The Northern Way

Over the last twelve months, I have posted liturgies for some of the traditional ways to celebrate the changing seasons of the year, marking the turning points of the eternal cycle. This post offers an alternative to that, and is based on the feasts of the Northern people, the ancestors of many of we north Europeans. The pivotal points of the year are not based on calendar dates as such, but on an awareness of and connection with what is happening in the natural world - and even those of us who live in cities can surely find those essential links and be blessed by them. Another difference is that I am not here offering liturgies for the festivals, but things to do. I hope you may enjoy doing them... Put them in your diary or on your calendar, so you don't forget.

To start off with, here are the names of the months of the year, according to Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Frankish, and Norse traditions:

January, After-Yule, Winter month, Snow-moon

February, Mud month, Short month, Horning

March, Noise month, Lengthening month, Lenting

April, Eostre's month, Ostara's month, Ostara

May, Three Milkings, Joy month, Merry-moon

June, Dry month, Plough month, Midyear

July, Meadow month, Hay month, Hay-moon

August, Weed month, Harvest month, Harvest

September, Holy/Harvest month, Wood month, Shedding

October, Winter full moon, Grape harvest moon, Hunting

November, Sacrifice month, Harvest month, Fog-moon

December, Fore-Yule, Holy month, Yule

Below is a 'Viking Calendar'

For the people of the North, the year did not begin in what we know as January, but at the end of autumn. However, since I am posting this at the beginning of our Advent, I am choosing to begin at the end of the dark and cold Winter months, with the first of the Rites of Spring: Summer Finding. This could occur either around the Spring Equinox (around the third week of March) or any time during the first half of what we know as April. The significant 'findings' were the first flower of Spring, such as the violet, and/or the return of certain birds, such as the cuckoo, stork, or swallow, from their winter roosts. The later practices of both Easter and May Day derive from this festival time: for example, the hare, sacred to the goddess Ostara/Eostre, became the "Easter Bunny", and Hot Cross Buns derive from the ritual bread marked with the image of the horns of the ox sacrificed at the feast. The very word 'bun' derives from the Saxon word 'boun' meaning 'sacred ox'.

What to do: Keep a keen look out for the first signs of Spring - and, if it's a flower, don't pick it! Take a photo and put it up somewhere you'll see it every day.

Walpurgisnacht, the end of the period of the Wild Hunt (see Winter Nights, below) occurred around the end of April. Once a nine night festival, it was a remembrance of Odin's self-sacrifice on the World Tree, Yggdrasil. It was on the ninth night that he beheld the Runes, grasped them, and ritually died for an instant, during which all the Light in the Nine Worlds was extinguished and Chaos reigned before the Light returned (on the last stroke of mid-night) - marked by the lighting of bale fires.

What to do: Remind your self of something you've wanted to do or learn or see, and set whatever is needed in motion so that you get to do it - not necessarily hanging from a tree :-)

The Sun's Wending or Summer Solstice, like Walpurgisnacht, also contains an element of the commemoration of the dead, in this instance Odin and Frigg's son Baldr ('Beloved'), killed by Loki ('Knot'/'Tangle'), and of the hero Sigurd, whose story is thought to derive in part from the history of one of the Merovingian kings of the Franks, Sigebert. Despite this, the festival was kept with dancing, feasting, burning wheels, and bonfires, into which were cast garlands, herbs and blue flowers, such as larkspur, as a sign of throwing off an ill-fortune. Cattle were sometimes driven through the smoke of the fires, to cleanse or purify them.

What to do: Watch the sun set, and either stay up all night or get up early enough to see it rise. And treat your self to a really nice break-fast!

Þing-tide was celebrated around the third week of August. The þing (pronounced 'thing') also known as Alþing, was an assembly or meeting, held, unsurprisingly, at the þingstede. In Anglo-Saxon terms, it was a folk-moot, or folk meeting, during which legislation was laid down, chieftains and kings elected (one person, one vote), and legal judgments made. The annual public assembly of the Isle of Man, during which new Max laws are read out and petitions delivered, derives its name, Tynwald, from the þingvellir. Elsewhere, it became known as the wapentake.

What to do: Send a card (yes, a real one, not an e- one) to someone you regret losing touch with, just to say you're thinking of them, and including your current contact details.

The Feast of the Wains (wagons) takes place around the time of the Autumn Equinox (known in some circles as 'Mabon') and the Harvest Moon, and was in honour of those gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the future. One custom which survived the Christian conversion was the leaving of some of the harvest for the gods and/or spirits, for example, the last clump of corn, or the last five or six apples. The reserved crops were decorated with ribbons, and from this arose the tradition of the Corn Maiden and the making of corn dollies.

What to do: If you have anything that you can harvest - herbs, fruit, veg, flowers - then harvest it, but leave a small portion, and decorate it with a ribbon.

Winter Nights occurs about a (lunar) month later, and was regarded as the start of winter. In the old days, this was celebrated with a feast and with prayers for a good winter, and both the spirits of the land and the ancestral guardian spirits were honoured, along with the remembrance of the dead and of one's ancestors. This festival was incorporated by the Christians as All Souls Day - the 'Commemoration of the Faithful Departed'. Winter Nights also marked the beginning of the Wild Hunt, which would continue until Walpurgisnacht (1st May) - a procession of the dead led by Odin (also revered as Wotan) on his eight-legged horse Sleipnir ('Slippy'), accompanied by dogs and horses, riding through the winter storms.

What to do: Plant something in memory of the people you love who have died, and, as you tend it and watch it grow, remember them with thankfulness.

Modraniht, Mother Night, is held on the night before the start of Jol - corresponding to Christmas Eve - in honour, of course, of mothers. Food was left out for the departed mothers and other ancestors, as well as for the álfar (elves) and for the Wild Hunt, and children would hope to receive a gift in return for this kindness - another link with Santa Claus and his elvish assistants.

What to do: Take time to appreciate your own mother and grandmothers, and, if you have them, your daughters. Do something  today to show that appreciation and love.

Jól (Yule) starts around the time of the Winter Solstice. The title of the feast may derive from Jólnir - one of the names of Odin (Óðinn), the All-Father (Alfaðir), the vital force of the vital forces which were personified as the gods, the breath of life, will, and power. According to legend, Odin played a part in the creation of the world, by the slaying of the primordial being Ymir, and granting the gift of life to the first two human beings, Ask and Embla, who were also given Midgard (Middle Earth) for their dwelling, and who were the father and mother of all people.

Some of our current Christmas customs find their roots in Jól: the lighting of the Yule Log (somewhat down graded to a chocolate cake!), singing, visiting one another's houses, Father Christmas/Santa Claus, riding across the sky in his sleigh drawn by reindeer - a gentle version of the Wild Hunt - and, of course, feasting.

The original feast centred around the boar (hence that mysterious Boar's Head Carol!), a creature associated with Freyr, the god of sacral kingship, over which solemn, holy oaths for the coming year would be made - which have dwindled down to our often desultory New Year Resolutions. According to some legends, the eve of the Solstice was when Freyr himself rode over the world on the back of his shining boar, bringing back Light and Love. Later the same eve was celebrated as the birth-night of the god Baldur... and, of course, it is when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. So it is at this darkest time of the year when the brightest hope re-enters the world.

What to do: Light a candle, and let it burn out naturally (and safely please!)

Autumn Equinox: Sunday 23rd September 2018

Many of us experience a sense of awe at the natural world, and want to mark our connectedness with nature, and express our thanks for its sustaining goodness. Particular points in the turning year may also be understood as corresponding with different stages of our lives - which may help us to make some sense of our life experiences, and to go onwards more cheerfully and trustingly. This ceremony provides an opportunity to celebrate the Autumn Equinox, traditionally celebrated around the third week of September. The exact date can vary slightly from year to year.

The Autumn Equinox is a festival of the sun, marking a time of equality of day and night before darkness begins to increase. It is a time to hail both the plough and the scythe, and the blessings not only of planting, growth, and harvesting, but also of decay, which is a necessary part of the cycle of life. As the second of the harvest festivals, celebrating especially the harvest of fruits, it reminds us too that all the resources that everyone and everything needs have already been provided – and many of them sadly squandered or hoarded. We need to right this wrong before it is too late.

The short responsive liturgy, below, is appropriate for use by any group of people, especially before sharing a meal together, but can be adapted for private solo use. You will need enough small candles/night lights, pine cones, and apples, for each person present, matches to light the candles, and knives to cut the apples. Please exercise common sense when lighting candles, and ensure there is no risk of fire. Everyone is invited to join in saying the responsive words in bold type. There may be one leader to say the biddings, or you can take it in turns, round the circle.

The liturgies, celebrations, ceremonies, prayers, and reflections offered on this blog are the result of my thoughts, reflections, and experiences, woven together using my own words and sometimes adapting words others have used: I am indebted to their wisdom. Please use these liturgies freely, altering them as suits your own context. I am always pleased to hear from people who have used them. I am posting this today in order to allow you time to make preparations, if you choose to celebrate the Equinox this weekend. 

Welcome, Thanksgiving, and Petition:

Welcome to you all, as we gather today to celebrate the Autumn Equinox,

and to open our hearts once again to the mystery & wonder of love & life.

         The arrival of Autumn is a blessing to us all!

As we gather at this time of balance of night and day, of dark and light.

we offer thanks for the fruits of creation, for all that sustains us

throughout the year, and for the beauties of our world:

         We offer thanks!

May we remember that nothing is ours by right,

for all creatures and people are equal, and, as stewards of this good earth,

it is our responsibility to share its bounty:

         May we remember to share!

We have sown and reaped the fruits of our actions.

Grant us the courage to plant new seeds of joy and love in the coming year,

and to banish misery and worry, fear and hate.

May we learn the secrets of trust, and of wise and gracious living;

and may we always count our blessings.

         Our blessings are many!

Reflection and the Lighting of Candles:

During a few moments of quiet, reflect on what in particular

has been a blessing to you, especially over the past year.

You may share out loud one of the many blessings in your life,

using the phrase: I give thanks for the blessing of ...............

to which everyone will respond: May it always be a blessing to you.

We each then light a candle as a sign of thanksgiving.

The Balancing:

Without autumn & winter, there can be no spring or summer:

         Without night, there can be no day,

         without darkness, there can be no light,

         without death, there can be no life.

Autumn is a time of change, but the Equinox is above all a time of balance,

and a good time to take stock of our own resources:

to look honestly at where we are weaker, where we are stronger,

and where we are somewhere in-between:

         We seek to find such a balance in our lives

         as is found in the natural Universe, 

         and to become part of the harmony

         that lies at the heart of creation.

We need to recognise, and not to hide from, whatever we need to change;

and we need the courage to leave behind us

whatever we no longer need to carry:

         We need to find the energy and the resources -

         inside and outside of our selves - to begin again. 

Choose and hold one of the pine cones, which represent what has sustained us

up to now. Think about – and say if you wish - what mostly that has been.

Then exchange the pine cone for an apple, which represents what will sustain you in the future. Think about – and say if you wish - what that might be.

The Sharing:

We do not live in isolation:

         We are inter-dependent: we need one another.

We also need the creatures, the environments, and the activities,

that lift our spirits and sustain life.

         And we need to share all of these in order to be fully human.

As a sign of the need to give and to receive, we now share our apples.

Everyone cuts their apple into four pieces. One piece is kept for themselves,

two pieces are shared with the people on either side, and the fourth taken home for pets or birds or to plant in the hope of an apple tree.

If you are having a shared meal, now is a good time for it,

and then use The Closing, below, at the end of the meal.

The Closing:

Summer has become Autumn, and Autumn will become Winter.

         The seasons change and the year turns.

We who are together here will go our separate ways:

         When we meet again we will have changed, grown, learnt,

         and become closer to being our true selves.

May we find what we need for rest and for growth:

         And whatever changes come, may we remember and rejoice

         that we are united in love, light, and life, now and for ever. Amen!

The candles are now extinguished

Food for the Feast:

The Autumn Equinox has traditionally been celebrated as the harvest of fruits – tomatoes, berries, apples, pears, plums, squash – so it's a good time to try out some recipes that are new to you, using seasonal fruits and veg., or to revive old favourites such as pears poached in cider, or baked apples stuffed with nuts and dried fruit. 

Pomegranates are associated with this festival as well, reminding us of the story of Persephone, who was obliged to spend six months of the year in the Underworld, as she had eaten six pomegranate seeds there (some versions of the story say three months/three seeds) – an attempt to explain why we have winter when almost nothing grows. 

This year we shall be enjoying ratatouille galettes with eggs from our own hens, cheeses, and plum tarte tatin, washed down with lovely Breton cider. 

There are lots of recipes available online, but if you'd like to try any of ours, please use the comment box, and I'll post them up as soon as possible.