“It was an old custom, that when there was to be sacrifice all the bondes should come to the spot where the temple stood and bring with them all that they required while the festival of the sacrifice lasted. To this festival all the men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as well as horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from them was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected were called hlaut-vessels. Hlaut-staves were made, like sprinkling brushes, with which the whole of the altars and the temple walls, both outside and inside, were sprinkled over, and also the people were sprinkled with the blood; but the flesh was boiled into savoury meat for those present. The fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles, and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and all the meat of the sacrifice. And first Odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; thereafter, Niord's and Frey's goblets for peace and a good season. Then it was the custom of many to empty the brage-goblet; and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the remembrance goblet.”

 

Now let us explore the actual word, blót, itself. From the Old Norse, blót generally means, “sacrifice, feast, or blood”. The Old Norse term, “blóta” means, “to worship, to sacrifice”. In the Old English, or Anglo-Saxon language, blót also refers to “sacrifice”, while “blótan” means, “to sacrifice”. Both of these words in the Old English language originally derived from the word, “blood”, as did the Old Norse. Blót similarly is related to the Old English word, “blétsian”, which means, “blessing” (and also has roots in the word, “blood”, possibly referring to the blessing with blood); the two words are intertwined through literature and language. In Old High German, the equivalent term was “blozan”, which also meant, “to sacrifice” and has origins and implications of blood sacrifice just as the Old Norse and Old English cognates. 

 

To conclude the rudimentary defining of the blót, I’d like to add that while the original purpose of the blót was to provide a blood sacrifice, this is not typically so today, as aforementioned. However, “blót” is the commonly used word-of-choice by a larger percentage of Asatruar for a ritual celebration of a symbolic sacrifice, and is commonly accepted as so today. 

 

Now that you have a basic understanding and grasp on the modern and historical use of the word, blót, understanding what a faining is should not be difficult. Like a blót, the faining is a ritual celebration of Asatruar. The two celebrations are typically identical, with one main exception: the faining is a ritual celebration that does not include a blood sacrifice – historically or in the modern day. During a faining, a sacrifice may be offered; however, the traditional offerings may have been with mead, or other votive items. Therefore, the faining is a rejoiceful celebration in its own sense, and if the folk are sprinkled for blessing from the hlaut-tein, it is usually with mead.

 

Despite the modern likenesses, the word “faining” is not as commonly used to refer to a modern Ásatrú celebration; it probably should be as when we are performing a blót with the sacrifice/offering of mead, we are technically holding a faining and not a blót…but I’m not here to argue semantics, this is purely informative for you. To my knowledge, this difference is based completely with semantics and is at your personal discretion. Since we’re on the discussion of semantics, let us explore the etymology of the word faining. In the Old Norse, a faining translates to “feginn”, which means, “glad”. The Old English translation for faining is, “fægen, fagen”, which likewise means, “glad, cheerful, happy, joyful”, or “rejoicing, to rejoice”. The Old High German word, “faginon” likewise means, “to rejoice”, and even the Gothic cognate is the same, “faginon”, and also means, “to rejoice”. 

 

With a basic understanding of the blot and faining, we can now begin to look at the basic outline of both. Below is such a summary for you to use as a basic tool. If you would like to see examples of specific blóts and fainings, a search online would be fruitful for you. There are also many Ásatrú books out there that include the examples and pre-written rituals. 

 

Basic Blót/Faining Outline

 

General Tools:

Mead, horn, hammer, offering bowl (for mead or blood), hlaut-tein (blessing stick), offerings (opt., animal for blót, etc.), and an optional reading from literature or poem. Each of these items is optional, and you can adapt them to the needs, or accessibility of the items available to you.

 

Your basic ritual outline normally looks like this:

1. Gathering: Here is when the folk begin go gather. You can call the folk in to gather, notify them through drumming or another auditory tool, the calling of a horn, or however you would like. Usually the fire-tender is also finishing up the preparation of the fire and will make a statement on this after the folk have gathered.
   
2. Hallowing of the space (often with Mjolnir/Thór’s hammer). 
   
3. Invocation of God/s and land spirits. Galdr can be chanted before or after this step to further intone in the ritual, but is entirely optional; however galdr really should not be done if someone there does not have a basic understanding of the runes. 
   
4. Rede/Statement of Intent: Explaining to the folk why they are there while taking a moment to focus on that reason. This step can be carried out here, or before the hallowing and invocation, also.
   
5. Horn Passing: Pour mead into horn and bless, then is passed sunwise (clockwise) around once for toasting and offerings; mead is usually poured in the libation bowl before and after a full-circle passing (some only do this after each full passing).
6. Offering: The offering, or sacrifice, if any, is placed in the fire with optional words of prayer. This step can be done before the horn passing if you choose.
   
7. Dedicated Song or Poem: A choice poem, song, or piece of lore can be read at this time, either at the same time as the offerings are placed in the fire, or on its own afterwards. This step is optional, but often incorporated as it is a beautiful and inspiring addition to many-a celebration.
8. Blessing w/ Hlaut-Tein: Blessing-stick is dipped in libated mead and sprinkled over the altar, folk, land, and any tools that may be blessed at this time. Often words of blessing or inspiration are said to each guest as they are being sprinkled (NOTE: one sprinkle to each person is sufficient).
   
9. Closing of Ritual: Thank Gods, ancestors, and land spirits for joining you. Pour the libated mead over the Earth in a designated spot (such as an outdoor horgr), perhaps with a prayer, such as “From the Gods to the Earth to Us, From Us to the Earth to the Gods, a gift for a gift.” This is a very common prayer as a gift is given to the gods and spirits of place…never underestimate the collective power of a common prayer! Here you may announce that the ritual has ended.

This is a very basic outline, which you can adapt to your own preferences and needs. Some groups may do this very differently - this is a general outline based on my own tribe’s particular ritual design.

 

Sumbel

 

The sumbel is a ritual-style toasting which is meant to bring community together with the gods and with each other. This means the words spoken over the horn and mead during sumbel are sacred and are woven among the wyrd and frith between the folks taking part. Most traditionally, there are three rounds in sumbel: first to the Gods, next to the an ancestor or hero, and the third round is usually more open round set for toasts, boasts, gift giving, song, poetry, or virtually anything else you feel compelled to say at the time (in good reason and etiquette, of course).

 

The sumbel can be found in many places throughout the lore, as well, such as in Béowulf, Lokasenna, Hymisquviða, and in Heimskringla to name a few. In the lore you might often see the phrase, “sittan to symle”, which means “to sit to sumbel”. The mead is toasted in a horn, sometimes called the “bragarfull” which means, “promise-cup”, or “bragafull” meaning “best cup, chieftain’s cup”. Oaths are sometimes made over the horn before the gods and folk, hence the “promise cup” description. Some groups will designate a young lady or woman they call the “Valkyrie” to pass the horn from person to person, something you can also find in the sagas and poems.

 

A brief summary of sumbel is described in Heimskringla: 

The fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles, and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made the feast, and was a godi ['chief'], blessed the full goblets, and all the meat of the sacrifice. And first Odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; thereafter, Njörd's and Freyja's goblets for peace and a good season. Then it was the custom of many to empty the bragafull; and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the minni ['remembrance'].

In Old Norse, you might see two spellings, “sumbl”, or “sumbel”, and each is used synonymously. Both translate to “gathering [social]”, however a sumbel can also refer to a feast or banquet. In Old English, the terms are “symbel”, or “symbal”, and carry the same meaning as the Old Norse translations. In Old High German, the term is *sumbel (carrying the same meaning as the Old Norse and Old English). It might also be interesting to note that in Common German, *sumal means “gathering”. Many linguists and historians agree that *sumal originated from the Germanic stem *sum- (also a Proto-Indo-European, or PIE, derivative), which means “together”, and the known compound, “alu”, when used in the social element (as opposed to as a suffix or prayer), roughly translates to “ale”, and has been strongly correlated with blessings in Germanic/Scandinavian literature. Therefore, historians speculate that the sumbel could ultimately translate to, ‘the gathering or coming together of/with ale in a potentially sacred manner’. This is historic speculation, of course, but the logic and facts are sound enough for us modern-day Asatruar to continue on sumbel in this way.

Below is a basic outline for the sumbel.

 

Basic Sumbel Outline

 

General Tools: Horn, mead, offering bowl

 

Your basic ritual outline normally looks like this: 

1. Gather the folk in circle (if you have anyone new, you may want to take the time to explain a sumbel to them at this point)
2. Pour mead into the horn (often done by the Frauwa/lady of the home)
3. Bless the mead (optional, not everyone does this, often done by the man of the house, can do with hammer, or a hammer sign with hands)
4. First Round: The first toast is begun, horn is passed sunwise (clockwise). A small amount of mead is poured in the offering bowl. First toast to the Gods.
5. Second Round: The second toast the horn is passed once all the way around. Mead is poured into the offering bowl. The host begins the second toast to ancestor[s] or hero[es] of choice.
6. Third Round: The third toast is started as a free for all, and then poured once more.
7. Offering: The mead is poured onto the Earth as gift to the Gods, ancestors, and wights.
8. The rite is ended, however, after the third round you can choose to continue on in the same format, or with all “free rounds” from there out. If you do this, I’d suggest pouring the libations after the third round before continuing on.

As a closing thought on the sumbel, I’d like to impress on the incredible things a sumbel can bring to a community or tribe/kindred of folks. I’ve personally led and attended many-a sumbel…more than I could possibly dare to count, and each one was very special in their own ways. I have taken part in a sumbel where tears of sadness were shed, or tears of joy, or tears of forgiveness about very personal manners. And I have been in sumbels where good news and boasting was shared, gifts given, beautiful songs sung, and fathers sweetly praised by their daughters in tear-jerking ways. As the horn is passed, as the words are spoken, so too is the heart shared among friends, and sometimes even strangers…then to another who does the same over the same horn of mead. These shared words connect each other and should be spoken carefully, frith-fully, and always honestly and from the heart.

 

Some of my best heathen memories emanate from those circles, and have at times inspired positive change in myself, inspiration, and even serious food-for-thought. This is one way we get to know each other and share among each other, before the gods and ancestors, before the spirits of place; moments that otherwise may not have been, and create bonds that, despite our personal paths, can never be completely broken.

 

Fara með goðanum…Heil!!