Wotan Blot at the Asatru Folk Assembly Midsummer

My standard ritual at Asatru gatherings is an Odin-blot, simply because I have a special connection to Allfather and giving blot to him is undoubtedly what I do best. But this Midsummer, I changed my routine. One of our clergy students was performing an Odin-blot as part of her certification process, and I did not want to duplicate her efforts. I had done a Wotan-blot last October, near the 2000th (!) anniversary of Hermann's victory over the Romans at Teutobergerwald, and decided to present it at the Asatru Folk Assembly's Midsummer event.

We stood in a large circle, the night held back by blazing torches and a roaring fire. A triangle of tall wooden images representing Odin, Thor, and Frey towered over me. Behind them all an Irminsul, or World Column stretched toward the full moon. Before me was a simple altar, or horg. I made the Sign of the Hammer with my fist and intoned "In the sign of the Doom of Giants, and in the holy names of Wotan and Donar, I hallow the horg to Wotan and bless the place of blot..." We had begun.

My invocation drew a word picture of Wotan himself walking through the forest, and we called him: "Be with us, Wotan! Storm across our souls! Fill us with holy frenzy! Give us your might and main!" In a spirited call-and-response, we affirmed Wotan as the God of the Germanen, as our God. "Wotan!" I called; "Mit uns!" ("With us!") the folk responded, three times. I asked Wotan for his traditional gifts, namely victory, and wisdom, and above all the awakening of our Folk from their slumber.

We gave Wotan our "might, and main, and troth" - through the medium of a horn of fine mead, carried around the circle so that each could put in their gift "from heart to hand to horn." With each step I took, the drums and triangle sounded as Dylan and Robert - of the band Lasher Keen - provided accompaniment. After the libation, a second horn was held high, Wotan filled it with power, and I asperged the assembled folk with an evergreen branch. Thus were the gifts made, human to God and God to human, as befits those who are blood kin and friends.

Our meadow was surrounded by hills, and the pine trees roared our voices back at us. It was a powerful rite - primordial, passionate, an organic connection with the Folksoul.

Indeed, "Wotan...mit uns!"

Steve McNallen

Asatru Folk Assembly
http://runestone.org