Overview
Ásatrú (Icelandic for "true to the Æsir") is "a modern spirituality based in the traditions, folklore, and mythology of Northern Europe and particularly Scandinavia" (Nordvig, 2020, p. 1). This term is both the official name for Norse Heathenry and also the name for someone who practices it (plural: ásatrúar). In the Scandinavian languages of continental Europe, this word is often rendered as asatro.
Creation
The term "ásatrú" was coined by the Icelandic Ásatrúarfélagið (Ásatrú Fellowship) in the 1970's to give an name to the religion they practice. Prior to this, Scandinavians didn't have a term for their paganism, and historical names such as "Heathen" were originally the invention of Christian onlookers. With the rise of globalization and comparative religious studies, it became necessary to invent a proper noun to disambiguate these Scandinavian belief-systems from other faiths.
Even though this word was created by an organization, it's not specific to the Ásatrúarfélagið's organizational practices. Rather, it's a name for the religion as a whole, similar to "Christianity" or "Buddhism."
Use
The meaning of Ásatrú is "Aesir-true" or, more elegantly, "true to the Aesir." However, its connotations are very specific: The word ás means "god" and indicates the type of god-begins found in Norse cosmology, while trú is a boolean-style true that simply means "not false." Therefore, someone who's "Aesir-true" is someone who acknowledges the Norse gods, as opposed to someone who does not.
Differences Between Ásatrú, Norse Paganism, and Heathenry
Ásatrú is the same as Norse Paganism and Norse Heathenry; this is just the official term. However, not everyone who practices Ásatrú may use it.
Practicing Ásatrú
The Intro to Norse Heathenry module can help you begin practicing Ásatrú. For books on Ásatrú, I recommend Ásatrú for Beginners by Mathias Nordvig, PhD.
