On December 22, 2012, Keeper of Seasons Hall met to observe Yule, its last official holiday celebration of 2012. Like previous years, we had an indoor celebration, and Debbie and I hosted the event at our home. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Ancestors
Winternights 2012 report
Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate its fifteenth Winternights November 10, 2012. While for the most part the weather to date had been warm and dry, the morning we met at the Pueblo Montaño trailhead was cold, overcast, and windy. Intermittent drops of rain fell as we made our way to our destination on the bank of the Rio Grande, the same site we had used last year. Perhaps because of the weather, we saw less wildlife than in previous visits, though we did see a few ducks and crows, and at least once we heard the sound of cranes flying overhead. Continue reading
Yule 2011 Report
Though most members would not begin their personal Yule celebrations for another few days, on December 18, 2011 Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate the opening of the Yule season and hold its last official holiday observance of the year. As with previous years, we celebrated indoors, and in 2011 Debbie and I hosted the event at our home. Continue reading
Winternights 2011 report
Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate its fourteenth Winternights November 6, 2011. Though the drought gripping New Mexico had continued, there had been enough precipitation that the Bosque was once again open (in fact, it had rained for a few hours the previous morning), so we met at the Pueblo Montaño trailhead and hiked for a time until we reached our destination on the bank of the Rio Grande. The site was one we had not used for many years, but it offered a spectacular view of the river; during our time there, we were made aware of the presence of ducks, cranes, ravens, and crows. Continue reading
Winternights 2011 Handout
Winternights (Veturnóttum)
Literary quotations (emphasis mine):
Austrfararvisur St. 4-5
Réðk til Hofs at hœfa;/ hurð vas aptr, en ek spurðumk/ (inn settak nef nenninn)/ niðrlútr fyrir útan;/ orð gatk fæst af fyrðum,/ (flǫgð baðk) en þau sǫgðu,/ hnekðumk heiðnir rekkar,/ heilagt (við þau deila).
Gakkat inn, kvað ekkja,/ armi drengr, en lengra;/ hræðumk ek við Óðins/ (erum heiðin vér) reiði;/ rýgr kvazk inni eiga/ óþekk sús mér hnekði/ alfa blót sem ulfi/ ótvín í bœ sínum.
To Hof I struck the path./ The door was shut. Outside/ I had to ask. I bent down,/ Poked my nose in to see./ Not much I learned from that household./ They said, “Today is holy.”/ Heathen bullies threw me out./ To Hell with them, say I!
“No farther can you enter,/ You wretch!” said the woman./ “Here we are heathens/ And I fear the wrath of Odin.”/ She shoved me out like a wolf,/ That arrogant termagant,/ Said she was holding sacrifice/ To elves there in her house. (Page translation, http://vikingraiders.yolasite.com/resources/Austrfaravisur.pdf) Continue reading
Winternights 2009 Report
On October 31st, 2009 the membership of Keeper of Seasons Hall met to celebrate Winternights.
We met at a trailhead in the Sandia foothills at about noon, and after exchanging some pleasantries and my slinging the bag full of horns and mead over my shoulder, we departed on our short hike to a rocky outcropping well-known and loved by the Hall. Continue reading
Spring/Sigrblot 2009 report
With Pete needing to leave soon for training to deploy to Iraq, Keeper of Seasons Hall met on April 11, 2009 for a combination spring and victory blót. The weather during the days was still shifting back and forth from warm spring to lingering winter, but we were done with overnight freezes. In order to include as many Hall members and family as possible, including those who were getting over illnesses or recovering from triathlon participation, and to avoid any possible rain or hail, we decided to meet at one of our member’s homes and have a blót and potluck there. Debbie and I had the honor of hosting the event. Continue reading
Midsummer 2008 report
With the solstice falling near a weekend, Keeper of Seasons Hall met on June 21 to hold its 2008 Midsummer’s Blót. As in the previous year, we met early in the day to avoid the worst of the season’s heat. Though summer storms had been visiting the area recently, we had nothing more severe than cooling winds during the ceremony; the day was clear and bright. Erich and Celeste had earlier scouted the Bosque for a new location for this year’s blót, a well-shaded site on the banks of the Rio Grande that offered a spectacular view of the river and its surroundings. In this holy place Erich led the blót, announcing our purpose in gathering and hailing the powers of the season; afterwards, each person present made personal hails, and the remainder of the mead was poured into the river in offering. Continue reading
Winternights 2007
On October 28, 2007, Keeper of Seasons Hall met near the Rio Grande to hold its tenth Winternights celebration.
Despite a few nights that dipped briefly below freezing, much of Albuquerque’s summer warmth had continued well into the following season; the day of the blót was warm, clear, and sunny. Many of the trees of the Bosque had changed color, and a few had lost their leaves, but there were still some smaller trees to be found that stubbornly held on to their greenery. The skies were frequently traveled by crows, ravens, geese, and cranes as members of the Hall made their way to a spot scouted previously for this blót. Continue reading
A Short Winternights Rite
Hallowing
Donar, God of the Garðs, Guard this stead for Winternights.
Heimdall, sounder of the Horn, Hold us ever in your sight. Continue reading