Why Do We Have Hofs?

The short answer is—because of the tireless work of our previous Alsherjargoði, current Alsherjargoði, and the current Witan.

The longer answer is a bit deeper and gives us a good look into the differences between Internet “pagans” and real Ásatrúar.

We often hear the argument that “our ancestors worshipped in groves, nature is our church”. This comes from a quote from Tacitus’ Germania, where he says that the Germans and Celts had many sacred groves where they performed rites. However, this is an observation from the Iron Age, and Ásatrú has evolved quite a bit since then, even before its revival by Founder McNallen.

Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus paints us a picture of the Ásatrú temple in Uppsala, Sweden, where rites were officiated and sacrifices were made to Óðinn, Þórr, & Freyr. This is well-known even by the same people who claim that “nature is our church”, even though Uppsala existed during the Viking Age, which is typically the favorite period of Ásatrú for these people.

Another example of an Ásatrú temple comes to us from England, in the region of East Anglia. King Redwald, likely owner of the famous Sutton Hoo helmet, had a temple specifically dedicated to three of the Æsir- likely Óðinn, Þórr, & Freyr. There is also a story of a temple dedicated to Óðinn in the region of Northumbria, in modern-day southern Scotland, which was desecrated by the Christian conversion under King Edwin.

Ásatrú has evolved, just like our Folk have evolved. Our Iron Age ancestors only had groves simply because that was what felt the most pious at the time, until they realized the power of a whole temple dedicated to the Æsir. Fast forward to today, and the AFA uses social media and livestreams to reach more of our people in the name of the Æsir.

Would our ancestors condemn us for using everything in our power to help dedicate more of their Folk to their Gods? Would they condemn us for using motor vehicles to travel to AFA events? Would they condemn us for taking pictures of all the smiling men, women, and children?

No, they would not, and anyone who says otherwise is mistaken. Ásatrú is the faith of our people—past, present, and future. The AFA will not allow Ásatrú to stay so far in the past that we lose touch with it. Our Folk will march into the future, bringing our traditions and the Æsir with us!

Gothi Trent East

teast@runestone.org