I wake up really early for work during the week and only slightly later on the weekends to let the chickens out. After a few other quick things I go to my ritual space and face the East. After cleansing away anything that lingered from my nightly dream travels I start by calling out to those cousins of the Vanes, the House of Mundilfæri:

I call out to the House of Mundilfæri, the reckoners of time.
Lords and Ladies of the lightened hours hear me.

To Dellingr of the dawn,
whose rosy hues announce the time for new beginnings, new ideas, new opportunities.
You who welcome home the travelers of night that they might find their way safely to their halls.

To Dagr of the day,
You who ride forth to bring us the hours of doing, of being, of experiencing
You give us joy as we once more look forward to living

To Sunna, keeper of the sun
You who draw Sól across the heavens even in the face of fear from your pursuer
You bring to us light, warmth, and the healing rays to bless and remind us that life continues on

Gods and Goddesses of the Day shine forth and be welcome.

For the night devotional I generally time it as close to sun down as possible. In the winter time, or really late in the summer, I time it with my bedtime instead. I’ve shut everything off, put on my jammies, locked all the doors, and am generally headed to bed. I tried facing the West towards sundown but I find myself still having a better experience if I face the East. I suppose that makes sense since we are recognizing the night that is fast approaching. Once again I cleanse wiping away all the junk from the day and seek the Clan of Time:

I call out to the House of Mundilfæri, the reckoners of time
Lords and Ladies of the darkened hours hear me.

To Skúma of the dusk
whose russet hues reminds us that the time for tasks to end is at hand
You welcome home those of the day and set down their stories, histories, and lore.

To Auntie Nótt, drawing your cloak and gown across the heavens
You who give us darkness that our bodies and minds may rest
You remind us that after the day is gone peace may be found in our repose

To Aurvandill, the North star
You guide us, aid us, share your wonder and magic
You remind us that even in our darkest hours we can find light to carry us through.

To Máni, keeper of the moon
Year-counter, tide-turner, season-bringer, silver cousin you pull us forward into each new adventure
You who count the months drawing Mond across the skies impacting our bodies and minds with your nightly journeys

Gods and Goddesses of the Night, hail and be welcome.

Now sometimes the wording changes and morphs depending on the season and what happens to fall out of my mouth. I wish I could say that it is always perfectly poetic and eloquent. That would be a lie. There are times when I am lucky anything coherent escapes my lips at all and I just shake my head and laugh with them. I have found that these under utilized beings appreciate being recognized and remembered for the essential things they do. Like many of us humans, they feel it’s nice to have someone just say thank you and ask them to share a cuppa.

You may have noticed that I have included Skúma in my invocation above. As soon as I started doing that it felt as if I had accomplished the necessary balance in my morning and evening devotionals. Perfect bookends so to speak. While she may not be someone that the majority of heathens and northern practitioners would recognize or honor, ever since I put her story to page she has been a comforting presence every time I look at the evening sky. She is real to me and will forever more be a part of my understanding of these time keepers. There is also one more being honored at night than during the day. I have thought about this and tried to figure out who would be the counterpart to the north star for the day. Thus far I have not encountered anyone. Perhaps it was the mother whose name has been lost to us. Maybe there was once another being who shone during the day when Sunna made her ride. I honestly don’t know. That isn’t to say in the future these devotionals wouldn’t be updated if I ever were to discover the answer but for now this is how it is done.