Volmarr’s Heathen Haustblot Harvest Ritual September-21-2011

Need:
• drinking horn
• mead (or beer or wine or even can use juice)
• Fruit
• spring water in small bowl
• fresh pine twig
• offering bowl
• candles
• Black candle
• Harvest decorations
• 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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“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!”

“Hail Freyr!”

“Hail Gerd! Daughter of Gymir. Shining-armed bride of Freyr. Bearer of the icy mead-goblet!”

“Hail Gerd!”

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“Freyr has given up his sword to Gerd, to gain her love, and now the vitality of nature shall decline for the season, as the Earth enters a time of rest. Light and dark are in balance at this time, but from this point forward light is in decline.”

“All things must work in cycles. Grieve not for the decline of the lifeforce, for it shall increase again in the Spring. This is the way of things; ever unfolding cycles of birth and death of the seasons. Nothing may stay the same; all must go through these cycles.”

“Instead be thankful, for all which has been gained in this last season. Now is the time to count the blessings which Freyr has given. I give thanks for Freyr’s fruitfulness and bounty. I enjoy that which I have now, and look forward to more in the future seasons.”

(Fill drinking horn with mead and hold it up)

“Hail Freyr! I toast to you in thanks for the harvest which you have given me! Hail to Freyr!”

(Drink half the mead and pour out the rest as an offering to Freyr.)

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“The summer passes away now towards the Winter. Soon the Earth shall be covered in darkness and cold, and it will be a time of rest. I have enjoyed the Sun and warmth of the Summer. Soon it is time to take joy in the calm inward turning energies of Winter, and the beauty of snow. Each season offers it’s unique pleasures.”

“Be aware of the energy which it takes to create anything of greatness. Be aware that nothing can last. Enjoy that which you have while you have it, for it shall not remain forever. Grieve not when it is gone, as new things shall be gained in the future, which shall give equal or greater joy. I am thankful to Freyr for all which I have. I honor his gifts by making the fullest use of them, while they remain.”

“Hail to Freyr! Please teach me to enjoy your gifts to the fullest, and to appreciate all things which I have in my life, and then to be able to let go of things, with gratitude, when it is time to them to go. Allow me to know that there will be future things that equally bring me joy and happiness.”

“I eat now this fruit as a reminder to enjoy the fruits of all things which I have in my life to the fullest. Hail Freyr!”

(Eat some fruit, saving at least half as an offering to give outside after the ritual to Freyr.)

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“I ponder now on what things no longer serve me. The energies of that which no longer serves me, once those things are sacrificed, can go to creating better things in the future. Now is the time to let go of that which is no longer useful to me; traits which hold me back. Think now on what things to sacrifice.”

(Light the black candle.)

“I burn away now in sacrifice, all which no longer serves me. May the energies go towards the start of the next season of growth next Spring, to bring better things for me at a later time.”

(Watch the candle burn for a time while thinking of that which you let go of which is not positive or useful for you anymore.)

(Now picture in your mind, the raw energy which has been freed in this process, and picture this energy as a seed which is planted for better things in the future.)

(Chant and trace at the candle the Ingwaz rune three times.)

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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.