With the construction of Iceland’s first temple to Norse gods since the Viking age scheduled to begin in March, islanders would soon be able to worship the likes of Odin, Thor and Frigg.
Worship of Norse gods paved the path for Christianity in Scandinavia more than 1,000 years ago but a modern version of Norse paganism continues to gain 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 grown three times over in Iceland over the last decade, with a total number of 24,000 people associating themselves with the religion last year. This is a significant number considering Iceland has a total population of 330,000 people.
According to local media reports, the shrine will be dome-shaped and dug four meters into a hill in Oskjuhlid, a district that overlooks Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. The dome will be designed specially to allow sunlight into the shrine.
“The sun changes with the seasons so we are in a way having the sun paint the space for us,” Hilmarsson said.
Architect Magnus Jensson has already laid out the plan for this 3,800 square feet structure that is expected to house as many as 250 people at a time. He has incorporated the mathematical ‘golden ratio’ in his design and focused on the numbers 9 and 432,000, because they are considered sacred by Ásatrúarfélagið like by several other pagan religions. While the site for the shrine was donated by Reykjavik City Council, Ásatrúarfélagið is expected to raise $975,000 that will help them build the temple.
The temple is expected to host religious ceremonies like weddings and funerals and the group also plans on conferring names to children and initiating adolescents, practices commonly seen in other religious communities. Neo-pagans in Iceland are still known to celebrate the ancient ritual of Blot, during which believers sing songs, narrate folklore, eat and drink but skip the slaughter of animals these days.
Photo Credits: TQN
