Short List of Asatru References

From the "Mythology and Folkore" Department

The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlusson, trans. Jean I. Young or Anthony Faulkes
The Poetic Edda, trans. Carolyne Larrington
The Norse Myths, Kevin Crossley-Holland. This combines the information from the lays and sagas into very clear stories, with good notes.
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe and Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, H.R.E. Davidson. HRED is the best single author on the subject. Anything she has written would be an excellent resource--these two are just good to start with.
A History of Pagan Europe, Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick. This is a good overview of European paganism. It is reasonably academic and accurate, extensively illustrated, and readable. It is a little short on supporting references for some of their claims, however.

Northern Mysteries and Magick: Runes, Gods, and Feminine Powers (new edition of Leaves of Yggdrasil), Freya Aswynn. Treatment of the runes and how a modern practitioner works with them. Includes a CD of rune chants.
Northern Magic, Edred Thorsson. Clear introduction to the religion and traditional magic. If you use his other books, you must keep in mind that his background is in Ceremonial Magic and Temple of Set, and that colors his view of Asatru.
Teutonic Religion, Kveldulf Gundarsson. Good resource, but be aware that his ritual scripts are just his own; most of us are much less operatic. This book is now out of print, and the author recommends people use Our Troth, which is available on line at the Troth web site. (See below.)

Asatru-U, http://www.asatru-u.org/. This group is developing group and self-study courses for heathens. Check out their Beginner's Self-Study course.
Ring of Troth, http://www.thetroth.org/. Among other things, includes Our Troth, an online book on the gods and practices.
Raven Online, http://www.webcom.com/~lstead. Includes Ravenbok, another online book on the gods and practices.
Anglo-Saxon Eldright, http://www.ealdriht.org/. A guide to a form of Asatru based on the Anglo-Saxon model, rather than the Icelandic.
Northvegr, http://www.northvegr.org/. This site has the best single collection of lore online that I have found. They have many good old translations as well as their own.
D.L. Ashliman's Germanic Folklore pages, http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/ashliman.html.
Squirrel's Asatru Pages, http://www.squirrel.com/squirrel/asatru/. This is a mine of carefully selected Asatru links. The site features links to the lore online, both in the original languages and in English.
Irminsul Aettir, http://www.irminsul.org. Includes a database of local contacts.
Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance, http://www.religioustolerance.org/ocrt_hp.htm. This web site has a lot of good, sensible information on religion in general and various specific religions, including Asatru. It's good to get some perspective--there is a lot of company out here on the fringe.

Last Modified16 July 2003.
Manny Olds, oldsma@pobox.com