Hyggetru

There was a week in 1993 that I spent every other day in Copenhagen. Why every other day? Because thats the kind of decision that 20 year olds make when they are running out of money for hostels but have an active Eurail pass. During this very fractured and too short foray into Scandanavia I was struck how un-Vikingish it was. This was not the land of burly warrior raiders: this was the land of Lego and Little Mermaid. It was clean and orderly and frankly I loved it. It made America feel like a 3rd world country by comparison.

As someone whose heritage is mostly German with a little Danish (as well as Czech, Irish, and English) I have always felt like I should build more of a connection to the Norse Gods than I have. I feel the connection for sure, but every time I stepped foot into Asatruville I encountered some combination of cosplayers, chest beaters, or mead makerse; none of which interest me in the slightest. Add to that, the inescapable presence of white nationalists and I decided it was better to just write that shit off for this life.

Last week Michael Lux, Gentleman Necromancer, mentioned that there should be some version of Nordic Paganism that is apartment friendly, he called it Ikea Heathanism. Something in my head clicked. This idea, this Ikeasatru made a lot of sense to me. What if Swedenborg and Kierkegard and Nobel Prizes are the true representatives of Freya’s hall?

There have actually been a ton of wisdom books coming out of Scandanavia lately, but rather than burley warriorship they trumpet a message of sufficiency, happiness, comfort, and appreciation. You can find books on Hygge (Danish: conziness, comfort, and conviviality), Lykke ( Danish: Happiness), Lagom (Swedish: sufficiency), Fika (Swedish: something between a state of mind and sharing time), and Sisu (Finnish for courage and determination).  This onslaught of Scandanavian wisdom is so popular that there is even a book on Kalsarikännit: Finnish for drinking at home in your underwear. Maybe we leave that one behind after the pandemic…

After a few days of calling it Ikeasatru, it became clear a new word was needed, because what we are talking about really doesn’t have much to do with semi-disposable furnature other than the fact that perhaps Scandi design principals have as much to do with the post-Ragnarock Nordic Paganism as drinking horns do. The image that accompanies this post is a “Chieftan Chair” designed by Finn Juhl in 1949. I could see ponderings the runic mysteries from it in my stylishly modern Hyggekrog.
Courtney Kolb hit the nail on the head yesterday with the term HYGGE-TRU.
Of course, I have more questions than answers:
What does it look when gods of exploration, raiding, and warriorship, turn their attention to sufficiency, comfort, innovation?
If you look at these countries now they are paragons of Sane Social Capitalism and Care, which Norse Gods most reflect that reality?
Do Thor and Loki take a backseat to Freyr and Freya?
Did the Vanir won in the long game after all?
Maybe Balder is resuurected?
Can there be a Swedenborgian Asatru?
What would a Heathen Hof designed by Hans Wegner look like?I don’t know, but I suspect people are already looking at this. I think maybe a family trip to Scandanavia is in order….