Winifred Hodge Rose
Preparation
Here are the items you will need.
– Soul-token(s) or materials for making soul-token(s), if you are planning to use this.
– Your altar.
– Candle in a candlestick that you can hold. If it is a votive or tea-light, place it on a dish so you can carry it without burning yourself. Matches or lighter.
– Thor’s Hammer, or other item that you use for Hallowing.
– ‘Needfire’: incense or aromatic herbs or twigs that will provide a wisp of smoke when burned, along with a suitable container (fire-pot) and charcoal if needed. I like to use a small, burning twig or stalk; if you use loose leaves, then you will need charcoal for burning them. Only a small amount is needed, for a brief time. If you don’t want to use any of these, you can use your candle, or simply imagine a Needfire in front of you. If you are using a little fire-pot with twigs or dried herbs, have a cup of water handy to put it out when you are ready.
– Whatever kind of ceremonial drink you wish to use, and your drinking horn, goblet, or other vessel. This is referred to as the ‘horn’ in the ceremony guidelines.
– A bowl with a little water in it for the blessing-bowl, and a leafy twig for sprinkling. You can use your fingers to sprinkle with, if you don’t have a twig.
– Have your Daybook handy to write any notes, questions, experiences, ideas that occur to you during your meditation and at the end of the ceremony.
Hallowing
Circle the sacred space, or turn around in place, with a lighted candle in one hand and holding a Thor’s Hammer in your other hand. Speak these words, or your own preferred words, and raise the Hammer when you say “Thor hallow”.
Fire I bear around this frithyard,
And bid all here keep frith;
Flame I bear to enclose,
Bidding bale-wights flee away.
Thor hallow, Thor hallow, Thor hallow this holy stead.
Set candle and Thor’s Hammer on your altar.
Calling
Hear me, all you hallowed folk,
Both high and low of Heimdall’s kin!
I hail you, Holy Ones of all the Worlds that are!
Ever shall frith and faith hold firm
Between myself and you:
The wellsprings of my souls.
Raise horn and drink; pour a little into the blessing-bowl.
Eldfathers, eldmothers, kindred of old,
Rooted in might, holding troth with your own,
Behold the new roots, the green shoots from your boughs,
And bless me: the fruit of your branches.
Raise horn and drink; pour a little into the blessing-bowl.
Landwights blessed, land’s life-givers,
Holy hold this stead, all harm withstand.
Be welcome here, all good wights,
And share the blessings with me.
Raise horn and drink; pour a little into the blessing-bowl.
The Needfire
If you have a Hugr token to initiate and bless, have it ready in front of you. If you are not using tokens, that is fine: your souls are all here with you anyway! Light your incense, herbs or twigs if you are using them. If you are not, imagine, feel, smell, or sense a smoking Needfire before you, aromatic with sacred herbs. Use the smoke, physical or imaginary, to cleanse yourself, your tokens, and the space you are in, by passing your token through the smoke, and waving the smoke around as you recite three times:
Hallowed herbs, all ill dispel,
As fuel on the fire, as smoke on the wind.
If you wish or need to, you can extinguish the Needfire when you are done.
If you have a Hugr token, keep it with you for the following meditation.
Hugr in the Heart: Hugr Initiation
The photo below shows an unusual stele or grave-marker from Niederdollendorf, Germany. It was found in an empty grave in a Frankish cemetery dating from 600 or 700CE, but could be older, and its meaning remains unclear.
Here is my own interpretation, offered for you to explore in meditation. I consider this ancient figure to be an illustration of the Hugr and its power. The Hugr itself is represented by the circle on the chest of the warrior, over his heart. The swelling and emanating power of his Hugr is represented by his hair standing on end and the forceful lines and shapes radiating out from his body. His spear is a symbol of his power to focus his Hugr’s will and desire.
Compare the idea of the Hugr directing a spear’s power with this description of a sword in the Lay of Helgi Hjorvardsson: “There’s a ring on its hilt, hugr in the middle, and terror on the point” (verse 9; Poetic Edda). Why is ‘hugr’ in the middle of the sword? Hugr is the force of direction, of intention, of courage and action, and forms the supporting structure of the sword, and of the spear.
I interpret the braided lines that the warrior is standing on as a representation of the interwoven strands of human life, culture, society, from which we all arise and which support all our interactions and achievements in life.
Finally, I see the zigzag lines at the bottom of the stele as representative of powerful waves of ancestral forces, influences, and support, that underlie and empower us in Midgard life. These ancestral forces are the Hugrs of the departed, sinking down and rising up like waves, influencing our Midgard lives.
There are many runes to be seen in this carving, especially Kenaz, Ingwaz, and Gebo. These, along with the interpretations I offer above, provide a fruitful context for meditation on the Hugr and its role in our life.
Spend a little time meditating on these ideas and write about it in your Daybook, if you wish. Finish by raising up your Hugr token, and naming it if you wish. If it is something you wear, then you may wear it now. If you have no token, you can raise your cupped palms or put your hands to your heart to honor your Hugr.
Hail your Quest
Raise your ‘drinking horn’ and offer good words to your Hugr as you begin this mighty quest. Offer prayers to whichever Holy Ones you wish, for their help and Gods-speed on your journey. Sip from your ‘horn’ after each speaking. When you are finished, pour the rest of the drink into the blessing-bowl.
Blessing
Use the twig or your fingers to sprinkle liquid from the blessing-bowl around your altar, yourself, and your soul-token(s) if you have any.
Thanks-Giving and Closing Prayer
All-holy Gods and Goddesses, ancestors, good wights of this place, I offer thanks for your blessing and help with this new adventure I am undertaking: the exploration of my souls, and exploration of my soul-connections with the souls and spirits of other beings, including yourselves.
I take joy in my kinship with you, and with the Feorhcynn: with all that lives. May the frith among us all strengthen and deepen day by day, as I pursue the wisdom of my own souls, and share in the wisdom of others.
This rite is ended. I go forth now in frith, and bear gifts of wisdom and blessing with me, always!
If possible, pour the remaining liquid in the blessing-bowl out in a suitable place outside. If that’s not possible, you could pour it into the pot of a house-plant, or drink it all. If you must pour it down the drain, first say a prayer to the Earth-mother, asking her to accept this offering however it reaches her, and saying that you mean no disrespect to her by pouring it down the drain.
If you have a Hugr token, have a suitable container to store it in when you are not wearing or using it: a cloth bag or wrapper, a small bowl, jar, or box. Keep the container on your altar or other meaningful place.
Reference for photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Grabstein_von_Niederdollendorf%2C_R%C3%BCckseite.jpg
