Godafoss is the kind of waterfall that pictures don´t do justice. Just go there. PIC doxi
T hirty years ago it made headline news in Iceland when supposedly a drunken couple accidentally met a neo-pagan high priest after stumbling out of a Reykjavik bar and after hearing who he was decided on the spot to have a pagan wedding by Austurvollur square.
A fun story to be sure but not entirely correct. Turns out the couple had planned this for a while and thus no surprise that the pagan high priest of Iceland was suddenly waiting downtown in the middle of the summer night.
Yes, Icelanders were for a long while as pagan as pagan could be. Until warmongering Christians turned the tide and all but buried paganism. For centuries little was spoken about the matter.
But now paganism is slowly but surely making a comeback. The Icelandic name for this group is Asatruarfelagid which translates roughly as the Pagan Believers Society. Everyone can join but one will have to be pretty serious about it since pagan beliefs in Iceland are serious matter. Once in, you can marry pagan style or name your child in pagan style with milk or honey.
Should you not be prepared to go there you should at least visit one of Iceland´s most impressive waterfall, Godafoss, in the North of Iceland. This spectacular waterfall makes even more impact when you know the story behind the name. Godafoss means Waterfall of the Gods. Gods in this case being heathen.
De Facto » In the year 999 or 1000 the Lawspeaker Thorgeir God of Ljósvetningar made Christianity the official religion of Iceland. After his conversion it is said that upon returning from the Alþing, Thorgeir threw his statues of the Norse gods into the waterfall. Thus it got its name. We burn the churches and the cross. The serpents of the crucified, their lived are at a loss Sven prays to Odin and to Thor The power of the ancient gods who dwelt here long before.
Team Total Iceland hesitates to give specifics for the Asatruarfelagid since we respect their religion and faith. But write to us if interested and we will guide you should you want to know more.
