Freyja Blot

Opening

Gothi: I call to you, the wights of this place. Spirits of the earth, or the sky, land and husvaettir, I welcome you. Those who are seen, and those who are unseen; all those who live upon this land/in this house, I ask you to join me. Please be with me now, protect me and stand with me as I perform this ritual. Hail the Landvaettir!

Gythija: Honored ones, ancient ones, those who came before me, I greet you and bid you welcome. Ancestors, share your love with me, stand with me now as I perform this ritual. Be with me, held close to my heart, and grant me your wisdom. Hail the ancestors!

Gothi: High ones, my elder kin, I call to you. Aesir and Vanir, I bid you welcome to this place. I invite you to be with me now as I perform this ritual. Please stand fast with me, be with me as in the old days. Hail the Aesir! Hail the Vanir! Hail the gods!

Gythija: Lady. Vanadis. Sister to Freyr and daughter of Njord. Friend to cats, and lover to us all, I ask you to come to this place. Bearer of Brisingamen, you are welcome here. Freyja, I ask you to please attend, and share your love with me. Hail Freyja!

All: Hail Freyja!

Bless the Mead

Pour mead/alcohol being used (for those who do not drink alcohol, apple cider or juice is a good substitute) into the drinking horn/vessel. Trace the hammer sign over the liquid using one’s hand or a hammer.

Pass the horn, each person offering a toast

Libation

Gythija: Freyja, goddess of love, Lady of the Vanir, I share this drink with you in memory of the many gifts you have given me. Hail Freyja!
(Drink deeply, pour out some of the liquid into the blaut bowl)

All: Hail Freyja!

Gothi: Freyja, I am honored to have you in my life. I thank you for the warmth of your love, and I deeply appreciate all that you have done for me. Hail Freyja!

All: Hail Freyja!
(Drink deeply, pour out some of the liquid)

Gythija: Freyja, I am here tonight/today to offer you a gift as a token of our relationship to one another. I ask that you receive it warmly, and continue to smile on me. Hail Freyja!
(Drink deeply, pour out some of the liquid)

All: Hail Freyja!

Gothi: This mead/alcohol is a symbol of my gratitude to you, Freyja. Please accept this offering as a gift to you. I ask that you continue to share your gifts with me. I am mindful of all that you have done, and am grateful that you will continue to smile on me. Hail Freyja!
(Pour out remaining liquid into offering bowl).

All: Hail Freyja!

Farewell

Gythija: Freyja, Vanadis, I thank you for your presence here tonight/today. I thank you for taking the time to accept my offering. I thank you once more for the gifts you bring to me. Hail Freyja!

All:  Hail Freyja!

Gothi: Aesir, Vanir, gods of my heart, I thank you. Thank you for being here with me, and for standing witness to my offering. You are always with me, and I honor you. Hail the Aesir! Hail the Vanir! Hail the gods!

All: Hail the Vanir!  Hail the Gods!

Gythija: Honored ones, those who have come before, all those who are remembered, I thank you. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me, and thank you for attending this place. Hail the ancestors!

All: Hail the Ancestors!

Gothi: Landvaettir, husvaettir, wights of this place, I thank you. I thank you for sharing this land/house with me, and I thank you for extending your protection to all that I hold dear. Thank you for being here to witness this ritual. Hail the landvaettir!

All:  Hail the Landvaettir!

Take bowl outside and pour out while saying:
From the gods to the earth to us,
From us to the earth to the gods.
A gift for a gift.
Hail!

      Thor Blot

About Thor

Thor (Old Norse: Þórr) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder.

While Odin was often seen as the “God of Kings,” Thor is the god, and the protector of “common man.”

Thor is perhaps the best “documented” of the Norse gods, with there being many tales of his adventures. He was clearly a revered god of norse.

In addition to protecting the people, Thor is known to bring about thunder, lightning, and rain to benefit the crops.

Hammer Rite

See Hammer Rite

Invocation to Thor

Said by Gothi/Gythia

Great Thunderer, who rides in a chariot drawn by goats,

You who guard the bounds of Middle-Earth, who drives the frost giants back to their dark realm,

Keeper of oaths, you are there when the man and the maid plight their troth, you are there when the thain swears fealty to the lord,

You whose great hammer destroys the foes of mankind and of all life,

You touch the earth with swift lightning, and the soil grows fertile, the seed sprouts when the harvest is sown,

You whose mighty voice is heard across the sky, protector, defender, whose rune is most mighty to preserve,

Hail Thor!

Taken from Oakhedge

Toasts

Gothi/Gythia pass around horn, each person making their toast.

Libation

Said by Gothi/Gythia

We give great honor to Thunor!

Bane of World Serpent,

the one who struggles

against the bonds of eternity.

You are the one who never abandons,

any who call upon your name

in time of trouble or crisis.

Your strength and hammer might

keeps at bay

the primal chaotic energies known as Etins,

those who envy the goddesses’ and the gods’ immortality.

Those beings and creatures who would plunge Midgard

into darkness and ice.

You are our defender

against those who have overstepped their boundaries.

Those who give you honor are never abandoned;

to call upon your name just once is to dwell in Truthheim,

even in this life.

Thus we honor Thunor!

Hail Thor!

by Jim Davis of Missouri

     Tyr Blot

About Tyr

Tyr is the god of single combat, justice, and vows in Norse mythology, and is portrayed as a one-handed man. In the late Icelandic Eddas, he is portrayed, alternately, as the son of Odin (Prose Edda) or of Hymir (Poetic Edda).  Tyr is often called upon when dealing with vows, or with justice.

According to the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, the gods decided to shackle the wolf Fenrisulfr (Fenrir), but the beast broke every chain they put upon him.

Eventually they had the dwarves make them a magical ribbon called Gleipnir from the noise a cat makes when it moves, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, the spittle of a bird, the beard of a woman, and the roots of a mountain.

Fenrir sensed the gods’ deceit and refused to be bound with it unless one of them put his hand in the wolf’s mouth.

Tyr , known for his great honesty and courage, agreed, and the other gods bound the wolf. After Fenrir had been bound by the gods, he struggled to try and break the rope. When the gods saw that Fenrir was bound they all laughed, except Tyr, who had his right hand bitten off by the wolf. Fenrir will remain bound until the day of Ragnarök. As a result of this deed, Tyr is called the “Leavings of the Wolf”.

According to the Prose version of Ragnarok, Tyr is destined to kill and be killed by Garm, the guard dog of Hel.  However, in the two poetic versions of Ragnarok, he goes unmentioned; unless one believes that he is the “Mighty One”.

Hammer Rite

See Hammer Rite

Invocation to Tyr

Said by Gothi/Gythia

Tyr, God of the Morning, the horn call ends the night.

Sunna wheels high over Midgard, but higher still is your might.

The troops are raising banners to march in first dawn´s light: Tyr, also a warrior, give us strength for the fight.

Tyr, God of the Noontide, the heat makes hazy the land.

Our helmets scorch our foreheads, our boots are burned by the sand.

Though every step is painful, we will pursue our way;

Tyr, also a warrior, help us never to sway.

Tyr, God of the Sunset, the darker hours draw near.

Our people are safe from dangers as long as we keep them clear.

Before your sword and shield all shadows and foes disappear;

Tyr, also a warrior, teach us to master our fear.

Tyr, God of the Midnight, this battle will be our end.

We always followed the North Star, for justice made our stand.

If ever we were worthy for you to fight and fall,

Tyr, also a warrior, lead us on to your hall!

Hail Tyr!

Taken from the Common Domain

Toasts

Gothi/Gythia pass around horn, each person making their toast.

Libation

Said by Gothi/Gythia

Tyr keeps troth with the trust of the wolf,

With the oath of the Aesir. Angry the heath-dweller,

Bound by the bear, by the breath of the herring,

Maidens’ mouth-hair and mountain’s root,

Caught by crow-spit and the cat-paw’s din,

Grinds in a grimace, Gleipnir straining.

Loud is the laughter, light is the arm

Of the weakened warrior, fen-wolf’s leavings.

Originally written by Math Jones