| The Rite to Thunar Y2000 written by Frodvard Adalbrikt Old Norse translation by Lisa (We did this ritual at a sea cave where we met some very nice Zen Budhists...) Godhi: This is the time of year when Sunna is growing stronger but the cold winds blow still stronger. It is one of the coldest times of the year. That cold sent by the Rime-Thurses (Frost/Ice Giants), the destructive forces whose coming dates to the creation of the worlds, marks this as the true peak of winter. This is when they grow strongest and when we need the protection of the Thurses' Bane. So we honor Thunar Karl who protects us and who reminds us that we are brave, strong, happy, and mighty as is he and his kin Modhi, Thrudhr, and Magni. This year we also meet to honor the giants of the sea, Ran and her mate Ægir. Rulers of the deep are friends to the gods and hold the wisdom of the seas. Their daughters are the mothers of Heimdall who guards the Bifrost Bridge and who inspires all here tonight. Hail Heimdall!! (Candles have been lit in the cave and placed to give as much light as they can) (The Godhi or Gythia performs the Hammer Rite. Especially honoring The Etins' Bane in the east. And in the west, Ægir and Ran.) Gythia: This night we honor Thor, Warder of Midgard and Asgard. When clash the gods and giants, it is Thor and his unstoppable hammer that the giants fear. It is Thor who wards us with wit and strength. So this night we call to you Great Thor ….be here with us. All: Hail the Thunderer. Hail the maker of rain. Hail the Hollower, he who hears our calls. Hail to Erda's mightiest son. He comes now through the skies… Hail to Mjollnir. The lightning flashes as you strike. Hail to Great Thor, Man's friend on darkest night. Hail to the Hammer, smashing thurses of frost and ice. Hail the Helper of Men. Flee trolls, draugur and etins, or know his mighty wrath. Hail Thor. Hail Thor. Hail Thor! Godhi: Thor, whose wain is pulled by Tooth Nasher and Tooth Grinder, is Drighten of Goats. This night we honor him my offering to him this Goat of Goats. (Godhi takes out a goat cheese goat and, using a sax, he cuts it's throat saying...) Here we offer our thanks to you for your protection of our house pillars and our gods. Ward us and help us and the land to grow through the coming tide. (A small piece of cheese is given to all) Gythia: This night we also honor Ægir and Ran brewers of the Ale of the Gods. Let us now drink to them and remember that it was Mighty Thor who fooled Tyr's father into giving up the great cauldron that Ægir uses to brew. (A horn of Ale is passed to all) We have always been a people of the sea. There is even some thought that our dim ancestors did not hunt first on land but in the rich sea. The way our hair lies on our bodies, our eyebrows, the webbing in toes and fingers all belie this. Godhi: So, too our ancestors took to the whale road in ships. The ship of the Vans, Ullr's shield, Freyr's mighty and wonderous ship, Skidbladnir, Scyld the child king in his treasure boat who is remembered by the Saxon's in Beowulf and Yngvi-Freyr who the Swedes say traveled the sea in a wagon. Our distant ancestors who faired forth in long ships and knörr's to trade and fish, raid and migrate. All knew that the sea was both life and death. That it offered wealth and wisdom and destruction and ruin. The power of Ran and Ægir is not to be trifled at. They fill their hall with the drowned brave sailors who venture over their nine daughters. Much like Odin and Freyja fill their halls with those brave enough to be heroes in battle. But truly they are friends to the gods. For when Loki comes to Ran's Hall under the waves and asks for her net because Odin needs it (a lie, but, hey he is Loki) she gives it freely. The gods feast on the sea fare that they set at table in their hall near Hlesey. Ægir also brews the Ale of the Gods and just as a good ale hisses and foams, so does Ægir's brewing kettle, the sea. Just as Freyr and Freyja were lovers so too Ran and Ægir. In this, they may be seen as Vanic. Ran like Freyja is a goddess of death as she is the one who feasts those she has drawn to her in her nets. Some speak of Ægir as a gaunt old man with long white beard and clutching fingers wanting to have all things in his grasp. Anyone who has witnessed the power of the sea to reclaim land and undo the workings of men would not doubt this description. Nor would they fail to note that Ran means "Robber", and any who has lost a husband, wife or child to the sea could think no less of her. But again, a feast awaits in her hall to all who brought "the flame of the sea" with them. (Godhi reads poem) "In the deep sea caves by the sounding shore, In the dashing waves When the wild storms roar, In her cold green howers In the Northern fiords, She lurks and she glowers, She graps and she hoards, And she spreads her strong net for her prey. Gythia: As Pagans, we recognize that water is more than just a source of food. Water is cleansing and renewing (Take the branch and dip it in the kettle of sea water and bless each person). It is a source of inspiration and wisdom. It is in the deepest depths that the Midgard Serpent lies coiled about the world, waiting to sow destruction on the land. And it is the sea that will cleanse and renew the land after it puts out the fires of Ragnarok. The sea, like our lives, is fraught with dangers and rewards. Tonight, we make sacrifice to the rulers of the sea in homage and awe. We ask for your wisdom. We offer to you, Lord, some ale… (one of the group pours some ale into the waves….) And to you, Lady Ran, some "welsh grains"* to light your halls so that, should we ever need your help, you would look kindly on us. (Another member of the group does the same with the gold leaf) Symbel: The horn is passed. Godhi: We have called on our gods and they have replied, (each line repeated in Old Norse by Gythia) We are your friends. ON: Ver ert Þinn fraendi We have been with you from the beginning, ON: Ver hafa biða med Þu fra byrjun We shall remain after you have passed, ON: Ver munu vera enn efteir a Þu hafa fara fra her We have smiled upon your father's farthest forebears, ON: Ver hafa bros a Þinn fjari forfaðir and shall smile upon the thousandth generation after you. ON: ok munu bros a Þusundasti kynsloð eftir a Þu We are in you as you are in us. ON: Ver ert i Þu ok Þu ert i okkar You have come home. ON: Þu hafa koma heim Godhi: Now we have given thanks to Thor and to Ran and Ægir. Remember well all that you have come to understand this night. (The Ve is brought down as the waves rise.) *The term, "welsh grains" refers to gold. We used gold flakes that were strained from Goldschlaeger for this ritual. Back to Writings |