Popular depictions of heathen Germanic peoples are often rife with gore, aggression and violence. The "vikings" are often presented as the embodiment of brutal slaughter, worlds away from their helpless (typically Christian) victims. Valhöll is shown as a warrior paradise that acts as a grim reflection of the Christian heaven and exists to label those who are less inclined to bloodshed as failures. Media like The Northman and Vikings are filled with scenes of rugged eight-pack-adorned men hacking at one another in a bleak society that seems to demand and condone such actions.[Note A ..read more

Our world. In Old English it is called Middangeard and in Old Norse it is Miðgarð - the Middle Yard or Middle Enclosure. Our old lore teaches us though that this world is just one of many. The Eddas speak of the jötunheimar - the homes of the jötnar, where gold-horned cattle graze in the pastures of great farmsteads.[1:23] There is Ásgarð, where the mighty æsir dwell and where stands Valhöll where many of those who die in battle feast and prepare for the coming Ragnarök.[4:20,71] There is Álfheim, the home of the elves, given to Frey of Vanaheim long ago when he grew his first tooth.[2:5] The ..read more

Restless tales An often overlooked assumption is that once something is written down, that account becomes the pure, correct form and that if anything differs from this, it must be a problematic contradiction. This is even more of an issue than normal in heathenry in which we have been ruptured from the majority of our traditional knowledge and are undergoing a process of healing and reconnection, often dialoguing with fragmentary sources that were compiled hundreds of years ago. It’s very easy to treat this record as the absolute truth on the matter, forgetting that this was just one of many ..read more

In 2015, a small lead plaque was unearthed near Fakenham in Norfolk in the east of England dating to the Early Medieval Period with a small hole in one corner. What’s more is that it bears a runic inscription that is generally accepted to read in Anglo-Saxon runes as “ᛞᛠᛞᛁᛋᛞᚹᛖᚱᚷ”, or in Latin script as “deadisdwerg”. Translated from Old English, this would be, rather bluntly, “dead is dwarf” or “[the] dwarf is dead”.[2:36] Now when we tend to think of dwarfs, we tend to conjure up images of small men inhabiting mountains and working with a hammer and anvil. Now there is no doubt that these id ..read more

For the last decade, Asatru UK has held to its core values and mission statement: to further Heathenry, to hold gatherings and events across the country, and to create a space for Heathens to discuss and worship together. But, always in the back of our minds and at the heart of our efforts has been the dream of owning land! In 2022, we held our first Althyng with a record number of Heathens attending to join us in Blot, Sumbel, feasting and merriment - but also to plan for the next nine years. During our discussions with the community over that weekend we laid bare our plans for the future an ..read more

Last weekend Asatru UK held its 11th annual Jorvik moot, with a record number of Heathens attending to join us in Blōt and Sumbel and what a fantastic weekend it was! After 9 years of using The Black Swan to gather for the Jorvik moot we have sadly outgrown it, cramming 40+ hungry heathens into a small room at the top of a wonky, but quite lovely, staircase had finally become unproductive and unsuitable to our needs. So many happy memories from that beloved pub, the staff have always been fantastic and more than accommodating to us and on more than one occasion AUK members have drunk the bar ..read more

Behold the winning image of Thor! This is the winning image of Thor and will be carved and crafted by the good Heathens at Twisted Viking as the next part of our portable Ve project. Right now our events and projects team are in the process of organising a site for our next major gathering, to consecrate the Godpost once it’s been created, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming event “Thunorsmoot” Hail Thor, Hail the Thunderer, Protector of Midgard and master of the winds and rain ..read more

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This Swedish early modern folk tradition, which translates as “Year-Walk” is a particularly fascinating form of ritual divination associated explicitly with the Yule period, being performed either at Christmas or New Year’s Eve. The general idea, would be to participate in a night-time walk towards a specific point, usually a Church or cemetery, in doing so receiving a revelation towards the events of the next year. To prepare for this ritual, the walker was said to have been separated from the community for the preceding day and sat in a darkened room, forbidden eat, drink, or speak, presumab ..read more

RITUAL CANDLES Although commonplace today, candles were rarely used in Viking Age Scandinavia. Beeswax was often too valuable, mostly for its use in metal casting. They only became more commonplace after the introduction of Christianity due to the Christian symbolism of the candle. However, there is Nornagests þáttr or the Story of Norna-Gest... In this ‘legendary saga’ Norna-Gest the poet is cursed at birth by the Norn Skuld to live only as long as a candle lasted. So his parents put out the candle and instead rendered him essentially immortal until Olaf Tryggvason forced Nornagest to convert ..read more