Ásatrúarfélagið, also known simply as Ásatrú, is an Icelandic religious organisation of heathenry. It was founded on the first day of summer in 1972, and granted recognition as a registered religious organization in 1973, allowing it to conduct legally binding ceremonies and collect a share of the church tax. The Allsherjargoði is the chief religious official.
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson and other members of Ásatrúarfélagið walk to a blót at Þingvellir in the summer of 2009.
Jörmundur Ingi is sworn in as allsherjargoði in July 1994.
Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, fourth allsherjargoði, at a ceremony in June 2009
The Ásatrú graveyard in Reykjavík
Heathenry (new religious movement)
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th century, its practitioners model it on the pre-Christian religions adhered to by the Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. In an attempt to reconstruct these past belief systems, Heathenry uses surviving historical, archaeological, and folkloric evidence as a basis, although approaches to this material vary considerably.
A modern replica of a Viking Age pendant representing Mjölnir, the hammer of the god Thor; such pendants are often worn by Heathens.
Outdoor altar to mark Yule 2010, set up by the Swedish Forn Sed Assembly in Gothenburg, Västergötland
A 2009 rite performed on the Icelandic hill of Öskjuhlíð, Reykjavík
An álfablót ritual held at Getsjön in Västergötland, Sweden in 2009
