Calendar of the Sun
15 Blutmonath
Nidhogg’s Blot
Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: On a black cloth set several bare tree branches in an earthenware vase, a horn of mead, and the figure of a dragon.
Offerings: Pieces of wood with the name of a missed duty scratched on them.
Daily Meal: Tree fruit such as apples or pears or cherries or peaches.
Invocation to Nidhogg
At the base of the great World Tree
Dwells a black dragon
Whose name is Nidhogg,
Whose sole task is gnawing
At the roots of Yggdrasil.
As quickly as it gnaws away,
New growth comes forth
In a never-ceasing spiral.
At the base of each soul
Dwells a black dragon
Whose name is Conscience,
Whose sole job is gnawing
On our blithe thoughtlessness.
As it gnaws and forces us
To do what should be done,
It clears away our disorder
And allows for new growth
In the tangle of our lives.
Teach us, gnawer at the roots,
How to listen and decide.
Chant:
Roots of the Tree,
Hidden, mysterious,
Reveal them to me,
Dragon of Earth.
(Each person shall snap a twig from the branches on the altar and take it with them, laying it under their pillow to remember Nidhogg and their own consciences. The mead is passed around and shared, and the remainder poured out as a libation to Nidhogg.)
have run its course on August 28. Ansuz is said to symbolize an Aesir, a Norse deity, and most probably Odin (who corresponds to the Germanic Wotan or Woden), the chief god of the Scandinavian pantheon, as well as a fearless warrior and the source and seeker of great wisdom. It is told that Odin hung for days upon Yggdrasil, the world tree, in order to be rewarded with the magickal knowledge contained in the Runes. Ansuz is therefore considered a runic vehicle of divine inspiration, knowledge, and communication.
mounted upon winged horses and armed with helmets and spears. Odin needs many brave warriors for the oncoming battle of Ragnarok, and the Valkyries scout the battlefields to choose the bravest of those who have been slain. They escort these heroes, called the Einherjar to Valhalla, Odin’s hall.The Valkyries are also Odin’s messengers and when they ride forth on their errands, their armor causes the strange flickering light that is called “Aurora Borealis” (Northern Lights).
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