At The Norroena Society we are dedicated to the thorough and proper investigation of the ancestral traditions of Northern Europe as well as the promotion of our results and expansion of the Asatru faith. By keeping our hearts on the past, our minds in the present, and our eyes on the future we feel that we can maintain a strong institution of higher learning based upon a logical and spiritual understanding of our faith.
Our society is made up of loyal men and women who work as a synergistic whole to bring you a well researched and purely heathen body of customary beliefs. It is our mission to record, for the most part, rather than interpret the traditions of our ancestral path and we feel that we have the means to do so correctly. Interpretation is for the individual; it is up to each and every one of us to find the logic within our beliefs that fits one's own way without violating our laws.
Because of the conflicts we Asatruar have faced over the last few hundred years we are left with some burning questions which many of us feel must be answered; questions such as: How much of our lore was corrupted by the Christians who passed it on to us? What can we do to restore it to its former glory for us today? And is there anything we have left out of our religious lives?
In Homage Of Rasmus Anderson
Even though The Norroena Society was originally a fictional organization invented by Rasmus Anderson to promote the Norroena Library he had collected, it is in honor of his vision that we continue its name. His goal was to educate people on the culture, history and religion of ancient Northern Europe with a collection of some of the best works on the subject. As an actual society, we aim to continue this legacy by developing various projects that will hopefully shed new light on our sacred heritage.
The Process Of Reconstruction
The ultimate goal of The Norroena Society is to rebuild the Asatru faith in a way that will cleanse it of Christian influence and bias. From the work that we have done, combined with our plans for the future, we are confident that we will achieve this goal. It is important for everyone to know the process that will be used in this re-creation, so we all can understand the work as it progresses, the sources of our finds, and why certain elements are introduced. Hopefully with such a revealing system of ideas incorporated into our network we may be able to unite our people in accepting the validity of this work. After all, in the end the power is in your hands, whether or not we can establish our conclusions as part of the living culture of our faith is up to our folk. Obviously we won't be able to please everyone; all we can do is strive for the best possible results, managing each step forward as best we can for a common purpose.
The following ideas are meant to act as a general outline of the tools we plan to use in our "reformation". Not every fundamental will need all of them, though some will. We feel that by utilizing each of these we will have generated enough material to realize our goals in all of The Twelve Fundamentals.
The Fundamentals Project
At the risk of sounding pretentious, we would like to announce to the Odinist community that we sincerely believe that we are reaching the dawn of a new era for our faith. We are seeing new ideas evolve like never before, with excellent researches being published which give us a newfound hope that the hierology of the Odinist religion can once again be presented in a pure form, completely devoid of Christian and Classical influences. We have the blueprint for such a bold venture; we only need now to put all of the pieces together. In a few years we should see books published that could change the way Odinists and non-Odinists view our sacred way of life. This new revolution, if we may call it that, is going to at last put the venerable writings of our religion into our hands, made for our people, by our people.
Do you know who will be at the forefront of this revolution? You. That's right, every single member of Odin's Nation is being called upon to play his or her role in this, for without the backing of our folk, progress is impossibility. The only thing that will be required of you is an open mind and a dedication to move our faith forward. Why is this so important? Because The Norroena Society is developing a project in accordance with a systematic approach for reconstructing our religion, the likes of which may require a paradigm shift for many. Accepting change is difficult for a lot of people, but this is absolutely necessary if we are to grow as a religion.
Our By-Laws
- The Norroena Society is devoted to rebuilding and re-establishing the sacred traditions of the Asatru/Odinist religion. Beyond the works of mainstream academia, which we feel are unsatisfactory, we wish to reforge our faith in the best manner possible.
- We strive for excellence in our research and our projects. Our devotion is to our beliefs, our religious community, and our families, and it is towards them that we dedicate our efforts. The goal is to give our people the most efficient tools and resources for celebrating our ancient path.
- Selfless dedication to our people and our religion is expected of our members. Occasionally we will be called upon to put our community before ourselves, and work for the greater good in our projects and as a group.
- We will not let “established” concepts stand in the way of the achievement of our goals. Our projects and their development will be based on extensive research into the Fundamentals of Asatru/Odinist culture. Our results will evolve from personal efforts, forum discussions and debates, and ideas presented and voted on by our Active Members. Proper arguments and evidence will be our implements in uncovering sacred Asatru/Odinist customs, not academic reputation or credentials.
- Our discussion groups are free-thinking forums, meaning that any argument can be presented for anything pertaining to our work. No one will be ostracized or condemned for the ideas they present, though counterarguments can and should be made when necessary. As long as discussions do not distract us from the work at hand, we welcome any ideas.
- All suggestions regarding the structure of the Society itself will be discussed on our Active Members’ Forum. When necessary, changes or additions to our criteria will be enacted by a majority vote once arguments and counterarguments are presented. We encourage members of any status to offer suggestions at any time, so we may better serve our community.
- We work together, united as a people for a common goal, and bearing this in mind we will maintain a spirit of co-operation and positive support for those we are working with.
