There are many rituals in Asatru. The two main types are seasonal holidays and rituals for a specific purpose, such as a wedding. At seasonal holidays, there are two main rituals performed: a blot and a sumbel (or symbel). A blot is a blessing and a sumbel is a toasting ritual. Both are forms of sacrifice. Blots can be made into elaborate theatrical productions, cast into verse, and include many holiday-specific elements, such as colored eggs for Ostara. Gathering the participants for a blot or sumbel can be an elaborate procession from one place to another, or scattered campers can be summoned with a horn. If the number of participants is small and the ritual is to take place in a back yard, for example, the gathering process is usually simple.
When doing both blot and sumbel, the sumbel is done first, and the beverage leftover in the horn after the sumbel is poured into the bowl for the blot instead of being poured on the ground. The leftover alcohol or juice from the blot will then be poured on the ground. At the end of both rituals, the leftover liquid is poured on the ground for the landwights. Those who have no access to the ground can pour into a potted plant.
In ancient times, the liquid sprinkled on the participants in a blot was the blood of a sacrificed animal, which was collected in the blot bolli (blessing bowl). Some heathen groups in the United States sacrifice animals, but even those groups sprinkle alcohol instead of blood on the blot participants. Unlike when the liquid in the blot bolli is a beverage, when the liquid in the bowl is blood it is not given to the landwight and must not be poured out on the ground.
During the sumbel ritual, most Asatru groups drink from a cow's horn, which symbolizes Audhumla's nourishing role. Some Asatru sects send the horn around the circle three times: the first round consists of toasts to the gods, the second round to the ancestors, and the third round open. Other groups pass the horn until the mead runs out. At especially large gatherings, it may be practical to send the horn around the circle only once. A Shope's Sumbel or Bardic Circle happens when everyone comes prepared with poetry and music and there are endless rounds that go on until people run out of works to present. A sumbel circle is not sealed like a magical circle; in fact, in the early times it was not a circle at all, but a sort of rectangle of people seated on benches in a great hall. Clinking glasses in a beer hall symbolically unites all the containers into one container, so modern-style toasts while sitting down at a table can also be practiced as a sumbel. Modern Asatru custom adopted the circle because it is easy to see whose turn it is, and because modern heathens often hold sumbel outdoors at a temporary campsite. Passing one large horn of mead, from which everyone drinks, is the most authentic practice. In modern times some sects and local groups choose to have individual horns, cups, or glasses for each participant, in which case the Godhi or Gythia walks around the circle with the bottle or horn and pours into individual cups. If you pass one horn around but you do not wish to drink, the custom is to kiss the horn before you pass it on. If using individual cups, a person who does not drink fills his cup with a substitute, and when the Godhi or Gythia reaches him, they clink the cup and bottle together to transfer the blessing. Some groups provide two horns, one that contains alcohol and one that contains a substitute beverage such as fruit juice, root beer or other brewed soda, or sparkling cider. When drinking from a horn, point the tip of the horn to the side to avoid a sudden outpouring. Toasts can be a simple “Hail Odin!” or can be alliterative poems or anything in between.
At a sumbel, a participant can also make a boast, that is, a public promise to do something. Boasts are like oaths; they are serious and are not to be treated like New Year's Resolutions. When creating your boast, try to stick to things you can control. For example, boast “I will work out thirty minutes every morning” rather than “I will lose ten pounds by bathing suit season.”
In most Asatru kindreds, and most public Asatru rituals, the priest or priestess of the group will start the sumbel by calling everyone together, saying a few words about the purpose of the gathering, pouring into the horn, and then sending the horn around. In some large kindreds, these rolls are divided up. In addition to a Godhi or Gythia, there may also be a Valkyrie, that is, a woman in charge of the alcohol and the horn. There may be a blowing horn in addition to the drinking horn, and a horn blower who calls the group together. Instead of a horn blower, there could be a drummer, or someone playing a loud instrument to call people to gather for the ritual. There may be both a Godhi and a Gythia, or several priests and assistant priests or priests in training. Some groups have other ritual roles specific to their group, or to the ritual they are performing.
Here is a sample of how the sumbel call and response works:
Toastmaker 1: “Hail Thor!”
All: “Hail Thor!”
Toastmaker 2: “Hail to the Raven-minder, whose eye lies in the Well of Wisdom. Your journey is a shining example to us all, tree-rider. Hail Odin!”
All: “Hail Odin!”
Toastmaker 3: “I raise a toast to the ancestors. They sailed to new lands, they saw what no one else had seen, they thought new thoughts, they made a new world for us. Hail to the Ancestors!”
All: “Hail to the Ancestors!”
Toastmaker 4: “I will go home and form my own kindred in my town. To success!”
All: “To success!”
Godhi/Gythia: Now is the time of (holiday). Today we honor (gods/spirits). We give thanks for (blessing of the gods/spirits) and ask for (his/her/their) continued blessing in the year to come.
(Picks up container of mead or water. If the blot is preceded by a sumbel, this is the leftover mead or beer from the sumbel.)
May the gods bless this (mead/water). Now let the folk come forward to receive the blessing.
(Participants walk up one by one.)
Godhi/Gythia: (Sprinkles each participant with the mead or water.) “The blessings of the gods be on you.”
(When all who wish to take part have received the blessing, then pour the rest of the mead or water onto the earth.)
“Accept our gift, gods, and spirits of the earth. We invite the gods and all beings of good will to join in our feast. Now let us make merry!”
(Ritual ends, followed by feast and entertainment.)
An Asatru wedding is similar to the modern American weddings you see on TV, but with the following differences. No one gives away the bride, because the woman is not owned by her father; she is an equal and owns herself. So the bride and groom either walk together to the place of ritual, or walk with people who hold objects the couple will ritually exchange. In some Asatru sects, the bride does not wear a veil because American Asatru arose at the same time as the feminist movement of the 1970s, and those who designed Asatru ritual for their sect considered a veil to be a symbol of the oppression of women and the ownership of women by men. However, citing the myth of Thor cross-dressing, some Asatru sects do approve of wedding veils. The bride can wear a white bridal gown, a nice modern dress, or a historical costume. The bride and groom usually match, that is, a gown and tuxedo, a dress and suit, or historical costumes of the same era and class. A priest or priestess who officiates an Asatru wedding can act as a prompter and give the bride and groom their lines, or simply be a witness. Some Asatruars use wedding rings because modern society expects it, but wedding rings are not traditional; they began in the medieval period, long after heathenry was outlawed. Some Asatruars promise exclusivity in their wedding vows, and some do not. Asatru brides do not promise to obey their husbands, because men and women are equal in Asatru.
The traditional wedding is written for a man and a woman, because in historical times marriage was not about loving each other and living together; those were both optional. Marriage was about combining two families' assets for a business partnership that included property ownership, production and income generation, creating heirs, and assigning inheritance for an eventual orderly transfer of the wealth and power of an estate. There were love matches in historical heathen times, and many historical couples chose their own spouses. However, other couples in the same place, time, and culture had marriages arranged by the people in the community who outranked the couple to be married. That could be their parents, other relatives, the local Godhi, or the king. In contemporary culture, the purpose of marriage has shifted to become an expression of love and commitment between two individuals. For this reason, a modern wedding can be between any two adults regardless of gender. For couples who do not wish to be called “bride” and “groom,” simply replace the words with the couple's desired words, such as “spouse and spouse,” “bride and bride,” etc. The traditional wedding script is written with the assumption that having children is one of the goals of the marriage. For couples who do not intend to have children, simply remove the fertility blessing (the Thor's Hammer in the lap) and replace the exchange of sword and jewel with the exchange of two equal symbols, such as wedding rings, other jewelry, weapons, etc.
There are a few essential objects needed for an Asatru wedding: cake or other food, mead or other drink, a drink container (a horn or wedding cup), a sword, a gemstone pendant, and a Thor's Hammer. The groom wears the sword and the bride wears the gem. If the couple has a household prepared, there should also be a key. The priest or priestess should have the hammer. In the following script, the parts of the best man and maid of honor can be spoken by the groom and bride, by their parents, a priest or priestess, or a representative of the community. The words can be rewritten. The scripts for these rituals do not come from a sacred book of the elder days, rather they are reconstructions.
This sample ritual is scripted for a bride and groom. In ancient times, a marriage was a legal contract for property ownership and management (the wife's responsibility) and the production and raising of children (a joint venture, the production part of which required a biological male and female who were both fertile). The issue of a marriage, that is, the offspring who arrived while the marriage was valid, would inherit the property. Marriage was not about whom one could love or with whom one could make love. Social and technological change have modified the purpose of marriage as well, so as with all the other rituals, feel free to adapt them to your circumstances.
(Bride and groom enter the gathering and go to front of the assembly.)
Groom: I take you for my wife, and I pledge my sword to you. (Draws sword, hands it to bride.) Take this sword that you may defend our estate.
Bride: (Takes sword.) I accept your sword, my husband, and I pledge my jewel to you. (Takes off necklace, gives it to groom.) Take this jewel so that you may be the father of my children.
Groom: (Takes jewel.) I accept your jewel, my wife.
Best Man/Groom/Family member who gives the couple their new home: (Gives key to bride.) Now take this key, the symbol of your ownership of the household, and wear it proudly as a new housewife.
Bride: (Takes key, fastens it to her clothing.) I will rule the household well.
Maid of Honor/Godhi or Gythia: (Pours drink into drink cup, hands it to groom.) Now toast the new marriage.
Groom: (Takes cup or horn.) May the gods bless our union. (Groom drinks. Hands cup or horn to bride. Bride drinks.)
Priest/ess: Thor hallow this marriage. (Puts Thor's Hammer in bride's lap, or if she is standing up, holds it to her womb.) May this union be fruitful.
Bride and Groom together: (Turn to wedding cake, cut it together with the sword.) Now let us celebrate!
Feasting, drinking, music, dancing, etc. follow.
The mother, father (or mother's husband), child, and priest or priestess should be present; other relatives and friends may also be present. The participants may or may not choose to wear special clothing.
Priest/ess: Who brings this child into Midgard?
Mother: I am (your name, possibly including accomplishments and ancestors. For example, “I am Rose Hallows the musician, granddaughter of Thor Ivarsson.”)
Father: I am (your name, possibly including accomplishments and ancestors.)
Priest/ess: Mother, have nine days passed since this body came from yours?
Mother: Yes.
Priest/ess: Father, do you claim this child as your son/daughter?
Father: Yes.
Priest/ess: What will the baby's name be?
Parents: (Child's name.)
Priest/ess: (Sprinkles child with blessed water.) You are (name.) The soul of (name) is reborn.
Parents: (Name) was (list qualities of ancestor or historical figure that the parents wish the child to have.) (Optional: give the child gifts that belonged to the person after whom the child is named.) Now the (object) of (name) returns to (him/her), that the (talent or quality) may be strengthened and reborn in this child.
An Asatru funeral usually takes the form of a sumbel during which the people toast the dead person, followed by a feast that is very much like an Irish wake. It is not necessary to have a priest or priestess officiate, but if one does, usually the priest or priestess makes the first toast and the priestess or highest ranking woman passes around the drink. The individual toasts may be a simple “To Henry,” a wish such as “Valkyries, bear him swiftly to Valhalla, and may he find his favorite plane waiting for him to be his weapon until the End of Days,” a story about something the person did in life, or a tribute poem.
A rite of passage welcomes a new adult into the community. The world over, rites of passage in premodern societies are about biological sex, and becoming an adult means assuming adult responsibilities in the community, including the responsibility to participate in reproduction. This does not resonate for many modern people for a variety of reasons. However, early on in the reconstruction of Asatru, modern heathens decided to build rites of passage in the premodern style.
Traditionally, the rite of passage follows a physiological marker of sexual maturity: menarche in girls and the first ejaculation in boys. In modern times, the age of biological maturity is now younger than in the past, to the point where it is very common for the body to become sexually able in the preteen years. This is far earlier than the mind is emotionally ready for the responsibility of sex. This situation creates the problem of when to hold a rite of passage. The first choice is after biological maturity, wherein the ritual would focus on education about the mysteries of the body and erase doubt and shame about menstruation or ejaculation. This ritual would take place sometime between ages nine and twelve. The second choice is to wait for the rite of passage until it can be a real social marker between childhood protection and adult responsibility, in which case the person who participates in the ritual can be considered ready for marriage afterward. That can be as young as ages fourteen to sixteen, but it depends on the marriage laws of the state in which the participant lives, or as late as eighteen years old to mark legal adulthood in the wider society. Of course, one could always choose to do two different rites of passage, one for the body and one for the mind. The kind of information one would write into a rite of passage for biological maturity is now commonly given in school, albeit usually many years too late, and because of political influences may be dangerously incomplete or inaccurate. This information is readily available in books and on the internet, so one would have no trouble finding it if one wished to write such a ritual.
On pages 91–92, I have included a bare-bones version of a basic rite of passage for the mid-teen who is of marriageable age. Older teens and twentysomethings can of course use this type of ritual if they have not had the opportunity before. The people who conduct the ritual are encouraged to flesh it out. This ritual uses the symbols of the sword for a man and the jewel for a woman; these items should be saved for use in the future marriage ceremony. Individuals can take this opportunity to change their names, if they wish. Although most Asatru rituals include all sexes and genders, often a rite of passage will include only adult members of the same sex or gender as the transfigurant (the one who is transforming from child to adult). Some Asatru kindreds may prefer to include all sexes and genders of adults, especially if the transfigurant is nonbinary or trans, or if twins of different genders are transfiguring together.
A rite of passage can be held anywhere, from a wilderness setting to a private home. The ritual can be fleshed out with songs, words of advice, a journey from station to station, a vision quest, and so forth. For a journey from station to station for girls, there could three stations, one for each of the Norns (Past, Present, and Future.) The girl goes to each station to speak with and gain wisdom from the Norns. Three women of the community play the part of the Norns. A journey from station to station for boys can take the form of a symbolic hunt, with a costumed representative of a sacred boar or other animal playing the part of the hunted.
A journey that is not sex or gender specific could include going to different altars that represent different gods, ancestors, and so on, with a representative at each one to impart wisdom. A rite that is not based on a journey could include putting on new attire; receiving gifts by the participating adults, such as a sumbel or a blot; a symbolic death and rebirth; a dedication claiming a new name and affiliation with a patron god, and so on. The new name may be either a religious name to be used only within the community or a new legal name. Trans people are especially encouraged to choose their new legal name at this time. A rite of passage is traditionally about transforming a boy to a man or a girl to a woman, but there is no reason it cannot be about a boy becoming a woman, a girl becoming a man, or a child becoming a nonbinary adult. Kindreds who include a symbolic death and rebirth in their rite of passage consider the boy or girl to be dead and the new woman, man, or nonbinary adult to be reborn. The new adult may then take a new name, and the old dead name will no longer be used.
(The transfigurant leaves the assembly as a child and goes to another place, which can be another room in the house or another part of the woods. At this place is a priest/ess or representative of the community of the same sex as the transfigurant.)
Priest/ess (imparts wisdom; this should be made up by the priest/ess and/or community, so that it is a surprise to the transfigurant.)
(Transfigurant returns to the assembly as an adult.)
Parent (father of man/mother of woman): “My boy/girl is a child no more. Who are you that comes to us as a man/woman/adult?”
Transfigurant: (States name.)
Parent: “Then, (name), receive now the symbol of your (manhood/womanhood/adulthood.) Take this (sword/jewel/symbol) and accept your rights and responsibilities in the community.”
Transfigurant: (Takes object.) “I take this (sword/jewel/symbol) and will keep it and care for it that I may present it to my future (wife/husband/spouse.)” (Puts on sword/jewel/symbol and wears it the rest of the evening.)
Parent: “Welcome to the community of (men/women/adults.)”
Transfigurant: “Now let us toast the gods and the ancestors and celebrate.”
The sword or jewel used in this ritual is the same one that the transfigurant will later use in their wedding. If the transfigurant does not want marriage imagery in their ritual, either because they do not know the gender of their future spouse, or the transfigurant is somewhere on the gender spectrum between male and female, is permantly biologically infertile, intends to take vows as a godspouse or otherwise follow a renunciate path, the rite can be rewritten to eliminate that aspect. A rite of passage for a person who is never going to experience biological puberty, or otherwise does not relate to the experience of either menarche or first ejaculation, could focus on the maturation of the mind instead.
An Asatruar may conduct a blot at other times than holidays, especially to ask for help in a specific endeavor, to thank a specific god (“Whatever wights of good will have smiled on me this day”) or some such formulation, or when things have gone unexpectedly well. Asking rituals are simple rituals that involve the giving of a gift. This could be a toast followed by pouring the rest of the drink on the ground, burning a candle, throwing a penny in a well, and so on, and a statement of one's wish. In addition to the gods, asking rituals can be addressed to land wights, Disir, the Norns, or any other spirit one feels is appropriate. Unless you are certain which entity helped you (for example, if the help is accompanied by thunder and lightning, it is certainly Thor), thanking rituals are usually addressed to “The god or spirit who helped me” or the “God or spirit of (situation).”
In addition to public group rituals, many Asatruars also do rituals by themselves, either the same kind of holiday celebrations as group rituals or smaller personal or household rituals. Various personal rituals may be devised. For example, greeting the sun or moon, giving thanks for rain, or just making small offerings to keep a line of communication open. Many Asatruars also practice magic and perform various magical rituals.
Some Asatruars pray. Others feel that it is only appropriate to ask the gods for help when there is no other way. Many Asatruars only interact with the gods during holiday celebration, in which a specific god or entity is honored with a ritual, the god's blessing is bestowed on the people, and then the gods and beings of good will are invited to join in the feast. An Asatruar often thanks the gods or kindly spirits when something has gone unexpectedly well. Other Asatruars have close relationships with deities, ancestors, landwights, or other beings, and interact with them daily. When Asatruars pray, most sects do not pray on their knees, but stand straight and raise their arms to the heavens. Some Asatruars do not like the word pray because of Christian connotations, so when they ask the divine for assistance they call it magic, spellcasting, or sacrifice. This aversion to the word pray and the concept of prayer is not as common among younger and newer Asatruars as it was in the previous generation.
Some Asatruars have a patron god. Dedication to a particular god can be done as a public ceremony, a shamanic journey, or you may simply know which god has chosen you. People who wonder which god is calling them often consult more experienced heathens, whether in person or on the internet. Asatruars who have a patron god may or may not hold specific rituals to that god. Many Asatruars only attend public rituals, at which they might toast their patron god.
Some Asatruars maintain an altar or multiple altars. The first questions to ask yourself are: For what purpose am I building an altar? Is it to celebrate holidays, to honor a specific power such as a god or ancestor, or to honor all the powers generally? If it is for celebrating holidays, will I perform rituals in the same location where I keep the altar? If not, how portable does my altar need to be?
A ritual altar or working altar will have tools on it, such as a horn, knife, and bowl. The other types of altars are shrines, and might have representations of the power being honored, such as a picture, things you give to them, and things you feel have been given to you. You don't have to have an altar to practice Asatru. The priest (Godhi) or priestess (Gythia) of the kindred will have a ritual altar for the group.