Who we are
In a more and more rational world, many of our old traditions are in danger. Many old tales are not told anymore, ancient dialects are pushed aside by new national languages and traditional knowledge about land use and culture is prone to oblivion. Meanwhile, there is a growing interest in the spiritual roots of modern people. Books on magical landscapes and places of power are bestsellers.
In Iceland, the peasant and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson formed the Ásatrúarfélagið in 1973 . In the icelandic folk tales of elbs and trolls and the ancient Texts of the eddur and sögur, he saw a genuine icelandic religion. This religion was not so much based on beleifs and commandements, but on a life in balance with the spiritual powers of the icelandic nature. This movement went over to Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
As in Iceland, the modern world has come late to the valleys of Switzerland, an a lot of heathen culture has survived until today. This cultural heritage connects us to the land and the people who had lived here before. Thus ist has a deeply spiritual meaning to us.
We want to contribute to the survival and estimation of this “heathen Switzerland”. We try to provide information and to establish a network for people who share our common interest. But we are not just a study group: There are pub meetings, feasts, trips to traditional folk events, long walks to mystic places in the Alps, feasts and much more.
We don’t think of us as a cultural club or a religous society, but rather as a group of friends who share the same interest and fascination. We have no official organisation, no membership fees, no hierarchy and no dogms. Everyone can join us, no matter where he comes from. But our tolerance has an end: People, who abuse our symbols and myths for racist reasons, are not welcome.
""It is the special task of our religion to rebuild our ties to Nature, to all the powers that are within Nature, in order to better understand them. There a tree grows or a brook flows, and man is only a part of the process. He must be aware that he is a part of the natural flow of things."Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson.