Munson's Mead Hall

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asaman at
destinyslobster.com

Rituals

The Blót and Faining

Blót is an Old Norse word for blessing. The Blót, various forms, is the mainstay of Ásatrú ritual. The original Blóts as described in the lore were sacrifices of beasts, precluding a feast at which this animal would be eaten. Essentially, the sacrifice itself was a sacralized butchering. The animal involved would be killed and its blood would be caught in a bowl, usually referred to as the Blótbolli. The priest, or goði, presiding over the feast would then sprinkle the gathered people and the surrounding area (a Ve outdoors,or the walls of the temple) with the blood using a cut twig referred to as the hlaut-teinn. He would then pour the bowl out over the heaped stone altar, the hørgr.

In modern times, however, most Ásatrú people do not live in rural areas where the butchering of animals is still considered normal and acceptable practice. Neither do they have access to the nimals or to the skills necessary (though this may change as more and more Heathens take up homesteading as a way of life). Thus, there are few true blots being done today.

What we casually refer to as blot now usually substitutes some other food for the sacrificial beast. It may be bread, meat, food cooked by the folk, fruits and grains, or something else, but most commonly it is an alcoholic beverage. Most prefer mead for the holy drink and brewing is a popular hobby among the folk. There are many variations on the theme, beer or ale or wine may be used. Often a group will provide a non-alcoholic alternative for those who either cannot or wish not to drink.

In the course of a rite, the mead is blessed and made holy. It is then shared among the participants, usually by passing a drinking horn around a circle. This is the same as is done during the rite of Sumble; ritualized toasting using the horn as a sort of "talking stick".

Each person will say a toast to the subject of the blot, usually a deity, but sometimes another sort of spirit. The horn is never allowed to become empty. After it has made the round (or rounds) what is left will be poured into a blotbolli or over a horg, or at the roots of a tree, etc. Thus, the blessed drink is shared with the Gods. Often, some of the mead will be sprinkled on the participants as a blessing.

Holy drink may also be used to bless other offerings to be sacrified. It is popular for individuals to bring personal offerings to public blots. These are presented during the rite and after being blessed may be burned, buried, or otherwise "released".

The basic practice of making sacrifices is called "Faining" in Anglo-saxon, meaning to give. In the strictest sense, a true blot is a faining while modern mead-passing blots are something of a combination faining and sumble. This has led some Asatru groups concerned with strict reconstruction to refrain from same and to instead perform distinctly seperate fainings, followed by a feast, in turn followed by a sumble. Never the less, the horn sharing portion of a modern blot can be the most moving and powerful portion as each individual expresses him/herself. As people speak from the heart, it is not uncommon for there to be tears of joy, or of sorrow, riotous laughter or awe-struck silence and reverence .

A Blót can be very simple or very complicated, it changes to serve the purpose, available time, and the nature of the group.

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Why We Do It - A Gift for a Gift

The essential purpose of the Blót is to acknowledge the Aesir, Vanir, or other wights and to renew bonds with them.

Reciprocity is very important to Heathens, whether it is between men, between men and Nature, or between men and the divine. As a matter of real life, we all give things to one another: material gifts, assistance, emotioanl support, etc. In the process, we form friendships based on mutual respect and build lasting relationships. It is a positive process of growth. Though Faining, Blot and Sumble, we do this on a spiritual level and interact with all manner of entities including the Gods, ancestors, land spirits, and each other.

The more we offer, the more we gain in return. The Havamal says, "better to never blot than blot too much, for indeed a gift looks for a gift (or, sometimes, a gift looks for gain)."

Many of us, therefore, try to "look before we leap" in terms of making offerings, and thus establishing relationships with deities and spirits. This is not so much a question of what is there to be gained. That would be cynical, petty and counterproductive. It is rather that we feel it is best to enter into a new relationship, or partnership, consciously. We think in terms of what will this do for me? and also what will I have to do for this? because reciprocity is really a set of obligations. The closer we are to friends, family and Gods, the more obliged we are to one another. Blood is thicker than water, as they say.

This is a common line of thinking in many ancient faiths. My favorite example is the Hopi who have a very close and essential bond of recprocity with the Kachina people. It is simply a matter of fact to them that each group depends upon the other and both must work together to keep the world in harmony.

Here on the east coast, it is popular to end rites with the words...

"From the Gods to the Earth to Us.
From Us to the Earth to the Gods...
A Gift for a Gift!"

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A Basic Blot:

Basic modern blot structure can depend on the time of the year (ie. Harvest, Yule, or Midsummer) or can be based on current life events when one feels the need to blot a particular deity.

Doing a solo blot is easy. Keep it basic and simple to start with, as you gain practice and learn you can introduce more complex and ceremonial aspects if desired. To blot, you only need something to drink, a bit of something to eat, and someplace quiet and undisturbed. If you have immediate family who would like to participate get them involved with the process. Here's how:

Optionally, you may "ward your sacred space" by performing a Hammer Warding. This is usually done by presenting a symbolic Mjolnir to the four corners, and also sometimes above and below (see Terms for more detail). However, this practice is not universal, being a modern invention and considered by some to be too "Wiccany".

Next, hold a horn (or other vessel, preferably something with a special purpose) with mead (wine or beer depending on whats avalible and what deity you're blotting) and honor the deity you wish to honor.

After this, you can take the horn and pour it into a blotbolli/blessing bowl (see Terms for more detail), and use a twig with leaves to sprinkle in blessing yourself and those attending, or take a drink from the horn, and pour the rest into a blessing bowl, along with a portion of the food. Pour this outside as an offering and announce soemthing to the effect of "This offering is for the Aesir and Vanir, Alfar, Disir, and Landsvetter (land wights) of this place."

Go eat the remaining food as your feast.

For a group:

A group Blót can usually be broken down into a number of steps usually between 8 and 10. Here is a 9-point Blót plan from "Asatru Basics" This is a little more complicated than you will find in my area of the country.

1. The Gathering - The participants are signaled and proceed to the Blót usually arranging themselves in a circle.

2. The Warding - The area is made holy using the Hammer Rite or something similar.

3. The Explanation - An explanation of the purpose of the Blót is given. Sometimes a part of the Elder Edda is also read here.

4. The Invitation - The Gods/spirits to be honored are called upon to witness the Blót and to participate.

5. The Hallowing - The mead (or other beverage) is made holy.

6. The Blessing - The participants and the altar are sprinkled with the hallowed mead (or other beverage)

7. The Sharing - Here the mead (or alternate beverage) is either doled out to each person's drinking horn, or a drinking horn is passed around. Each person takes a drink and either passes the horn or pour the remainder of the horn into the Blótbolli. This is often accompanied by an opportunity for each person to speak a hail over the horn before they drink.

8. The Offering - The mead in the blótbolli is poured onto the ground.

9. The Closing - The area is desanctified, and the ceremony is ended.

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The first blot held at my home was presided over by my wife; Mother Night, 2002. We tend to think of it as our anniversary as being Asatruar. As of this writing, I have presided over a few more. The second was May Day, 2003. The most heart-filled one so far was to honor my Grandfather who died in that same year. My current favorite is the Freyfaxi blot we did in Fall 2004. You can see my complete catalog of blot journal entries here.

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Honoring Wights

As a loosely animistic faith (sharing some aspects with Japanese Shinto and some Native American beliefs), Asatru espouses a belief in and respect for various natural spirits (see The Pantheon). They surround us and many interact with us on a daily basis. Principally, these include the Land wights (Landvættir) and House wights. Some view these as one and the same, just separated by where they reside/manifest. Others see them as two distinct types of entity or energy. Regardless, it is a wise thing to acknowledge and honor them as they are thought to be both potentially beneficial and harmful (just like our human associates).

Many Asatruar will make offerings to the wights on a regular basis - sometimes daily. It is also common to offer them some food on the occasion of a blot and this offering may be incorporated into the ritual itself. Many altars include a separate bowl or plate just for the wights. Traditional offerings include milk, bread, grain or porridge, honey, mead or beer, etc. I know one Asatruar who gives his house wight coffee with honey in it. One favorite gift in my home is chocolate.

Some folk will also make gifts for their wights or leave them material offerings such as small pieces of cloth left over from a sewing project, spun thread, etc. Yule tree ornaments are often considered to be honorary gifts to the wights.

Essentially, the gift should represent the fruits of one's labor. The more natural the gift, the better - a food gift should be as close as possible to its natural form, like you'd find it on the farm. Thus, whole organic milk would be better than "Uncle Agro's Mega-health Milk Beverage". On the other hand, I think it is appropriate that the gift be something that you yourself consume regularly so that you are sharing of your own stores, as it were - direct generosity. We sometimes offer soy milk - we don't use a lot of real milk as my wife is lactose intolerant, but soy milk is a staple we rely on and we get really discomfited when we run out.

Another way of acknowledging the spiritual aspect of Nature is by supporting its physical aspects. Many Asatruar like to feed wild animals on their property (birds, squirrels, deer, etc.) or create habitats for these animals. Some folk traditions in Europe support giving food to wild birds in particular, especially during Yule. This sentiment is akin to Asatruar motivations for supporting ecological causes. Regardless of the activity, fostering a positive relationship and partnership with the wights, and with the natural world as a whole, is the goal.

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Land Leaving and Taking

Some Asatruar feel it is appropriate as well as beneficial to honor the spirits of place when moving from one home to another. Small, often very personal rituals are done to accomplish this as well as to invoke the blessings of any deities for which one feels affinity.

Such rituals need not be complicated or use many 'props'. A common one is to light a torch or candle and announce to the gods and goddesses, as well as any land wights on the property, that you are leaving. Sometimes an offering is made. At the other end of the trip, the ritual is done to inform those land wights in the new residence that you are taking up residence and wish good rapport with them. Conversely, it is intended to encourage any unfriendly wights to either behave themselves or leave!

Usually, one will walk around the new property with the flame to symbolically mark the boundaries. This harkens back to old Icelandic legal custom where bonfires were used to publicly declare one's land holdings. Some folk will plant a tree on the new property as a holy tree - yew is preferred though it is poisonous and should not be used if children are about. Ash is also popular. The tree will later be used for making offerings to the land wights.

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More to come including weddings and declarations!