A huge debt of gratitude is owed Devyn Gillette and Lewis Stead for their article "The Hammer and the Pentagram", explaining the differences between Asatru and Wicca.  Without their article, this one would likely not exist.

The number of folks identifying as Vanatru is increasing in number, and yet misconceptions about the Vanic side of Heathenry and the motives and practices of Vanatruar abound including in otherwise well-educated and open-minded Heathens.  This results in some Vanatruar having negative feelings towards Asatruar, and then assuming all or most Asatruar must be against them, and possibly even going as far as to feel negatively towards the practices of Asatru and the Aesir Themselves.

This article seeks to compare and contrast Vanatru and Asatru from a perspective of "separate but equal".  This article will go through different points to explain what Asatru and Vanatru is, and the views and customs that make Asatruar and Vanatruar different.  This article is not an apologetic for Vanatru, nor is it in any way meant to be demeaning or insulting to Asatru and Asatruar.  Indeed, it is the hope of this author that the information therein will clear up misunderstandings about Vanatru and Asatru both.



Asatru
Two currents of Asatru developed along the same timeline but independently of each other: Sveinbjorn Benteinsson reviving the old religion of the Icelanders, and Stephen McNallen in the United States promoting interest in the religion among those of Germanic heritage.  Asatru gained more popularity in the 1980s and even more in the 1990s.  As of now, 2009, there is a liberal estimate of about 50,000 Heathens (by any denomination) worldwide, and counting.

Most Asatruar refer to themselves as "Norse Heathens" or, if not exclusively Norse in Deities worshipped and terminology used, will say "Pan-Germanic". 

Asatru originally was used to mean "true to the Gods" but over the last several years has come to mean "true to the Aesir".  Most Asatruar count the Vanir Gods Frey, Freya, and Njord among the Aesir, as per mention of the hostages exchanged following the Aesir-Vanir war, and determining to whom should be given tribute.  Indeed, while many who identify as Asatru will give sincere and appreciative honor and offerings to Deities such as Frey and Freya, there is an emphasis on Odin and Thor mainly because most of the surviving mythology is about Them (and Asatru tends to appeal most to very masculine men who find Odin and Thor worthy role models).

While the overwhelming majority of Asatruar are hard polytheists, it is also a tendency of Asatruar to see the Aesir as "the Gods", that They all act the same, have the same likes, and are offended by the same things.  At the very least, the same ritual format is used for most Deities, with the same offerings given to All. 



Vanatru
It is unclear to this author who first coined the term Vanatru and who were the first Vanatruar.  It is also unclear how many Vanatruar are in existence, as most identify as Heathen (and thus are counted among the numbers of Heathenism) but some identify as Wiccan (including this author) or practicing Druids.  However from 2007 onward the idea of Vanatru has been gaining much more popularity and is much more present on and offline than it was before.

While many Vanatruar are "Norse Heathens", there are a fair number who practice continental Germanic or Anglo-Saxon variants of Heathenry.  The majority of self-identified Vanatruar known to this author are in fact practicing Anglo-Saxon Heathenry, with continental Germanic, Swedish and pan-Germanic variants less common but not unheard of.

"I suppose it could be said Vanatru is a subset of Heathenry also, but from my perspective I see Vanatru more as a specific focus that may occur in any of the subsets. Any individual member of any of these subsets might focus their personal practice more on the Aesir, or more on the Vanir, or (less likely, I think) give even attention across the board. Vanatru (and this is just my view based on my current understanding) is more akin to a subset (specific focus) of a subset (specific denomination)."
-Bardawulf

Vanatru means "true to the Vanir"; some Vanatruar worship the Vanir exclusively, most Vanatruar worship the Vanir primarily and the Aesir (and friendly etins such as Skadhi and Aegir) secondarily.  Some who identify as Vanatru refer to themselves as Vanatru because they worship one of the Vanir Gods primarily but otherwise have the same attitudes as Asatruar regarding "the Gods".  Others who identify as Vanatru feel the Vanir are a separate race of beings who do things differently from the Aesir, and Frey, Freya and Njord living among the Aesir does not change who and what they are. 

Many Vanatruar will acknowledge that Frey, Freya, and Njord live among the Aesir most of the year and are on good terms with the Aesir.  Some have animosity towards the Aesir but this is generally discouraged as being disrespectful and thus not very Vanic. 

Most Vanatruar will at the very least agree that the way a Freysman does things and see the world will necessarily be different than a Thorsman than an Odinsman, and that even beyond the inherent difference between Aesir and Vanir, different Deities had different mysteries and rites surrounding Them.


Symbols
The primary religious symbol of Asatruar is the hammer.  Thor's hammer, Mjollnir, is used to defend Asgard against hostile giants.  It is a weapon, and as noted in The Pentagram and the Hammer, "The image of a weapon of war as a symbol for the religion is significant, as much of Ásatrú theology and mythology is based not on harmony between various deities or between man and the universe... but a relationship of conflict."

The hammer is a weapon used in the eternal conflict with an external enemy, tribe against tribe.  It should be noted the hammer was also worn by conversion-era Heathens to differentiate religions, which showed allegiance to Red Thor during a time when the White Christ was gaining popularity.  It afforded a sense of protection as well as reverence.

The primary religious symbol of Vanatru seems to be the boar.  The boar was sacred to Nerthus, Frey, and Freya.  Frey and Freya had boars named Gullinbursti (Golden-Bristles) and Hildisvin (Battle-swine) respectively, and the boar was worn and carried as a standard by tribes who had Nerthus as a primary Deity (re Tacitus).  The boar is an aggressive animal, particularly in protecting a sounder of piglets.  However the boar is also good for food, and other parts of the animal were useful, like the skin for leather.

Moreover:

"I see the hammer being as much about creating tools (and ultimately civilizations and social structures) beyond what exists in nature, not just as weapons of war (c.f. Wayland the smith, carpenters, etc.). The hammer is just one of those tools that ends up being used in war out of convenience, similar to knives, pitchforks, and so on.

It's also about the kind of main that's involved. Vanic main involves other beings and forces, whether tending a garden, learning the ways of livestock animals, or observing weather. Forging something involves far more personal responsibility and judgment (and facing one's own internal thoughts), and the process follows completely different 'rules' that start to approach the basis of what people then considered 'magic'."
-Eosin

In sum, the boar is a thing of nature; the hammer is a thing that man and Gods wield to improve upon nature.  This illustrates the way the Vanir and Their followers relate to the world, and the way the Aesir and Their followers relate to the world.  The hammer represents human society: the law and order needed to preserve it, and the things built by it to make it better.  The boar represents the good usefulness and wild danger of nature, and that while humans are very powerful indeed, the force of nature has the last word over life and death.


Theology
Most of the myths of the Aesir deal with the meddling of giants, or the Aesir themselves meddling in the affairs of humans (usually important humans).  There is very little in Snorri's Edda or Saxo's history discussing the Vanir Gods, and this seems to be almost deliberate.  However, when the Vanir are mentioned in myth it inevitably mentions marriage or love: Frey pining for the giantess Gerda in Skirnirsmal; Freya helping Her favorite Ottar in Hyndluljod and sleeping with dwarves to gain the Brisingamen in the Sorla Thattur; Njord's failed marriage to Skadhi in the Prose Edda.  Indeed, rather than fighting with the giants, it is notable that Frey and Njord took them for wives once They began to live with the Aesir.  One could then argue the giants are largely primordial forces of nature that rightly scare the Aesir as Gods of civilization, but not so much the Vanir who are themselves Gods of nature.  (The Aesir were mostly descended from the giants and it seems to be the case that the difference between an Aesir and a Jotun is largely that of role in the cosmological order, rather than race.  The Aesir also have relations with some of the giants - Odin and Thor were known to take them for mistresses and/or learn from them.  However, the Vanir were in legal marriages with them, not concubinage, and it is notable in the Ragnarok myth that Njord is supposed to go back to the Vanir, not fight against the giants.)

As far as worship, the principle "A gift for a gift" is key whether one is dealing with the Aesir or the Vanir.  If one wants the Gods' favor, one must sacrifice to the Gods.  While the Aesir often received criminals or slain enemy warriors as (hanged, or blood-eagled) sacrifices, the Vanir often received sacrifices of kings (the Ynglings in particular) or others who were bogged.  Sacrifice was necessary to the Aesir to keep the bad element out of society, whether that was an enemy tribe or those who would do damage from within.  Sacrifice was necessary to the Vanir to give back to the giving Earth.

Besides worship of the Gods, ancestor-worship is very important to Asatruar.  Most Asatruar also acknowledge giving reverence to the land-wights, but this seems to be harder to do in the New World than in Europe and so in many (not all) cases is done half-heartedly.  The Vanatruar known to this author seem to emphasize land-wights more than ancestors, although ancestor-worship may be important for some Vanatruar, particularly among women looking into their mother's mothers' lineage.


Pagan Earth Religion
Many Asatruar do not think of their religion as being an "Earth religion".  Some do.  Many Asatruar emulate the Viking culture and refer to their religion as being a "warrior religion".  Others emphasise community.  Almost all Vanatruar relate to Vanatru as an Earth religion, being that Nerthus is very important to the Vanir.  (Nota bene: Some Asatruar are skeptical as to whether Nerthus was an actual Goddess, or was a misnaming of Njord or {per Rydbergism} is another name for Frigga.  Most Vanatruar honor Nerthus as Nerthus, sovereign Goddess, wife of Njord, mother of Frey and Freya, and see Her as holding a similar role to Gaia within our pantheon, except that Gaia was not in the habit of taking bog sacrifices.)

The Vanir were primarily worshipped by farmers (Frey) and fishermen (Njord), cunning-women, witches, and midwives (Freya).  The Aesir were primarily worshipped by chieftains (Odin) and warriors (Thor) in extreme climate and terrain; where the Van-God Frey was worshipped by leaders (Angles and the Svear), the land was more fertile and the climate less extreme. 

It should be said that the dichotomy of Aesir = civilization and Vanir = nature is overly simplistic and it is quite more complex than that, when one looks at Woden as a storm God and herbal healer, and Thor as a bringer of lightning and fertilizer of crops, and Frey as a "community organizer".  However, even as there is some overlap and interpolation between the way the Aesir and Vanir work in the worlds, the Vanir are primarily concerned with the fertility and prosperity that comes from the land and sea, and the Aesir are primarily concerned with the protection and production of the people within.


Methodology
Both Asatruar and Vanatruar practice faining (this author does not use the word "blot" for rituals not involving animal or human sacrifice) and symble.  Symble is usually three rounds minimum on a horn, in toast-oath-boast format.  Faining usually involves offering mead or another libation (in substitute for blood) to the Gods, and sprinkling the mead offered to and "charged" by the Gods on the attendants to convey Their blessing.  The use of the Hammer Rite to hallow and ward a space is common but not universally so.

Many Vanatruar still continue to hold ritual within an Asatru framework, however some Vanatruar may practice Wiccan-style ritual; others may add complexity to the ritual such as a procession to the ritual site (perhaps involving a wain carrying an image or statue of one of the Vanir Gods), offering to the land-wights before calling the God/s, and songs and/or dancing to honor the Gods and/or raise power.  Some Vanatruar may, rather than doing basic faining or symble, plan a ritual around an event like hunting.  Some Vanatruar may practice solitary and strip the ritual down past even the basics of average Asatru ritual, literally giving a food or drink offering in a bowl with some words to the Gods, land-spirits, or ancestors.  Almost no Vanatruar perform the Hammer Rite, although some will modify the working by hallowing and warding the stead with an antler.


Use of Magic
There are some Asatruar who use magic, most often runes.  Some Asatruar identify as seiðr practitioners, while other Asatruar feel that seiðr is baneful magic or "soul-cunning" and should not be done.  Most Asatruar in the United States do not practice magic, and almost all Asatruar believe Asatru is a religion (or folkway) first, and any magical or seership work should be secondary.

Vanatruar may also agree that the religion is more important than magic, however practice of magic seems to be ubiquitous among Vanatruar.  Besides the old standbys of runes or seiðr, many Vanatruar practice folk magic.  Many also engage in practices like sex magic and energy healing that is not necessarily attested to by the lore nor is it condemned by such either.


Behavior To Non-Adherents
There are many Asatruar who go to pan-Pagan events like Pagan Pride Day and Pantheacon and may have friends in the Neopagan communities.  Many other Asatruar dislike Wiccans and other Neopagans and have little or nothing to do with them, whether it is because some "use" our Gods in their eclectic rituals, or because of certain values (or lack thereof) held by Neopagans.  That being said, many Asatruar get along well with reconstructionists of the Celtic, Hellenic, Roman, Kemetic, and Slavic religions, as well as adherents of Afro-Diaspora faiths, and have productive interfaith dialogue.  There seems to be a universal (with very few exceptions) dislike and distrust of Christianity, perhaps bad feelings left over from the conversion.  However, most Asatruar are also "live and let live" and tend to not proselytize or harass others for their outsider beliefs; it is when one is Heathen (or identifies as a Nordic or Germanic Pagan) and "doing it wrong" that there may be an issue.

In interactions with other Vanatruar, this author has found the overwhelming majority of self-identified Vanatruar often associate more with Wiccans or other Neopagans (or other recons) than with Asatruar.  There are some Vanatruar who "walk in two worlds", who have membership in a Wiccan tradition or a Druidic order (which some Asatruar find disloyal), usually for reasons of more compatible social fellowship or magical/seership training.  Some Vanatruar have occasional dealings with Gods from outside the Germanic pantheon entirely, or at least don't have a problem with those who do; the issue of dual- or multi-trad seems to be an extremely controversial one within Asatru.  (While it goes without saying there are some Asatruar who are also dual- or multi-trad and/or have "side relationships" with Deities, this is to the observation of the author seen with much less frequency than among Vanatruar.) 

Finally, most Vanatruar, even if they disagree with the beliefs and practices of another tradition, are less likely to criticise it.  This includes Heathenry itself; Vanatruar are (usually, not always) less hung up on whether or not other Heathens are "doing it wrong", if only from they themselves being told they are "doing it wrong" just for leaning towards the Vanir.


Socio-Political Beliefs
Asatru has grown and in some ways grown up since the time of writing The Pentagram and the Hammer.  There are still many Asatruar in the United States who are socially conservative, but there are also many Asatruar who are moderate or liberal.  In some cases their values have more in common with Wiccans or other Neopagans than with other Asatruar.  Certainly not all Asatruar are "militaristic drunken gun-crazy gay-bashing nazis"; there are still racists, drunks, and other bad elements in Asatru, but such behavior is now condemned by most Heathens (even the conservative ones) and many Asatruar are mentally and physically healthy, contributing, productive members of society just like anyone else.

There is a stereotype, perpetuated by some Asatruar and even by some Vanatruar themselves, that all Vanatruar are "bisexual polyamorous vegans on commune farms".  There does seem to be a higher proportion of Vanatruar who are, in fact, bisexual, and/or polyamorous, and/or vegan, and/or live in a rural area, and the attitudes from many Vanatruar tend to be more "open" about things like "alternative" sexuality and lifestyles, as well as being more "liberal" on the environmental issues.  However, from the interactions this author has had with many self-identified Vanatruar, most Vanatruar are about as "regular" as your average Asatruar, that is to say monogamous omnivores who live in a city or suburbs. 

Going to a Vanic ritual does not mean there will be ritual nudity or that one will be hit on by a creep, no more than going to an Asatru ritual means there will be drunk puking and chants of "Kill all the Kristjans".


Conclusions
The potential for Asatru-Vanatru relations is somewhat better than the potential for (most) Asatru relations with other Neopagans.  We worship Gods from the same pantheon, use the same terminology, and often (but not always) a similar ritual format.  We have more in common than we do with Neopagans and with other reconstructionists of different folkways.  Ultimately what would be most helpful for more positive relations is for Asatruar and Vanatruar to admit they are two separate denominations of Heathenry, rather than one or the other being the only valid form.  Neither form is better or worse than the other, and indeed there should be no "sibling rivalry" there. 

It is when we can look at our differences and accept them as being natural variations of the human condition, then we can understand Asatru is for one type of person, and Vanatru for another.   Asatru tends to attract those focused on the Aesir, or a more Aesir-Vanir blended path, and is usually more social/community-focused.  Vanatru tends to attract those focused on the Vanir exclusively or primarily, and they tend to be more nature- and magic-focused.  Both types of people exist and one side is not going away because the other doesn't like it or it isn't their thing.

From this understanding, we can talk, and even if we don't agree, more correct information can lead to yet more understanding and better relations, with interesting and inspiring dialogue, which is healthy and productive for everyone involved.


© 2009-2010 Svartesól.

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With many, many thank-yous to Blade, Bardawulf, and Eosin for their feedback and input with this essay.