This was a ritual performed with Three Cranes Grove, ADF in October of 2009. It has been quite some time since this was originally written and much growth has occurred since then. The structure of the ritual and most of the writing is mine. The journey section was written by Rev. M. Burchfield and is created from The Road to Hel by Hilda Ellis Davidson. The waters portion may also belong to someone else but it has been six years so I cannot remember who originally wrote it. It was a beautiful ritual held inside one of the shelters at High Banks Metro Park in Columbus, OH. There were over 110 people in attendance some from out of state.
Processional:
We approach the sacred grove,
With hearts and minds and flesh and bone,
Join us now in ways of old,
We have come home.
Outdwellers
Censing and Apersing – Performed by those serving as Valkyries
Initiating the Rite
As our ancestors once did, so we do today, and so our children will do in the future.
Tonight, we gather to celebrate, A Nordic Feast of Samhain, Winter Nights. We honor our Mighty Dead and the Lady who rules their dwelling places, Hela, Goddess of the Underworld. Let us join together as one folk to make our offerings in joy and reverence.
Honoring the Earth Mother
‘Hail to The, Nerthus,
Earth Mother of Men
Be Thou blessed and bless us as well,
you who feed us generation after generation
with the harvest of your bones and body.’
“Nerthus, Earth Mother of Men accept our sacrifice”
Recreation of the Cosmos:
We now establish our sacred center.
The Portal Song
CHORUS
By Fire and by Water, between the Earth and Sky
We stand like the World-Tree rooted deep, crowned high.
Come we now to the Well, the eye and the mouth of Earth,
Come we now to the Well, and silver we bring,
Come we now to the Well, the waters of rebirth,
Come we now to the Well, together we sing:
CHORUS
We will kindle a Fire, Bless all, and with harm to none,
We will kindle a Fire, and offering pour,
We will kindle a Fire, A light ‘neath the Moon & Sun,
We will kindle a fire, our spirits will soar.
CHORUS
Gather we at the Tree, the root & the crown of all,
Gather we at the Tree, Below & above,
Gather we at the Tree, Together we make our call,
Gather we at the Tree, In wisdom & love.
CHORUS (with gusto)
Grove Attunement (Unity Meditation)
Take a moment to find the center of your mind, body and soul.
Now, focus your thoughts down, down into the Earth. Listen. Hear the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Listen. Listen. Feel your heartbeat match the pulse of the Earth; listen as they beat in unison. Now envision a pale green mist arising from the Earth. Swirling and flowing, it encircles your limbs, your torso, and engulfs your head. Feel the mists as they become a part of you, blending within you and exiting through you. Now the mists twirl about you and their circle grows, encompassing those around you, as well. You watch as the green billowing mists entwine them, piercing their cores and uniting all in a green cloud of energy, flowing through each of you before moving on to the next, sharing the energy from one with the next, creating an interconnectedness between you. Hear you still, the heartbeat, the bass notes underlying the symphony of life as each living thing is connected through this Earth energy. You watch as the mist grows brighter and brighter until it burns brightly, twirling and swirling faster and faster as it is fed.
Now, see a shimmering band of white light, growing into a silvery essence from the air begin to follow the path of the green mists that glow like emeralds kissed by the sun. See the silvery light entwining you swirling about you, piercing your core before moving on to the next person, connecting those placed the emerald-green mists have been with a silvery, shimmering glow. Hear again the heartbeat, beating as one with your own heart and the hearts of those around you.
With the swirling silvers and emeralds about you, you now see a deep, sapphire blue bubbling up, flowing as water, encompassing your legs, your torso, your arms, your head. Flowing through you and throughout you, pouring down the paths of the silvers and greens, watch the watery blue light that breaks as waves at each surface it encounters before piercing and filling those around you—as the tide coming in and filling every crevice, every pool, every opening. See the ebb and flow of the blue light as it merges with the greens and silvers to erupt into a unified, intensified golden light, pulsing with the heartbeat of Mother Earth.
See now this golden light encompassing all that it touches, flowing faster and faster, and enshrouding everything, everyone in a mantle of golden glory. Thusly dress in this golden light of balanced unity, open now your mind’s eye, and with the bells of the lights and the heartbeat of the Mother Earth echoing in your spirit, allow yourself to open your eyes,
(All repeat)
‘The waters support and surround us
The land extends about us
The sky stretches out above us.
At our center burns a living flame.
May all the Kindred bless us.
May our worship be true.
May our actions be just.
May our love be pure.
Blessings, and honor, and worship to the Holy Ones.’
And now, let us open the gates that we may be in the direct presence of the Kindred.
Gatekeepers Invocation
Mighty Norns, Urd Verdandi, Skuld
Thurs maidens of what was, what is and what may be
You are the weavers of Wyrd
You are the carvers of Örlög
You are the deliverers of destiny to god and man alike.
You are the Jotun maids that the gods seek council from
You are the guardians of the well of Urd
You are the nourishers of Yggdrasil, the world tree.
You who touch all 9 realms
Wise ones, we honor you and ask you to stand as guardians of the gates.
Blend your magic with outs that none may cause harm to those gathered here
Help us as we open the gates and tred the ancient paths
Ladies of the Ash, accept our offering with hail and welcome!
Folk: Ladies of the Ash! Accept our Offering!
Opening the gates
To the realm of Asgard – land of the Aesir and the Asyniur
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Vanaheim – land of the Vanir
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Alfheim – land of the Alvs and the Alfar
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Muspelheim – land of fire and one force of creation
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Jotunheim – land of the Jotunar
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Helheim – land of the dead and our Disir
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Niflheim – land of ice and the second force of creation
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Svartalfheim – land of dark elves and forgers of treasure
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and join the children of the old ways.
To the realm of Midgard – land of man and landvettir
Hear our call while this flame burns bright (light torch)
Open wide your gates and welcome those of the old ways.
9 realms we have called
9 doors we knocked upon
9 flames we burn
Let the gates be open!
Folk: Let the gates be open!
Invocations, Three Kindred
Ancestors
Nature Spirits
Shining Ones
Journey to Helheim
Warding the Folk
First, Children of Earth, we must ward ourselves and make ready, for the sounds of life resound loudly in the Halls of the Dead. We cloak ourselves in the same manner in which Groa cloaked her son, Svipdagr, to prepare him for the journey.
First, we create a barrier that will cast of anything harmful.
Second, we prevent ourselves from wandering, deprived of will, in the ways’.
Third, we protect ourselves against the power of rivers which might overwhelm us and cause us to sink back into Hel.
Fourth, we turn the hearts of enemies who lie in wait for us away from their hostility.
Fifth, we loosen any fetter that be laid upon our limbs.
Sixth, we calm the raging sea, wilder than men know.
Seventh, we preserve ourselves from death from intense cold on the high fells.
Eighth, we protect ourselves from the malignant power of those who lurk within, if we are suddenly overcome with darkness.
Ninth, we grant ourselves eloquence and wisdom when we converse with the wise and terrible giant who stands before the realm with eagle’s wings.
Invocation to Sleipnir
Thusly warded, we must also call on a guide, whose powers will allow mortals such as ourselves not only entrance to the realm of the Dead, though we may be easily allowed in, but also a way back, for Hel does not easily release those who dwell so freely into it’s mists.
Sleipnir, Mighty Stead of Odin, we call to you now! Fastest and strongest of horses who glides on eight stalwart legs, Runes carved into your very teeth, we call you to come forth! Come, join us at our fire!
You have guided Odin through realms of spirit and matter, over land, sea and sky. We have brought gifts for you, which we give freely in honor and in reverence, and in return, we ask that you guide us as you have Hermodr on our journey over the Gjoll bridge and into the heart of Helheim, there to greet those who have gone before us and to pay honor to the Goddess, Hela, in all her majesty! Sleipnir accept our sacrifice!
Folk: Sleipnir! Accept our sacrifice!
Journey to Helheim
Sleipnir, with his great speed, shall carry us through the cold ring of fire at the entrance to the burial mound, over a nine days’ journey through mists and eternal blackness to the Crystal Bridge thatched with glittering gold called Gjollar, which crosses the Gjoll River, full of weapons, flowing from the spring of Hvergelmir. The maiden, Modgudr, asks us our names and our purpose. We each give our names and state our purpose: to pay homage to the Lady who rules here and greet our beloved dead during Winter Nights, the time of the Ancestors. She smiles to us, noting the presence of the Giant Horse, and bids us down and north, toward Helheim.
So, onward we travel, through caverns with jagged rocks and dripping waters, along Hels-way. Darkness surrounds us, and we are washed in the winds from the wings of the giant Hraesvelg who sits at the edge of the world in the form of a giant eagle. Downward, further and further, beneath the third root of Yggdrasil. In the distance can be heard growlings, most likely from Garm, the four-eyed hound, chest drenched in blood, who guards the entrance to Hel. Do not fear him, for those who have given bread to the poor can easily appease him with Hel cake, if he dares venture from the Gnipa-cave and into the presence of Sleipnir.
Darkness begins to give way as we approach the iron gates, thrown back in anticipation of our arrival. One final deep breath as we pass through the Gates of Hel.
Invocation to Hela
And lo, there she stands, Hela, Goddess of the Underworld and Ruler of all nine realms of the dead. Half of her, a beautiful maiden, half of her, death and decayed flesh, Hela, the embodiment of the cycle of life and death stands balanced in her beauty and her horror.
Hela! The Children of the Earth have come to your hall to pay respect to you and to those over whom you hold dominion! We come bearing gifts to lie at your feet, you into whose hands we commend our spirits at our life-journey’s end. Hela! Accept our Sacrifice!
Mighty Goddess, we have opened the gates to the nine realms, at your permission and call now for all the Ancestors of those in this company to join us in the hall! Children of the Earth, find those loved ones who have gone before you, greet them with all your heart, open and ready, and commune awhile.
Ancestors Visitation Song:
From far beyond this mortal plane, mothers and fathers of old,
We pray that you return again, mothers and fathers of old.
To share with us the mysteries and secrets long untold,
Of the ancient ways we seek to reclaim, mothers and fathers of old.
Returning to the Grove
And now, we bid farewell to our beloved Ancestors, giving farewell hugs and kisses, and noting the details of all that we have seen, heard and experienced to bring back with us as we return.
Sleipnir, you whose presence allows us to return, lead us back through the gates, onward and upward, back through the darkness through which we came. We arrive back at the Gjoll-bridge, where Modgudr nods to us and allows us to cross the bridge southward once more. Over nine days’ journey, Sleipnir, speed us back to our Grove!
Children of Earth, become aware once more of the world around you and reorient yourself as we prepare to move forward with the rite.
Final Sacrifice
Let our voices arise on the Fire
Let our voices resound in the Well
Let our words pass the boundary to the Otherworld as we focus our intentions.
Kindred! We have honored you with many gifts in the ways of those who have gone before us. We have given freely from our hearts and from our hands, and we ask you now that you accept our sacrifices in the spirit in which they have been given!
Kindred! Accept our sacrifice!
Folk: Kindred! Accept our sacrifice!
Omen
First Question: Have our offerings been accepted – Seeress pulls one rune
Will those who performed the kindred invocations step forward? (Kindred callers step forward)
What words of comfort do the Nature spirits have for us? (N.S. interpret drawn rune)
What words of Wisdom do the Ancestors share with us? (Ancestors interpret drawn rune)
What words of guidance do the Shining Ones gift us with? (S.O. interpret drawn rune)
The Kindred have spoken and given us their gifts. Do the folk accept these blessings?
Then let us seek the waters.
Return Flow
These are absolutely good omens (we hope), for such a night as this.
Samhain is the time when we connect with the crucial forces of nature
and make ourselves ready for the long descent into winter. It is a time to
reflect on that which we’ve brought into our lives, and that which we need
for the future. Its the night of the dead, of remembrance for our ancestors
and those still living. A night of kinship and honoring the Mighty
Kindreds.
Life, (gestures to the water vase) water . that which takes life and
that which gives it. Water which sustains us and purifies us. And these
waters here, to be blessed and enhanced by the kindreds. Now, let us ask
the mighty Kindred to Bless the waters!
Mighty Kindred, we ask you to bless the waters!
Reflect upon the Omens (1st Omen), (2nd Omen) and (3rd Omen). Think of how they will affect our grove, community, our relationship with the Kindreds. Having meditated upon these Omens, now take a moment to feel our connection with the O Mighty Kindreds.
Mighty Kindred, we ask you to bless the waters!
Children of the earth do the folk accept the omens? (yes)
Then see the omens as they now manifest in these waters, see the fire of blessings as it reflects in the water.
Shining down from above, seeping up from below….Holy Kindreds give us the waters! (repeated)
Mighty Kindreds give us the waters! (repeated)
Noble Kindreds give us the waters! (repeated)
Behold the Waters of Life! (Repeated)
Working
Sumbel
During this part we had 4 Valkyries. In attendance were 110 people and so we had to do some adjusting to compensate so that our lovely ladies would not get exhausted carrying the horn around. Cider was poured into the horn and the Valkyries took a position in each corner of the hall. The first would pass the horn from person to person for a quarter of the hall, then the horn was given to the next valkyrie who proceeded to do the same for her quarter of the hall and so on. It allowed for toasting and only one round was done.
Thanking the Beings
Closing the gates
To the realm of Svartalfheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Niflheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Helheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Jotunheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Muspelheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Alfheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Vanaheim
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Asgard
You joined our rite while this flame burned (douse flame)
Close now your gates with thanks from the children of the old ways
To the realm of Midgard
As we dwell within your borders we do not close this gate.
Instead we put out this flame with hail and thanks to those of the old ways.
Folk: Hail and thanks to those of the old ways. (douse flame)
9 realms we honored
9 doors we shut
9 flames burned out
Let the gates be closed!
Folk: Let the Gates be Closed!
Gatekeepers, Thanks
Urd, Verdandi, Skuld
Norns of Yggdrasil
Our gatekeepers and guarders of fate
The children of the old ways honor you for your work done here.
Go now in peace with our hail and thanks.
Folk: Hail and Thanks.
Thanking the Earth Mother
” Nerthus, Earth Mother of Men, Be thou Blessed, and we thank thee for thy blessings. We bid thee farewell.”
Closing the Rite
May all be as it was, only better for having been touched by the work we have done here tonight. Go in peace. This rite is ended.
Recessional:
Walk with wisdom from this hallowed place.
Walk not in sorrow, our roots shall ere embrace.
May strength be your brother, and honor be your friend,
And luck be your lover until we meet again.