Rites and Rituals

What sort of rituals do Norse Pagans practice?

Blots and Sumbels: How we Worship

Blot: The Blot is the basic ritual of Asatru. It involves invoking the deity or deities to be worshipped, thanking them for their blessings, and toasting them with a horn filled with mead or beer. After the toast, the deity is thanked again, and then the remains from the horn are poured into a bowl, which is then emptied onto the ground as a gift to the Gods.

This ritual can get a lot more detailed, depending on the needs and wants of the people involved, and the occasion for which a Blot is being held. For instance, our Kindred generally holds more elaborate Blots for the major holidays of the year, and small, simple ones during the month just to keep in touch with the Gods.

Sumbel: The Sumbel is a special ritual in which rounds of the drinking horn are accompanied by toasts, oaths, prayers, and boasts. The first round is usually made up of toasts to the Gods, the second of toasts to the ancestors, and the third round is toasts to the heroes. Any following rounds (if the participants are up for them) are open, meaning that toasts can be made to anyone, and participants may use their turn with the horn to tell stories, sing, boast of their accomplishments, or offer oaths to the Gods for witnessing. Sumbels can be a lot of fun, but participants should remember that the reason for the ceremony is to honor the Gods, not to get plastered.

Great Ash Kindred
Columbus, OH