Denmark To Accept Norse God Marriages

Home to the Vikings of yore, Denmark said Wednesday it will let a group that worships Thor, Odin and other Norse gods conduct legally-recognized marriages.

"To me, it would be wrong if the indigenous religion of this country wasn't recognized,'' Tove Fergo, the minister for Ecclesiastic Affairs and a Lutheran priest, told The Associated Press. Under Danish law, the state Evangelical Lutheran Church has sole authority to recognize other religious communities. The 240-member Forn Sidr, which worships Odin, Thor, Freya, and the other members of the Norse pantheon, sought recognition in 1999, said Tissel Jacobsen, the group's president. Last year, an Ecclesiastic Affairs panel of scholars recommended that Forn Sidr, whose name mean "Old Custom'' in old Norse, be approved, but only if their rituals were clearly detailed in its bylaws.

"At a general assembly, we added and described our four annual heathen rituals - spring and fall equinoxes, and the summer and winter solstices, and our marriage ceremony,'' Jacobsen told the AP. "We then returned our application and the panel approved it.''

Fergo said she would give her final approval "in a few days.''

About 1,000 people worship the ancient gods in Denmark, Jacobsen said. Since 1998, the panel of theology, law and history scholars have advised the government on which groups seeking to become religious communities, should be recognized.

"It was not up to me to evaluate whether they are telling the truth or the quality of their religion,'' Fergo said. "Based on the commission's evaluation and what I have read, I consider it a good religion.''

Officially recognized religious communities can marry people and exempt their members from the 1 percent income tax that is imposed on members of the state church. People born in Denmark are automatically made members of the state church, but can choose to leave it if they want. Members of other recognized religious communities, such Catholics, Muslims and Jews, are also exempt from the tax.

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Asatru Holidays May Merrymoon

Merrymoon 1,
May Day: The first of May is a time of great celebration all across Europe, as the fields get greener and the flowers decorate the landscape with colorful confusion. Freya turns her kindly face to us after the night of Walburg. Celebrate the birth of Spring and the gifts of Freya on this day.

Merrymoon 9,
Day of Remembrance for Guthroth: One of the upland minor kings. Guthroth had to the audacity to make a speech opposing the policies of Olaf Tryggvason, who at the time was busy killing people who did not want to become kristjans. For exercising his Gods given rights to Worship his tribal Gods, Guthroth was captured and his tongue was cut out. Use your tongue for the Gods today! Sing their praises and recite some heroic poetry, tell someone of the Gods glory, and call a kinsman to keep in touch.

Merrymoon 20,
Frigga Blot: Today we rejoice in the warmth and splendor of Spring. A traditional time for a kindred campout, Perform blot to honor the AllMother and thank Her for the health and vitality of the Family, Kindred and Tribe.

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Asatru As A Modern Religion

Despite its historical origins, Asatru is a modern religion. Its modern practice is a product of resurgence through the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. As a modern religion, it seeks to inform and guide us in our modern, daily lives. It provides a vision of spirituality, community and identity that is relevant to today. It seeks connection to our ancestors, gods and goddesses. It embraces the concept of culture as people embodied wisdom and seeks to improve our lives today by giving us ideals to strive for. Whether it is described as a reconstruction or a reinvention or a rediscovery of our ancestors’ religious and folk views, it is modern and adapted to the world today. Its ethics provides lessons that a just as relevant today and tomorrow as they were through the millennia. It is embodied in a rapidly growing community wherever Northern Europeans are found.

As a modern religion we are adapting our practices to face the realities of life in a more crowded world. If Asatru is said to have a mission in Midgard, it is to help the Folk live in peace with the Holy Spirits, and to help us thrive and grow, to have the greatest degree of self-identity, self-respect, strength and self-determination in the world today. Its mission is to keep alive the beliefs and ideals which have kept our Folk alive through the ages. Asatru, as a modern religion, is about life.

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The Role Of The Gothar In The Asatru Community

The old norse word "Gothar" is the plural form of Gothi or Gythia. The Gothar are the collective priesthood of the Asatru Community. Proper pronunciation in Old Norse is: Gothar (go-thar). It literally means: those who speak the godly tongue.

We know from many surviving ancient accounts that the Gothar played a pivotal role in the founding of Iceland and the development there of a system of government known as the Godic Republic. This ancient method of self government was known as the AlThing. At the AlThing the Gothar of the 36 districts of Iceland met annually to read the Law, settle disputes among the Folk, and mete justice to law breakers.

This concept of self rule has been practiced since antiquity by the people of the North. We will deal in greater detail in a future article titled "The AlThing", but here we will discuss the role of the Gothar in the contemporary Asatru Community.

In ancient times, as we know from the writings of Tacitus in The Agricola and The Germania, the Teutons worshipped their Gods and goddesses in holy groves and by sacred springs and rivers. Tribal priests and priestesses presided in these matters. We learn from Adam of Bremen of the great Temple of Uppsala, where great public Blots were held, again presided over by the Temple Priests. There are also numerous Saga accounts of the Hofs maintained by the priests for public worship in Norway and Iceland.

From all of this we learn that there were people who specialized in conducting public worship of the Gods and Goddesses. They were also responsible for establishing Hofs and Temples, and maintained the equipment and furnishings necessary to conduct Blots and other religious services. In the days of the Godic Republic, the Gothar was also responsible for the civil administration of the country as well.

In modern times, as the Asatru Community struggles to reassert itself as the true religion of the Folk, the work of the Gothar is difficult indeed. Not only is it his or her duty to conduct the Blots, maintain the Hofs and sacred groves and provide the ritual equipment, but he or she must also seek out those within our Folk worthy to practice the old ways, and to reawaken the Ancestral Soul of our people, which is weak and near death after a thousand years of Christian pollution.

The true Gothar of the modern era must be a fearless spiritual warrior, a fervent Asatru missionary. They must be as wise as the AllFather, as strong as Asa Thorr, and as loving as the Lady Freya, if they are to succeed in their chosen profession. In short, only the bravest, wisest, and most loving of our Folk can ever aspire to the position of Gothi or Gythia. Nothing less than total dedication and personal sacrifice to our cause will do. Anything less will result in failure. If you are a dabbler in the Northern mysteries, a crystal poking Norse Wiccan, or someone who lives in a fantasy world, please go far away and do everyone a favor. For the rest of you who have a sincere desire, a burning will, and a constitution of iron, we will proceed. In Vor Tru No. 52 not only did we discuss the significance of the Blot, we examined the actual mechanics for performing public sacrifice, and we discussed also the part that the Gothi and Gythia played in such religious services of the Folk. I urged all who have the desire to perform Blots to do so whether privately at home with the family, or publicly in the sacred places with the Kindred. The person who performs the Blot, is at that place and time a Gothi. However, it is what you do for the Folk after the Blot which determines whether you are indeed a member of the Gothar, one who has earned the respect of the Asatru Community as a tireless and fearless spiritual leader of the Folk, and one who constantly strives to improve himself through constant study and practice of the lore of our people. Indeed, are you one who has earned the respect and admiration of the Folk because of your tireless efforts in their behalf?

At this point, let's assume that you aspire to become one of the Gothar. Where do you begin? I will start by saying that I have known more than a few who wished to become a Gothi. My best advice at this time is to urge them to find a recognized Gothi, and somehow convince the Priest of the Folk to become his apprentice. You must realize at this point in time that many may choose to walk this path, but by the process of natural selection, few will attain their goal. If you find a Gothi to aid you in your studies, you are fortunate to have that aid in your quest. If you personally don't know anyone of the Gothar, don't despair. You can teach yourself. THEY DID!

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In The Beginning Was The Wyrd

True to form the Christ people placed the birth of their God at the time of the birth of the sun - the Winter Sunstead - their version being a word-play - 'birth of the son', the son of God. Even before this the Judaic Old Testament uses a clever word play to twist the concept of Wyrd, for Genesis maintains: "In the beginning was the Word". It maintains of course that the Word was God.

What is the origin of the term 'word'? 'Word' in modern German is 'wurt', but in Old High German the word 'wurt' meant Wyrd. To emphasise this point the Old Saxon for 'Wyrd' was 'Wurd', phonetically' similar to 'word'. The Norse word for Wyrd is Orlog, which is literally 'primal layers' or 'primal word'. The last part '-log' is the same as the Latin for 'word': we still use the word 'log' for a book of record, or of records of any kind. So we, as Heathens, are safe to say - IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WYRD.

And so it must be that the Cosmic Mind existed before all things. The Cosmic Mind must have been there in order that Creation could take place. Even certain sections of modern science have turned full circle and ditched the idea of a mechanical universe in favour of the idea of the universe being more like a vast thought-pattern. So what is the Wyrd and how are its workings?

To answer this question we can only scratch at the surface, for only a part of Wyrd can be comprehended at a time. But we can get slight hints at the workings of Wyrd. Orlog has its similarity to a Flemish-Dutch word 'oorlog' which means 'war'. I am led to believe that the word 'war' is an Indo-European root word meaning: 1.To will/choose; 2. To speak; 3. To wind or turn.

These words and meanings seem to have little link, and not much with Wyrd, until we contemplate their word-association. 'To will' hints at the Will of Wyrd - that which is, and that which is to be - evolution - for Wyrd is ever evolving and changing. 'To speak', of course, gives us the 'word', which is touched upon in the first paragraph here. "To wind or turn' is associated with change, with evolution, and also 'wind' is to spiral. Scientists now consider the universe to be a vast spiral.

War is seeming conflict, but not so if we look-closely at it, for war can have very strange results. The same with Wyrd, for on the surface the Cosmos appears to be a war of opposite - Light and Dark, Day and Night, Summer and Winter, Hot and Cold, Fire and Ice. But not really so, for because those are the totality of Wyrd, they are in truth harmonious. 'It is this harmony of opposites which causes the eternal process of Birth-Life-Death to Rebirth, of Creation-Preservation-Destruction to re-Creation. This process we call 'evolution' and this is the ever upward-growing spiral. Wyrd is in a constant state of flux and change.

The workings of Wyrd are contained within the symbolic system we call the Runes, each Rune being an aspect of Wyrd. We could say that the Runes are the Secrets of Wyrd and the secrets of nature in its entirety. The Runes existed in the beginning. It was Odin who learned of them by his sacrifice so that we may use them to aid us in our battle against those forces that seek to destroy the Wyrd..

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God Heimdall

Heimdall is the guardian of Asgard. He watches over the entrance, the Bifrost bridge, and uses his acute vision and hearing to watch and listen for danger. He will sound his horn, Gjallarhorn, at the start of Ragnarok. He is known to have fathered the classes of humanity. Heimdall is also called the White God, or the Bright God, for he is said to shine. He is the watchman of the gods, and stays mostly in his home Himinbjorg, next to the Bridge Bifrost, the way to Asgard, which he guards. He is a most faithful watchman, and is often rained on. He needs less sleep than a bird, can hear the grass grow all the way in Midgard, as well as the wool on sheep. He has a horn called Gjallarhorn, which he will sound when the giant-hordes approach and Ragnarok draws nigh. There are also scholarly arguments that say certain sources tell of a sacrifice Heimdall made similar to Odin's, where he sacrificed an ear for a drink from Mimir's well, which is how he got his hearing. This, if true, is such a close parallel with Odin that it may be that Heimdall is a well-developed heiti of Odin's, that has become an hypostasis. Heimdall, under the name Rig, also fathered the three races of man (thralls, or slaves, carls, or freemen, and jarls, or nobles). As such he is also a God of social order. He is also the only god other than Odin who is said to teach the runes. He would be called on by guards, police, and such like. He would also be called on by runic students as well as those who seek transcendence (as god of Bifrost, and possibly as god of social-climbing).

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Asatru Characteristic Beliefs

As a part of the great European Folkway, Asatru has a number of characteristic beliefs. Some of these are:

- The world is good. Prosperity is good. Life is good, and we should live it with joy and enthusiasm.
- We are free to shape our lives to the extent allowed by our skill, courage, and might. There is no predestination, no fatalism, no limitations imposed by the will of any external deity.
- We do not need salvation. All we need is the freedom to face our destiny with courage and honor.
- We are connected to all our ancestors. They are a part of us. We in turn will be a part of our descendants.
- We are also linked to all our living kin - to our families and to every man and woman rooted in the tribes of Europe. They are our "greater family."
- We are connected to Nature and subject to its laws. The Holy Powers often express themselves in Nature's beauty and might.
- We believe that morality does not depend on commandments, but rather arises from the dignity and honor of the noble-minded man and woman.
- We do not fear the Holy Powers, or consider ourselves their slaves. On the contrary, we share community and fellowship with the Divine. The Holy Powers encourage us to grow and advance to higher levels.
- We honor the Holy Powers under the names given them by our Germanic/Norse ancestors.
- We practice Asatru by honoring the turning of the seasons…the ancestors…the Divine…and ourselves - in everyday life.

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