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
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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
Hrafnagaldr Óðins handout
Winternights 1999
Gathering:
Blot horn blasts thrice, that the participants
may gather. Continue reading
Yule 1997
Yule was held on Sunday, December 21st in our usual setting near the Rio Grande. The tracery of snow-covered branches, the overcast sky, and the flowing of the swelled river all contributed to setting a powerful scene for our Yule blot. Upon reaching the site of our Blot, we noticed a large group of ravens congregating on a nearby sandbar. Needless to say, I felt blessed, especially as our Hall bears their likeness and their name as its mark, to see the ravens in attendance. Continue reading
Winternights 1997
Winternights was held on Friday, October 31st, in Albuquerque. The weather was absolutely wonderful and the warm winds and clear sky greatly added to the overall feeling of the Blot. Continue reading