Are Norse Pagans Required to Grow a Beard?

• No. Norse Pagans, Heathens, or Asatruar are not in general all required to grow a beard
• There is no general religious requirement for anyone to have facial hair, nor is there any universal religious requirement for hairstyle or any personal grooming choice
• Beards are not seen universally as a symbol of our religion.
• Beards are not seen universally as a symbol within Heathenry of masculinity and manliness
• But many Norse Pagans do have beards, and some specific traditions within Heathenry do have grooming and appearance requirements

Some Heathen groups do require people to adhere to certain standards of dress and appearance, which may include beards

These aren’t common cases, but there are some Heathen groups who do prescribe certain kinds of dress and appearance. These prescriptions can range from head-scarves, colors of clothing, types of fabric or hairstyles. These requirements may in fact require men to wear beards or have a certain length and style facial hair.

Religion is weird and complex, and Paganism is no exception

A religion, or even a set of religions under the umbrella terms of “Paganism” or “Heathenry,” is a complex and surprising institution. Anytime you try to make a rule, Pagans seem to delight in breaking it or bringing up exceptions to it. But let’s be clear: these are exceptions. Requirements for beards as a general practice? Not so much. there are a lot of reasons for that. Let’s get into some of them.

If you’re interested in our religion and showing your faith, you don’t need beard balm

• If you’re interested in actual Asatru, you can start here with how to become Asatru.
• You can browse our free resources on rituals in Norse Paganism and Heathenry.
• You can check out our free resources on Norse Pagan Holidays.

This isn’t the Society for Creative Anachronisms. Believe us. We know people who are in the SCA and this is not the SCA. Cosplaying as a Viking isn’t a religion, though it is fun to do at parties.

What we do isn’t a “lifestyle brand” either. We aren’t trying to sell you on some kind of self-improvement course. The Gods are here for you, your ancestors are here for you, the spirits all around you are here for you regardless of whether you are struggling in life or you are feeling at the top of your game.

Faith isn’t just something that inspires you to be better, it’s something that reminds you that you matter and you make a difference regardless of where you find yourself in life.

This is real, modern and vibrant religion with people who are genuinely passionate about our faith. We don’t just talk about “the way things were” and argue about what kinds of fabric people may or may not have worn, we talk about the way things are now. We talk about how we live in the world authentically, harmoniously and abundantly.

Beard balm is nice. It’s a nice thing and it makes your beard look nice. You should get some if that’s something you’re into. But it’s not a religion. It’s not a faith.

Don’t the Norse Gods have beards?

Your guess is as good as mine. But consider a couple philosophical things first. This has to do with what we assume about the Gods. You might agree with one view or the other or a different way altogether, but here are two of the popular views on the subject. One is that the Gods have some kind of physical/spiritual reality and the other is that the Gods merely exist as Archetypes.

• Let’s start with the assumption that the Gods have some kind of physical reality. If the Gods are powerful beyond human understanding, then it’s possible too that their form is also beyond full human understanding. If we “see” the Gods, we see them in that same way that we see other things, missing much of their divine nature. Sort of like how there are all kinds of waves of light that human beings can’t see. What we see, what we perceive of the Gods is more of a reflection of us and our own perceptions than of what the Gods actually “look like.”
• Now let’s assume the Gods just exist in our minds as Archetypes. There are people who think of the Gods like “archetypes” but then, what does an “archetype” look like, in fact? Can we say factual things about the appearance of an archetype? Not really. It’s an archetype. Archetypes don’t have a physical form and exist entirely in our minds. So even the “Archetype” route is a dead end for finding a beard.

You might gravitate towards one artistic rendering of a God or another, but we don’t mistake the rendering for the reality. Artists are inspired by their own vision of our Gods, which is informed by their experiences and perceptions. 

Art, Stories and Myth are not Facts

Saying “Odin has one eye” or “Thor has a red beard” aren’t statements of fact. They’re perceptions. They are symbols and signs (kennings) that hearken to stories about those Gods. Odin has one eye because of his insatiable search for secret wisdom. Thor has a red beard because of his extraordinary ferocity in defending and sustaining humankind.

The things we say about how the Gods “look” from mythology is more saying something about their character than about any kind of actual physical appearance.

But all the Gods have beards except for Loki!

How do you know that?

• The poems written about the Gods were written down by people who also never claimed to have seen them.
• Loki is not depicted in Pre-Christian artwork.
• Aside from Snorri and the Eddas, there are no other accounts of Loki.
• Nothing is mentioned about Loki having a beard or not. He is only described as being “handsome.”

And the same principle as above applies here too. Any thought about what Loki looks like is only within the perception of people who claim to have “seen” them. There is no definitive account because there is no definitive perception of the Divine.

Were beards required in pre-Christian Norse Culture?

No, they weren’t required. But while there aren’t rules about mandatory facial hair, there are hair and beard styles that we see throughout the heroic literature of the time and there are rules about messing with people’s beard. But can we take this as a universal rule? Let’s look at the texts.

Njall’s Saga

Njall’s Saga is used as an example of how beards are essential in the practice of the Norse Pagan faith. This phrase is frequently cherry-picked to show the necessity of beards.

“There’s not much to choose though between you two. Thou hast hangnails on every finger and Njall is beardless.”

But do you see the problem here?

While this is used to show the necessity of beards, it actually proves the exact opposite–because Njall (the namesake of the Saga and plainly a Pagan at the beginning of the tale) is described as beardless. Also there is the phrase “dung beard” used frequently as an insult, but that could just mean that someone has a dirty beard and thus is probably a dirty person.

Njall was beardless, in fact, in the story. But this does not stop Njall from becoming a major figure in Icelandic politics. It would seem, then, that a beard was not required to participate in religion or society. The Sagas can only prove that people had beards, not that they were required.

Norse Law mentions beards!

Some reference the law of the Gotlanders as proof positive of the sacral nature of beards. There are three problems with using this as evidence.

1. The Law of the Gotlanders doesn’t say why it’s not cool to mess with someone’s beard.
2. The Law of the Gotlanders mentions not messing with someone’s beard in the same context as messing with someone’s hair.
3. The Law of the Gotlanders was written at the earliest in 1220 CE, which was after the conversion of Gotland.

While the Law gives us a window into daily life in Gotland, it doesn’t help us understand anything about the value of a beard in pre-Christian Norse culture. And it gives us even less of a window into its religious importance, or whether it had sacred importance at all.

You’re more than a beard. We promise.

A big beard isn’t a substitute for a personality.

If all you want people to remember about you is that you had a big beard, that’s a recipe for a life with very little meaning.  As Heathens and members of The Troth, we want to help people create fulfilling relationships with The Gods, the people in their lives and the world around them. Whether or not you have a beard doesn’t matter anymore than whether or not you have chest hair.

You don’t have to be anyone else’s idea of what a man is. If a man is what you want to be, then be your own.

There’s a lot out there right now that tells you that you’re being a man wrong. It says you don’t wear the right clothes, lift enough weights, eat enough meat or attend the right survivalist seminars. Whenever you hear or read stuff like this, ask yourself what the motivation is for the people writing it.

Are they offering you a solution?

Does that solution cost you money?

There’s no shortage of people out there who are going to look to exploit someone’s insecurities. They’ll make you feel like you aren’t man enough, like you aren’t good enough or like you’re just not enough in and of yourself. Maybe you try to do a 5K but get gassed only 1K in and you feel like you’re not as fit as you used to be. Maybe you’re feeling the creeping fingers of old age. Maybe you’re lonely. Maybe your relationships aren’t as fulfilling as you want.

You put in an internet search and BOOM, you’re confronted with content that tells you all this stuff you feel is because you’re really just failing at doing the whole “man” thing. Then they sell you some soap to soothe you into thinking that you’re reclaiming that lost vitality through the sent of pine tar and cigar smoke.

Faith in the Gods is always free.

Ultimately, the kinds of content that makes you feel like crap is designed to get you to want to buy something to make you stop feeling like crap. It’ll give you the feeling like your only hope is a bottle of vitamins, a set of weights or a wilderness survival seminar.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t get those things if you enjoy them. If nice smelling soap is your deal, then get the nice smelling soap. If you like how vitamins make you feel, great. If you think wilderness survival is neat, also neat. And getting a set of weights, using them and feeling stronger or just like you’re having fun is also neat.

But the fact is, in Heathenry, we always have hope that’s beyond what people can buy. We have faith in the Gods, that’s the root meaning of the word “Asa-Tru.”

We believe our Gods are good. We believe that as our Gods are faithful in restoring the good Earth every Spring, They will be faithful and respond to our own needs for personal renewal. As the Gods are faithful in providing us the fruits of the bough, the vine and the earth, we can hope in Them giving us what we need to restore ourselves. We have faith that our Gods return “a gift for a gift” and that if we sacrifice to Them, They will return with a gift to us. They will protect us. They will sustain us. They will renew us.

And all you need to do is reach out and ask.

No beard required.