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New Viking Age: Iceland To Re-Build 1,000 Year Old Temple To ‘Norse Gods’

21st Century Wire says…

The Norse gods and goddesses were loved by the Vikings. The Vikings came mainly from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Faroe Island, and Greenland.

People around the world have been fascinated and inspired by Norse Mythology for centuries. In the late 20th century, references to Norse Mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation. – See more at: http://www.viking-mythology.com/#sthash.W1uGOnbu.dpuf

The Norse gods and goddesses were loved by the Vikings. The Vikings came mainly from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Faroe Island, and Greenland.

People around the world have been fascinated and inspired by Norse Mythology for centuries. In the late 20th century, references to Norse Mythology became common in science fiction and fantasy literature, role-playing games, and eventually other cultural products such as Japanese animation. – See more at: http://www.viking-mythology.com/#sthash.W1uGOnbu.dpuf

Fascination surrounding Norse Mythology is not only limited to Scandinavian culture. You can see Norse-inspired references globally; in literature, art, architecture and design, within other religions, entertainment, gaming and in business.

The Norse gods and goddesses of old were worshiped and followed by the Vikings derived mainly from the present day nations of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.


Archaeologists unearth ‘unparalleled’ Pre-Christain Viking settlement in Norway (Image source: Free Thought Nation)

In recent years, a New Age pagan spin has been applied to the ancient Norse tales, and it has taken hold of the imaginations of many new found followers who consider these stories as ‘metaphors for life’. Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest of Ásatrúarfélagið, explains,”We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology.”

Ásatrúarfélagið’s membership has tripled in the last ten years, with followers numbering 2,400, from an Icelandic population of only 330,000. Worshipers will now be able to pray to Odin, Thor and Frigg in a domed, circular public temple to be constructed on the hill overlooking Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik.

As many new entrants into this belief system have discovered, there is considerable depth to Norse Mythology which is enough to warrant more than a passing glance for the average 21st century spiritual tourist. On its Gods and Myths, this article explains:

“Remarkably, Norse lore covers the entire history of the world; it’s not typical for a culture’s mythology to tell us how the world will end. For the Vikings, that “happened” at Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods, but the start of time is not neglected either. The stories even speak of the great void of Ginnungagap that existed even before the universe was created. Creation myths are often among the strangest of all stories, and the Norse version is no exception. We learn how the first god was licked into existence from a block of salty ice by a primeval cow called Auðumbla. That god was called Búri, and he was the grandfather of perhaps the greatest of all the gods, Odin.” (Source: Guardian)

Read more about Iceland’s new temple at The Guardian…


(Image Source: Twayneheeter)

Guardian

Icelanders will soon be able to publicly worship at a shrine to Thor, Odin and Frigg with construction starting this month on the island’s first major temple to the Norse gods since the Viking age.

Worship of the gods in Scandinavia gave way to Christianity around 1,000 years ago but a modern version of Norse paganism has been gaining popularity in Iceland.

“I don’t believe anyone believes in a one-eyed man who is riding about on a horse with eight feet,” said Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, high priest of Ásatrúarfélagið, an association that promotes faith in the Norse gods.

“We see the stories as poetic metaphors and a manifestation of the forces of nature and human psychology.”

Membership in Ásatrúarfélagið has tripled in Iceland in the last decade to 2,400 members last year, out of a total population of 330,000, data from Statistics Iceland showed.

The temple will be circular and will be dug 4 metres (13ft) down into a hill overlooking the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, with a dome on top to let in the sunlight.

“The sun changes with the seasons so we are in a way having the sun paint the space for us,” Hilmarsson said.

The temple will host ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. The group will also confer names to children and initiate teenagers, similar to other religious communities.

Continue this story at The Guardian

READ MORE ANCIENT HISTORY NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Ancient History Files

 

 

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