Pagans/Heathens/Anyone else, can you suggest some good books for learning about Ásatrú/Norse Paganism?

Avoid ALL modern authors. Seriously. All you'll be getting is someone *else's* UPG, frequently based on how they personally do it . . . and all too often, it's little more than neopaganism or Wicca dressed up in Viking clothing.

Krassnokova's book, for example, has a section on Rokkr/Jotun worship, which is a bit like finding a "how to worship Satan" chapter in a Southern Baptist theology textbook.

I make the following recommendation to pretty much everyone who asks:

Read "Gods & Myths of Northern Europe" (also published as ". . . of the Viking Age" in a nifty hardcover edition recently) by Hilda R. Ellis Davidson to get the "big picture" and cultural foundations.

Buy a copy of the Poetic Edda in a translation you like . . . there's Hollander, Larrington, Bellows, Dronke, and Bray available. Preferences vary (I like Bellows, but grew up reading KJV, so archaic English doesn't faze me) and the big Penguin edition of "Sagas of the Icelanders."

In the Edda, read *just* the Havamal. Then read a Saga. Read the Havamal again. Read another Saga. Read a Saga, read the Havamal. Repeat until you've read all the Icelandic Sagas.

By then, you should have a good understanding of how our ancestors LIVED their beliefs . . . and you'll be safe from the UPG crowd.

Hullo, Angel! I'm a Pagan (A Wiccan, to be specific), and have been so for the past 18 years. I don't want to speak out of turn, and there are a number of folks here much more versed on the Germanic and Norse Heathen faiths and practices than I am, but I thought I'd try to give you just the broadest overview. Asatru and Odinism are recontructionist religions tied to the pre-Christian faiths of the Germanic tribes (including the Norse). They had a pantheon of Gods which is often represented as sort of similar to the Hellenic hierarchy, from Zeus down. However, that perception of the Norse/Germanic Gods as being so well ordered may have come from the Romans who first encountered them, and percieved the Germans' pantheon to be similar to the Greek and Roman Pagan gods. Historically, at least, these people valued personal freedom, decisiveness and personal responsibility highly. As with nearly all Pagan people, they based their religious observances and celebrations on the cycles of the seasons and on the appearance of certain celestial bodies. In my experience, any faith which makes one more mindful of Nature and which places the believers into balance with Nature and the web of life, and which values self-discipline and personal responsibility is a good one. Although the Heathens (as a term encompassing the Germanic Pagan faiths) beliefs and my own vary considerably, I have always found a good deal to admire and respect in the practice I've seen.

I would suggest starting with these:

The Icelandic Sagas, The Poetic Edda, Freya Aswynn's Northern Mysteries in Magik (Freya Asywnn is great), Northern Magik by Eddred Thorrson (Eddred Thorrson has many great books), The masks of Odin, Myths of the Norsemen.

That is just to get started. Good luck and enjoy your studies. Can I make a suggestion if I may? I have studied many paths on my way to my own and one thing that made it easier to understand another way of being and believing was to put aside (to be retrieved later) all that I believe now and be open to experiencing it as though it was my way. Live it for a while, do it, and how they did it and maybe a little about why will dawn on you naturally. And when your studies are done you can integrate what you have learned with what you already know. Good luck and enjoy!

http://home.earthlink.net/~jordsvin is my website and has a lot of information. For the more "magical" or "esoteric" forms of Heathen religion, I have a free online Rune book there (or google Jordsvin Rune Month) which has a good reading list in the wrap-up article, plus the Seidhr section of my page has many links, articles and a reading list. For the Anglo-Saxon version of Germanic Heathenism (Asatru is Scandinavian-oriented), buy Hammer of the Gods by Swain Wodening, a frequent poster to this forum. It's an excellent book; I am proud to have done a great deal of the proofreading and comments after the initial publication. For an intro to the continental German Heathenism, Coulter, James Hjuka. Germanic Heathenry: A Practical Guide. n.p.: 1st Books, 2003 is very good.

By far the book I have used the most: Sheil, Thor and Audrey. The Road to Bifrost Volume V: The Mysteries on Bifrost’s Path. New York: Trollwise Press, 1991. Highly useful, especially for hands-on work with our Gods and Goddesses. This is a very practical book with a lot of common sense and information on how to work with the Gods and Goddesses. http://www.thortrains.com/bifrost/bookrtb.htm

I have some book recommendations as well as good websites to go to on my page:

http://www.geocities.com/lilith_ravenmoon/Heathen....

Among them I recommend Galina Krasskova's "Exploring the Northern Tradition" and Diana Paxson's "Essential Asatru" as primers, as those are good books for beginners who don't need to jump into the more scholarly stuff right away.

However, at least a basic level understanding of the Eddas and Sagas is paramount so you need to get yourself a copy of those, both the Poetic and Prose Eddas and the Sagas. You can find them on Northvegr and the Icelandic Lore section of the Sacred Texts site, both linked on my page.

In addition it's a good idea to read H.R. Elis Davidson (anything by her, but especially "Gods and Myths of Northern Europe" and "The Road to Hel", if you can find the latter), and stuff like "Germania" by Tactitus.

Read as much as you can, and don't just stick to the "ancient" stuff either. A lot of the more later Germanic tales like the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm can hold good clues about how the Germanic peoples viewed the worlds, and since fairies and land spirits and the honoring of them is a big thing in Norse/Germanic religion, they are also valuable because they give good hints on how to deal with them (and how not to). You can find all sorts of good stuff at Northvegr too.

Prose Edda Bylock trans

Poetic Edda Larrington is my favorite but if you have the patience Bellows has the best notes

Icelandic Sagas (a three inch thick book from Penguin books. Fun)

Gods and Myths of Northern Europe HR Ellis Davidson

Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe HR Ellis Davidson

The Volsung Saga (Totally my fav. Dragons and betrayal and suicide and murder....better then a soap opera)

Road to Hel HR Ellis Davidson

Germania by Tacitus (If you want to really give yourself a headache slog through the Latin version. I'm a masochist what can I say)

Ummm trying to remember off the top of my head what's in my library and what's on my "I really really want it" list. That's all I can think off of the top of my head. I tend to gravitate toward historical and archeological sources then contemporary authors.

Teutonic Religion by Kveldulf Gundarsson

Our Troth ed. by K. Gundarsson

Essential Asatru by Diana Paxson

A Book of Troth by Edred Thorsson

Northern Magic by Edred Thorsson

Avoid at all costs: Rites of Odin by Ed Fith

Norse Magic by DJ Conway

Anything by Silver Ravenwolf

I'd go to the 'Source' material: Eddas and Sagas. I don't know many good new books on the topic though. Ed Fitch has a Wicca based book on the topic.

one of my heathen contacts recommended myths and symbols in pagan europe by h r ellis davidson. i haven't read it yet, but it looks fascinating. it covers celtic and norse.

the prose edda and the poetic edda.

there's probably online versions of them somewhere. you'd do well to get a guide book as well, explaining the functions of all the gods.