Words from the Alsherjargothi, October 2018

Fallfest III was truly amazing! Gothar Coordinator Blaine Qualls and Folkbuilder Jason Gallagher hosted an absolutely wonderful event. Fallfest has become one of the highlights of the year and one that Mandy and I always look forward to. Thank you so much to our entire Northern Plains AFA family for all their hard work and overwhelming hospitality!

We started off this fall right with Fallfest and we are keeping that momentum rolling as we prepare for Winter Nights in the Poconos. Winter Nights is always a powerful event and the setting is stunningly beautiful. I look forward to seeing all of you there as we honor our Gods and the Disir in Pennsylvania this month.

This month we take time to honor the Disir as the veil between the world of the living and the land of the dead becomes thin. The Disir are those sacred mothers of our folk that watch over us in death with the same love and care that they showed us when they were here with us in the flesh. In the dark nights of fall and winter our ancestors are close to us and our families, they look on. Let us take the time to acknowledge the ancestors, welcoming them in, remembering them, speaking their names with love and respect. I wish you all a magical Winter Nights and I hope to see you all in Pennsylvania as we honor our Disir.

Hail the Gods!
Hail the Folk!
Hail the AFA!

Matthew D. Flavel
Alsherjargothi
Asatru Folk Assembly

Asatru is an expression of the native, pre-Christian spirituality of Europe. More specifically, it is the Way by which the Germanic peoples have traditionally related to the Divine and to the world around them.

From Iceland to Russia, from the frozen north of Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, the Germanic peoples wandered and settled over a span of thousands of years. Today, their descendants are spread around the world. We may refer to ourselves as Americans or English, Germans or Canadians, but behind these labels lurks an older, more essential identity. Our forefathers were Angles and Saxons, Lombards and Heruli, Goths and Vikings - and, as sons and daughters of these peoples, we are united by ties of blood and culture undimmed by the centuries.

Asatru is our native Way. Just as there is Native American religion and native African religion, so there is native European religion. Asatru is one of its expressions. It gave our ancestors comfort in millennia past, and it can give us strength and inspiration today.

The word "Asatru" comes to us from Old Norse, the tongue of ancient Scandinavia, where it means "those loyal to the Gods." Since the ancient Scandinavian version of our Way is the best documented, it has given us much of Asatru's terminology and imagery. The soul of Asatru, however, is not confined to the Scandinavian model, but encapsulates the belief of all the Germanic peoples. Indeed, Asatru reflects the deeper religiosity common to virtually all the nations of Europe.

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