Ive read that the Norsemen sacrificed animals and even humans as part of their religion. Is this still part of modern Asatru?
A. Human sacrifice is definitely NOT part of modern Asatru practice. Some groups, however, still do practice animal sacrifice; those groups tend to live in areas where farm or game animals are often killed for “mundane” reasons anyway. They see the sacrifice as a vital part of the religion, acknowledging that their food comes from living creatures and consecrating its death to the gods. (Unlike some cultures’ version of animal sacrifice, which destroyed the whole offering by fire, the Germanic version was essentially a sacred meal: the edible parts were blessed and shared by the worshipers, and the rest was used or thrown away as it would have normally been.) For the most part, however, modern Asatruar make only a “symbolic” animal sacrifice (consecrating an edible image of an animal, or a piece of meat) if they make one at all. Some reserve that practice for only the most important rituals; many more do away with the sacrificial animal altogether, offering only a drink.
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