I like to compare Heathenry or Asatru to the Japanese religion of Shinto- for they have many of the same features. Both are ethnic and indigenous faiths, native to a particular landscape. Asatru is native to the vast forests and mountains and sea-ways of Europe from Russia and Germany to Scandinavia, England, Ireland, and Iceland. Germanic culture didn't remain only in these places; the Fall of the Roman Empire saw the seeds of a new Europe sown by migrating Germanic tribes, whose legacy was to create (among others) the nations of France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, England, and eventually, America.
Like Shinto, Asatru is polytheistic, honoring the countless sacred powers of this world for what they are- sentient beings with motivations and powers beyond the ken of human beings, but some of whom are friends to man, and crucial to the survival and thriving of human societies. Like Shinto, Asatru also honors spiritual beings that dwell in the land itself, and in all of nature's many expressions.
Asatru believes in a sturdy and simple code of noble living and behavior which is seen as ideal for human beings who wish to live a "Godly" life, or a life in which humans can live up to the example of the Gods- beings who are powerfully creative, self-sacrificing, and protective of goodness and rightness. Like Shinto, Asatru honors the Ancestors as sacred beings who lived long ago- or not so long ago- and whose ongoing spiritual Participation in the world can still be sensed and integrated into our lives for good ends.
Asatru believes that the world and the universe moves through cycles of existence, coming into existence from natural, sacred processes, lasting for many ages, and finally falling apart and falling out of the order we know it in now, before it is regenerated and reborn. All beings- Gods or humans or animals or any others- are part of this great natural process of formation and re-formation. In the life, death, and rebirth of the cosmos, which has happened many times before, and which will continue to happen forever, humans and other beings that we know now and share our World With will all live and live again, as will the Gods.
During the ages of the world, Gods and humans strive to preserve the good things about the world and their respective societies, always working for the well-being of other kinsmen and other life. Asatru also believes in something that is deathless within mortal beings- the Spirit of the Gods- and in a life or a form of existence after the death of the body. Asatru, drawing on many Historical sources, has a belief that how a person lives helps to shape their destiny in life, in death, and beyond. It is to each person's benefit to live well, live bravely and with nobility, with loyalty for kin and friends and with hospitality, generosity, and reason.
Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):
Anonymous - The Emerald Tablet Of HermesJohn Moore - A Modern Master Extract
Solomonic Grimoires - The Emerald Tablets Of Hermes
Allen Greenfield - The Secret History Of Modern Witchcraft
Michael Smith - Ways Of The Asatru
