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May Odin give you wisdom, may Freya give you passion, may Frigg give you comfort and fulfillment, and may Skadi make you keen.  May Tyr darken the lines between “will” and “will not” and “must” and “must not”, and may the Valkyries ever watch over your deeds and find them worthy.

The workshop is scheduled to run from Friday Night through Sunday afternoon.   On Friday night we gathered, had dinner, and she set down the “rules” for the weekend and our location.   Fairly reasonable stuff.   We then had an hour long lecture on the history of Seiðr and Norse magical practices in general.   She talked about where the current modern practice of Seiðr developed (for her tradition) and what was and was not UPG.

Then we moved on to a what I saw as a fairly basic grounding guided experience (some would call this a meditation).   I found it very familiar but it was a good start to the weekend.

We broke for the evening, and returned Saturday morning.   In the morning we had breakfast, there was more lecture, this time focused more on norse spirituality in general and did another guided experience which I labeled as centering (as opposed to grounding).   This experience was designed to align all the different parts of the individual into one.

Then more discussion, and a guided experience to find a spirit guide.   This was important for those who hadn’t gone through this experience before.

Then we discussed a structure for an Oracular Seiðr ritual.   This particular form of Seiðr is designed to go to Hellas Hall, and connect to individuals in the hall for the purposes of asking questions. While there were pre-existing structure that had been developed, because this was a first time for this particular workshop on the east coast, starting to develop some “liturgy” was important (That’s how I like to refer to it).   A liturgy was agreed upon, and since this was to be a teaching class, roles were assigned (They were assigned by rune draw, for fairness).

Then dinner, and then the ritual for the evening.   It lasted about two hours, and was incredibly powerful.   Several students had the opportunity to serve as the seeress/seer throughout the ritual.   Other individuals served as attendants, and other roles.

After the ritual several students went out for drinks in order to decompress (I however, was exhausted, and went home to my bed).

Sunday morning we gathered at a local restaurant and had breakfast, and then returned to the Hall.  Sunday morning was devoted to a different type of Seiðr ritual, a Norns ritual.   We started by discussing the differences in the ritual, and there were some very specific guidelines with respect to this ritual.   The key element here is that unlike the Oracular ritual from the previous night, where there was one person who served as a seer/seeress, this ritual had three (one for each of the norns) in a chair.   This ritual also turned out to be incredibly intense as well.

We then followed up the ritual with some discussions about what to do with this knowledge, now that we have it, and where this community would go from here.

Then we all departed.

The weekend was exhausting, given all the journeying that went out, however, if you have the opportunity to attend one of these, make sure you do!

This blot was originally held on 7/25/2012 in North Potomac, MD

About Óðr

In Norse mythology, Óðr (Old Norse for “mad, frantic, furious, vehement, eager”, as a noun “mind, feeling” and also “song, poetry”; Orchard (1997) gives “the frenzied one”) or Óð, sometimes angliziced as Odr or Od, is a figure associated with the major goddess Freyja. The Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, both describe Óðr as Freyja’s husband and father of her daughter Hnoss. Heimskringla adds that the couple produced another daughter, Gersemi. A number of theories have been proposed about Óðr, generally that he is somehow a hypostasis of the deity Odin due to their similarities.

The Old Norse noun óðr may be the origin of the theonym Óðinn (Anglicized as Odin), and it means “mind”, “soul” or “spirit”. In addition, óðr can also mean “song”, “poetry” and “inspiration”, and it has connotations of “possession”. It is derived from a Proto-Germanic *wōð- or *wōþ- and it is related to Gothic wôds (“raging”, “possessed”), Old High German wuot (“fury” “rage, to be insane”) and the Anglo-Saxon words wód (“fury”, “rabies”) and wóð (“song”, “cry”, “voice”, “poetry”, “eloquence”). Old Norse derivations include œði “strong excitation, possession.”

Ultimately these Germanic words are derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *wāt-, which meant “to blow (on), to fan (flames)”, fig. “to inspire”. The same root also appears in Latin vātēs (“seer”, “singer”), which is considered to be a Celtic loanword, compare to Irish fāith (“poet”, but originally “excited”, “inspired”). The root has also been said to appear in Sanskrit vāt- “to fan”.

Poetic Edda

Óðr is mentioned in stanza 25 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá. The name appears in a kenning for the major goddess Freyja; “Óð’s girl” (Old Norse Óðs mey gefna), pointing to a relation with the goddess.
Stanza 47 of the poem Hyndluljóð contains mention of a figure by the name of Œdi. There, Hyndla taunts Freyja, stating that Freyja had run to Œdi, “always full of desire”. Scholar Carolyne Larrington says that the identity of Œdi is uncertain; it has been theorized that this may simply be Óðr, or that the figure may be another lover of Freyja’s. Scholar John Lindow describes this reference as “puzzling” as no other information is provided regarding the situation referred to by Hyndla. Scholar Britt-Mari Näsström says that this reference likely does not refer to Óðr, rather being the product of the amendments of Sophus Bugge, and that the line simply points to Freyja’s lust. Näsström comments that “perhaps the philologists of the nineteenth century were misled by their romantic intentions”.

Prose Edda

In chapter 35 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High says that the goddess Freyja “was married to someone named” Óðr. High details that the two produced a daughter, Hnoss, and that this daughter was so fair that the term hnossir (meaning “treasures”) derives from her name and is applied to whatever is “beautiful and precious.” High adds that Óðr would go off traveling for extended periods, all the while Freyja would stay behind weeping tears of red gold. However, Freyja would travel “among strange peoples” while looking for Óðr, and so had many names. In chapter 36 of Gylfaginning, the stanza of Völuspá mentioning Óðr is quoted.

In chapter 20 of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, poetic names for the goddess Freyja are listed, including “wife of Óðr”. In chapter 36, a prose narrative points out than an excerpt of a work by the skald Einarr Skúlason refers to Freyja as the wife of Óðr (“Óðr’s bedfellow”). The same excerpt appears in chapter 49. In chapter 75, Óðr is mentioned a final time in the Prose Edda, where Freyja is cited as having “wept gold” for Óðr.

Heimskringla

In chapter 1 of the Heimskringla book Ynglinga saga, Snorri Sturluson refers to the two in an euhemerized account, stating that Freyja had a husband named Óðr, two daughters named Hnoss and Gersemi, and that they were so beautiful that their names were used for “our most precious possessions” (both of their names literally mean “jewel”).

Theories

Óðr is often theorized as somehow connected to Odin (Old Norse: Óðinn), the head of the Æsir in Norse mythology, by way of etymological similarities between the two (Lindow states that the linguistic relationship is identical to that of Ullr and Ullin—often considered as variant names of a single god), and the fact that both are described as going on long journeys, though Lindow points out that Snorri is careful to keep them apart.

Scholar Viktor Rydberg proposed that Freyja’s husband Oðr is identical with the hero Svipdag from the poems Grougaldr and Fjolsvinsmal. Jacob Grimm and others have long identified Menglad, “the neck-lace lover”, Svipdag’s love interest in that poem, with Freyja.

Scholar Hilda Ellis Davidson proposes that a cult of the Vanir may have influenced a cult of the Æsir in the waning days of Norse paganism during the Christianization of Scandinavia, potentially resulting in the figure of Óðr in Norse mythology, which she refers to as a “strange double of Odin”.

Scholar Rudolf Simek says that since Óðr appears in a kenning employed by the 11th century skald Einarr Skúlason (in Skáldskaparmál) and in the Poetic Edda poems Völuspá and Hyndluljóð, Óðr is not a late invention. Simek says that “the most obvious explanation is to identify Óðr with Odin,” noting the similarity between their names (and agreeing with the Ullr/Ullin parallel), the long absences (comparing them to Odin’s exile in Gesta Danorum), and Óðr’s marriage with Freyja.

Simek adds that although these similarities exist, there are things that speak against it, such as that “Freyja’s tears for Odin and her search are unmotivated,” and that “the reference to Hnoss as their only child is surprising – why, for example, should Baldr not be mentioned?” Simek notes that these issues have resulted in sometimes very different explanations; Sophus Bugge and Hjalmar Falk saw a reflection of the Greek god Adonis in Óðr, Rudolf Much saw a reflection in the god Attis, and Lee Hollander theorizes a reflection of the folktale of Amor and Psyche in Snorri’s Prose Edda account of Óðr and Freyja.

Simek concurs that, if the two gods were identical, Snorri would not have kept them so apart; yet that the names Odin and Óðr are so close that a lack of connection between the two gods isn’t possible. Some scholars have examined the relationship between the two in an attempt to find “older” and “younger” layers in the figures of Óðr and Odin, but Simek says that this approach has yet to yield any results that are convincing due to the sparsity of sources that mention Óðr.

Scholar Stephan Grundy comments that while it is conceivable that Óðr may have been invented as a separate figure from Odin after Christianization, the notion is implausible because a separate, independent figure by the name of Wod survives in folklore involving the Wild Hunt in areas as far south from Scandinavia as Switzerland. Grundy notes that Óðr appears to date to at least before the Viking Age. Grundy opines that “as pointed out by Jan de Vries and others, there is little doubt” that Óðr and Odin were once the same figure. Grundy says that Óðinn is an adjectival form of Óðr, and that Óðr may be the elder form of the two.

Grundy theorizes that the goddesses Frigg and Freyja did not stem from a single goddess. If they did not, Grundy says, the question of explaining the relationship between Freyja and Óðr becomes central, which has been one of the strongest points made in favor of the descent of Frigg and Freyja from a common goddess. Grundy notes that it is rarely mentioned that the Germanic peoples sometimes practiced polygamy, and cites chapter 18 of Tacitus’ 1st century AD work Germania, where Tacitus records that while monogamy has very few exceptions in Germanic society, there are those who actively seek a polygamous marriage “for the sake of high birth.” Grundy contrasts this with accounts of polygynous marriages among the Merovingians and Carolingians, points out that the only Germanic law-code that expressly forbids such relationships is that of the Visigoths, and notes that while polygynous marriages are rarely attested in Scandinavian sources, Harald I of Norway was married to seven wives simultaneously. Grundy concludes that, as “gods tend to reflect the social norms of their worshippers,” it very possible that Odin/Óðr originally “could have rejoiced in Frigg and Freyja simultaneously”. Grundy posits that, over time polygynous marriages dwindled during the Viking Age and into the Christianization of the North Germanic territories and, as a result, such a relationship was less easily reflected in the deities of the people.

The Blot
Hammer Rite
Gothi takes the hammer and goes to one side of the ritual space and says:

We ask the gods to hallow this place as we prepare to celebrate the blessings of Óðr.

Gythija takes the hammer and goes to the opposite side of the ritual space and says:
We ask the gods to protect those who have joined us to celebrate our kinship with Óðr.

Invocation and Toasting

Gothi says:

Óðr,

husband to Freyja,

Frenzied one,

father to Gersemi,

the flame that fans rage,

we thank you for the lessons you give us.

Gythija says:

Óðr,

He who inspires us,

father of Hnoss,

He who Freyja wept tears of gold for,

we ask that you celebrate with us today.

Reading

Gothi says:

Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,

The holy ones, | and council held,

To find who with venom | the air had filled,

Or had given Oth’s bride | to the giants’ brood.

In swelling rage | then rose up Thor,–

Seldom he sits | when he such things hears,–

And the oaths were broken, | the words and bonds,

The mighty pledges | between them made.

I know of the horn | of Heimdall, hidden

Under the high-reaching | holy tree;

On it there pours | from Valfather’s pledge

A mighty stream: | would you know yet more?

Gythija says :

Hyndla Spake:

“Hence shalt thou fare, | for fain would I sleep,

From me thou gettest | few favors good;

My noble one, out | in the night thou leapest

As. Heithrun goes | the goats among.

“To Oth didst thou run, | who loved thee ever,

And many under | thy apron have crawled;

My noble one, out | in the night thou leapest,

As Heithrun goes | the goats among.”

Freyja spake:

“Around the giantess | flames shall I raise,

So that forth unburned | thou mayst not fare.”

Hyndla spake:

“Flames I see burning, | the earth is on fire,

And each for his life | the price must lose;

Bring then to Ottar | the draught of beer,

Of venom full | for an evil fate.”

Freyja spake:

“Thine evil words | shall work no ill,

Though, giantess, bitter | thy baleful threats;

A drink full fair | shall Ottar find,

If of all the gods | the favor I get.”

Toasts

Libation

First is links to other people’s trees.   If you have a relative in your tree, and it seems to match another persons tree, you can attach information about their immediate family members to your tree.  (Why you can’t just grab their tree from that point forward and attach it to yours seems silly, but it is what it is).

The other approach to getting information about ancestors is through records.   Military records, census records, etc.

Now each of these has its benefits in detriments.

The big advantage of official records searching is that you can be reasonably sure they are accurate.   Sometimes there may be a misspelling, or  a year or off or two, but you won’t have anything way out of kilter.   The disadvantage to them is the information can be sparse.

This is particularly true for recent (20th century and later) relatives), and extremely old (prior to 1776) relatives.   In these two time frames you may encounter relatives that there are no records at all on file at ancestry.com.

Now the big advantage of using other people’s trees is that there’s lots of information there that’s readily available.   However, you don’t have any documentation (other than that persons word) to back up the information.  In addition, you may have 2-3 people that have different information about a relative, such as a date of birth, parents, siblings, etc.   You are then left scratching your head not knowing how to evaluate who is correct.    In many cases you can use a “consensus” model to determine what facts are correct.  This is by no means a perfect approach to the problem, but it is a potential solution.

You could also elect to say if there’s a dispute at all, you don’t include it in your tree.

How do I approach it with an ancestor I’m researching?   Well first, I start with the records and look at them, are there any that appear to contain good solid information?   For example, a marriage certificate saying “abt 1625″ is in my mind, less likely to be accurate than “mar 25, 1626″   Look at the records that seem to be definitive and start by adopting those into the record for the ancestor.   After you’ve adopted all the good ones, then go back and compare your information on the person with others, and see how it matches up.   Sometimes you’ll find that you’ve adopted a record that is likely assigned to another person, or you may decided that “researcher X” is simply incorrect, based upon the records that you’ve seen.

We all have our own way of honoring our ancestors, but for me, a unique way to do it is genealogical research.  When I was younger, before the Internet, I’d started genealogical research by talking to family members.   It got me a few (perhaps 4-5) generations back, with some interesting stories.   However I quickly found that as I entered into the 19th century, finding documentation became increasingly difficult.   One was faced with painstaking library research that many times led to nothing.

So I set my research aside for a time, and went back to my life.   In the early days of the Internet ancestry.com was born and I resumed my research.   However at the time, ancestry.com had so little data, and their pricing model was such that it just became unusable.   On top of it, they constantly spammed me.  I left them, assuming that I’d probably never return to research again.

Then when my parents started their move back to the eastern U.S. (They did it across several months) I decided to go back to ancestry.com.   I found that they’d drastically improved their databases, and it was a lot easier to use.   I very quickly mapped the generations I knew about, and found public records to back up what I’d previously researched by talking to relatives.   I’d also found several others on the site that were researching on “my line” as we crossed.

On my first attempt I literally took everything I found.   I didn’t verify anything, and I just said “yes yes yes” to all the hints about my genealogy.   I soon realize there were several “bad” points in the tree (Parents being born after children, people living over 150 years old, etc.).   So I restarted with an eye towards looking at data rationally, making sure I wasn’t adding facts to the tree that didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

I easily traced by some portions of my tree back 10 generations using the “ancestry hints” function where I tied pieces of my tree to others.

5 generations

But that was only the start, I then went back and started looking for public records for each of the people in the tree.   From telephone directories to census records, to military records, I slowly filled in the pieces.   I found several interesting things along the way, including one relative who served in both WW I and WW II (This is relatively rare given the time frame between the wars).   I also found civil war records, and pictures as well.

However I felt like I was still missing a piece.   My father found it for me, and this was the findagrave web site. Here I could put in names and dates of birth and death, and locations of death, and find pictures of grave stones.   I could download these pictures and then upload them to ancestry.com to fill in my information.   If I knew were someone was buried, I could request that someone take a picture of the gravestone and upload it to the site.   I did this for a few select graves, and in a few days, walla! I had pictures.

I finally began to feel some real connectivity to ancestors.   Using findagrave I have locations where if I want to go and pay my respects,  I can do such.

I’ve also got public records and stories about my ancestors, so I can begin to learn about them, and begin to understand  my Hamingja, for I do come from a family that’s truly blessed.

One of the frustrations I had with ancestry.com is that searching for specific date information can be very problematic.    This is where my next step came.   My web hosting company provided a quick any easy way to install phpgedview.   This is a web based genealogy application that allows you to fill in data about your family tree.   However, it doesn’t have any research component.

A quick net search found a method to transferring my ancestry.com data to phpgedview.  I transferred the information over, and found that I now had some information that was difficult to get out of ancestry.com.   Of particular interest, I can select any day, and it will tell me what ancestors were born on that day (asssuming that I’ve put in that information).

Given this information, I’m going to look at this data each day, and read about these people and see if I can find more about them as I continue to do research further and further back the tree.

For those who are curious, Eystein Glumra Jarl Uplands Ivarsson (800 – 830) is my  35th great grandfather.   That’s as far back as I’ve gone, and I need to confirm some of the information.  I’ve found some interesting ties to historically significant figures, but honestly when you go back this far, everyone has ties to these figures.

Crooked and far is the road to

a foe, though his house on the highway

be; but wide and straight is the

way to a friend, though far away

he fare.

This document is based upon the Interfaith Conference of South Carolina’s statement regarding Religious and Cultural Sensitivity.

Religious and Cultural Sensitivity