Happy Fall Equinox
At this, the balance point of the year, I engaged in a 3 day devotional. The devotional honors my local ecosystem, and the Norse pantheon in the Northern Hemisphere, but it can easily be flipped around for the Southern hemisphere.
I also originally wrote this as a devotional to specific deities, inspired by two large group rites in The Troth's Book of Blots. I scaled them down to just a simple devotional and offeratory framework, substituting general themes and suggested offerings for liturgical scripting. I shared this with ADF in the mode of the "Yule-a-long," that druids all over the globe (because we have them now) can drive a current of "druidy energy around the world." Ideally, folks would honor the deities that are most appropriate for the themes from their own hearth practices, and that reflect their local ecosystems as well. In retrospect, one could also honor the energies of moving from light to dark.
The altar is arranged in three sections. On the left, a green and yellow candle for the gods of the summer months. In the center, a Thor's hammer and a red candle for the god that protects our home. On the right, two white candles for the gods of the winter months. The winter side of the altar is covered with black tulle. In the front and center, is a disk pained half white and half black, with the rune "Jera" painted in red.
Ideally, I would have appropriate seasonal decorations on the Summer and Winter sides of the altar, however our two 4 year old cats are still very mischievous, so the fewer unofficial toys, the better!
Day one: Friday, September 21. Honoring the end of the Summer. Giving thanks for the gifts of the fertile season, be they agricultural or more symbolic. In our home, I honored Freyr and Freya, the Lord and Lady of the Vanir, for the gifts of fertility of the land that is now being harvested.
I offered black cherry tomatoes from my garden (the only thing that grew!), blueberries from the store, and mead.
Day two: Saturday, September 22. The equinox arrived at 9:54 p.m., so the devotional was at that time. I had chosen a stick from a yard of a friend who had an equinox rite earlier that day, to honor a fellow druid, Earrach of Pittsburgh, who would break a stick to mark the exact moment of the solstice or equinox. I then made offerings to Thor, who is a patron of our home, and protects humanity from fire giants and frost giants alike. I thanked him for his protections in the season that had passed, and asked for his blessings and protections for the seasons to come. I offered him a dark wheat roll and a bottle of Yngling lager.
On the altar you will also see five disks, which have runes drawn on them. At the pot-luck we went to, as part of the rite, we were given these disks to then write or draw symbols of what we were thankful for. I thought this was a wonderful idea, so I added them to my altar.
Day three: Sunday, September 23. Welcoming the beginning of Winter. While it may not be my favorite season, it has an important role in the well being of the planet. It's all about attitude, right? So, greeting gods associated with the Winter with gifts and in a positive way hopefully can help me view it more positively...right? Maybe?
Anyway, I honored Skadhi and Ullr. Skadhi is a giant who marries Njordh (long story) but doesn't want to live at the sea with him, because she misses her snowy mountains. Ullr is associated with hunting with bow and arrow and often pictured on skis. I offered them vodka (Grey Goose, in honor of the geese flying over head) and jerky, to represent the preservation of food to store through the winter.
I also, as you can see, asked for an omen each night.
Day 1: What lesson that I learned should I take with me into the next season. My omen was Cat (using the Druid Oracle).
"...the ability to observe situations quietly without judgement before making decisions. You have a right to know and to judge important issues for yourself in your own time."
Day 2: What skills or knowledge can be useful to protect me going forward? Omen was Hare
.
"You will be well able to negotiate times of change, and you will be able to draw on your intuition to guide you through life."
Day 3: What is the lesson to learn for the season to come? Om..en was Hawk.
"Free yourself from unnecessary 'baggage' and ... connect to your ancestral roots. Once you know where you have come from and where you are going, you will be able to make decisions with confidence."
I also originally wrote this as a devotional to specific deities, inspired by two large group rites in The Troth's Book of Blots. I scaled them down to just a simple devotional and offeratory framework, substituting general themes and suggested offerings for liturgical scripting. I shared this with ADF in the mode of the "Yule-a-long," that druids all over the globe (because we have them now) can drive a current of "druidy energy around the world." Ideally, folks would honor the deities that are most appropriate for the themes from their own hearth practices, and that reflect their local ecosystems as well. In retrospect, one could also honor the energies of moving from light to dark.
The altar is arranged in three sections. On the left, a green and yellow candle for the gods of the summer months. In the center, a Thor's hammer and a red candle for the god that protects our home. On the right, two white candles for the gods of the winter months. The winter side of the altar is covered with black tulle. In the front and center, is a disk pained half white and half black, with the rune "Jera" painted in red.
Ideally, I would have appropriate seasonal decorations on the Summer and Winter sides of the altar, however our two 4 year old cats are still very mischievous, so the fewer unofficial toys, the better!
Day one: Friday, September 21. Honoring the end of the Summer. Giving thanks for the gifts of the fertile season, be they agricultural or more symbolic. In our home, I honored Freyr and Freya, the Lord and Lady of the Vanir, for the gifts of fertility of the land that is now being harvested.
I offered black cherry tomatoes from my garden (the only thing that grew!), blueberries from the store, and mead.
Day two: Saturday, September 22. The equinox arrived at 9:54 p.m., so the devotional was at that time. I had chosen a stick from a yard of a friend who had an equinox rite earlier that day, to honor a fellow druid, Earrach of Pittsburgh, who would break a stick to mark the exact moment of the solstice or equinox. I then made offerings to Thor, who is a patron of our home, and protects humanity from fire giants and frost giants alike. I thanked him for his protections in the season that had passed, and asked for his blessings and protections for the seasons to come. I offered him a dark wheat roll and a bottle of Yngling lager.
On the altar you will also see five disks, which have runes drawn on them. At the pot-luck we went to, as part of the rite, we were given these disks to then write or draw symbols of what we were thankful for. I thought this was a wonderful idea, so I added them to my altar.
Day three: Sunday, September 23. Welcoming the beginning of Winter. While it may not be my favorite season, it has an important role in the well being of the planet. It's all about attitude, right? So, greeting gods associated with the Winter with gifts and in a positive way hopefully can help me view it more positively...right? Maybe?
Anyway, I honored Skadhi and Ullr. Skadhi is a giant who marries Njordh (long story) but doesn't want to live at the sea with him, because she misses her snowy mountains. Ullr is associated with hunting with bow and arrow and often pictured on skis. I offered them vodka (Grey Goose, in honor of the geese flying over head) and jerky, to represent the preservation of food to store through the winter.
I also, as you can see, asked for an omen each night.
Day 1: What lesson that I learned should I take with me into the next season. My omen was Cat (using the Druid Oracle).
"...the ability to observe situations quietly without judgement before making decisions. You have a right to know and to judge important issues for yourself in your own time."
Day 2: What skills or knowledge can be useful to protect me going forward? Omen was Hare
.
"You will be well able to negotiate times of change, and you will be able to draw on your intuition to guide you through life."
Day 3: What is the lesson to learn for the season to come? Om..en was Hawk.
"Free yourself from unnecessary 'baggage' and ... connect to your ancestral roots. Once you know where you have come from and where you are going, you will be able to make decisions with confidence."
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