Óðinshof District

In January, we gather to celebrate the passing of Jól and the beginning of another wonderful year. At this time we celebrate Þórr. The blót to the friend of man is followed by a large feast, full of joy and good memories. High Sumbl follows the feast, where bright words are spoken and good gifts are given.

During the month of March, the Folk gather to celebrate the Ásynja of the dawn, Lady Austra. Her arrival brings the earth back to life as flowers bloom and animals awaken from hibernation. Her holy tide is celebrated by enjoying the outdoors, praising the fertility she brings every year and the idea of dawn in general. The Folk honor Austra with blót, asking her for continued blessings of fertility and new beginnings in our lives. Following blót, there is a feast, which is followed by High Sumbl. 

Sumarmál the first day of our summer. Warmer days are becoming normal. The spring rains that helped to nourish the wakening fields have begun to taper off. The world around us is verdant again. At Sumarmál, big celebrations were held both to celebrate the end of the harder days of winter and to bless the folk and their crops for a fertile and productive year. Men and women leapt over fires together or alone, wishing for fertility in the coming year. Cattel were blessed in the smoke of the fire before sending them to their summer fields. The maypole was raised and around it, people danced and wove their ribbons. Women decorated their windows and doors with flowers and wove them into their hair.

Sigrblót, meaning “victory offering”, is celebrated in July. This is a celebration of our previous victories, but also a time to ask Lord Týr for further victory in our endeavors as summer comes to a close and winter gets closer. This holy tide is celebrated by sharing our victories and accolades, praising Lord Týr with a sword dance or similar feat, giving blót to him, and then sharing in high sumbl with the Folk. 

The ancient calendar only recognized two seasons. There was summer, and there was winter. Just as May Day was their first day of Summer, Winter Finding was their first day of winter. The temperature slowly begins to fall, the days get shorter. Those who grow their food begin preparations for the final harvests. The larders are growing full with the fruit of earlier efforts. Now it’s time to begin the hunt, to kill enough game to finish winter’s preparations.

One of the most recognizable motifs in Asatru is that of the Viking warrior. Helm, sword, beard, and blood: boys and girls have long been mesmerized by the stories of Valkyries and the eternal feasting and fighting of the Einherjar in Odin’s hall, Valhalla. Pop culture has taken the Berserker and the Valkyrie and remade them hundreds of times. Our ancestors lived in a different time, when fighting wars and general “viking” was necessary for survival. For a warrior, to die in battle was the greatest honor. Today, war is not necessary in the same way. Most people scoff at war, urge their children to “do better” or “be better”. For those of us who practice Asatru, however, we recognize the importance and the value of the warrior. More important still, is the importance and the value of those who have fallen, the Einherjar. Once a year we set aside a day specifically to honor the Einherjar. We raise a horn to the fallen warriors to thank them for fighting for our people and our freedom.

In February, we celebrate both the masculine and the feminine while preparing to work our will on the world in the new year. Blót is given to Holy Freyr, to ask for success in our ventures and fertility in our Folk. We take this time to “charm the plow”, blessing our tools and digging the first symbolic furrow of the season. High Sumbl follows this, where the Ásynjur are especially honored.

The digging of the furrow represents masculine energy, while the charming of the plow represents feminine energy, just as our women compliment and support our men as they work their will in order to provide for the Folk. This is also a time where the tools of our industry (whatever that may be for each of us) are blessed for the coming year of accomplishment.

​In April, after Austra has brought the flora and fauna back to bright life, the Folk gather to celebrate Nornanótt- the night of the Nornir. This holy tide puts emphasis on the divine feminine, giving blót to Holy Freyja and honoring her magic. This celebration is often done in the evening hours, as the Folk burn fires to sacrifice items that we no longer have need of; something of a “spring cleaning”. Nornanótt is an excellent time to reflect on the blessings woven for us by the Nornir, and to raise a horn to those blessings during Sumbl.

​Miðsumar, or Midsummer, is considered the high point of the year for many of our Folk. Celebrated in the month of June, when Sól is in her full glory, around the time of the summer solstice. This holy tide is centered around the worship of Baldr and his brightness, as well as the joy of the season. At our Hofs, blót will be given to Baldr, and a sunwheel will be lit before the Folk. The Æsjr are thanked for our previous victories, and then the event is closed with a powerful three rounds of sumbl among the Folk. 

Though Freyfaxi is, in name, a modern holiday the celebration around which it is centered is much older. Dedicated to Freyr, our ancestors celebrated the first harvest of the season. The most common offerings during freyfaxi included the sheaves of wheat, or other grains, and freshly baked loaves of bread. Less common was the sacrifice of a horse in honor of Freyr. The beginning of the harvest season marked the beginning of hard work and dedication. Every harvest of the season was necessary to the survival of each family, of the community. This hard work ensured that there would be food to see them through the long winter months.

Autumn has officially started. The days are noticeably shorter. The nights are noticeably cooler. The trees are ablaze with the colors of Fall and the crunching of the fallen leaves underfoot has begun. All around us the world is dying. This was a time of drawing in close, of hearth and home and family. For our ancestors, this was not an Autumn festival, but a quiet Winter rite in which the female spirits were honored in a rite called Disirblót.

Jól is the 12-day period in December in which we hold our biggest celebrations. During the Jól, we celebrate our families and our tribes and the bonds that hold us strong. We celebrate our Ancestors. We celebrate the Æsir and the Wild Hunt. We celebrate the bright fires of the hearth that keeps us warm, and the we celebrate the rebirth of the sun. We have made it halfway through the harshest time of the year. The sun begins to stay in the sky a little longer each day, moving us closer and closer to the fruitful and warm summer.