Gnosis Diary: Life as a Heathen

My personal experiences, including religious and spiritual experiences, community interaction, general heathenry, and modern life on my heathen path, which is Asatru.

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Asatru FAQ: Where Are Other Heathens?

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

A Frequently Asked Question in the group I manage, the Asatru Facebook Forum, is: Where can I find a kindred or other Asatru and / or heathen people in my area?

Several sites and organizations have maps and locators for the members. Although the American Asatru Association no longer exists, the kindred locator map is still on the old wordpress site: 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1B2AkB2HiX6BNZUFbhIKpAusGphI&ll=12.340487509580138%2C-47.51972424999997&z=3 

That kindred locator is no longer being updated, so as time goes on the information on it will become increasingly outdated. 

Other ways to find other Asatruars in your local area include going to public events such as Pagan Pride Day, ticketed private events such as heathen or pagan festivals, visiting bookstores that carry Asatru items (like we did back before the internet) and of course joining online forums and participating in roll call threads and friend locator threads, and if allowed, posting for local friends in one's intro post.

Fans of my books and blog regularly contact me on the net looking for a kindred in my area, the Las Vegas valley. I am also still contacted by people seeking the old Sunnasfolk Kindred, which was dissolved due to most of the members leaving town many years ago, but I do currently lead a different kindred with a different focus. Here is my standard answer to people asking about Las Vegas area kindreds:

Most of the local kindreds are not actively recruiting new members. There is a public heathen pubmoot in town that meets irregularly at local drinking establishments. Most local kindreds, and some individuals who are not in kindreds, participate in the pubmoot, which is organized via a Facebook group.

Some of these groups never admit new members, as they are limited to only family. Some of them do sometimes admit new members, after getting to know people. These groups are all different from each other. Some are Asatru, some Forn Sed, etc. Some of the people who are not members of kindreds are Asatru, some are eclectic, etc. Some of the Asatruars are universalist and some are folkish. The groups may vary in how focused they are on religion, folk customs, magic, history, literature, or other interests you may have. 

Some local Renfaire guilds are led by core groups of heathens, although also including non-heathen members. These guilds include Hammarheim, The Umbrian Empire, and several others. These groups have a mission of educating the public about history. They can be contacted simply by going to the local faire in October and approaching the guilds there.

My own kindred is American Celebration Kindred, which celebrates both Asatru and American holidays, as detailed in my book American Celebration. We vary in how active we are and in whether we are seeking new members at any given time, but we are currently open to considering new members at the time I am writing this, fall of 2017. 

Image: me on a replica Viking ship, photo taken at my local Renaissance Faire

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Erin Lale is the author of Asatru For Beginners, and the updated, longer version of her book, Asatru: A Beginner's Guide to the Heathen Path. Erin has been a gythia since 1989. She was the editor and publisher of Berserkrgangr Magazine, and is admin/ owner of the Asatru Facebook Forum. She also writes science fiction and poetry, ran for public office, is a dyer and fiber artist, was acquisitions editor at a small press, and founded the Heathen Visibility Project.

Comments

  • James H. McCoy
    James H. McCoy Tuesday, 05 December 2017

    I have been Heathen for going on 30 years and live in Indiana. I am deputy steward in Indiana for The Troth (www.thetroth.org) and active member of Oakdale Kindred - you can find us on Facebook.

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