Ritual

       With the revival of the old beliefs comes a natural revival of the old traditions as well; among these are rituals (n.) that outwardly signify devotion and honor to the Gods/ancestors, and work with the reciprocal nature of things through the concept of gift for a gift (n.). Simply put, the Heathen does not give the Gods gifts in supplication and repentence, but instead as a praise for past blessings or request for future blessings. In fact, an ancient rite practiced by the ancestors was blot (n., ON pl. blotar) which translates as “blessing”. Much controversy surrounds the blot rite within the contemporary Heathen community. Some say that any ceremonial gift to the spirits can be called a blot, whereas others believe that the term should be reserved for blood sacrifice. The argument for using it as an all-encompassing term is that the word “blot” implies no such condition within its literal translation and that confusion has arisen from the Old Norse word blod, meaning “blood”. The argument for using the term specifically for blood sacrifice is that blood is the most powerful spiritual gift that can be given, necessitates a category of its own, and that there are exactly zero historical examples of blotar that didn't involve blood. For those who choose not to use the term for anything other than blood sacrifice, and with actual blood sacrifice being so rare in modern society, terms such as faining (n. from an obsolete Modern English word that means “celebration”) or offrung (n. OE “offering”) are often used. The vessel used to transport the gift from man to god is called a bolli (n. ON “bowl”) and is often made sacred with some form of gandr (n. ON “wand). A husel (n. OE) is the ceremonial feast that follows a blot (and has come to mean a feast that follows faining/offrung as well) and is considered a rite in itself.

       Probably the favorite ritual performed by Heathens today is sumbl (n.) which is a toasting ritual. The participants pass around a horn (n., an organic drinking vessel usually crafted from a bovine horn) filled with mead (n., an ancient European wine fermented with honey rather than sugar cane). There will often be apple juice or some other non-alcoholic beverage on hand for those who wish to participate but abstain from alcohol. The horn in sumbl is concidered symbolic of a “well of deeds”, and as the participants drink the liquid within they replace it with toasts to great beings who have accomplished worthy deeds. Sumbl generally consists of three rounds. The first round is often done to the Gods – either a particular member of the Aesir and Vanir or to the collective tribes. The second round is often dedicated to the ancestors – either a particular one or an entire family line. The concluding round is usually for toasting friends, making boasts, or making oaths (n.). An oath, to Heathens, is a serious, spiritual matter. It is an act of prophesy with personal honor at stake. It is saying, “I will change the future course of events in this specific way”. Oathing at sumbl is particularly serious as it binds those witnessing the oath to help in any way they can. An oath ring (n., usually a wooden ring inscribed with runes) is often used at this time and scyld is set in case the oath is broken.

       A hallowing rite (n.) usually precedes most Heathen rituals and involves carrying fire around a circle to purify and create a frithstead (n., a secure and peaceful inner sanctum). If a torch/fire is not available or impracticle, Heathens will often perform the hammer rite (n.) in which the four cardinal directions will be called using the sign of Mjolnir (n., Thor's hammer). Although Mjolnir has always been known for its hallowing powers, the use of its symbol for creating a frithstead or opening a rite is a very modern development.

       There are other rituals important to the Heathen and often concern rites of passage (n.) such as naming rites for infants, coming into womanhood/manhood, and handfasting (n., marriage).

[Further discussion of rites like seidr (n.) should be added in the future.]


(Oblique Citations. Computers are an abhorrent abomination from the depths of Niflheim...)

DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1999. Print.

A scholar, professor, and trained folklorist of ancient Nordic cultures (encompassing the Scandinavians, Sami, and Finnish), Thomas Dubois discusses the Scandinavian people, both their native practices and practices they adopted from neighboring cultures, during the Viking Age in this scholarly work. It is particularly useful to this project in its description of blot as clearly a blood sacrifice on numerous occasions in the book.

Gamlinginn. The Orðasafn of Gamlinginn. Albuquerque: Hrafnahús, 1991. Print.

Gamlinginn has been a member of the Heathen community for well over two decades and has published a book very similar in nature to this project. “Ordhasafn” means “word list” and that is precisely what the aforementioned book is: a pocket-sized disctionary of commonly used words in Heathenry. However, Gamlinginn has not been as much help concerning the development of this lexical project as he has in contributing to the opposing side to the opinion of blot, claiming that the rite has nothing to do with blood sacrifice – however, he gives no basis for this opinion beyond that it is, in fact, his opinion.