Asatru - Norse/Nordic Paganism's Worldview and Values



The ancient writings, such as the Eddas and Sagas, have a significant effect on the Nordic Pagan perspective of the world and sense of moral values, but this is not a question of slavish adherence to a set of absolute dogmas proclaimed by the ancients. 

Nordic Pagans study and reflect on ancient writings and any other material they can discover about previous Nordic beliefs and ways of life, but they delight in their freedom to rethink and retrofit old traditions to contemporary circumstances as needed. 


That is to say, Nordic Pagans, like other Reconstructionist Pagans, engage in a conversation with the past, trying to learn from it rather than copy it for the sake of the present and future. 

In this sense, they resemble the Viking explorers of 1,000 years ago, who took their ancestral gods and customs to new countries and created new civilizations that did not just replicate their old way of life, but also engaged in new and previously unimagined possibilities. 



To demonstrate the idea, a few instances of how contemporary Nordic Pagans simultaneously respect and reinterpret ancient traditions will be given. 

There are many descriptions of the old Nordic perspective of the cosmos in the Eddas and associated Old Norse literature. 


The various stories differ on certain aspects, but all agree that the Norse universe is split into several levels containing various orders of creatures, including as humans, gods, elves, dwarfs, and giants, as well as the dead, who are depicted as being separated into numerous places. 

The connection between these many worlds and their various inhabitants is not always apparent, and the explanations that are provided vary, but the basic concept of a multilevel cosmos populated by various kinds of creatures, both human and nonhuman, is constant. 


Though most faiths describe gods as eternal creatures who are immune to death, the gods of Norse mythology are associated with a tragic mortality. 


  • Three of the most renowned Norse gods die in fight against demonic opponents during Ragnarok, the cataclysmic conflict of gods and demons that destroys the universe. 
  • Odin dies battling against Fenrir, a gigantic wolf that would also eat the sun, as recounted in the poem Voluspa and elsewhere in the Eddas. 
  • The Midgard Serpent, a dragonlike creature so enormous that it encircles the whole world in its home under the sea, is a child of Loki, as is Fenrir, Thor's enemy (Midgard). 
  • Thor kills the snake, but succumbs to his wounds shortly after. Surtur (often abbreviated to Surt) is Freyr's adversary, a fire giant who defeats the god of fertility before burning the world to ashes with his conflagration sword. 
  • After the planet is completely destroyed and falls into the ocean, it rises again, fresh and fertile, with a reborn Baldur, son of Odin, as the new king of the world, followed by his brother and slayer, the blind deity Hoth. 



Few Nordic Pagans see Ragnarok as a literal prophesy of future events; rather, they regard it as a symbolic warning of the dangers of destruction if people behave irresponsibly in their interactions with one another and with nature. 


  • The death of the gods, especially Odin, is seen as a sad reflection on the inevitability of death and the necessity to live honorably and honestly until that day comes. 
  • The different worlds of humans, gods, and other beings are said to be supported and connected by the branches of a great "World Tree" known as Yggdrasil in a number of important texts, including the Eddic poems Grimnismal and Vafthrudnismal and the commentary on the Eddic poems known as the Prose Edda. 
  • The Nordic gods are believed to convene at the foot of this tree every day for their daily congress, debating and making decisions in the same way that the ancient Scandinavians did in their Thing gatherings. 


The Norns, three knowledgeable female creatures who carve runes (an old Norse alphabet used for both communication and sorcery) that direct the fates of both gods and mortals, tend to the tree. 

Most modern Nordic Pagans do not accept Norse mythology's depiction of the universe as a literal description of our world's nature, but rather see it as a symbolic expression of the existence of a higher realm of being beyond our ordinary, everyday experience, and of the interconnectedness of that higher world or worlds and our own. 



On the subject of the nature of the Norse gods, there is a broader range of opinions. 


  • Some Nordic Pagans believe the Norse gods are supernatural beings, while others see them as culturally coded symbols of important aspects of life and human nature, such as Odin representing wisdom and mystical insight, Thor representing valor, Tyr integrity, Frigg female intuition, Freyja female strength and sexuality, and so on. 
  • That is, some Nordic Pagans believe the gods are "out there," while others believe they live "in here," having existence on an imaginative, psychological level inside the minds and souls of people who pay attention to them. 
  • There are, of course, intermediate stances and alternative perspectives between these two, but these two ideas reflect most of Asatru and Heathenry's thinking regarding the nature of the gods.
  • Whatever their differing interpretations of the gods, all Nordic Pagans share the belief that the Norse mythology and associated Nordic traditions offer a cohesive set of principles on how to live in our world honorably and successfully. 
  • Although the Eddic poem Havamal (The Sayings of the High One [Odin]) offers a fair deal of pithy counsel about how to live with integrity and endure in the face of hardship, there is no final declaration of Pagan ethics in Old Norse religious and mythical literature. 


For most of its history, the farmer has been at the heart of Icelandic society, and Havamal provides something of a tough Icelandic farmer's kind of unsentimental, down-to-earth folk wisdom, whose lot was never easy in the often harsh conditions produced by Iceland's far northern climate and isolation. 


  • A man should be a friend to his buddy and return gifts with presents; laughing should be given for laughter and treachery should be repaid with lies, among other sayings (v. 42) 
  • A farm of one's own, even if little, is preferable; everyone is someone at home; a man's heart aches when he has to beg for each and every meal (v. 37) 
  • A man should be average-smart, never too wise, since he lives the greatest kind of life, he who knows a fair bit (v. 54)
  •  A prince's son should be quiet and attentive while battling, and every man should be happy and joyous till he dies (v. 15) 
  • Fire is best for men's sons, and the sight of the sun is best for a man's health, if he can retain it while living without shame (v. 68) 
  • Cattle die, relatives die, and you will die. I'm aware of one thing that never dies: each deceased man's reputation. (v. 77) 


There is no ultimate ethical ideal or desire to saintliness or moral perfection in this book, as there is in faiths like Christianity or Buddhism, but simply a simple but strong resolve to live a life of pleasure, achievement, and integrity while accepting human limits. 


  • Without rejecting the significance of the holy or supernatural, this grounded and pragmatic outlook on life is deeply humanistic. 
  • Without shying away from confrontation or protecting one's rights, one strives to be on good terms with other people, the natural world, and the supernatural world. 
  • The Sagas honor brave, astute heroes like Egill Skallagrimsson of Egils Saga, Gunnar of Hlidarend of Njals Saga, and Gisli Sursson of Gislis Saga, who persevere in the face of adversity and do not give up, even if it means death. Gudrun Osvifrsdottir of the Laxdaela Saga is an example of a stouthearted and strong-willed heroine seen in the Sagas. 

The gods' perseverance reflects their mindset as they prepare for Ragnarok's ultimate battle. 


  • Despite the fact that they are doomed to die in battle against demonic forces, they prepare diligently and put up their best effort. 
  • The idea of living a dignified life without the expectation of a miraculous redemption is fundamental to the ethics and worldview of ancient Norse literature, and it is also embraced by contemporary Nordic Paganism. 


The list of Nine Noble Virtues was created by Nordic Pagans in the United States as a quick, easy-to-remember summation of their general ethical philosophy. 


  • The Nine Noble Virtues may seem to outsiders to be a Viking counterpart of the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments, but the number nine has mystical significance in Norse mythology. 

  • Nine is the, 
    • number of worlds covered by the cosmic tree Yggdrasil, 
    • number of nights Odin hangs himself on the World Tree in a Shamanistic tale spoken in Havamal, 
    • number of steps Thor takes before dying after killing the terrible Midgard Serpent. 

  • Courage, honesty, honor, loyalty, discipline, hospitality, industriousness, self-reliance, and persistence are the Nine Noble Virtues (commonly abbreviated as NNV). 

  • Edred Thorsson promotes this version; AFA founder Steven McNallen promotes an alternative list of power, bravery, joy, honor, freedom, kindred, reality, vitality, and lineage. 

  • The McNallen form of the NNV emphasizes familial lineage and ethnic identity more than the Thorsson version, although they are otherwise quite similar.


You may also want to read more about Asatru, Norse Paganism and Nordic Pagans here.


You may also want to read more about Paganism here.

Be sure to check out my writings on Religion here.


Online Resources


American Asatru Associations




Icelandic Asatru Association


Ásatrúarfelagi≥ (Asatru Fellowship of Iceland). At http://www.asatru.is.


Icelandic Photography



Statistical Information


  • Hagstofa Islands (Office of Statistics, Government of Iceland). 2004. “Ísland ítölum 2002–2003” (Iceland in Numbers). Reykjavík, Hagstofa Islands. At http://www.hagstofa.is.


Asatru Publications Available Online


  • “The Asatru Folk Assembly: Building Tribes and Waking the Spiritual Path of OurAncestors.” Available at http://www.runestone.org/




By Jai Krishna Ponnappan
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