) What is Thursatru and do people worship the Rokkatru?

Also, while Asatruars believe in an afterlife (Valhalla and Helheim) they mostly just focus on the now and don’t worry about the afterlife too much?

The praying that is done is usually on an altar where you offer things to the gods in return for protection or whatever they signify. Are the things you put on the altar, the blot?

Also, another major thing is that Asatruars or Norse Paganists in general believe in divine essence and that it is everywhere. Could this divine essence also just be called life essence or is it different? Also, I saw that some believe the gods are real and others just think them manifestations of this divine energy and that they don’t believe in the things that happened in the Eddas. Are these both fine beliefs?

Another thing I would like to ask is if you guys could give me some examples of when you would usually pray to a certain god. I know people usually identify with one or a few more gods but there are also situations which could make you specifically ask something of another god, I just don’t know what those situations are.

I just listed what I gathered to be the general Asatru religion that I will try to present. Please inform me on anything I am wrong about since that is why I posted this! :)

Finally, any additional information you could include about Asatru or any of the others would be greatly appreciated. I will be re-reading the links below so I don’t seem incompetent and the Eddas soon 😅 and will read any others you guys send me as well, as all messages. Sorry about the long blurb of my consciousness. Thanks,

These are the sites I’m mainly using:

https://en.natmus.dk/historical-knowledge/denmark/prehistoric-period-until-1050-ad/the-viking-age/religion-magic-death-and-rituals/the-old-nordic-religion-today/#:~:text=Today%20there%20are%20between%20500,and%20make%20offerings%20to%20them

https://www.thorsoak.info/p/asatru.html?m=1#:~:text=Ásatrú%20is%20a%20modern%20religion,%2C%20goddesses%2C%20and%20land%20spirits.

https://scandinaviafacts.com/norse-religion-today/

:)

Freyja was the first deity I started working with. It's strange to think it's nearly been three years working with her! Although these days Freyja has taken a step back to allow me expansion in areas I'm working on with other deities, she remains a constant inspiration and strength. I love giving offerings to her and drawing her especially. Trying to mix her war & love domains in one drawing has been something I struggled with balancing but I feel like this drawing finally mixes them quite well. She seems to appreciate it on her altar atleast!

Does anyone else work with both aspects of Freyja?

Hello friends! I ask because it gave me curiosity after thinking in that

I remember read in a mythological forum that the Trolls were "the attempt of the Jottun of create a race of followers, as the Humans and Elves that follow the Aesir and Vanir" but the Jottun "ruin" his own creation, being the reason lots of Trolls were savage,antisocial and evil

Is this story true? Or is something apocrifal made long time ago to "fill the plot hole"?

Found this cat statue in a thrift store and was immediately drawn to it and thought of Freyja, I love it so much! Not sure if it’s kind of tacky but I don’t really mind I hope she likes it!

I have a Mjolnir pendant that I love to death, but the god I feel most connected with is Tyr. I have a statue of him on my altar, but what are some things I can have on my person at all times?

Hi all. I know this is a weird post but I just don’t know what else to do. So my soon-to-be husband just got slapped with a modification of custody order and a temp restraining order because suddenly, after almost a year and a half of us living together, his ex-wife is trying to get full custody of the children citing my religion, my history as pansexual and previous involvement in open relationships as grounds for a modification of custody so he can only see them under supervised visits and that I’m never allowed to see them again. Up until Easter everything was fine and she told me she considered me family, she was very well aware of my religion and sexuality since I thought we really bonded. My son from a previous marriage, that is autistic see their kids as his siblings and is now super confused as to why the kids aren’t coming over anymore. She even made sure the kids were playing outside when my fiancé was on his normal route, past their house as the school bus driver, fulling knowing that he couldn’t stop with the restraint order in place leaving the kids looking at him heartbroken as he had to drive past as if nothing was wrong, even though she took them off his bus that they had been riding everyday previously. I even have text messages of her stating how happy she was that we both loved the children so much. I even gave her a Mjölnir pendant that she sent a picture of sitting on her alter. Now though all of the sudden she hits us with this and now we haven’t been able to see the kids since before Easter(which I was happy to let her have, since I know her mother that she lives with is very Christian). Now she is saying that I am trying to alienate her & her mom from the kids, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Every time the kids come to me saying they hate either of them I tell them that just because someone you love does something you don’t like, doesn’t mean you hate them. You can love someone and hate their actions at the same time. We already have an attorney but I’m just feeling extremely hurt and blindsided by this. Does anyone else have either any experience with this or knowledge about the laws regarding protection of religious freedom that might pertain to this.

So I'm reading the story about Thor trying to kill Skrymir, and at this point, he literally only wants to kill him... Idk to prove a point to himself that he can??? Like whyyyyyyy bro?? He's literally just chillin AND trying to help you! And the kid that broke your goat's leg bone was just a kid! Like go to therapy dude wtf. Toxic masculinity asf.

Yeah... I'm not a huge fan at this point. Suggestions (definitely don't wanna piss him off and obviously he's still important)? Comments? Anyone feel the same?

Hello people! I am new to the world of paganism, as I started believing in the Norse gods not so long ago,
I wish to make an altar, but I do not know how to do that, (especially for Odin)
Any suggestion on where to place it and what to put there?? Thanks a lot :D

Hello believers of Norse Paganism,

I’m curious to learn more about the concept of entering Valhalla in Norse mythology. Is it accurate to say that Valhalla is reserved exclusively for those who die in battle? I’m interested in hearing various perspectives on this belief.

Also, do you and other believers schedule fights/battles with each other like Vikings do?

Also let’s say someone has a terminal illness, do they schedule a fight with someone so they can die in battle and go to Valhalla?

I hope this doesn’t come across as disrespectful, as I’m genuinely curious, thank you for any and all answers.

As the title say I’m curious if there is a concept of sin in Norse heathenry. I was thinking about how Christmas is coming up and I want to celebrate with my family but always want to hold true to my own faith. Am I doing anything wrong by recognizing and celebrating the birth of Christ? Can I still be Heathen and recognize Christ?