The importance of Feast in Asatru

Posted on April 16, 2009 by mohnkern

The Importance of the Feast in Asatru

Recently, a Pagan Wiki I do some writing for posted a web page about the importance of food in the pagan belief structure.  It’s interesting  because as I sat down and thought about it,  having a feast, or at least some point where we “break bread together” is almost always part of events that I run.  I’d originally thought that I’d been doing this out of convenience.  (I typically hold events weekday evenings at just after the dinner hour, so it made sense to put out food so people weren’t trying to figure out food and get to rituals.).  But as I thought about it further, I realized that it actually was “part of the process” which makes up our ritual time together.  In some ways its as important a part of our gatherings as the ritual itself.

So lets take a look at historically what feasting meant to those labeled as “Vikings” and a bit about some of the traditions surrounding feasting in the past.  To conclude, I’ll spend a little bit of time talking about how it fits within the belief structure.

We can turn to Sturlson’s Heimskringla, or the Chronicle of Kings as an excellent resource. As opposed to some of Sturlson’s other works, the Heimskringla has a lot of specific historical information in it.  It allows us to see more about the social interactions of people than we see in his other works.

Perhaps one of the most interesting sections of the Heimskringla is the declaration of King Hakon regarding Yule feasting.  Hakon decreed that feasting for Yule was to happen on the same day as the Christian Holiday (Christmas), and that every man was required to brew malt into ale.  Yule was to be kept “holy” as long as the Ale lasted.  This shifted the date of the Yule festival off of December 14th to a different day.

The change of this date of the Yule feast is an indication of something that has always been a truism within the Asatru belief structure.  Specific dates are rarely important.  Because of the pragmatic nature of the religion,  rarely do we find that ritual days are always tied to specific days of the calendar.  While Hakon declared the feast of Yule to be on a specific day, it was done so not for any spiritual purpose, it was done for praticality.   By moving the Yule feast from its previous date to the new one, The month effectively had one holiday where everyone celebrated, rather than two, where Christians celebrate one day, and “pagans” celebrate on another.

In addition, as we look at this change in dates we realize that the Yule feast may not entirely be about deity worship.  By combining the two festivals together we allow community, regardless of faith, to be built together as a unit. 

 

 

 

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The Hammer Rite

Posted on April 16, 2009 by mohnkern

What is a Hammer Rite?

Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir is the tool with which Thor continually fights the Jotuns, it’s the means of bringing his goats back to life, and also traditionally used to bless a bride at a wedding. In other words, the Hammer is an object of protection, and a bringer of fertility and new life. A representation of the Hammer is commonly worn by members of the Asatru religion.

The “Hammer Rite” is simply a way of establishing ritual space. This space is not as distinct as what one finds in traditional wiccan circles. Rather, the Hammer Rite is more of a calling to indicate to ourselves, and to the gods, that we’re about to perform a ritual. Some have described it as a “ringing of the bell.”

When one performs a hammer rite, one doesn’t create an inside and outside, or even a “ritual geometric shape.”  The purpose of a Hammer Rite is to establish that a given “space” is being used for ritual.  It’s the recognition that we’re calling upon the gods and goddesses to be with us, as we exercise our will upon the universe.

 

If you begin all your ritual practices with this rite, hopefully it will become a “matter of course” and you won’t have to remember to do it. Like breathing, it should become a part of what you do.  It also gives you a brief time to focus your intent on the work you are about to be involved in.

Performing a Hammer Rite

There are many different ways, with several different items that can be used to do a hammer rite (though virtually all of them require a hammer).

  • Some groups use two hammers and call upon two points (Fire and Ice, or North and South).
  • Other groups call upon four points, though this gives the space more of a wiccan feeling.
  • Other groups use one hammer, and call upon two points.

Ultimately it’s a matter of preference.

The easiest way to do a hammer rite is to go to one of your two points, and trace an an upside-down “T” shape in the air in front of you, while chanting something appropriate like,

“Hammer of Thor, Hallow and Hold This Holy Stead”.

 

and then do it on the oppose it point.

Some people worry about which direction they should trace the Hammer in. If doing things from right to left or left to right worries you, work out to your own satisfaction what it should be, but personally, I’ve never lost any sleep over it. I tend to make the Hammer sign from left to right, mainly because that’s the direction writing goes in. Taken from The Raven Kindred Blot Ritual

After you’ve done one point, then you do the other. That’s all there is to it.

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The Blot

Posted on April 15, 2009 by mohnkern

The Blot

Copyright (C) 1991, 1992 Lewis Stead

Edited by Scott Mohnkern, 2007.

The Blot is the most common ritual within Asatru. In its simplest form a blot is making a sacrifice to the Gods. In the old days this was done by feasting on an animal consecrated to the Gods and then slaughtered. (The word blot itself is related to the Norse words for “blood” and “sacrifice.”) As we are no longer farmers and our needs are simpler today, the most common blot is an offering of mead or other alcoholic beverage to the deities.

Many modern folk will be suspicious of a ritual such as this. Rituals such as the blot have been falsely interpreted by post-Pagan sources in order to denigrate the ritual or trivialize it. The most common myth about ritual sacrifice is that one is buying off a deity e.g. one throws a virgin into the Volcano so it won’t erupt. Nothing could be further from the truth. In Asatru it is believed that we are not only the worshippers of the Gods but that we are physically related to them. The Eddas tell of a God, Rig, who went to various farmsteads and fathered the human race so we are physically kin to the Gods. On a more esoteric level, humankind is gifted with “ond” or the gift of ecstasy. Ond is a force that is of the Gods. It is everything that makes humans different from the other creatures of the world. As creatures with this gift, we are immediately connected to the Gods, we are part of their tribe, their kin. Thus we are not simply buying off the Gods by offering them something that they want, but we are sharing with the Gods something that we all take joy in. Sharing and gift giving was an incredibly important part of Norse culture (and of most ancient cultures) and had magical significance. Giving a gift was a sign of friendship, kinship, and connection. By sharing a blot with the Gods we reaffirm our connection to them and thus reawaken their powers within us and their watchfulness over our world.

A blot can be a simple affair where a horn of mead is consecrated to the Gods and then poured as a libation, or it can be a part of a larger ritual. A good comparison is the Catholic Mass which may be part of a regular service or special event such as a wedding or funeral, or it may be done as a purely magical-religious practice without any sermon, hymns, or other trappings.

The blot consists of three parts, the hallowing or consecrating of the offering, the sharing of the offering, and the libation. Each of these is equally important. The only tools required are mead, beer or juice, a horn or chalice, a sprig of evergreen used to sprinkle the mead, and a ceremonial bowl known as a Hlautbowl into which the initial libation will be made.

The blot begins with the consecration of the offering. The Gothi (Priest) or Gythia (Priestess) officiating at the blot invokes the God or Goddess being honored. This is usually accomplished by a spoken declaration with ones arms being held above ones head in a Y shape, in imitation of the rune elhaz. This posture is used for most invocations and prayers throughout Asatru. After the spoken invocation an appropriate rune or other symbol of the God or Goddess may be drawn in the air with the finger or with the staff. Once the God is invoked, the Gothi takes up the horn. His assistant pours mead from the bottle into the horn. The Gothi then traces the hammer sign (an upside down T) over the horn as a blessing and holds it above his head offering it to the Gods. He then speaks a request that the God or Goddess bless the offering and accept it as a sacrifice. At least one will feel the presence of the deity; at best one will be able to feel in some inner way the God taking of the mead and drinking it.

The mead is now not only blessed with divine power but has passed the lips of the God or Goddess. The Gothi then takes a drink of the horn and it is passed around the gathered folk. Although it sounds like a very simple thing, it can be a very powerful experience. At this point the mead is no longer simply a drink but is imbued with the blessing and power of the God or Goddess being honored. When one drinks, one is taking that power into ones self. After the horn has made the rounds once, the Gothi again drinks from the horn and then empties the remainder into the hlautbowl. The Gothi then takes up the evergreen sprig and his assistant the hlautbowl and the Gothi sprinkles the mead around the circle or temple or onto the altar. If there are a great number of the folk gathered, one may wish to drop the drinking and merely sprinkle the various folk with the mead as a way of sharing it. In a small group one might merely drink as the blessing.

When this is done the Hlautbowl is taken by the Gothi and poured out onto the ground. This is done as an offering not only to the God invoked at the blot, but it is also traditional to remember the Earth Mother at this time, since it is being poured onto her ground. Many invocations mention the God, Goddess, or spirit being sacrificed to, and then Mother Earth, as in the Sigrdrifa Prayer “Hail to the Gods and to the Goddesses as well; Hail Earth that gives to all men.” (Sigrdrifumal 3) With this action, the blot is ended.

Obviously this is a very sparse ritual and if performed alone could be completed in only a few minutes. This is as it should be, for blots are often poured not because it is a time of gathering or festivity for the folk, but because the blot must be poured in honor or petition of a God or Goddess on their holiday or some other important occasion. For example, a father tending his sick child might pour a blot to Eir the Goddess of healing. Obviously he doesn’t have time to waste on the “trappings” of ritual. The intent is to make an offering to the Goddess as quickly as possible. At some times a full celebration might not be made of a holiday because of a persons hectic schedule, but at the least a blot should be made to mark the occasion. However, in most cases a blot will at least be accompanied by a statement of intent at the beginning and some sort of conclusion at the end. It might also be interspersed with or done at the conclusion of ritual theater or magic. Our kindred, for example, begins the ritual with a chant of “Odin, Vili, Ve” which connects us to the Gods of creation. Between the invocation of the God or Goddess and the actual Blot we usually add a meditation or something else which acts as a focus of the ritual. Once, for example, we made mead in the middle of a ritual to Aegir. As part of our blot we also pass the horn three times. The first time around is a taking in of the power of the charged mead and all offer a toast to the God(s) of the occasion. The second and third rounds are open to toasts to other Gods, toasts to the kindred, the hosts, to pledges, boasting and anything else on wishes to say. It is essentially a “mini sumble” in the middle of our blot. Always of course, we remember the purpose of our ritual. We would never toast one of the Jotnar during a ritual to Thor for example. We have also added a few steps at the end which are a private affirmation of our groups kinship with each other and with the Gods.

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