What rituals do you do?

[Gungnir]

I'm curious as to what others do I'm personally trying to figure out what rituals I could do to honor odin specifically or any type of prayer even aimed at asatru in general??

Bonus question: Asatru comes from Germany right? If so does that mean there were german "vikings" I hear a lot of contradicting information about this and I'm curious

[Rick]

Re: What rituals do you do?

I'm curious as to what others do I'm personally trying to figure out what rituals I could do to honor odin specifically or any type of prayer even aimed at asatru in general??

Bonus question: Asatru comes from Germany right? If so does that mean there were german "vikings" I hear a lot of contradicting information about this and I'm curious

I'm going to answer in reverse. "Asatru" (literally, faithful to the Aesir) is a relatively modern term, coined by a Danish scholar in the 1700s. Asatruarfelig is the name of the state recognized pagan church in Iceland (Icelandic Asatruar generally do not refer to themselves as 'heathen' and are baffled by the term; heathen is generally used by English-speakers). A broad umbrella-term might be Teutonic religion, and would include Germanic (sometimes referred to as 'Continental'), Scandinavian, and Anglo-Saxon Heathenry. By the Viking era, most of Continental Europe was Christianized, so there might have been Germans that joined Viking raiders, but the Germans as a whole didn't go a-viking. So what we today call Heathenry originated with the Teutonic tribes and spread across Northern Europe, Scandinavia, the Isles and Iceland as their descendants migrated.

Heathen rituals pretty much break down to sumbel (you'll also see symbel; if you'll Google the term you'll find better and more info than I might be able to give), and blot, which means sacrifice. The same basic format is used for pretty much every purpose.

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OK, I knew there was a link to Heathen rituals floating around here somewhere:

http://www.ravenkindred.com/RBRituals.html

[Heka]

Re: What rituals do you do?

Rick got the first question.

I have thoughts on the second. But only one.

The gods are the same (Donar, Wotan etc), even the German word from woman is frau (gotta be a link right)? and my favourite myth - The Rhines Gold (clearly has to be in Germany. So there are many links, but I dunno about vikings, and I'm pretty certain no on the Asatru from Germany bit.

My two cents.

[Rae'ya]

Re: What rituals do you do?

I'm curious as to what others do I'm personally trying to figure out what rituals I could do to honor odin specifically or any type of prayer even aimed at asatru in general??

I wont be much help here as I don't really do any traditionally Heathen rituals... but Blot and Sumbl are the two that are most traditional. Blot is a sacrifice or (modernly whitewashed into) offering, while Sumbl is a round of drinks and toasts praising the gods and ancestors.

Bonus question: Asatru comes from Germany right? If so does that mean there were german "vikings" I hear a lot of contradicting information about this and I'm curious

Asatru is Icelandic, not German.

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Oops... just realised that Rick pretty much said the exact same thing already...

Teach me not to read the others' properly first

[Chris]

Re: What rituals do you do?

for the anglo-saxons the symbel was actually more a drinking feast...a time for social cohesion, the telling of boasts and the handing out of largesse by the lord....all presided over by the lady who served the drinks (at least to the honoured guests) and she also had the role to sooth over disputes as happens when a surfeit of alcohol starts to flow

ok the gods would have a round or two drunk to their name...just in case they were listening, but that wasn't the purpose of the feast

blot is sacrifice, but does not necessarily mean blood sacrifice but it was a factor, however it can also mean simply giving up something to the gods - giving beer, mead or wine is also blot.

in his Ecclesiastical History, Book I Ch30 Bede states that

"because they have been used to slaughter many oxen in the sacrifices to devils, some solemnity must be exchanged for them on this account, as that on the day of the dedication, or the nativities of the holy martyrs, whose relics are there deposited,

they may build themselves huts of the boughs of trees, about those churches which have been turned to that use from temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting, and no more offer beasts to the Devil, but kill cattle to the praise of God in their eating"

blotmonath (roughly November) does mean blood...the thinning of the overwintering herds, a time of slaughter, blood and offerings...Bede (On the Reckoning of Time, Ch15) :

Blodmonath is "month of immolations", for then the cattle which were to be slaughtered were consecrated to their gods.

there is also the term bot - which is akin to punishment or pennance or reparation but I wont go into that here


sorry to be boring....pagan anglo-saxon england is one of my enduring passions

[GaryG]

Re: What rituals do you do?

for the anglo-saxons the symbel was actually more a drinking feast...a time for social cohesion, the telling of boasts and the handing out of largesse by the lord....all presided over by the lady who served the drinks (at least to the honoured guests) and she also had the role to sooth over disputes as happens when a surfeit of alcohol starts to flow

ok the gods would have a round or two drunk to their name...just in case they were listening, but that wasn't the purpose of the feast

fourth article.

odroerirjournal dot com/?wpfb_dl=2

blot is sacrifice, but does not necessarily mean blood sacrifice but it was a factor, however it can also mean simply giving up something to the gods - giving beer, mead or wine is also blot.

Yes, yes it does and no no it does not...

academia dot edu/3554037/Blot_v._Sacrifice_An_Examination_of_Modern_Heathen _Terminology

[Ula]

Re: What rituals do you do?

Since you have gotten lots of good information I will just say if your looking for German specific rituals investigate Urglaawe. It's the PA Dutch paganism. It's also a very open community.