History Vrs Asatru

If you go to YouTube and look up Asatru, Germanic Pagan ism, or some sort of related topic you will find thousands of videos on the subject. A lot of these videos are very good, and I do watch a lot of them. Many of the presenters are pagan/heathens and in their professional lives are historians, archeologists, and anthropologists. I myself am a historian, so I can relate to them very well. Many of these videos discuss the history of the Germanic peoples “religion” versus modern Asatru practice. They discuss how Asatru was created by our contemporaries and most of the practices are NOT historically accurate. Now, being a historian, I completely agree, modern Asatru is mostly a fabrication by people over the past 50 years who are still alive today.

Asatru is not historically accurate. Ok, I can deal with that. When I started down the pagan path, I knew that modern Asatru religion was not the religion of the Vikings, Saxons, or Germanic tribes of yesteryears…. I enter into Asatru with the understanding that while some of the beliefs, practices, and traditions of Asatru were simply new ideas by people trying to revive a romantic vision of the past. Now, these folks on YouTube often try to disprove the modern inventions of Asatru with historical fact calling up 19th century romanticism and pure fantasy. While they are correct, I do not believe it really matters.

Here is why it doesn’t matter. This is not the 6th century and we are not them. Yes, historical refence and knowledge is very important, and you should take it upon yourself to gather that knowledge and make it your own, but Asatru is a modern invention, not a historical recreation. For us to follow the true historical path of the ancient Germanic peoples we would have to build a time machine and go back in time and live with these folks. I have said before that wat we know about ancient Germanic tribal religious practice we can fit in a shot glass, thus we make our best guess based on what we do know.

Ragnvold in the City

Also, we have to remember that we are a modern people with influence that go far beyond our little tribe. Many Asatruar were Christians and influenced by such. In the 1970s and 1980s the path to Asatru was not easy and many of us encountered Wicca first and Asatru was relatively new back then and still evolving. There were no websites. You went to a bookstore or if you could find one a Wiccan shop and you found people that were somewhat like you. The Holytides of Asatru are based upon Celtic/Wiccan ideas, there are theories within the practice based on Christianity including the pantheon of three, the making of the sign of the hammer over food and drink, and a whole lot of other dogma that we like to think that Christians stole from the pagan peoples. The truth is we just do not know. There is not enough evidence to prove what really was going on in the past. It’s called the dark ages because nothing was written down.

In my opinion we need to look at history and what has come about in the past 50 years and do our best to create a religious system base on what we know and what works for us as individuals and individual tribes. We know that tribalism was prominent and that the religious practice varied by region or tribe. Even today heathen practice varies from Kindred to kindred and person to person.

In conclusion, history is important to know and understand. We also want to use that knowledge in the way we practice or religious beliefs. However, we are a modern people with different influences than that of The Ancestors, thus our religious practices will be different from theirs. I am a historian, and I was a reenactor for over 30 years, there is no way to replicate the past in its historically accurate form without reverting back to the way those people of the past lived. We are not them, therefore we cannot live, worship. Or truly understand how they were without a time machine. Our modern religion, Asatru, is the best we can do. We need to own it and make it our own. Do what works for you.