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Tuatha de Brighid - Winternights
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A Blot for Winternights By Grundair
Please see Ritual Notes for detailed explanation of the Rite. Blot Horn Sounds Thrice Hallowing: Thunar Guardian of Asgard and Midgard, we ask you to ward this stead well for Disablot. Hail Heimdall, warden of Bifrost, we ask that you hold us in your great sight. Purpose: We gather to honor the Aesir and Vanir on this Winter Night and give thanks for the fruits of this past year and the Harvest we have gathered from the Earth. We also look back on the past year and measure our time that it was used wisely. To look at the future to find our way. Like the Ice of time to scrub away the impurities and leave behind the clear work. We ask the dwellers of Asgard to give us the strength and to help us provide for our kinsman in preparation for the long Weinachten yet to come. Hails: Hail Wodan, The All Father, for your wisdom and forethought in guiding us forward through the winter to come and for the knowledge you have shared with us. Hail Wodan! Hail to Fro Ing for the bountiful harvest you have brought to us this eve. Hail Fro Ing! Hail to Freya for the love and life we hold to our hearts. Hail Freya! Hail to all the Ases and Wanes for the mighty work that you do. Hail the Ases and Wanes! And Hail to our Ancestors and Wrights of the land. Hail to the All who have crossed Bifrost before. Hail the Ancestors! Welcoming: We welcome all the Ases and the Wanes. We welcome all the Wrights, Alfs and Ancestors who have gone before us. We Welcome all the Wrights and Landvaetter to witness this rite rightly done so that you shall see the truth in our hearts. Heilsa all! The time of Winternights marks the passing of Sunna farther down into the sky. This time of year marks the Mother Earth going to sleep to be rested for the coming Spring, For Fro Ing to renew the fertility of the Earth to bring forward the crops of our folk. We look forward to Yule that is fast approaching. And we honor our ancestors that have gone before us. We look back over this past year with pride of the work rightly done. We look forward to prepare for the coming of winter, to protect our hearth and Kin from the cold of that frost giant called Winter. To open our hearths to those in need. With this hallowed drink, brewed with the hand of Aegir the Brewer of Asgard we give our toasts. Wassail All! Hail to the Aesir and Vanir! The Blessing and Ending We thank the Gods and Goddesses, the Aesir and Vanir for the gifts that we have and the gifts we may receive, May you find us fitting to receive them Heilsa All Written by Grundair Karlson
The Blot Horn sounding is to call all to the Harrow (Altar) and to alert the Aesir and Vanir of the impending honor to be done for them. The Hallowing is to call to Thorr to guard the Blot from evil Wrights that would do harm when the gates to Asgard are open. Heimdall is called upon for his watchful eyes that can see a ant at a hundred leagues and his ears that can hear the grass grow to warn of anyone approaches. Also it creates a ritual space to do the work in. The purpose of the Blot is always given to formally open the blot and to bring the Kindred into the proper frame of mind. The Hails are to acknowledge the the Gods and Goddesses that pertain to the Blot Wodan (Odin, Odhinn) is always acknowledged (at least when I write a Blot ) since he is the All Father. The particular Gods and Goddesses that are honored during Winternights are Freya and Fro Ing (Freyr) Freya (or The Frowe) and Fro Ing (Freyr) are twin children of Njord, the God of the sea. Freya is the embodiment of the feminine side in the realms of nature and magik."She is also a "Wild Goddess" and is constantly reprimanded for her sexuality, for she holds herself accountable to no one she loves." (Teutonic Religion Kvedulf Gundersson 1993) Fro Ing (Freyr) is Freya's twin, a God of Kings and has fathered many of the royal families of Sweden and Germany. He is also a God of the earth in it's seasons and the fruitfulness of the harvests. The hails to the Ases and Wanes (Aesir and Vanir) are to give proper respect to the rest of the Gods and Goddesses of Asgard. ( They can sometimes be a jealous lot) The hails to our Ancestors is to show respect for the ones who have died and crossed over Bifrost (The Rainbow Bridge) to Asgard or one of the other dwellings for the dead. The Wrights of the Land (Landvaetter) are the spirits of the earth and deserve to be shown proper respect, for without them the earth would be less alive. The Welcoming is to welcome All who attend the blot. The Alfs (Elves) and the Wanes and Ases. A short reading is sometimes done, from The Eddas or a passage from Beowulf or any appropriate text. Mostly when I do a Blot I write a short piece on the holiday - sometimes with a lesson, sometimes with a comparison. It all depends. One thing that I do that is very different is that I show honor to Aegir The Giant King of the Sea. Mostly all Giants( Jotun) are the enemies of Asgard but Aegir is friendly to Asgard and in fact throws many feasts for the Aesir and Vanir and is the brewer of the Ale and Mead that is drunk with great lust in Asgard. Giants for the most part are not welcome to Blots. Next the Sacrifice. A horn is filled with Mead or Ale or Apple juice and is first offered to the Gods and Goddesses. It is raised over the head for Them to drink from first, then the Godhi (Priest) drinks. The Horn is never drank completely empty The last bit is poured into a blessing ( or on the ground if alone) and refilled. Then the horn is passed to the gathered Kindred and on the first pass toasts are made to the Gods and Goddesses, The Second to the Alfs and Dises ( Ancient Matrons), then the Ancestors and Landvaetter. And last the horn is passed for the last time to Kindred for private toast. These can be said aloud or to ones self. Each time the horn passes the last drink is poured into the Blessing bowl. After all toasts have been done the Earth is honored by pouring out the bowl to Her. The last is a general blessing to thank the Gods and Goddesses for all they have given us and may give us in the coming year. Heilsa is a greeting that means roughly Hail. Frith means Fruitful Peace.
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