Asatru and the reconstructionist. What is their philosophy?

[Ravenheart]

As much as I want to join the old gods in order to honor mother earth, I still can't believe in the actual existence of a god of thunder, or a god of horses or whatever, you get my point. Our ancestors might have worshipped them as actual beings but my question is, since it has been scientifically proven that the thunder is the result of a certain reaction. how do today's Asatruar view Thor (or any other god, I'm just bringing Thor up as an example). Can you view them as symbols? If yes how can you invoke them? You can't invoke symbols can you?

Another question: The jotuns are giants inhabiting earth. Each kind of them represents a certain element. What do they represent more specifically? Is it the four direction of earth? (south, north, west, east)? Cause I don't see any wind jotuns around...

Im sorry for all the rumbling here but I just can't understand the exact philosophy of the Asatru neither the reconstructionist traditions as I can't understand the way of thinking Anyone explain please?

I am merely an uneducated man on the subject trying to find some explanations, I do not mean to insult or offend as I've been insulted that way in the past.

(P.S. I absolutely love the concept of orlog, just saying :bow

*EDIT* I could really use a couple of suggestions on books considering the practice of solitary Asatru Thanks!

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

As much as I want to join the old gods in order to honor mother earth, I still can't believe in the actual existence of a god of thunder, or a god of horses or whatever, you get my point. Our ancestors might have worshipped them as actual beings but my question is, since it has been scientifically proven that the thunder is the result of a certain reaction. how do today's Asatruar view Thor (or any other god, I'm just bringing Thor up as an example). Can you view them as symbols? If yes how can you invoke them? You can't invoke symbols can you?

Another question: The jotuns are giants inhabiting earth. Each kind of them represents a certain element. What do they represent more specifically? Is it the four direction of earth? (south, north, west, east)? Cause I don't see any wind jotuns around...

Im sorry for all the rumbling here but I just can't understand the exact philosophy of the Asatru neither the reconstructionist traditions as I can't understand the way of thinking Anyone explain please?

I am merely an uneducated man on the subject trying to find some explanations, I do not mean to insult or offend as I've been insulted that way in the past.

(P.S. I absolutely love the concept of orlog, just saying :bow

*EDIT* I could really use a couple of suggestions on books considering the practice of solitary Asatru Thanks!

The Gods now are seen (at least by me) as different aspects of nature. For example, Thor is associated with Thunder, or even Thor is Thunder. For the nature Gods, it's easy to interpret them as a force of nature, and therefore can still be evoked. Now the other Gods can be viewed as actual beings, such as Odin, who is the God of Wisdom, Poetry, War, etc. I've never invoked the Gods or practiced any of our rituals yet. I have made a very simple offering, and I know that the Gods accepted it and acknowledge me. I felt their presence.

Jotuns to me are just the forces working against us. Another person has told me he believes they represent chaos. I'm really not too sure about the Jotuns, because I don't really focus on them. But there are also other spirits, like elves that could be the "wind Jotun" you are looking for

Mainly, the philosophy of Asatru has almost nothing to do with believing in the real Gods. It's about honouring your ancestors, and living a courageous, honourable life. For example, following the Nine Noble Virtues. Asatru isn't just a simple religion, it's a complete way of life.


I'm an Anglo-Saxon heathen, so orlog to me is unfamiliar (it's probably very similar to Wyrd, I'm assuming).

Asatru isn't a religion easily practiced by yourself. It is a community (tribal) religion, that is best practiced with a kindred of family and friends. So I doubt there will be many sources for solitary Asatru. If you want some sites on the Asatru philosophy, I can certainly give you links, and then you just go to the FAQ section.

Here are some links, the first two are Anglo-Saxon and the rest are Norse.

The Fellowship of Anglo-Saxon Heathenry
Welcome to Wednesbury Shire of White Marsh Theod

Asatru Folk Assembly - Home
Asatru Alliance | Homepage (<< This one is really good for Asatru)

 

[Mata]

As much as I want to join the old gods in order to honor mother earth, I still can't believe in the actual existence of a god of thunder, or a god of horses or whatever, you get my point. Our ancestors might have worshipped them as actual beings but my question is, since it has been scientifically proven that the thunder is the result of a certain reaction. how do today's Asatruar view Thor (or any other god, I'm just bringing Thor up as an example). Can you view them as symbols? If yes how can you invoke them? You can't invoke symbols can you?

Another question: The jotuns are giants inhabiting earth. Each kind of them represents a certain element. What do they represent more specifically? Is it the four direction of earth? (south, north, west, east)? Cause I don't see any wind jotuns around...

Im sorry for all the rumbling here but I just can't understand the exact philosophy of the Asatru neither the reconstructionist traditions as I can't understand the way of thinking Anyone explain please?

I am merely an uneducated man on the subject trying to find some explanations, I do not mean to insult or offend as I've been insulted that way in the past.

(P.S. I absolutely love the concept of orlog, just saying :bow

*EDIT* I could really use a couple of suggestions on books considering the practice of solitary Asatru Thanks!

Okay, I'll be a little bit ramble-y but I shall try to give you my own view, which hopefully isn't too far from the way Heathens see it.

The way you see the gods is entirely personal, Klaufi is right when he says Heathenry is not about the gods. It's about honoring your ancestors and living honorably; but since many Heathens see the gods as being the ancestors who keep the world running, they give nod to them, and invite them to their feasts as guests.

Theoretically you can be an atheistic Heathen. Because Heathenry is more about a worldview and conduct, and how one behaves rather than what you believe. So it would be entirely okay for you to see gods as personifications of natural forces, symbols, or sentient beings.

Personally, I don't see thunder as being Mjolnir, literally. But I see thunder as being the force that Mjolnir, and by extension Thor, who wields it, represents. Or something lol

Now for Jotnar - they're not really fixed to any 'element' per se. You do have frost-giants and fire-giants, but that is more to do with people whose mythos is the most preserved, i.e., Iceland is a lot of fire and ice

Jotnar are uttengard. They are the forces of the world that aren't allied to humans and gods. They're not bad per se, they just don't care about killing and harming people. One way you can think about is that Thor is the thunderstorm that brings rain and fertility to the land, while the hurricane that destroys a town completely is a jotun.
But giants aren't really a a group, in terms of what they are. For example, Midgard's protector, Thor, is part giant, and has taken giant mistresses in the myths. And Skadi joined the Aesir by marrying Njord. The jotnar in the myths are non-allied beings.

*ramble*

As Klaufi said, Heathenry isn't really something you can practice in solitude. It's about community. BUT - you don't need to know other Heathens to practice it, although that is a major blessing, and if you can, you should seek some out locally if it's possible. With that caveat, as long as you live Heathenry it doesn't matter if you don't know a bunch of other Heathens. It matters that you work to build luck and lay down Orlog for yourself and community and leave a good name and legacy - which for many Heathens involves honoring the gods, in addition to the land-wights and ancestors.

Here's a good site if you want to get some good basics about Heathenry in general: Asatru-U

Hope that helps some

 

[Ravenheart]

Thanks alot Mata that really helped, you too Klauffi. I think I'll get into Heathenry more actively since my main goal is to honor mother earth herself so I think Heathenry would be the best manifestation available in terms of community...what do you think of this opinion?

 

[Klaufi_Wodensson]

Thanks alot Mata that really helped, you too Klauffi. I think I'll get into Heathenry more actively since my main goal is to honor mother earth herself so I think Heathenry would be the best manifestation available in terms of community...what do you think of this opinion?

I'd say Heathenry or Celtic Polytheism. They are nearly the same except for the Gods are slightly different and have different names. They both have pretty much the same code of living.

 

[EyeofOdin]

As much as I want to join the old gods in order to honor mother earth, I still can't believe in the actual existence of a god of thunder, or a god of horses or whatever, you get my point. Our ancestors might have worshipped them as actual beings but my question is, since it has been scientifically proven that the thunder is the result of a certain reaction. how do today's Asatruar view Thor (or any other god, I'm just bringing Thor up as an example). Can you view them as symbols? If yes how can you invoke them? You can't invoke symbols can you?

Another question: The jotuns are giants inhabiting earth. Each kind of them represents a certain element. What do they represent more specifically? Is it the four direction of earth? (south, north, west, east)? Cause I don't see any wind jotuns around...

Im sorry for all the rumbling here but I just can't understand the exact philosophy of the Asatru neither the reconstructionist traditions as I can't understand the way of thinking Anyone explain please?

I am merely an uneducated man on the subject trying to find some explanations, I do not mean to insult or offend as I've been insulted that way in the past.

(P.S. I absolutely love the concept of orlog, just saying :bow

*EDIT* I could really use a couple of suggestions on books considering the practice of solitary Asatru Thanks!

Their beliefs as to the true nature of dramatic forces like lightning and earthquakes is unknown, but we do know the interpretations of the Romans, Greeks and Etruscans, that there was something like a collision with the clouds or one along with air, which cause lightning and thunder, but the collisions are directed by Zeus. In other words, natural wonders and forces happen because they're lead to happen by the gods, but not directly cause them. You could say that contemporaries take a similar one.