The Essence of Ásatrú: Attenuation and Frith

The essence of Ásatrú, the Aesir faith, is personal dignity and family honor. These principles are what the lore of Norse mythology and Eddic poetry teach the discerning student. The ancients reveal to us how humans must attenuate themselves to the Great Force binding the cosmos and all its beings as one mighty and wondrous family, as well as providing warnings about the consequences of failure.

How does one attenuate to the principles of the Great Force?

Attenuation is attained through personal dignity and family honor.

Personal dignity is attained through the cultivation of integrity, courage,
and wisdom.

Family honor is attained through dignified conduct and applying these qualities to the stewardship of one’s family and household. This is the purpose of ritual.

Good stewardship of the family is promoted by putting the honor of one’s household first, revering the wisdom, courage, and integrity of family elders and ancestors, and instilling these qualities in the young. This is the essence of ritual.

Those who fail to attenuate themselves to the principles of the Great Force and fail to conduct themselves with dignity allow their family to fail. Those who allow their family to fail allow their community to fail. Those who allow their community to fail allow the world to fail. Those who allow failure of the self, the family, the community, and the world have no honor and cannot be rightly called Ásatrúar.

But those who seek the wisdom needed to lead with integrity and those who encourage the young to pursue dignity and honor over personal profit and egoistic gratification will inspire courage and promote integrity in their community. And those who inspire courage and promote integrity in their community will save the world.

Therefore, Ásatrúar are those rare people who strive to attenuate themselves to the Great Force by maintaining personal dignity in all situations by cultivating integrity, courage, and wisdom in themselves, their family, and others. This is the essence of honor according to the teachings of the ÁSA.

Anyone may call themselves Ásatrúar, “heathen,” or “Norse Pagan,” but only those who conduct themselves with dignity and pursue the ways of honor may ever experience the liberating serenity of true frith. This is the foundation of the Aesir faith as it is understood and conveyed by the Ásatrú Society of America.