Latest / Random Heathen Ramblings / Random Heathen Ramblings: S4, EP29 - How To Perform A Basic Heathen Ritual

Transcript

Random Heathen Ramblings: S4, EP29 - How To Perform A Basic Heathen Ritual · Random Heathen Ramblings

• 0:00
  Hello everyone and welcome to the random heathen ramblings.
• 0:03
  Podcast where we discuss all sorts of things, Germanic,
• 0:06
  Heathenry related. My name is Jesse.
• 0:09
  I am your host. Let's get into it.
• 0:31
  Well, hello everyone and welcome.
• 0:33
  Back to this week's episode of the Random Heathen Ramblings
• 0:36
  Podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in
• 0:38
  today and watching this episode. As always, if you enjoy what I
• 0:42
  do here on whatever platform that you're catching this,
• 0:45
  please be sure to engage with the platform in some way to show
• 0:49
  your appreciation. Give the.
• 0:50
  Video a Like Follow this podcast on your preference or on your
• 0:54
  platform of. Of choice on your preferred
• 0:56
  platform I guess. Share it around if you have the
• 1:00
  ability to comment. Please do if the.
• 1:03
  Podcast asks you to answer a question, maybe a poll.
• 1:06
  You know, do all those things. It really helps.
• 1:08
  With the growth of of the podcast and I I really.
• 1:11
  Appreciate it, so do be sure also to check the link tree link
• 1:15
  in the description and show notes of this episode as in all
• 1:18
  others for. All of the other ways that you
• 1:20
  can support Mid Garden musings and the Random Heat and
• 1:23
  Ramblings podcast. Follow me on All My socials.
• 1:26
  If you want to buy merchandise, if you want to become a patron
• 1:28
  on Patreon, if you want to do any other sort of thing, that.
• 1:32
  I have available to support me monetarily.
• 1:36
  Check it out and. See what fits you As.
• 1:39
  Also as a reminder, I will be making some Elder Food arc room
• 1:44
  sets here soon. I've actually at a time this
• 1:47
  airs. I've already.
• 1:48
  Should have started the the, the, the crafting process on a
• 1:54
  number of room sets. I don't know yet how many I'm
• 1:56
  going to make, but I'm going to be making quite a few and I'm
• 2:01
  going to be making them to help fund a trip that my tribe and I
• 2:04
  are going on. It's going to be a collective
• 2:06
  tribe and I'd like to do something to help contribute
• 2:09
  financially so you can help in that venture as well by
• 2:14
  purchasing room sets, all of the.
• 2:17
  Proceeds of of those sales minus the shipping costs to get them
• 2:21
  sent to you all. Of the rest of that is going to
• 2:23
  go towards the Tribes funds, so be on the lookout for that.
• 2:29
  I will be sharing that on my social media platforms,
• 2:32
  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as YouTube.
• 2:37
  So wherever you're following me on, hopefully you'll see it.
• 2:39
  And if you want a room set now or in the future, you know, you
• 2:43
  can always e-mail me or or hit me up on any of those socials.
• 2:47
  So you'll notice something a little bit, a little bit
• 2:51
  different about my my ensemble today I'm, I'm wearing.
• 2:54
  This, this, this faux fur. I wish it was real, but it's a
• 2:59
  faux. Fur like shoulder piece, which
• 3:03
  if you've been following mid guard musings for any length of
• 3:07
  time, you might remember that this thing was.
• 3:13
  The old, you know, ensemble that I would wear on screen to do all
• 3:20
  my videos in, or at least a lot of my videos.
• 3:22
  The look has changed over the years.
• 3:24
  You know, we've come a long way in in the setup and in the
• 3:28
  production of this channel and now on this podcast, but I
• 3:32
  haven't dawned the the fur in quite some time.
• 3:36
  Except for maybe like, you know. Ritual purposes and things like
• 3:39
  that. Again, it's not.
• 3:42
  It's supposed. To be a replica of bear fur.
• 3:44
  Definitely not real I don't have.
• 3:46
  The ability to purchase bear for or the funds to.
• 3:50
  Purchase bear fur, but the reason I'm wearing this.
• 3:53
  Today is because a long time. Viewer A very good friend of
• 3:58
  mine. Patrick Walsh, He he's been on
• 4:01
  this show several times. More than just several times.
• 4:04
  He's been to my house. We've become very good friends
• 4:07
  over the years and and one of. The videos that he always comes
• 4:10
  back to me on saying how much it's it's helped him.
• 4:13
  Is a video that's going to be. You'll see it right here, right?
• 4:16
  If you want to watch the original version of this video,
• 4:19
  it's going to be linked down in the description area or in the
• 4:23
  show notes. Of this podcast as well.
• 4:25
  Before you know. Forewarning, right?
• 4:27
  Fair, fair warning, I guess you could say.
• 4:29
  The the quality is definitely not as good.
• 4:33
  The the background music is a bit overwhelming.
• 4:35
  There's a lot of echo, you know, I was in a fairly empty room and
• 4:39
  I didn't have a good enough microphone at the time to to
• 4:42
  really isolate my my audio, so. It is what it is, but it's the
• 4:49
  video for how to perform a basic heat and ritual and Patrick
• 4:53
  recently hit me up and said. That he would love for me.
• 4:56
  To do a video just like this one, and he pointed to the one
• 5:01
  that at this point in time is probably the video on my
• 5:06
  channel. That has the highest views.
• 5:08
  I think the last time I checked it was.
• 5:11
  Over 8, 1000 views on this channel.
• 5:14
  So it's definitely got some traction over the years and it's
• 5:17
  one of the more popular ones. So we'll see how good this one
• 5:20
  does. Maybe.
• 5:20
  We'll get close to that, but I'm gonna be redoing this video
• 5:25
  mainly out of. Patrick's request from Patrick's
• 5:28
  request. He wanted a video like that, and
• 5:30
  in that video I'm wearing this. I had a different shirt on at
• 5:34
  the time. Of course my background was
• 5:36
  different. I'm not gonna undo my whole
• 5:38
  setup. Just to look like it was back in
• 5:41
  the day, this is as. Close as I got.
• 5:43
  I got the the hair down. I got the show all on.
• 5:46
  So that's what we're doing today.
• 5:48
  We're, we're, we're, we're going back.
• 5:49
  To some of the O G content style here on this channel and on on
• 5:55
  on mid guard music. So for those of you listening.
• 5:57
  Do be sure to check that video out so you can kind of get a
• 5:59
  reference point and see matter of fact that video.
• 6:01
  As I recall was I wasn't even at 2:00. 1000 subscribers yet and
• 6:06
  and we're over 5000 here today. So anyway, how to perform or
• 6:11
  basic heathen ritual? You know, back at the time when
• 6:14
  I when I released that video, I not a lot has really changed in
• 6:20
  the sense of my views on things. But I'm hopefully going to be
• 6:25
  able to present it to you better and offer some clarification on
• 6:28
  some things and give you a much more streamlined process I
• 6:35
  think. This is a topic that for folks
• 6:37
  coming into Heathenry may have may have curiosities and
• 6:41
  questions about like how do I do this thing?
• 6:44
  That or the other and it's good to.
• 6:46
  Have a basic foundation. It's good to have the
• 6:49
  fundamental framework. For you to work off of okay.
• 6:54
  So as I like to say, right, I'm not here to tell you how to be
• 6:58
  heathen. I'm not here to tell anyone how
• 7:01
  to be heathen. There are certain things about
• 7:02
  Heathenry and if and it's orthopraxic nature that almost
• 7:07
  demand a very specific way of doing things.
• 7:12
  And and there are times I think where where that does have its
• 7:15
  place, you know, like you it's if it's not, if you're not doing
• 7:19
  it that way, then don't call it that thing, you know.
• 7:22
  So we are going to keep that in mind as we move into this
• 7:27
  episode. But in keeping that in mind, I
• 7:30
  want you to know that again, I'm not telling you how to do
• 7:33
  things. What I'm doing is giving you a
• 7:34
  framework to. Build off of?
• 7:35
  So what I'm going to be sharing with you today?
• 7:38
  Is a really, I think, well structured format to follow when
• 7:42
  it comes to performing. Ritual whether.
• 7:44
  It's a solitary ritual. Okay if.
• 7:46
  You're a if you're a kind of a solitary practitioner, you don't
• 7:49
  have a kindred or a tribe or anything like that, a group that
• 7:53
  you're necessarily affiliated with, but you want to have
• 7:56
  something of a structured. Order to your hearth cult again.
• 8:01
  This type of thing that I'm going to be sharing with you
• 8:03
  today will help with that and the framework will also help
• 8:08
  with doing a a. Larger scale ritual okay, you
• 8:15
  can kind of follow this methodology.
• 8:18
  Or or use this framework I think pretty effectively and pretty
• 8:21
  well if you are in a group setting with multiple people and
• 8:26
  you want. To carry out a ritual in in the
• 8:31
  best way. So one of the things that I I
• 8:35
  covered in the original video were the items that you would
• 8:42
  will basically need, you know and I mentioned things like a
• 8:46
  bloat. Bowl.
• 8:48
  A bowl that is specifically used for bloat.
• 8:50
  This is a very important thing, all right?
• 8:53
  Any of your ritual items when it comes to your whether it's your
• 8:58
  individual. Cultic practice your hearth
• 9:00
  cult, right? Or if it is the thing that is
• 9:03
  used. As a groups you know the groups
• 9:06
  items. The tribes relics, the tribes
• 9:09
  items, things that belong to. The tribe as a whole.
• 9:12
  These things need to be kept separate from any other use, you
• 9:15
  know, so you wouldn't be going into your kitchen cabinet and
• 9:18
  grabbing the cereal. Bowl to perform bloat.
• 9:22
  Or or to give bloat or to do anything.
• 9:24
  Ritually speaking, you would want to have these items
• 9:27
  separate and kept. Exclusively for your ritual
• 9:31
  purposes. Bloat bowl, right?
• 9:33
  The SO The bowl that contains the bloat offering we're going
• 9:37
  to get into bloat and and and what I mean by that here in just
• 9:40
  a minute. But I think for anybody that's
• 9:42
  been on the channel here or watch my content and and listen
• 9:44
  to the podcast for any length of time, you ought to know by now.
• 9:48
  But if you're new here. I'll.
• 9:49
  I'll. I'll just tell you, you know,
• 9:50
  bloat is the the blood offering. Okay.
• 9:54
  Does it always have to be blood? Your offerings can can be things
• 9:58
  other than blood. But just again, kind of realize
• 10:01
  when it comes to heathen practices, if we're talking
• 10:03
  bloat, bloat requires. Blood.
• 10:07
  Yeah, the the blood of the animal.
• 10:08
  That was sacrificed and that is. Used for the Feast and the
• 10:12
  blood. Is the gift the sacrifice to the
• 10:15
  gods So anyway. Your bowl, the thing that
• 10:18
  contains the liquid all right. So if you're not doing bloat, if
• 10:24
  you're not giving blood, then you could use.
• 10:26
  Your bloat bowl for the libation, you know, so if it's.
• 10:30
  Ale or meat or cite or even whatever, These are all
• 10:35
  perfectly acceptable items to use.
• 10:40
  For the bloat part of your ceremony, the bloat part of your
• 10:43
  ritual, and I'm using bloat in the terms.
• 10:46
  Of the the the verb sense, right So.
• 10:49
  The, the, the too Bloat to give bloat to sacrifice, right?
• 10:53
  The the thing that's in it in the in your bloat.
• 10:56
  Bowl if it's not blood. If it's not actual blood, then.
• 11:00
  We'll call it a blow bowl for the sake of the video and for
• 11:03
  your sakes, but whatever it contains it, whatever liquid
• 11:06
  that you're using should be something of.
• 11:08
  Value of worth, right? Something that you put energy
• 11:13
  into, whether it's, you know, making it yourself, harvesting
• 11:17
  it yourself, purchasing it yourself.
• 11:23
  So bloat bowl. I mean, you know, something of.
• 11:24
  One very important thing. Another important thing for the
• 11:26
  ceremony would be a Coattain. Now you're going to see here on
• 11:30
  the screen a couple examples of things that you might.
• 11:34
  That that that that that I have had on.
• 11:36
  Altars for our tribal affairs over the years.
• 11:40
  You're going to see a bowl. You're going to see the have
• 11:42
  obtained, which is the sprig of an Evergreen.
• 11:45
  Tree right? So the branches of like a cedar
• 11:47
  or or fir tree or pine tree or something.
• 11:52
  I know probably some folks that are watching or listening may
• 11:54
  not be in areas where those coniferous type trees are
• 11:58
  indigenous and may not grow. So you would you would seek to
• 12:02
  use something that is indigenous to your area, you know.
• 12:06
  So if you don't have pine trees or Cedars or junipers or any
• 12:09
  such thing like that, no fir trees, what is the thing that
• 12:12
  that is indigenous to your area and you can replace that with
• 12:17
  you can replace the pine tree stuff.
• 12:20
  With whatever grows local and call it the shout tame, this is
• 12:23
  the thing that is used to sprinkle the blood.
• 12:27
  Or the ale or the side or whatever you have in your bloat
• 12:29
  bowl. This is the item that is used to
• 12:32
  sprinkle and bless either the attendees yourself, maybe the
• 12:37
  items of your altar and you know it.
• 12:43
  Again, it's it's used as a blessing instrument.
• 12:47
  You might also have items like God poles, statues, physical
• 12:52
  representations of the divine to adorn.
• 12:55
  The sacred space it could be if you have an outdoor.
• 12:58
  Altar called a herder, which is like a pile of stones.
• 13:03
  Used to leave your offerings and stuff at you might have an
• 13:08
  actual. Like pole erected outside.
• 13:11
  You know some some Saxon heathens will have like an
• 13:14
  earman's soul. Or they'll have a taller God
• 13:19
  pole that they've carved or or standing, or something of a
• 13:22
  larger nature in there. Sacred space that that that
• 13:25
  herger, that that outdoor altar. But if you're indoors and you
• 13:28
  have a smaller area or you know you're looking to adorn, maybe a
• 13:32
  small mantle. Or a table, you know.
• 13:34
  Anything that is a physical representation of the gods is is
• 13:37
  fine. We've handcrafted something even
• 13:40
  better. Or if you.
• 13:42
  Have access to people who do craft these things.
• 13:44
  I know there's plenty of that going on in the Heat and the
• 13:47
  Pagan community, so they're not hard to find.
• 13:50
  Craftsmen and women craftspeople who who make.
• 13:53
  These, these, these, these idols, if you want to call them
• 13:56
  that, these statues. So you'll want to have that.
• 14:00
  You'll want to have your bloat bowl.
• 14:01
  You want to have your float your float Tang and you'll want to
• 14:04
  have. The the gift, you know, the
• 14:07
  thing that you are looking. To give as a gift, of course the
• 14:12
  bowl is going to be the. Receptacle of the gift to the
• 14:15
  gods. So you might have a bottle of
• 14:16
  Mead. Or, or a bottle of ale or cider.
• 14:22
  Or the bull itself might contain the blood of an animal that
• 14:25
  you've sacrificed. And when I say sacrifice, I mean
• 14:28
  ethically and humanely raised and slaughtered in in in the
• 14:34
  fashion of what we. Would do if we had were like
• 14:37
  farmers. So any of that such things like
• 14:40
  those are the. Those are the critical items.
• 14:42
  Those are the fundamental items that you would have.
• 14:45
  And then there are other things that you can think of adorning
• 14:47
  your altar with. If it's, if it's a.
• 14:50
  A ritual that you're performing to a specific deity, right?
• 14:55
  You might have more accoutrements and effects.
• 14:58
  That favor, that deity that you're trying to gift to, right
• 15:07
  you might have. If it's like an ancestral thing
• 15:09
  and you're doing it to your ancestors, you might have.
• 15:11
  Photos or pictures of your ancestors, right?
• 15:14
  I'm talking specifically now of just the basic fundamentals.
• 15:17
  All of the other stuff that you would put on your on your space,
• 15:21
  on the altar can be, again, this is just a framework, right?
• 15:26
  So customize it and make it your own.
• 15:29
  So let me know what those things are that we would want to have
• 15:36
  during the ritual. Now we would want to start
• 15:38
  trying to determine the steps of performing the ritual.
• 15:43
  So I'm going to start kind of give.
• 15:45
  You a step by step breakdown of what you need to do.
• 15:50
  So starting first with the creation of Sacred Space.
• 15:55
  I mentioned stuff about this recently in another podcast
• 15:58
  which is gonna be linked down in the description and also the
• 16:02
  show notes. Of this episode about creating
• 16:07
  sacred space or having sacred space individual.
• 16:10
  Cult to practice the Hearth cult.
• 16:12
  Right. We we talked about setting up.
• 16:14
  Our altars or or you setting up an altar, having an altar.
• 16:17
  Place a place set up in your house for an altar.
• 16:20
  But the ultimate point that we're talking about here right
• 16:22
  now is we have to. Create sacred space for the
• 16:26
  purpose of the ritual. How is that done?
• 16:31
  Very commonly the way sacred. Space is set is through the use
• 16:36
  of fire. There are examples of this
• 16:39
  throughout different sources. There is one.
• 16:41
  Particular saga which I will mention down in the description
• 16:45
  that talks about this man who took who takes up.
• 16:47
  Fire to but before he performs a a ritual.
• 16:53
  There's also mentioned in the La Nama book, so the Icelandic.
• 16:57
  Book of of Settlers right when when Iceland became settled.
• 17:01
  There's this book called La Nama book and in that book also
• 17:04
  mentions the use of. Fire when walking about a
• 17:09
  perimeter or walking the outside area of a land to create
• 17:13
  boundaries and to. Set the the separate, the, the,
• 17:17
  the, the, the sacred from the profane right.
• 17:20
  So fire is a very effective and traditional method of creating
• 17:27
  sacred space. Now, of course, if you're.
• 17:28
  Outside, you have a bit, you know.
• 17:30
  Depending on where you live, you might have a bit more freedom to
• 17:33
  have bigger fire. You know, you might be able to
• 17:36
  have a campfire bonfire. Out there with this actual stick
• 17:39
  that you turn into a torch. And then you walk your
• 17:42
  perimeters. You know this.
• 17:43
  It's not the same as like calling the corners that we see
• 17:46
  in like Wiccan. Ceremonies of of creating a
• 17:51
  sacred. But I guess the nuance kind of
• 17:54
  echoes things, You know, there are nuances.
• 17:55
  To it. So it's not exactly the same,
• 18:00
  but if you're indoors and of course it's, you know, not.
• 18:02
  Feasible or or practical or safe to carry a torch?
• 18:04
  Around in your house, a candle is fine, even an incense stick,
• 18:09
  because it is burning and it has fire in it.
• 18:12
  So a bowl of resin that's burning, right?
• 18:14
  Anything that's a representative representation.
• 18:17
  Of fire is is fine and I think most.
• 18:21
  Every place that I've ever lived, including apartments.
• 18:24
  You can have candles, right? So you can burn a small candle
• 18:27
  and and be fine with that. Just be smart.
• 18:29
  Be safe, but fire is probably the best way.
• 18:34
  Or the creation of sacred space. All right.
• 18:39
  Are there other ways that you can do it?
• 18:41
  Sure, I suppose you know you can.
• 18:43
  Have you know minerals or or or or water that's been blessed
• 18:51
  with herbs and things like that? You know, if you if you're a bit
• 18:53
  more of a again, kind of favor the wicked side of things.
• 18:59
  There's that price process, but I'm talking specifically now
• 19:03
  about Heathen. Practice, right.
• 19:07
  So fire is is the way that that we're going to do it.
• 19:12
  Next thing we want to do is give a prayer or in this.
• 19:15
  Case a bead, Which is an Old English word.
• 19:17
  For prayer to the gods, goddesses, ancestors, whatever
• 19:20
  your choice that. You're performing this ritual.
• 19:24
  For now, what does that prayer have to to sound like?
• 19:29
  Or what is the framework of that?
• 19:31
  Really it can be as much or as as as little as you want.
• 19:38
  It can be a simple healing of a God, you know giving maybe some
• 19:43
  of their, their by names or kennings, you know.
• 19:46
  So for instance if you know you're you're giving a, I don't
• 19:53
  know, giving a bloat to Thor or or or giving a ritual.
• 19:56
  I mean and your your main focus is on Thor.
• 19:59
  You know, you might open. With a prayer to Thor.
• 20:03
  You know and call him by his many names, you know, Hail to
• 20:06
  hail to you, Thor, Thunderer, Chariot, Rider of, you know, Red
• 20:13
  Beard. Protector of Midgard, Slayer
• 20:16
  giants, You know, Premier's Bane.
• 20:19
  I mean, you can come up with so many different things by
• 20:21
  learning more about the gods and really getting to know about
• 20:25
  them. Or if it's a local spirit,
• 20:27
  maybe. Or if it's an ancestor, you
• 20:30
  know, it's it's basically an invocation of that figure who
• 20:35
  you're trying to involve in this ritual and welcoming them and
• 20:39
  asking for their blessing, you know?
• 20:40
  And in many cases, it might be, you know, hail and welcome,
• 20:42
  Thor. You know, friend of of mankind,
• 20:45
  protector of Med, guard of God's and man, you know, hail to
• 20:48
  youth, thunderer. We ask that your blessing of of.
• 20:52
  Protection and and fertility be upon us or something, right?
• 20:56
  I mean, again, you can become as poetic you can become as fancy
• 21:02
  with it as you want, right? It.
• 21:03
  It should just. And it should be what comes from
• 21:07
  your heart, you know. It should be.
• 21:08
  So what a lot of folks might do is is take time to write a
• 21:11
  ritual out. Write a prayer out.
• 21:13
  They might even do it in a language that is not regularly
• 21:17
  spoken here in modern time. So they might.
• 21:20
  Write a prayer in Old Norse, or in in Old Saxon or Old English,
• 21:25
  or or some other dramatic language, perhaps again to to to
• 21:29
  connect better with the the figures, the deities.
• 21:34
  That the the Divine, the sacred, the gods, the spirits.
• 21:38
  Your ancestors whatever. You know, speaking to them in
• 21:41
  the in their native language kind of thing, building that
• 21:44
  connection in that sort of way. So you want to give a prayer?
• 21:52
  And then the bloating takes place.
• 21:54
  You know, this can again, just be as simple as giving some sort
• 22:00
  of acknowledgement to the higher power or powers that you're.
• 22:04
  Working with in your ritual and and claiming clearly you know
• 22:09
  that this, this gift of me, this gift of ale, this gift of blood,
• 22:13
  whatever. You know we give to you now.
• 22:18
  In in hopes of a gift in return is a is.
• 22:20
  A is a very common like I know you know the gifting cycle is is
• 22:24
  of course a. Recurring theme and it is A and
• 22:26
  is a very important aspect of Heathenry, you know.
• 22:30
  So the the gift always seeks a gift.
• 22:33
  And I've seen that, you know, being used in in ritual before,
• 22:36
  you know me acknowledging that this is a gift in hopes of
• 22:39
  receiving a gift in return from you of this thing, that or the
• 22:42
  other. And the bloating involves the
• 22:45
  blessing or the sending of that gift to the sacred, so outdoors.
• 22:54
  This can be really easy to do because.
• 22:56
  The gift again is of liquid. So whether it's blood or whether
• 22:58
  it's. Alcohol.
• 23:00
  It is consumed by the land. It is.
• 23:02
  It is usually poured. Out after the after the if it's
• 23:07
  like a group. Ceremony sort of thing.
• 23:09
  After the attendees are blessed with the 13.
• 23:12
  Or maybe you bless yourself. Or maybe you bless your altar
• 23:15
  with the God. Poles and everything that you
• 23:16
  have on it. You know, then the disposal of
• 23:20
  it goes usually to like the the wherever the sacred space is
• 23:25
  that you're holding. It right.
• 23:27
  So it might go to your burger if you're outside.
• 23:30
  It might go to a tree, a nearby tree, just again kind of however
• 23:35
  your your setup is, so you go through that.
• 23:39
  Process and that can be, again, as elaborate or as simple as you
• 23:43
  want it to be. If you really want to make a big
• 23:45
  to do about it, you want to ride along.
• 23:49
  Like dissertation, A big long prayer, A big long something
• 23:52
  that you want to speak on during your ceremony.
• 23:57
  It could just be off the cuff, you know.
• 23:58
  Very heartfelt. Nothing formal, you know.
• 24:01
  It's so an informal sort of delivery to it.
• 24:05
  But all of that is part of the. The gifting process.
• 24:07
  You know the gifts that are. Spoken are the gifts that are
• 24:11
  often received. And when we give those gifts
• 24:14
  from our heart, and with the the, the, the power behind the
• 24:18
  power of our speech behind it. Really sends it to where we want
• 24:22
  it to go, so that it goes into. The presentation of the blood.
• 24:31
  You know where the blood goes or the where the.
• 24:34
  Where the offering goes, I'm saying blood because I'm
• 24:36
  thinking bloat in the sense of having blood, you know?
• 24:39
  So again, the bloat it's is is part of the ceremony.
• 24:43
  The blood is the bloat and you're.
• 24:47
  Gonna be sprinkling either yourself or your.
• 24:49
  Items or your attend, or the attendees that are there with
• 24:52
  you if it's a group thing with this liquid, right?
• 24:57
  And then disposing of it at your altar.
• 25:02
  Once you've done all of that, once, you've concluded the the
• 25:05
  act. Of gifting and then bloating.
• 25:09
  You'll quite oftentimes want to close it out, you know?
• 25:12
  Thank you to Thor. Thank you for.
• 25:16
  Witnessing, Witnessing your people gathering together.
• 25:20
  Witnessing me come to you today and an offering of this gift.
• 25:24
  Thank you for accepting this gift.
• 25:25
  And you know, ever ride hard? Against the the yolks and and
• 25:31
  whatever you want to say right? Like again, you can become very
• 25:35
  poetic with it you. Can you can make it your own,
• 25:39
  But there's a closing prayer, you know, So you welcome them.
• 25:41
  You invoke them and then at the close of things we.
• 25:45
  Want to bid them farewell, right, and and return them to
• 25:50
  where they came from, right. So thank you for coming on your
• 25:54
  journeys back to where you are. You know, May your journeys be
• 25:57
  safe. You know, however you want to
• 26:00
  kind of send them off, you would.
• 26:03
  You would give a. Closing prayer, thanking them
• 26:05
  for being there and wishing them well in their journey.
• 26:12
  So that kind of. There, there's some other things
• 26:17
  you know, of course. If it's a group setting, you
• 26:22
  have more people present. You know, quite often times you
• 26:25
  might have a meal that is a part of.
• 26:28
  The whole thing. And so after the ritual, like,
• 26:31
  I'll just say like. For our tribe, our our main holy
• 26:36
  tides are our feasts, right? So we always.
• 26:38
  Feast during the celebration of those holy tides.
• 26:44
  And we'll always perform ritual 1st, right?
• 26:46
  We'll always get into that headspace clear of of excess
• 26:50
  food. Or drink.
• 26:51
  We'll perform our our ceremony, our ritual.
• 26:56
  And then we'll go eat. In many cases, especially in
• 27:00
  ancient times, the meal, the feast.
• 27:04
  But again, that was killed for the for the.
• 27:07
  The blood of that animal was used in the ceremony.
• 27:10
  Maybe you don't have that kind of thing going on.
• 27:13
  Not a lot of people do, so you have a meal instead, prepared
• 27:18
  for after the. And after you've been doing what
• 27:21
  you've done or been doing with the gods and the divine, you
• 27:24
  come in and you finish your meal.
• 27:25
  Maybe you have a stumble, you know?
• 27:28
  So again that that doesn't really I think cover the the how
• 27:31
  to. Perform a basic, you know,
• 27:33
  heathen ritual. But this here I hope at least
• 27:37
  gives you. Like again, the basic framework
• 27:42
  of. How to perform a basic heating
• 27:46
  ritual. You want to have certain items.
• 27:48
  You want to have all of your items for ritual.
• 27:50
  That's again, as a recap, all of your items that you use.
• 27:54
  In ritual should be kept separate from everything else,
• 27:59
  all right. So your bloat bowl should be
• 28:02
  just for bloat. If you have any other sort of
• 28:05
  ceremonial pieces, blades, you know, anything like that?
• 28:12
  They should not be used for anything other than that purpose
• 28:16
  for the ceremony. You know once you've got the the
• 28:19
  basic items, you again want to create sacred space wherever you
• 28:23
  are. If it's your house, If it's.
• 28:27
  Outdoors set those boundaries, create that space fire is.
• 28:34
  The tried and true method. Again, if you look in the
• 28:38
  description Show notes, you'll see some references to.
• 28:40
  That in historical source material that we can.
• 28:45
  Glean from and and use and and and practically apply here in
• 28:50
  modern times, right fire is readily available.
• 28:55
  And it's and it's acceptable in in almost every circumstance.
• 29:02
  So you create your sacred space. You.
• 29:05
  Open up with a prayer. You give the bloat.
• 29:11
  Present it as the gift to the sacred space, right?
• 29:15
  Whether it's the altar, you have to dispose of it.
• 29:18
  It should. Be disposed of ethically,
• 29:20
  humanely, not going to do anything that's going to harm
• 29:22
  the ground or harm the earth. Which again in most cases blood
• 29:25
  and alcohol are 100% biodegradable, so.
• 29:29
  Pouring it into the earth is not going to hurt anything, or any
• 29:32
  one. And then you close out the.
• 29:38
  Ceremony with a prayer and go on your merry way.
• 29:41
  It doesn't have to be this. Great.
• 29:44
  Big, long, you know, and that's one of the things I think that
• 29:48
  some newer heathens especially get into.
• 29:50
  It's like I've got to do. I got to make this big overture
• 29:54
  of a of a. Of a gesture, you know to to the
• 29:59
  gods. And and and stuff in order for
• 30:00
  it to be noticed. And while I think there is, you
• 30:04
  know it, it's important to be. Serious you know.
• 30:10
  And not just be like, well, you know, you know let me toss this
• 30:13
  thing on the ground and say hello and beyond my mirror and
• 30:16
  that's my bloat. Like no.
• 30:18
  Like approach it with the piety. And and and appropriate degree
• 30:24
  of respect that it deserves. You know, but it isn't like you
• 30:32
  know, I hate to use this. But it ain't like Catholic Mass
• 30:36
  to that degree. All the time you know what I
• 30:39
  mean. And if anybody here is a is a is
• 30:41
  a Catholic? Don't misconstrue.
• 30:43
  What I'm saying is bashing you. I think that Catholic Mass is a
• 30:46
  is a beautiful. Ritual experience, you know, But
• 30:50
  it is very arduous and it's very methodical and there's a lot of
• 30:54
  things going on and and your ceremonies and your rituals to
• 30:58
  the gods. Or to your ancestors, Or to the
• 31:00
  local spirits. Of the land that you reside near
• 31:04
  and around. They don't have to be this hour
• 31:06
  long thing, you know what I mean?
• 31:09
  With a little bit of thought. And with some planning and with
• 31:14
  a good heart. Behind it, I think you'll have a
• 31:17
  great experience. You know, and the great thing of
• 31:20
  it too, is that if you. Perform a ritual, let's say
• 31:23
  today. Based off of what I'm saying to
• 31:25
  you or you perform a ritual this weekend because of information
• 31:30
  that you're hearing from me today.
• 31:32
  And you find some things along the way that you want to
• 31:34
  incorporate that are. Meaningful and valuable in your
• 31:41
  culpic. Practice in your heart, cult and
• 31:43
  you want to again blend that in. That's perfectly fine.
• 31:46
  Go for it and make it your own. This is again, really kind of
• 31:50
  focused more on the solitary practitioner.
• 31:53
  The individual, you know, kind of solitary ritual thing.
• 32:00
  Once again, this the framework can can be applied to a larger.
• 32:04
  Scale in Group settings, but I think when it comes to your
• 32:09
  hearth cult when it comes to your individual cultic
• 32:11
  practices. Anything else that gets added is
• 32:15
  it's. To your call, man.
• 32:18
  You're all your call. You know, I've I've, you know
• 32:23
  some rituals that I've gone to you know, the runes get drawn,
• 32:27
  runes get pulled. Yeah just if you know it's it's
• 32:34
  it's different strokes different folks and so if the group
• 32:39
  collective. The Tribe, the Kindred,
• 32:40
  whatever. If their custom is that we're
• 32:44
  going to, you know, cast lots and we're going to pull runes or
• 32:49
  if it's. Something else, you know,
• 32:52
  whatever the methodology of that that group is and that's their
• 32:56
  custom and maybe you've been a part of the.
• 32:59
  To the heathen ritual yourself, that you've taken those things
• 33:05
  that you witnessed, that you were a part of, and you've
• 33:07
  applied it into your art cult. Maybe you've taken some of those
• 33:11
  things and you've tailored it to your to your ways with with the.
• 33:19
  You know, bearing one thing in mind, of course this is that you
• 33:22
  know, in some cultures and some practices not necessarily even.
• 33:26
  Dramatic even. But in some practices there are
• 33:29
  things that if you are a part of it, if you are invited to it.
• 33:33
  It is very sacred and it is not to be replicated, appropriated
• 33:38
  or reshared in any way, shape or form without expressed consent
• 33:42
  of the people who performed it. You know if it's like a
• 33:45
  closedoff. You shouldn't be going around
• 33:48
  blabbing about it, telling people about how it was done and
• 33:53
  if if it spoke to you. In such a profound way that you
• 33:56
  want to apply those things to your practices, you should talk
• 34:00
  to the people who who who executed.
• 34:03
  It with you and 1st, you know what I mean?
• 34:04
  Like if it's their tradition, if it's their way, if it's.
• 34:06
  Something that is proprietary to them, if it's a if, it's a
• 34:10
  custom that is theirs and and and you were blessed enough to,
• 34:14
  you know, been giving the opportunity to share in that
• 34:17
  experience and before you appropriate it into your hearth
• 34:20
  cult. Or any other sort of ritual
• 34:22
  context. Always, always make sure that
• 34:25
  you speak to those people who. Is responsible for keeping those
• 34:30
  traditions and safeguarding those things.
• 34:33
  Make sure that you're not doing anything that is is.
• 34:37
  Against what they would want or their wishes.
• 34:40
  But definitely make it your own, you know?
• 34:42
  And again, maybe you know. You've been doing things for a
• 34:45
  certain way for a long time and you're coming across this video
• 34:49
  or this, this, this. Episode and some of the things
• 34:51
  that I'm saying to you now. Strike a strike a nerve.
• 34:55
  You know you're well, man. You know, there's this, been,
• 34:57
  there's been this thing about the way I do things that just
• 35:00
  feels a little bit off. Or I've just, I feel like I'm
• 35:02
  missing a certain element and oh what he just said there.
• 35:05
  That's that sounds like it could be it, you know.
• 35:07
  And so maybe you change your ways of doing things.
• 35:09
  I can't tell you how many times the rituals that I've.
• 35:12
  Either been in or performed while, while they all have like.
• 35:16
  Kind of a very similar framework around them.
• 35:18
  There is not one ritual that I've ever been.
• 35:22
  Been a part of is the same ritual twice in a row.
• 35:25
  You know what I mean? Like it's not a repeat of the
• 35:28
  same mass, it's not a. Repeat of the same service.
• 35:31
  It's not a repeat of the same thing, exactly 100%.
• 35:34
  There are elements about it that are, of course.
• 35:37
  Revisited and and that you have recollection of.
• 35:41
  Yep, I remember how this goes, but there are other parts.
• 35:44
  Of it that become what it's supposed to be for the moment
• 35:48
  and. I think some of that has to do
• 35:51
  with. The more we learn and as we grow
• 35:53
  you. Know we discover things.
• 35:55
  We we find things. We want to incorporate things.
• 35:58
  That's how traditions live on. You know what I mean?
• 36:00
  Like you know when a tribe is is first forming.
• 36:03
  When a tribe is, is is being established a kindred group?
• 36:06
  Whatever we want, call it, right?
• 36:08
  When those things are being established, there's a lot of.
• 36:11
  Learning, You know, you don't just come into it quite often
• 36:15
  times, especially if you're building it from the ground up
• 36:18
  with a really. Solid sense of this is how it's
• 36:21
  going to be 100% all the time. You're going to try things out,
• 36:25
  you're going to experiment, you're going to test those
• 36:29
  waters and see, right. Do we want to do it the way that
• 36:32
  this group does it? Do we want to do it the way that
• 36:35
  group? Does it?
• 36:35
  Do we want to do it a little bit of both?
• 36:39
  You know, or are we just going to make up something off the
• 36:41
  cuff our own way and it's going to be ours 100%, you know, and
• 36:46
  and if there's similarities? And it's coincidence and it's
• 36:49
  nothing that happened due to us being influenced by by an
• 36:54
  outside, you know behavior. So it's all very it's all very
• 37:02
  pregnant. It's all very possible and.
• 37:05
  If my dogs do not shut up every. Time I post that every time I
• 37:10
  record this, there's nothing out there.
• 37:13
  Y'all. There's literally nothing out
• 37:15
  there. Shut up.
• 37:19
  So it happens all the time. It happens all the time, Can't,
• 37:25
  can't win for losing. But anyway, the if it's if it's
• 37:29
  practical and it works, then just go with it.
• 37:33
  And if you come across something that doesn't feel right and you
• 37:37
  need to tweak it, you need to adjust it.
• 37:39
  That's okay, too. It's all about the learning.
• 37:41
  It's all about the the growth of it.
• 37:43
  So. This is going to be a
• 37:44
  relatively. Short episode because I don't
• 37:48
  want to beat this one to death. I don't want to beat, you know,
• 37:51
  I don't want to beat a dead horse here.
• 37:53
  And the last video was probably even.
• 37:55
  Shorter than this one, the first one that is the the original how
• 38:00
  to do a basic healing ritual. But hopefully between the two
• 38:03
  videos, you know if you want to go back and forth and kind of
• 38:05
  compare, you'll see obviously that the.
• 38:09
  Production is is way different but the information.
• 38:13
  I think is going to be slightly modified too.
• 38:17
  There's going to be again some things that you if you go back
• 38:19
  and watch that first one, you're going to be right.
• 38:22
  Yeah, yeah, that's what he. Said that already.
• 38:25
  But there's also going to be some things that I think reflect
• 38:30
  my views on the world now that were maybe not quite as refined
• 38:34
  or defined back then. I was.
• 38:37
  I was still. I was solid.
• 38:40
  I was. Like not having any sort of like
• 38:42
  crisis. Of faith or anything like that
• 38:44
  back then. But I was.
• 38:46
  Gathering and learning so much of things myself and sharing
• 38:49
  them as I went where I've kind of hit a more this is where I'm
• 38:54
  at with things and this is what I can definitively say and be
• 38:57
  comfortable, so. Before we conduct or conclude.
• 39:02
  Today's video. I do just want to let everybody
• 39:04
  know. Thank you for coming along with
• 39:05
  me this far on this video by the way, and on this episode.
• 39:08
  Really appreciate it. But one more thing I want to say
• 39:11
  before we sign off here today is.
• 39:16
  Next month, September 10th, myself and Greg Strong, who's
• 39:24
  Chieftain of The Raven Moon Hearth Kindred in Nashville, we
• 39:27
  will be Co. Hosting an event.
• 39:30
  Here in Murfreesboro, TN, at the General Bragg Trailhead.
• 39:35
  Pavilion, it's going to be a class on Heathenry.
• 39:39
  We're calling it an introduction to Heathenry.
• 39:42
  So, like Heathenry 101, but he's going to, you know, him and I
• 39:44
  are going to be talking a lot about, you know, some of our
• 39:47
  recommended reading material, Introduction to the gods and
• 39:51
  goddesses that are pretty popular.
• 39:54
  In in dramatic heathenry and talking about like heathen,
• 39:57
  ritual and Bloat and. All kinds of things.
• 40:01
  There's. Just stuff to really hopefully
• 40:02
  help bring people that are in the area that maybe want to
• 40:06
  learn more about Heathenry and see what it's about to come out
• 40:09
  here and just have a good conversation, you know?
• 40:11
  Yes. It's a class type sort of thing,
• 40:12
  but we want to have good times with people and we want folks
• 40:15
  that are willing to learn and want to help share their
• 40:17
  knowledge come out as well. So there will be an event.
• 40:22
  Link for that in the description show notes.
• 40:26
  Of this podcast as well. So it's a it's a Facebook page,
• 40:29
  you know, event. But if you're not on social
• 40:32
  media, it's going to be September 10th at the General
• 40:35
  Bragg Trailhead in Murfreesboro. We'll be there from 3:00 in the
• 40:40
  afternoon until. The trailhead closes, which is
• 40:42
  like 8:00, I think, in the evening, So we'll be there all
• 40:46
  afternoon starting at 3:00 PM. It's a Sunday afternoon.
• 40:49
  There's a playground there for kids.
• 40:51
  There's restrooms right there at the pavilions covered.
• 40:54
  So rain or shine, we will be there.
• 40:57
  Feel free to bring, you know, non alcoholic beverages and
• 40:59
  snacks if you want to come out and and just hang out with us
• 41:01
  for the day. We will be there.
• 41:03
  We would love to see you too. All are welcome, family
• 41:05
  friendly. Bring them all.
• 41:07
  Bring the whole, as my grandmother used to say, bring
• 41:11
  the whole fam damely. Out here.
• 41:14
  So that's all for today's episode.
• 41:16
  I hope you all enjoyed. It if you did, be sure to give
• 41:19
  this video a thumbs up, follow the podcast on whatever platform
• 41:22
  that you're capturing this on. And thank you all again so much
• 41:26
  for your continued and. Great support.
• 41:30
  Check the link tree in the description and show notes of.
• 41:33
  This episode for all the ways you can support this podcast
• 41:36
  until we talk to each other again as the gods continue to
• 41:39
  notice you and may your ancestors.
• 41:42
  Smile upon you.