Read Online To Walk a Pagan Path: Practical Spirituality for Every Day by Alaric Albertsson - Free Book Online

of the year”.
    At first it may seem that there is a vast difference between
    a holy day like Beltane and a national secular holiday like
    Veterans’ Day, but that difference diminishes for those who
    seek to follow Hal Sidu. Why should one moment in your
    life be any less sacred than another? For some people a secu-
    lar holiday like Veterans’ Day may mean nothing more than
    the banks closing. But any secular holiday can reflect your
    spirituality, and in fact many American Asatrúar observe Vet-
    erans’ Day as a holy day they call Einherjar, or the Feast of
    the Einherjar. By doing so they have incorporated Veterans’
    Day into their sacral calendars. The Einherjar are the spirits
    of warriors who have fallen in battle; those who have been
    taken up to Valhalla. The Einherjar are typically reverenced
    with a blót , a ritual in which mead (honey wine) is offered to the honored spirits.
    f 55 2
    the sacral calendar
    Any secular holiday can be sacralized in this way and
    given a special place in your personal calendar. Valentine’s
    Day? A Hellenic Pagan could give libations to Aphrodite (the
    Hellenic goddess of love), while a Norse Pagan could offer
    mead to the goddess Freya. Or if Arbor Day is meaningful to
    you, incorporate it in your sacral calendar as a day to honor
    dryads, wood elves or however else you perceive the spirits
    of the trees. Thanksgiving Day is self explanatory. For Amer-
    ican Pagans, Thanksgiving is essentially a fourth harvest fes-
    tival, following in the wake of Lammas, the autumn equinox
    and All Hallows Eve.
    Since 1970, Earth Day has been observed in the United
    States every year on April 22nd to inspire a greater aware-
    ness of the environment. I have sacralized the observance
    with the following ritual to the earth goddess Herthe. The
    wording is based on a prayer from an 11th century book of
    Anglo-Saxon herbal charms (although it is probably much
    older), while the offerings are inspired by another 11th cen-
    tury charm known as the Æcerbot, or “Field Remedy”. As
    a celebration of the earth, the ritual is intended to be held
    outside. If held indoors because of inclement weather or any
    other reason, there must be a bowl to receive the offerings.
    These offerings should later be poured out onto the earth. In
    an outdoor ritual the offerings are individually poured onto
    the earth as libations.
    Up to seven gebedmenn (prayer-leaders) can have active
    roles in the ritual. If there are fewer than seven participants, individual gebedmenn may take more than one part. For that
    matter, one person can perform this devotional ritual alone.
    You will need:
    f 56 2
    the sacral calendar
    • A fire or (if indoors) a charcoal and a burner to hold it.
    • Fennel seeds.
    • A small quantity of natural pressed vegetable oil.
    • A small quantity of honey.
    • A small quantity of whole milk.
    *
    The finol gebedmann (fennel prayer-leader) sprinkles a pinch of fennel seeds into the fire (or onto the burning coal), saying:
    Herthe, Divine Goddess, Mother Nature,
    Who generates all things
    And brings forth anew the Sun,
    which you have given to the nations.
    *
    Now the sceadu gebedmann (shadow prayer-leader) says:
    Guardian of sky and sea, of all Gods and powers;
    Through your power all Nature falls silent,
    and then sinks into sleep.
    And again you bring back the light, and chase away the night, And you cover us yet most securely with your shadows.
    *
    f 57 2
    the sacral calendar
    The storm gebedmann (storm prayer-leader) comes forward and says:
    You contain chaos infinite, yes, and wind and showers and storms.
    You send them out when you will and cause the sea to roar;
    You chase away the Sun and arouse the storm.
    *
    Following this, the lif gebedmann (life prayer-leader) says: Again, when you will, you send forth the joyous day
    And give the nourishment of Life with your eternal surety.
    And when the soul departs, to you we return.
    *
    The ele gebedmann (oil prayer-leader) pours a libation