Hail Freyja, Goddess of Desire!
Hail Freyja, burning fire of sexual desire, heat of lust and passion, and energies of transformation. You who who stands naked, with only a short cloak of hawk feathers and a jeweled necklace that radiants fire. Your hair long, wild, and golden. I look deeply into your pale blue eyes that are like the oceans. Your body of the most pleasing feminine shape. Your pale skin glows with life. I see you breath with longing. Your body moves with the grace of a cat. I look at your full round breasts and dark pink erect nipples. I gaze my eyes upon your sensuous curves. Your legs long and strong. I look between your thighs and see the dew glistening from your sex. I feel the intense fires which burn there. I look upon you! I feel the excitement you invoke in me! I wish to enter deep into you and merge with you in acts of love and pleasure. I worship you who is the Queen of all Northern Witches. I worship your flesh of desire.
Volmarr’s Heathen Charming the Plow Ritual Feb-2-2013
Needed items:
• drinking horn
• mead
• spring water in small bowl
• fresh pine twig
• offering bowl
• candles
• wand (if you don’t have one you can use your fingers instead)
• Any symbols of Thor, a statue of him or picture or a Thor’s Hammer or any items related to him.
• Any items we use for creativity and that we use in our job if we have one. Any computers we own and use should be included along with smart phones. If any item of these sorts cannot be brought to the ritual area then just imagine if being there. If the item is too big to imagine occupying the space then see it there in a mini form.
• Some kind of little cakes on an unbreakable sturdy plate.
• A mini hand-held sledge hammer or (Ritual Thor’s Hammer) only used for ritual purposes.
• A separate very sturdy altar for the cake to be on.
WARNING!: Put the cake on a separate very sturdy altar. Do not put anything burning or fragile or breakable on the same altar as the cake is on. The reason for this is that even if you don’t think you will, this ritual if done correctly will make you end up bashing the cake hard. Things shall fall off the altar that the cake is on. If you put candles on the same altar the cake is on you may start a fire. This is why you must use two altars for this ritual, for safety reasons.
–
This ritual, as are all Heathen or northern rituals, is done while facing north, except where otherwise noted. The altar should be such that it is in front of you when you face north.
If you don’t know how to pronounce the runes see my webpage on how to pronounce them here.
–
Put spring water in small bowl. Trace 3 Laguz runes over it.:
“LAGUZ… LAGUZ… LAGUZ”
“From the Well of Wyrd does this water flow, and to the Well of Wyrd does it return”
–
Make Hammer Sign at item and then splash each ritual item with blessed water using the pine twig and for each item say:
“I bless this ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now trace Hammer Sign at person being blessed and/or self and splash them with water using twig.
“I bless ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Use twig to splash ritual space with water.
“I bless this space with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All stand in Elhaz position.
“Bi-Frost’s rainbow light shine down upon this space and myself so that I may form a portal between the worlds of Asgard and Midgard”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All face north and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the north hallow and ward this stead”
All turn east and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the east hallow and ward this stead”
All turn south and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the south hallow and ward this stead”
All turn west trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the west hallow and ward this stead”
All return to north and look up and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer above hallow and ward this stead”
All look below and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer below hallow and ward this stead”
–
Return to facing north and all stand in the Elhaz position and chant:
“Around me and within me Asgard and Midgard”
and move into the Dagaz position in the end.
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
(Highly recommended optional casting of the rune ring)
(face north and trace the rune shape in the air before you using your wand and loudly chant: “FEHU!”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “URUZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “THURISAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ANSUZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “RAIDHO”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “KENAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “GEBO”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “WUNJO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “HAGALAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “NAUDHIZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ISA”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “JERA”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EIHWAZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “PERTHRO”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ELHAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “SOWILO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “TIWAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “BERKANO”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EHWAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “MANNAZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “LAGUZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “INGWAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “DAGAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “OTHALA”)
(Few silent deep breaths)
–
Hold up the bottle of mead:
“I now brew the holy mead of inspiration. Won by high Odin long ago!”
Chant into the bottle of mead:
“Odhroerir! Son! Bodhn!”
“Now I hallow this drink with staves of light!”
Chant and trace these runes over the bottle:
“Othala”
“Dagaz”
“Raidho”
“Ansuz”
“Raidho”
“Isa”
“Elhaz!”
All say:
“Hail Odhroerir!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“Hail Thor! Son of Odin and Jord. Father of Magni, Modi, and Thrud. Husband of Sif. Stepfather of Ullr. Ruler and owner of Mjollnir, the Girdle of Might, and Bilskirnir. Defender of Asgard and Midgard. Enemy and slayer of giants and troll-wives!”
“Hail Thor!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“This is the time of year when in times past the Norse would charm the plow so they may use it to break the frozen ground so as to ready the soil for planting for the season. Nowadays most of us are not farmers, but this process of planting seeds and enjoying the harvest still does apply on other levels.”
“Harvest means any positive things we enjoy in our lives. To enjoy harvest we must first start with the planting of seeds of some ideas or goals, and then from there take action based on our ideas.”
“The soil represents the field of our life. For all of us there are some areas of our life where things are stuck or blocked for us. Perhaps blockages in our creativity or productivity, or anything really that stands in the way of us accomplishing things we desire. These areas of blockage are the frozen hard ground that we have at this time of year. The plow is a tool that is used to break open the soil so that it may receive our new idea seeds. The plow on the spiritual level is all the tools we use to accomplish things in our life.”
“Thor’s Hammer is the ultimate spiritual plow, breaking through all that is stuck and all which blocks health and wholeness. The process of blessing something is a process of making that thing whole and healthy, and Thor’s Hammer does exactly this.”
“To charm the plow, first we should bless any objects we use as tools for our own creativity, and which we use for our occupation if we have one. Now is also a time of year to make sure these tools are in good working order and in proper repair. Next part of the process is to call upon the power of Thor and his Hammer to break through any blockages in our life that stand in our way.”
“Now think about all the items you have brought with you as tools to be blessed. Think of how grateful you are for the usefulness of these items. Think about how helpful they are to you.”
Now going one item at a time and naming each item trace the Hammer Sign over item with wand and say “Thor hallow and bless this _______, may it be a powerful tool of my creativity.”
Now look at the cakes on the plate. “These cakes represent the frozen hard soil.” Now think about all areas of blockage in your life. Think about all things that hold you back from accomplishing the things you wish to. Project all the energies of these blockages into those cakes. Spend time doing this, putting as much of that energy into the cakes as you can. Now take hold of the hammer with both hands and raise it up high.:
“By the power of Thor and Mjolnir I bust open this hard frozen soil and destroy all blockages in my life!!!”
Crash the hammer down hard against the cakes, totally crushing them completely (be careful not to knock over the altar or anything on it). Do not eat any of the cake.
“May the soil become loose and ready to take the seeds I plant into it!”
Now relax a few moments and consider all the projects you wish to work on in your life.
Fill the drinking horn with mead. Raise the horn up.
“Hail Thor! I thank you Thor for your blessings, and I thank you for breaking open the soil of my life for the planting of new seeds. I offer this in thanks!”
“Hail Thor!”
Drink some mead and pour rest into offering bowel.
–
Use the pine twig to splash a bit of the liquid in the offering bowl on yourself, on any others in the ritual with you, on your altar, on the ritual space, and in all general areas of your dwelling as well. Does not need to be much splashed around, just a little is fine. This helps to imbue more of the energies of the ritual on you, and others who may also in the ritual with you, and to your place.
–
“Now my rite has ended. May all gathered here fare well on their return to their home places. And may the bonds of frith between us grow, gods, wights, and humans alike. Until we meet again.”
–
–
Pour out the offerings from the offering bowl outside:
“A gift for a gift”
Trace gebo at spot offerings were given to.
“GEBO!”
Put the crushed cake outside. Don’t eat any of it.
Pour out remaining blessed water outside.
“I pour the sacred water back to the Earth so it may find it’s way back to the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now at this point it is very important to ground your energies. This should always be done after every ritual. Not doing so can lead to problems in the long-run. Grounding is like shifting gears in a car, except it is the process of shifting brain states. During rituals you create a trance like brain state, which is desired for during rituals or for during any spiritual practices. But trance states are not good for doing everyday mundane things. You need to return your mind back to the normal state of consciousness after the ritual is finished. That is what grounding is.
The most simple and common method to ground is to visualize yourself as a tree and see roots growing into the ground from the base of your spine and going down into the earth. Sometimes rituals require industrial strength grounding as they can really create some intense energy. In that case you can try the following triple grounding method.:
First visualize your chakras. You picture in your mind closing first the top one and then seeing a sort of lid closing over it, then proceed with the net lower chakra and so on. You want to leave the bottom most chakra, the root chakra fully open as this is your connection to grounding. Don’t be concerned about having the others closed, the normal proper function of them is that they open and close as needed. Problems with being ungrounded happen when one of more of them are stuck open. Only the bottom one is to be left open at all times.
Next step is to picture a ball of pure white light above your head. Now let this white light slowly descent downward into your body and slowly move lower. As it descends it takes with it any unneeded, old, and negative energies. It is sort of sweeping downward through your energies taking all you no longer need with it. Once it reaches your feet let it move lower till it passes down through the floor. If you are on an upper close let it pass all the way to the ground. Let the earth take this energy to recycle it.
Now final step is to do the traditional grounding. Picture yourself as a tree. Visualize roots coming out of the base of your spine and going down into the Earth. Feel the calmness of a tree, the rooted solidness.
If after these three things you still feel hyper or spaced out you can either eat some food, or put a small amount of salt on your tongue. Another thing you can do is prostrate down to the ground, placing your head on the ground and stay like this for a few moments.
–
Feel free to copy and use this ritual so long as you acknowledge the source.
The Vanic Virtues:
I found these at another site and like them a great deal.:
Beauty
The pursuit of beauty and elegance in thought, form and speech.Courage/Passion
Zeal, vigor; the strength and courage that comes from a life worth living.Land-rightness
The recognition of nature and the environment as worthy of respect, care and reverence.Even-mood
Harmonious and balanced thought and action; tranquility, calm, serenity.Openness
The quality of being receptive to the world around one, non-judgmental and open.Wildness/Ecstasy
Music and dance; the nurturing of inner wildness and childlike being, being like the “fey”Love
The all-encompassing force; love for family, for kin, for humanity, for all beings.Frith
The peace and goodwill between people bound together; loyalty and the keeping of one’s word.Faith/Piety
The trust that the Gods exist and are worthy of our worship, and Their ways worth following.Giving
The binding of two parties into one common bond, generosity and hospitality.Joy
Wonder and innocence, the recognition that life is worth living, and worth living well.Brotherhood
The recognition that we – humans, animals, plants, spirits – are all part of the grander scheme of life, and we share a common heritage, as children of the Earth.
Volmarr’s Heathen Thorrablot Ritual Jan-2013 Do on first Friday after Jan-19th or on full moon of Jan
Need:
• drinking horn
• mead
• spring water in small bowl
• fresh pine twig
• offering bowl
• candles
• wand (if you don’t have one you can use your fingers instead)
• Thor’s Ritual Hammer (optional, can use it for the Hammer Hallowings)
• animal cookies
• Any symbols of Thor, a statue of him or picture or a Thor’s Hammer or any items related to him.
–
This ritual, as are all Heathen or northern rituals, is done while facing north, except where otherwise noted. The altar should be such that it is in front of you when you face north.
If you don’t know how to pronounce the runes see my webpage on how to pronounce them here.
–
Put spring water in small bowl. Trace 3 Laguz runes over it.:
“LAGUZ… LAGUZ… LAGUZ”
“From the Well of Wyrd does this water flow, and to the Well of Wyrd does it return”
–
Make Hammer Sign at item and then splash each ritual item with blessed water using the pine twig and for each item say:
“I bless this ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now trace Hammer Sign at person being blessed and/or self and splash them with water using twig.
“I bless ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Use twig to splash ritual space with water.
“I bless this space with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All stand in Elhaz position.
“Bi-Frost’s rainbow light shine down upon this space and myself so that I may form a portal between the worlds of Asgard and Midgard”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All face north and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the north hallow and ward this stead”
All turn east and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the east hallow and ward this stead”
All turn south and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the south hallow and ward this stead”
All turn west trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the west hallow and ward this stead”
All return to north and look up and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer above hallow and ward this stead”
All look below and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer below hallow and ward this stead”
–
Return to facing north and all stand in the Elhaz position and chant:
“Around me and within me Asgard and Midgard”
and move into the Dagaz position in the end.
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
(Highly recommended optional casting of the rune ring)
(face north and trace the rune shape in the air before you using your wand and loudly chant: “FEHU!”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “URUZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “THURISAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ANSUZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “RAIDHO”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “KENAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “GEBO”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “WUNJO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “HAGALAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “NAUDHIZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ISA”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “JERA”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EIHWAZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “PERTHRO”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ELHAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “SOWILO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “TIWAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “BERKANO”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EHWAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “MANNAZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “LAGUZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “INGWAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “DAGAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “OTHALA”)
(Few silent deep breaths)
–
Hold up the bottle of mead:
“I now brew the holy mead of inspiration. Won by high Odin long ago!”
Chant into the bottle of mead:
“Odhroerir! Son! Bodhn!”
“Now I hallow this drink with staves of light!”
Chant and trace these runes over the bottle:
“Othala”
“Dagaz”
“Raidho”
“Ansuz”
“Raidho”
“Isa”
“Elhaz!”
All say:
“Hail Odhroerir!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“Hail Thor! Son of Odin and Jord. Father of Magni, Modi, and Thrud. Husband of Sif. Stepfather of Ullr. Ruler and owner of Mjollnir, the Girdle of Might, and Bilskirnir. Defender of Asgard and Midgard. Enemy and slayer of giants and troll-wives!”
“Hail Thor!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“At this time winter is well upon us, which means cold temperatures, ice, and snow. For the Norse cold is the elemental energies of the Frost-Giants. It is the job of Thor to drive back the giants and elemental energies and keep them in check so things stay in balance. The peek of winter is a time at which the elemental energies of cold have reached a point of extreme. The gods are the forces of order and life supporting structure. The giants are the primal forces of the elements, forces which if not kept in balance can become destructive to life. There is a constant struggle between the forces of order and the primal elements. When there is the right balance between both these forces, then things remain best for the support of all living beings. If this balance becomes disturbed then life forms can start to become extinct, or even in extreme cases of imbalance the very fabric of the spiritual order of things can be thrown in danger. Thor is the guardian of this balance. He protects the balance for us all. He is the tireless protector of all life, both physical and spiritual. Today is Thorrablot, a special day to honor Thor for all the work he does for us in protecting the balance of things. Also this is the time to ask Thor to protect us for the next years time.”
Fill the drinking horn with mead.
Hold up the drinking horn:
“Hail Thor! I give thanks to you Thor for keeping the Frost-Giants driven back. It is your tireless work that allows spring to come on time so that the harvest can be a fruitful one. I ask of you Thor to please keep me and mine protected, safe, and happy. I make this offering to you Thor! Hail Thor!”
Drink from horn and pour out the rest to the offering bowl.
Trace the Hammer Sign over cookies.
“I bless this food and offer it to you Thor with a heart of gratitude for you many blessing in my life. Thor you are the one who protects the balance that allows me to have a fruitful life. Thank you Thor. Hail Thor!”
Eat half the cookies and put the other half into the offering bowl for Thor to enjoy.
–
Use the pine twig to splash a bit of the liquid in the offering bowl on yourself, on any others in the ritual with you, on your altar, on the ritual space, and in all general areas of your dwelling as well. Does not need to be much splashed around, just a little is fine. This helps to imbue more of the energies of the ritual on you, and others who may also in the ritual with you, and to your place.
–
“Now my rite has ended. May all gathered here fare well on their return to their home places. And may the bonds of frith between us grow, gods, wights, and humans alike. Until we meet again.”
–
–
Pour out the offerings from the offering bowl outside:
“A gift for a gift”
Trace gebo at spot offerings were given to.
“GEBO!”
Pour out remaining blessed water outside.
“I pour the sacred water back to the Earth so it may find it’s way back to the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now at this point it is very important to ground your energies. This should always be done after every ritual. Not doing so can lead to problems in the long-run. Grounding is like shifting gears in a car, except it is the process of shifting brain states. During rituals you create a trance like brain state, which is desired for during rituals or for during any spiritual practices. But trance states are not good for doing everyday mundane things. You need to return your mind back to the normal state of consciousness after the ritual is finished. That is what grounding is.
The most simple and common method to ground is to visualize yourself as a tree and see roots growing into the ground from the base of your spine and going down into the earth. Sometimes rituals require industrial strength grounding as they can really create some intense energy. In that case you can try the following triple grounding method.:
First visualize your chakras. You picture in your mind closing first the top one and then seeing a sort of lid closing over it, then proceed with the net lower chakra and so on. You want to leave the bottom most chakra, the root chakra fully open as this is your connection to grounding. Don’t be concerned about having the others closed, the normal proper function of them is that they open and close as needed. Problems with being ungrounded happen when one of more of them are stuck open. Only the bottom one is to be left open at all times.
Next step is to picture a ball of pure white light above your head. Now let this white light slowly descent downward into your body and slowly move lower. As it descends it takes with it any unneeded, old, and negative energies. It is sort of sweeping downward through your energies taking all you no longer need with it. Once it reaches your feet let it move lower till it passes down through the floor. If you are on an upper close let it pass all the way to the ground. Let the earth take this energy to recycle it.
Now final step is to do the traditional grounding. Picture yourself as a tree. Visualize roots coming out of the base of your spine and going down into the Earth. Feel the calmness of a tree, the rooted solidness.
If after these three things you still feel hyper or spaced out you can either eat some food, or put a small amount of salt on your tongue. Another thing you can do is prostrate down to the ground, placing your head on the ground and stay like this for a few moments.
–
Feel free to copy and use this ritual so long as you acknowledge the source.
Volmarr’s Heathen End of Yule (Jan-1st) Ritual 2013
Need:
• drinking horn
• mead
• cookies
• spring water in small bowl
• fresh pine twig
• offering bowl
• candles
• wand (if you don’t have one you can use your fingers instead)
• Thor’s Ritual Hammer (optional, can use it for the Hammer Hallowings)
• oath-ring (optional)
• Any items to represent Freyr.
–
This ritual, as are all Heathen or northern rituals, is done while facing north, except where otherwise noted. The altar should be such that it is in front of you when you face north.
If you don’t know how to pronounce the runes see my webpage on how to pronounce them here.
–
Put spring water in small bowl. Trace 3 Laguz runes over it.:
“LAGUZ… LAGUZ… LAGUZ”
“From the Well of Wyrd does this water flow, and to the Well of Wyrd does it return”
–
Make Hammer Sign at item and then splash each ritual item with blessed water using the pine twig and for each item say:
“I bless this ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now trace Hammer Sign at person being blessed and/or self and splash them with water using twig.
“I bless ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Use twig to splash ritual space with water.
“I bless this space with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All stand in Elhaz position.
“Bi-Frost’s rainbow light shine down upon this space and myself so that I may form a portal between the worlds of Asgard and Midgard”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All face north and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the north hallow and ward this stead”
All turn east and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the east hallow and ward this stead”
All turn south and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the south hallow and ward this stead”
All turn west trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the west hallow and ward this stead”
All return to north and look up and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer above hallow and ward this stead”
All look below and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer below hallow and ward this stead”
–
Return to facing north and all stand in the Elhaz position and chant:
“Around me and within me Asgard and Midgard”
and move into the Dagaz position in the end.
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
(Highly recommended optional casting of the rune ring)
(face north and trace the rune shape in the air before you using your wand and loudly chant: “FEHU!”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “URUZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “THURISAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ANSUZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “RAIDHO”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “KENAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “GEBO”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “WUNJO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “HAGALAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “NAUDHIZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ISA”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “JERA”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EIHWAZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “PERTHRO”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ELHAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “SOWILO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “TIWAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “BERKANO”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EHWAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “MANNAZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “LAGUZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “INGWAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “DAGAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “OTHALA”)
(Few silent deep breaths)
–
Hold up the bottle of mead:
“I now brew the holy mead of inspiration. Won by high Odin long ago!”
Chant into the bottle of mead:
“Odhroerir! Son! Bodhn!”
“Now I hallow this drink with staves of light!”
Chant and trace these runes over the bottle:
“Othala”
“Dagaz”
“Raidho”
“Ansuz”
“Raidho”
“Isa”
“Elhaz!”
All say:
“Hail Odhroerir!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“Hail Freyr! Son of Njord. Brother of Freyja. Husband of Gerd. Trusted friend of Skirnir. Descendant of the Vanir. Harvest god and wealth-giver. King of Alfheim. Blot-god of the Swedes. Possessor of Skidbladnir, and the boar known as Gullinbursti. Beli’s slayer. Enemy of Surtr. Wielder of the stag-horn. Fruitful one. Sure giver. Father of the Yngling line. Lord of the Volsi!”
All respond:
“Hail Freyr!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“Now is the end of the Yule time. We have safely made it out of the turbulent chaotic energies of the Wild Hunt, and now the smoother flowing energies of the start of the new year cycle are upon us. We can be very thankful for making it through the holiday season. The old year cycle having been swept away by the Wild Hunt, now we can start anew, working on new greater things for this year cycle.”
“Now is a good time, if so desired to make an oath to accomplish some task or tasks for the coming year cycle. Any oaths made at this time shall have their greatest power since we stand now at the very first day of the new year cycle. Now is a time to plant the ideas of what you wish to come in this coming year. Remember though that any oaths made before any of the Gods must be followed through on, so do not make any oaths that you do not intend to keep. Take some moments now to think about what if any oaths you wish to make at this time.”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
Say any oaths you wish to make. You may if you have one place your right hand on an oath ring or a Thor’s Hammer or other holy object while making the oaths.
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“This is the time of year to give thanks to Freyr for all the blessings he has given us in the now past year, and to ask that his blessings shall continue in the coming year. Freyr is the god of the harvest, harvest means more then just the gathering of crops, as there is a type of harvest which is the receiving of anything of value in our life. Thus all positive things we have gained are due to this harvest energies of Freyr. Giving thanks reinforces what it is we wish more of in the future, and also is a way to be grateful for all that is given to us. Being grateful sets the patterns in Wyrd for more of what we are grateful for to follow in the future. Think of all things you are grateful for at this time and also all things you wish more of in the coming year.”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
Say any and all things you are grateful for from the last year. Word it like ‘I am grateful for ____’.
–
Now state any things you would like more of in your life in the coming year. Please feel free to say as many things as you would like, and do not feel guilty about any of it. Say it like this ‘May there be more ____ in my life this year.’
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
Now trace the Sign of the Hammer over the cookies. Fill your horn up with mead.
Hold the horn up while saying:
“Hail Freyr, god of prosperity and the harvest, I am thankful to you for all your many blessings!”
All chant:
“Hail Freyr!”
Drink some of mead and pass horn. Pour remaining into offering bowl.
Eat a cookie and pass the cookies around so everyone may get one, and put the rest of the cookies into the offering bowl for Freyr.
–
Use the pine twig to splash a bit of the liquid in the offering bowl on yourself, on any others in the ritual with you, on your altar, on the ritual space, and in all general areas of your dwelling as well. Does not need to be much splashed around, just a little is fine. This helps to imbue more of the energies of the ritual on you, and others who may also in the ritual with you, and to your place.
–
“Now my rite has ended. May all gathered here fare well on their return to their home places. And may the bonds of frith between us grow, gods, wights, and humans alike. Until we meet again.”
–
–
Pour out the offerings from the offering bowl outside:
“A gift for a gift”
Trace gebo at spot offerings were given to.
“GEBO!”
Pour out remaining blessed water outside.
“I pour the sacred water back to the Earth so it may find it’s way back to the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now at this point it is very important to ground your energies. This should always be done after every ritual. Not doing so can lead to problems in the long-run. Grounding is like shifting gears in a car, except it is the process of shifting brain states. During rituals you create a trance like brain state, which is desired for during rituals or for during any spiritual practices. But trance states are not good for doing everyday mundane things. You need to return your mind back to the normal state of consciousness after the ritual is finished. That is what grounding is.
The most simple and common method to ground is to visualize yourself as a tree and see roots growing into the ground from the base of your spine and going down into the earth. Sometimes rituals require industrial strength grounding as they can really create some intense energy. In that case you can try the following triple grounding method.:
First visualize your chakras. You picture in your mind closing first the top one and then seeing a sort of lid closing over it, then proceed with the net lower chakra and so on. You want to leave the bottom most chakra, the root chakra fully open as this is your connection to grounding. Don’t be concerned about having the others closed, the normal proper function of them is that they open and close as needed. Problems with being ungrounded happen when one of more of them are stuck open. Only the bottom one is to be left open at all times.
Next step is to picture a ball of pure white light above your head. Now let this white light slowly descent downward into your body and slowly move lower. As it descends it takes with it any unneeded, old, and negative energies. It is sort of sweeping downward through your energies taking all you no longer need with it. Once it reaches your feet let it move lower till it passes down through the floor. If you are on an upper close let it pass all the way to the ground. Let the earth take this energy to recycle it.
Now final step is to do the traditional grounding. Picture yourself as a tree. Visualize roots coming out of the base of your spine and going down into the Earth. Feel the calmness of a tree, the rooted solidness.
If after these three things you still feel hyper or spaced out you can either eat some food, or put a small amount of salt on your tongue. Another thing you can do is prostrate down to the ground, placing your head on the ground and stay like this for a few moments.
–
Feel free to copy and use this ritual so long as you acknowledge the source.
Download this as a OpenOffice Doc – Volmarr’s Heathen End of Yule (Jan-1st) Ritual 2013
Volmarr’s Heathen Yule (Dec-21) Ritual 2012
Need:
• drinking horn
• mead
• spring water in small bowl
• fresh pine twig
• offering bowl
• candles
• wand (if you don’t have one you can use your fingers instead)
• Thor’s Ritual Hammer (optional, can use it for the Hammer Hallowings)
• Solar symbols or a representation of Sunna or the sun.
• Symbols of and/or representations of Odin.
–
This ritual, as are all Heathen or northern rituals, is done while facing north, except where otherwise noted. The altar should be such that it is in front of you when you face north.
If you don’t know how to pronounce the runes see my webpage on how to pronounce them here.
–
Put spring water in small bowl. Trace 3 Laguz runes over it.:
“LAGUZ… LAGUZ… LAGUZ”
“From the Well of Wyrd does this water flow, and to the Well of Wyrd does it return”
–
Make Hammer Sign at item and then splash each ritual item with blessed water using the pine twig and for each item say:
“I bless this ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now trace Hammer Sign at person being blessed and/or self and splash them with water using twig.
“I bless ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Use twig to splash ritual space with water.
“I bless this space with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All stand in Elhaz position.
“Bi-Frost’s rainbow light shine down upon this space and myself so that I may form a portal between the worlds of Asgard and Midgard”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
All face north and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the north hallow and ward this stead”
All turn east and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the east hallow and ward this stead”
All turn south and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the south hallow and ward this stead”
All turn west trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the west hallow and ward this stead”
All return to north and look up and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer above hallow and ward this stead”
All look below and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer below hallow and ward this stead”
–
Return to facing north and all stand in the Elhaz position and chant:
“Around me and within me Asgard and Midgard”
and move into the Dagaz position in the end.
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
(Highly recommended optional casting of the rune ring)
(face north and trace the rune shape in the air before you using your wand and loudly chant: “FEHU!”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “URUZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “THURISAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ANSUZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “RAIDHO”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “KENAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “GEBO”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “WUNJO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “HAGALAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “NAUDHIZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ISA”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “JERA”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EIHWAZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “PERTHRO”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ELHAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “SOWILO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “TIWAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “BERKANO”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EHWAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “MANNAZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “LAGUZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “INGWAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “DAGAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “OTHALA”)
(Few silent deep breaths)
–
Hold up the bottle of mead:
“I now brew the holy mead of inspiration. Won by high Odin long ago!”
Chant into the bottle of mead:
“Odhroerir! Son! Bodhn!”
“Now I hallow this drink with staves of light!”
Chant and trace these runes over the bottle:
“Othala”
“Dagaz”
“Raidho”
“Ansuz”
“Raidho”
“Isa”
“Elhaz!”
All say:
“Hail Odhroerir!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“Hail Odin! Husband of Frigg. All-father. Father of battle. One-eyed god. Many-shaped. Wanderer. Hanged god. Raven god. Spear-thruster. Wish-bringer. Galdr-father. Graybeard. Deep hood. Thief of Odhroerir. Kinsman of Mimir. Lord of the Wild Hunt. Yule rider. Finder of the Runes. God of the Gautar. Ruler of Valhalla!”
All respond:
“Hail Odin!”
–
“Hail Sunna! Daughter of Glen. Bright rider in the heavens by day. Driver of Alsvin and Arvak. Wearer of Svalin. Day-star. Ever-glow. All-bright. Wolf-chased. Fair-wheel. Grace-shine. Ensnarer of Trolls!”
All respond:
“Hail Sunna!”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
“Now is Yule, the time when the light of the world is at it’s dimmest. This is a time when our mind focus is turned the most inward to the inner spiritual world. At this time we are made to look deeply into the dark and dusty corners of our very soul. This is a part of the yearly process of the seasons that we turn inward like this. At this time things seem at their darkest and most gloomy. Yet this is a time for celebration, for the light of the world is starting the long journey back to it’s peek again. At this time we are to be aware that the next season is yet ahead of us. Warm and sunny times await us in the coming year. Take joy in all that we have accomplished in the year that is now passing, and look forward to all which we shall enjoy in the next year cycle yet to come. Sunna the Sun Goddess is beginning the process of returning warmth, light, and cheer to the world, as the length of the days from this point on shall only grow longer.”
“This also marks the early part of a time of 12 days in which the energies of the world seem to be at their most chaotic, as the energies of the old cycle are swept away to make way for the start of the new. During this period it is easy to be swept into the turbulent emotional energies of this process, and thus we must guard against this possibility. It is a time best to stay indoors as much as possible and enjoy the safety and warmth of our homesteads. This process of the sweeping away of the old energies to make way for the new, is known by the Norse as the Wild Hunt. Odin is the God who leads this Wild Hunt. This is the end of the part of the year that is his reign, as God of inner journeys, he rules the half of the year in which the light is withdrawing, but this part of the cycle now draws to a close with this final process of the Wild Hunt.”
–
Few silent deep breaths.
“Be still now for a few moments and feel the energies that are present at this time of year.”
Spend some moments meditating on what was just said.
–
“I sorrow not,”
“though the world is wrapped in sleep.”
“I sorrow not,”
“though the icy winds blast.”
“I sorrow not,”
“though the snow falls hard and deep.”
“I sorrow not,”
“this too shall soon be past.”
–
Light many candles.
Fill horn with mead.
“Hail Day! Hail sons of Day! Hail Night and her daughter!”
“With watchful eyes look upon us, and give to us sitting here victory!”
“Hail Sunna, as she begins to bring back the sunny warm days again!”
All chant:
“Hail Sunna!”
Drink some of mead and pass horn. Pour remaining into offering bowl.
–
Few silent deep breaths.
–
Fill horn with more mead.
“Hail Odin, as he clears away the energies of the old year during the Wild Hunt!”
All chant:
“Hail Odin!”
Drink some of mead and pass horn. Pour remaining into offering bowl.
–
Use the pine twig to splash a bit of the liquid in the offering bowl on yourself, on any others in the ritual with you, on your altar, on the ritual space, and in all general areas of your dwelling as well. Does not need to be much splashed around, just a little is fine. This helps to imbue more of the energies of the ritual on you, and others who may also in the ritual with you, and to your place.
–
“Now my rite has ended. May all gathered here fare well on their return to their home places. And may the bonds of frith between us grow, gods, wights, and humans alike. Until we meet again.”
–
–
Pour out the offerings from the offering bowl outside:
“A gift for a gift”
Trace gebo at spot offerings were given to.
“GEBO!”
Pour out remaining blessed water outside.
“I pour the sacred water back to the Earth so it may find it’s way back to the Well of Wyrd”
–
Now at this point it is very important to ground your energies. This should always be done after every ritual. Not doing so can lead to problems in the long-run. Grounding is like shifting gears in a car, except it is the process of shifting brain states. During rituals you create a trance like brain state, which is desired for during rituals or for during any spiritual practices. But trance states are not good for doing everyday mundane things. You need to return your mind back to the normal state of consciousness after the ritual is finished. That is what grounding is.
The most simple and common method to ground is to visualize yourself as a tree and see roots growing into the ground from the base of your spine and going down into the earth. Sometimes rituals require industrial strength grounding as they can really create some intense energy. In that case you can try the following triple grounding method.:
First visualize your chakras. You picture in your mind closing first the top one and then seeing a sort of lid closing over it, then proceed with the net lower chakra and so on. You want to leave the bottom most chakra, the root chakra fully open as this is your connection to grounding. Don’t be concerned about having the others closed, the normal proper function of them is that they open and close as needed. Problems with being ungrounded happen when one of more of them are stuck open. Only the bottom one is to be left open at all times.
Next step is to picture a ball of pure white light above your head. Now let this white light slowly descent downward into your body and slowly move lower. As it descends it takes with it any unneeded, old, and negative energies. It is sort of sweeping downward through your energies taking all you no longer need with it. Once it reaches your feet let it move lower till it passes down through the floor. If you are on an upper close let it pass all the way to the ground. Let the earth take this energy to recycle it.
Now final step is to do the traditional grounding. Picture yourself as a tree. Visualize roots coming out of the base of your spine and going down into the Earth. Feel the calmness of a tree, the rooted solidness.
If after these three things you still feel hyper or spaced out you can either eat some food, or put a small amount of salt on your tongue. Another thing you can do is prostrate down to the ground, placing your head on the ground and stay like this for a few moments.
–
Feel free to copy and use this ritual so long as you acknowledge the source.
What is Heathenism?
What is Heathenism?
Heathenism is a religion that honors the ancient Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Germanic gods and goddesses. These are the same gods and goddesses that the Vikings and pre-Vikings worshiped. It is a religion open to anyone who feels a closeness to such gods and goddesses.
How Does One Follow Heathenism?
“The mind alone knows what is nearest the heart…. Each man is his own judge” {Havamal}
Heathenism is a very individualistic path and there are about as many ways to practice it as there are people who practice it. You will find many conflicting ideas about what Heathens believe (the only thing Heathens tend to agree on is that they worship the Norse, Anglo-Saxon, or Germanic gods and goddesses). One follows Heathen by being close in their heart, to one or more of the Norse, Saxon, or Germanic gods and goddesses.
What are Some Variations of Heathenism?
Other terms used to describe variations of, or traditions similar to Heathenism, are Asatru, Vanatru, Odinism, Theodism, Norse-Paganism, and various other more obscure traditions. Asatru is fairly much another way to say Heathenism, though some may consider it a bit more specialized in some aspects. Vanatru tends to focus more on the Vanir, the group of gods and goddesses who are more concerned with nature and fertility. Odinism tends to focus more so on Odin as the leader or head of the gods/goddesses. Theodism is a form of Heathenism which focuses on the Anglo-Saxon aspect of the gods/goddesses and it tends to have a very tribal hierarchal structure to it. People who like to label their practice as Norse-Paganism tend to take a more loose interpretation on rituals and ways of thinking about and honoring the gods/goddesses, or perhaps they prefer to relate more to the general Neo-Pagan scene than to the Heathen scene. Some Norse-Pagans tend to be a bit more into Wicca than Heathenism or like to mix both together in some sense. Even there are some people who consider themselves Norse-Wiccan, but that falls outside of the scope of what can be considered Heathenism or related to Heathenism.
How Do You Worship?
The most common ritual is called a blot. In this ritual one normally offers drinks such as mead, beer, or fruit-juice to a god or goddess. Sometimes one may instead offer other drinks such as milk, spring water, or sometimes some type of food, or any other gift. There are various days which are holy in Heathenism.
The idea is to build a bond of friendship between the gods and goddesses and the worshiper. That is the form of relationship one seeks within Heathenism with their deities. Not that of bowing down or lessening oneself like in many other religions. A common important theme in Heathenism is that of giving and being given in return. Heathenism puts strong importance on balance and fairness in one’s dealings. Always being truthful is very important. And giving back in equalness to what another gives to us.
Another form of ritual is called a Sumbel. This is more free form and open-ended. This is a group-only ritual in which one passes a drinking horn of fruit juice around and each person gets to toast to whichever deity they want. Also sometimes in this one makes a vow to perform some action, or toasts to an ancestor or person they hold in high regard (living or dead).
Do You Believe in Magick?
Many Heathens practice a related form of magick. There are two common systems. The Heathen cosmology is very magickal in nature. Some people practice both of these magickal systems. Some people just one. Even some people practice no magick at all.
One is based on the writing, carving, and chanting of special magickal symbols called runes. Runes are very potent. Each rune has a name that can be chanted in a special way called Galdoring. Also traditionally one would carve the symbol itself into wood. Nowadays people tend to write them with other materials and techniques as well. Odin is the god in charge of this magickal system.
The other magickal system is very shamanistic in nature. It is called Seidh. It is maybe not as popular as the runic magickal system since it is not as easy to actually practice. It involves trances and inner journey work. Sometimes there are tantric-like sexual practices. Freya is the goddess in charge of this magickal system.
Please Tell About Your Gods/Goddesses
There are many gods and goddess in Heathenism. Many have slightly different variations of their names based upon the exact culture and time period one is connecting to. Some deities have a lot of nicknames and aliases. Here are some of the deities of the Heathen religion.
Odin/Óðinn/Woðanaz/Woden/Wodan/Wuotan/Wodans
Odin is Allfather. He was the first god–the creator of man and all the nine worlds. He is always seeking knowledge and magickal powers. He is the one who discovered the runes when he hung himself from the world tree, Yggdrasil, for nine days and nine nights. He has one eye, as he sacrificed one of his eyes to take a drink from the well of Mimir (thus increasing his knowledge). He has two ravens and two wolves as pets. The two ravens Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory) fly forth each day to gather information about happenings in all the nine worlds. He keeps half those who have died in battle in his hall, Valhalla. He tends to like to stir up battle amongst men so he can receive more warriors to his abode. He is a master of disguise and loves to travel the nine worlds pretending to not be himself. He probably has more aliases and nicknames then any other deity. He loves to seduce women even though he is married to Frigga. His favorite color is blue. Wednesdays are sacred to him.
Thor/Thórr/Thunor/Donar/Thunars/Thunaraz
Thor is a big well-muscled fellow with red hair and beard. He is the protector of the gods and men from the frost giants (forces of destruction). He has a quick temper, but a big heart. He has a powerful weapon called Mjollnir (Thor’s Hammer). Many Heathens wear a representation of this hammer around their neck as protective pendant. Thor’s Hammer is a magickal tool used for blessing and protection. Whenever Thor throws his hammer it comes back to him (like a boomerang). The Thor’s Hammer represents phallic might. It has potent fertility power. Thor is always going off to the east to fight the giants. He has a flying wagon pulled by two goats. His wife is Sif. His favorite color is red. Thursdays are sacred to him.
Freya/Freyja/Freo/Frawi/Fraujon
Freya is the most magickally oriented goddess! She is very beautiful and well sought after by many beings but she remains single. It is said she once had a mate who vanished. She has many lovers in all the nine worlds. She has a magickal falcon cloak that allows her to fly through all the nine worlds. She practices a powerful form of magick called seidh. This is a type of sexual shamanism. She comes from the very wealthy Vanir side of things. The gods are divided between the Aesir and Vanir groups. Long time ago both sides fought a war, but later on settled and formed a truce. Now they act as one group. Freya has a very firie type of energy. Fire and gold were associated together to the ancient Norse. She has a magickal necklace called Brisingamen. Her tears turn to amber. Gold is her favorite color. Fridays are sacred to her.
Frey/Freyr/Frea/Fro/Frauja/Fraujaz/Fro Ing
Frey is ancestral King of Sweden. He is the brother of Freya. He has very potent male sexual might and is often depicted with a constant erection. This shows his intense fertile powers. As such he is very connected to material abundance. He is the god of peace and plenty. Though also a good warrior when the need arises. King of the Light Alfs (elves). He is very nature oriented, as are all the Vanir. His sacred animal is the boar and he has a golden one as pet, called Gullinbursti.
Tyr/Tiw/Ziu/Teiws/Tiwaz
The god of justice, order, structure. He is a warrior and always fights with honor. He sacrificed one hand in order to bind the dangerous wolf, Fenrir. So he has only a stump where one of his hands was. Some say he used to be the sky father before Odin took over. Tuesdays are sacred to him.
Idun/Iðunn
She is the keeper of the golden apples of youth that keep the gods from aging. She is connected to health and long life. Once she was kidnaped and all the gods aged and got very weak til she was recovered.
Loki
Few worship Loki (except maybe on April Fools Day, or when worshiping Odin, since Odin swore to only accept an offering if Loki get’s a share as well). He is the god of disorder, chaos, and playing tricks on people. He is always creating bad situations for the gods. But he is always also getting them out of the bad situations. He helps create change and growth by creating challenge, so he is useful despite his negative aspects. He is always somewhat of a double agent and unpredictable and likes to play both sides against each other. Later on he turned actually evil, but was more of a mischief maker earlier. It was after he arranged to have Balder killed that he turned to the “dark side”. The mistletoe is sacred to him.
Balder
A god loved by all for his peacefulness and generally lovableness. He is the most handsome of all the male gods. His mother Frigga made all creatures swear an oath that they would never cause him harm (except she forgot the mistletoe). Later on Loki set Hodur (a minor blind god) up to throw a mistletoe dart at him. All the gods had been having sport of the fact that nothing could harm Balder and thus would spend all day tossing stuff at him and watching it bounce harmlessly off of him. Anyways the dart killed Balder instantly. They tried to fetch him from out of Hel (land of the dead, peaceful place of rest, nothing like the Christian Hell with two Ls) but Hel (the goddess in charge of Hel) would not release him. There he shall remain til after Ragarak. His favorite color is white.
Frigga/Frigg/Fricg/Frige/Frija/Frijjo
Wife to Odin, and mother to Balder. She knows all things but does not speak of them. She is very much connected to all things maternal and to motherly duties. The perfect wife type.
I’d Like to Learn More!
A good place to start is to read as many books on Heathenism and the Norse gods and goddesses as possible. The most important text of all are the Eddas (both poetic and prose form). Also any books that tell about the story of the gods are great to read. Heathenism is a religion that requires much pondering and deciding what makes sense to you. It’s not a packaged type religion like most where you are told what you can and can’t do and everything is spelled out for you. It’s a religion for thinkers and individualists! Of course this is not to say that there are not plenty of groups out there with their own (very strongly held) ideas about what Heathenism is, as there are plenty! But the best place is to start on your own. Once you have decided for yourself what Heathenism means to you then you can search for a group of like-minded people if it’s your desire to be part of a group! Many Heathenism practice alone. Some get together at times with other close Heathen friends to celebrate.
Here are lots of links to explore to learn more. These are best explored in the order given:
YouTube: An Introduction to Heathenry
YouTube: An Introduction to the Heathen Festivals
YouTube: The Gods and Goddesses of Battlehall (Valhalla)
YouTube: Gods and Goddesses of Stormbright Hall (Bilskirnir)
YouTube: The Goddesses of Fenbank Hall (Fensalir)
YouTube: The Gods and Goddesses of Vanhome
YouTube: The Gods and Goddesses of Friendly Hall (Vingolf)
YouTube: Gods and Goddesses of Hel
YouTube: An Introduction to Haethen Elf Lore
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: An Altar
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: The Foundation
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Holy Lore
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Your First Ritual
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Meet the Gods
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Working Daily
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Prayer vs Spell
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: What is a Prayer?
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Idols
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Offerings and Sacrifices
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Communications Through the Runes
A Heathen Path Blog- Getting Started: Finding the Balance
Wikipedia: Germanic Neo-Paganism
Wikipedia: Heathenry in the USA
Wikipedia: Heathenry in Canada
Wikipedia: Neo-Paganism in the UK
Wikipedia: Neo-Paganism in Scandinavia
Wikipedia: Neo-Paganism in Germany and Austria
Wikipedia: Neo-Paganism in Southern Europe
How to avoid group failed oaths effecting the group’s orlog (luck, karma)
The Norse Viking Concept of Right vs Wrong..
The issues of immigration, racism, and the Vikings and how it relates to Heathenism..
You might be oriented towards the Vanir if…
Page linking to my Heathen rituals
God, Goddess, and Wight Invocations
eBook – Ravenbok: The Raven Kindred Ritual Book
Book: Gods of Asgard – Stories about the Norse gods and goddesses in a comic book form which is based on the lore.
Book: The Norse Myths – The best book to get for starting to learn about the Norse gods and goddesses.
Book: Essential Asatru – This is the best book to get for anyone new to Heathenism. It gives a very well researched, accurate, fair and balanced perspective on things.
Book: True Magick – Though this book does not talk about Heathenism or very much about magick related to it, it is am important book to read to understand the basic concepts of magick and things related to the modern Neo-Pagan scene.
Book: Illusion – This is not a book about Heathenism, or even about Paganism. This is a book that helps one to come to understand how to _think in a spiritual way_ and open ones mind in a way that is needed for properly understanding Heathen, Pagan, and magick. This book is written in story form.
Book: Futhark – This is the first book to start with for learning the runes and the magickal systems related to them. First before starting to study the runes though gain a complete knowledge of the gods and goddesses and Norse cosmology and understand wyrd.
Book: Runelore – This is the second book to get to learn about the runes.
Book: Northern Mysteries and Magick – This should be the fifth book to get in the study of runes and runic magick.
Book: Our Troth Book 1 – Very in depth well research, HUGE, two set of books. Between the both of them they are close to 1000 pages, so not for the beginner anyways.
Book: Our Troth Book 2 – This is the second book of Our Troth. Just as massively filled with information as the first one.
Book: Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner – Once you are already practising Heathenism, this is a must read book. It is all about making your practice more spiritually focused. Ignore the Loki and giant stuff in it.
eBook PDF: The Poetic Edda translated by James Chisholm
eBook PDF: The Well and the Tree – This book explains the important concept of wyrd in Heathenism. This concept is very important for understanding Heathen magick and sumbel.
The Road to Hel – Book that explains the Norse conception of death and the after life.
Book: The Poetic Edda Translated by Lee M. Hollander
Book: The Poetic Edda Translated by Carolyne Larrington
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Feel free to copy and pass this information out to others so long as you acknowledge the source.
Download this as a OpenOffice Doc – What is Heathenism
Volmarr’s Heathen Ritual Outline Jan-1-2013
Need:
• drinking horn
• mead (or beer or wine or even can use juice)
• spring water in small bowl
• fresh pine twig
• offering bowl
• candles
• wand (if you don’t have one you can use your fingers instead)
• Thor’s Ritual Hammer (optional, can use it for the Hammer Hallowings)
• <>
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This ritual, as are all Heathen or northern rituals, is done while facing north, except where otherwise noted. The altar should be such that it is in front of you when you face north.
If you don’t know how to pronounce the runes see my webpage on how to pronounce them here.
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Put spring water in small bowl. Trace 3 Laguz runes over it.:
“LAGUZ… LAGUZ… LAGUZ”
“From the Well of Wyrd does this water flow, and to the Well of Wyrd does it return”
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Make Hammer Sign at item and then splash each ritual item with blessed water using the pine twig and for each item say:
“I bless this ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
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Now trace Hammer Sign at person being blessed and/or self and splash them with water using twig.
“I bless ______ with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
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Use twig to splash ritual space with water.
“I bless this space with the waters of the Well of Wyrd”
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Few silent deep breaths.
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All stand in Elhaz position.
“Bi-Frost’s rainbow light shine down upon this space and myself so that I may form a portal between the worlds of Asgard and Midgard”
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Few silent deep breaths.
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All face north and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the north hallow and ward this stead”
All turn east and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the east hallow and ward this stead”
All turn south and trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the south hallow and ward this stead”
All turn west trace the Hammer Sign while chanting:
“Hammer in the west hallow and ward this stead”
All return to north and look up and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer above hallow and ward this stead”
All look below and trace Hammer sign while chanting:
“Hammer below hallow and ward this stead”
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Return to facing north and all stand in the Elhaz position and chant:
“Around me and within me Asgard and Midgard”
and move into the Dagaz position in the end.
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Few silent deep breaths.
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(Highly recommended optional casting of the rune ring)
(face north and trace the rune shape in the air before you using your wand and loudly chant: “FEHU!”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “URUZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “THURISAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ANSUZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “RAIDHO”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “KENAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “GEBO”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “WUNJO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “HAGALAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “NAUDHIZ”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ISA”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “JERA”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EIHWAZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “PERTHRO”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “ELHAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “SOWILO”)
(face north and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “TIWAZ”)
(face north-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “BERKANO”)
(face east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “EHWAZ”)
(face south-east and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “MANNAZ”)
(face south and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “LAGUZ”)
(face south-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “INGWAZ”)
(face west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “DAGAZ”)
(face north-west and trace the rune shape and loudly chant: “OTHALA”)
(Few silent deep breaths)
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Hold up the bottle of mead:
“I now brew the holy mead of inspiration. Won by high Odin long ago!”
Chant into the bottle of mead:
“Odhroerir! Son! Bodhn!”
“Now I hallow this drink with staves of light!”
Chant and trace these runes over the bottle:
“Othala”
“Dagaz”
“Raidho”
“Ansuz”
“Raidho”
“Isa”
“Elhaz!”
All say:
“Hail Odhroerir!”
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Few silent deep breaths.
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(Use the pine twig to splash a bit of the liquid in the offering bowl on yourself, on any others in the ritual with you, on your altar, on the ritual space, and in all general areas of your dwelling as well. Does not need to be much splashed around, just a little is fine. This helps to imbue more of the energies of the ritual on you, and others who may also in the ritual with you, and to your place.)
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“Now my rite has ended. May all gathered here fare well on their return to their home places. And may the bonds of frith between us grow, gods, wights, and humans alike. Until we meet again.”
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Pour out the offerings from the offering bowl outside:
“A gift for a gift”
Trace gebo at spot offerings were given to.
“GEBO!”
Pour out remaining blessed water outside.
“I pour the sacred water back to the Earth so it may find it’s way back to the Well of Wyrd”
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Now at this point it is very important to ground your energies. This should always be done after every ritual. Not doing so can lead to problems in the long-run. Grounding is like shifting gears in a car, except it is the process of shifting brain states. During rituals you create a trance like brain state, which is desired for during rituals or for during any spiritual practices. But trance states are not good for doing everyday mundane things. You need to return your mind back to the normal state of consciousness after the ritual is finished. That is what grounding is.
The most simple and common method to ground is to visualize yourself as a tree and see roots growing into the ground from the base of your spine and going down into the earth. Sometimes rituals require industrial strength grounding as they can really create some intense energy. In that case you can try the following triple grounding method.:
First visualize your chakras. You picture in your mind closing first the top one and then seeing a sort of lid closing over it, then proceed with the net lower chakra and so on. You want to leave the bottom most chakra, the root chakra fully open as this is your connection to grounding. Don’t be concerned about having the others closed, the normal proper function of them is that they open and close as needed. Problems with being ungrounded happen when one of more of them are stuck open. Only the bottom one is to be left open at all times.
Next step is to picture a ball of pure white light above your head. Now let this white light slowly descent downward into your body and slowly move lower. As it descends it takes with it any unneeded, old, and negative energies. It is sort of sweeping downward through your energies taking all you no longer need with it. Once it reaches your feet let it move lower till it passes down through the floor. If you are on an upper close let it pass all the way to the ground. Let the earth take this energy to recycle it.
Now final step is to do the traditional grounding. Picture yourself as a tree. Visualize roots coming out of the base of your spine and going down into the Earth. Feel the calmness of a tree, the rooted solidness.
If after these three things you still feel hyper or spaced out you can either eat some food, or put a small amount of salt on your tongue. Another thing you can do is prostrate down to the ground, placing your head on the ground and stay like this for a few moments.
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Feel free to copy and use this ritual so long as you acknowledge the source.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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