Our Story

The Fellowship of Northern Traditions started unofficially in March of 2020 when 9 people met together in the rolling hills of Kentucky to honor the Norse Gods. That first gathering established the blueprint for several more that year, including a December yule gathering in Kentucky with over 50 in attendance. Over the course of 2021 the leaders of the community were put to the test, holding dozens of gatherings. What started as one man’s dream now included over 20 individuals working together to put on events across the country.

These individuals have become what we call Fellowship Leaders, many of whom now serve on the Board of Directors for the 501c(3) Non-Profit organization known as The Fellowship of Northern Traditions officially in 2022.

Our Goals

• We seek to hold safe and inclusive religious gatherings where those interested in the northern pagan traditions can worship together with a focus on their spiritual journeys, free from modern drama and politics.

• Our primary goal of fundraising is to generate the funds required to purchase land which can be a permanent gathering space for future events. With time, we wish to construct a hall on that property as well.

• We hope to create programs within the community which will help produce a “positive pagan image” for pagans everywhere. These programs may include, but are not limited to: environmental cleanup, native outreach, and local community service.

Who are the Gods, the Folk, and the Spirits?

The Gods: We primarily preform rituals and venerate the Gods from Iron/Bronze Age Scandinavia. Gods such as, but not limited to: Odin, Thor, Freyr, Freyja, Frigg, Ullr, Skadi, Bragi, Loki, Baldr, Njord, Aegir, Ran, Heimdal, Tyr, and Hel.

The Folk: When we speak of the folk we are really talking about two sets of people; the ones who came before us, and those who are here now. The ancestors were an incredibly important part of Iron/Bronze Age veneration, and we believe that all of our collective ancestors should be honored and remembered. The folk who are here now, are quite simply the friends and family that have decided to come together around a fire at these gatherings and beyond.

The Spirits: There are many names for the spirits of this world: fae, sprites, landvaettir, elves, trolls, and even ghosts. Nearly every world mythology speaks of spirits that live in this world along side us, and our aim is to honor these often forgotten about spirits as often as we can.

Why Northern Traditions?

There are many different ways to refer to someone who follows the pre-christian religion of the Scandinavian and Germanic People: Asatru, Heathen, Norse Pagan, etc.

The two main reasons we have decided to go with “Northern Traditions,” and say things such as “old ways” and “northern spiritualities” when referring to the faith today are:

1) We do not feel connected to the “heathen” movements of the past. Asatru was beginning to be used around the 1970s in Europe, and the United States. While the term itself is not a bad description, the history around Asatru groups is complicated. Many (but not all) modern Asatru groups are too focused on money, politics, or controlling the faith. Or worse yet, have formed some degree of prejudice against who should be allowed to follow this religious practice. Therefore we do not wish to associate ourselves with the Asatru movements of the last 50 years.

2) While our focus is primarily on the Norse Gods, we have many in our community who also choose to follow the Celtic or Slavic Deities. We are honored to also have several members of the Native American communities who “Walk Two Paths” honoring their Native roots, while also learning from the Gods of Northern Europe. With this in mind we have chosen to honor these individuals in our community by choosing a name that encompasses the practices of all tribes of people that hailed from the northern world.

We as a community do not focus on labels, or what box to put ourselves into. The focus of this community is on real world experiences with our brothers and sisters around a fire, in a way that is similar to that of our collective ancestry.