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Location: Mogården Burial Ground, Kils Municipality
Date: 11/10
Time: 14:00
Blót Officiant: Thommy Vähäsalo
Assistant: Linnéa Hultman
Contact Person: Lucas Gustafsson, [email protected]
For the first time, the blót kindred Idavallen gathers at Mogården burial ground to celebrate Winter Nights.
The blót will be held at one of two burial grounds from the Early Iron Age, now separated by an old country road.
This blót is open to the public and thus an excellent opportunity for anyone curious to gain insight into what we do.
Perhaps you have long been within the heathen sphere and wish to meet like-minded people.
Perhaps this is something you have just discovered and want to know more about.
The Nordic Asa-community and Idavallen welcome all with an open mind and good intentions.
Winter Nights is an important holiday marking the transition from summer to winter, usually celebrated sometime in September/October.
This holidayholds deep cultural and spiritual significance, as it centered on the people’s gratitude for the year’s harvest.
It also marked the culmination of the agricultural year and the last harvest, a time to celebrate the land’s generosity and to acknowledge the collective labor and cooperation that made it possible.
This achievement was celebrated with a profound sense of gratitude, recognizing both the richness of the soil and the human effort that secured it.
In Ynglinga saga, Winter Nights is mentioned as the first blót of Odin, a sacrifice also dedicated to a prosperous coming year.
It may also be interpreted as the beginning of the new year.
Winter Nights falls on the third full moon before the Midwinter blót and lasts for three nights/days from the full moon.
About the location:
At Mogården there are two burial grounds with a total of 22 burial mounds and 5 circular stone settings.
When these Iron Age cremation graves were examined, among the burnt bones were found personal belongings such as vessels, whetstones, combs, and knives.
This was once a widespread settlement with farms and villages, where the economy was based on livestock and reuse.
People lived here and worked the same soil all the way into modern times.
With that said, this is a very ancient place where many have mixed their blood with this very soil.
It is something to keep in mind and approach with reverence as we step onto this ground to hold sacred rites in accordance with our ancestors’ faith.
The site is easily accessible with good parking facilities right nearby.
What can you expect?
Depending on the season, we hold blóts for different reasons.
But the central concept remains the same: we honor the powers and the ancestors, and we offer to them through thoughts, toasts, and gifts.
The hope is to receive something in return.
What that may be is up to the practitioner.
As it is written in Hávamál: “Gift calls for gift.”
During the blót, various ritual toasts will be held, allowing participants to honor deities or beings that are significant to them or can provide assistance.
The first toast is a power ceremony.
This is a silent toast where no drink is consumed.
The second toast is a god toast, where you choose one or more divine powers to honor.
This toast is either drunk or offered by pouring it out.
The final toast is a free toast, where you have the opportunity to say whatever you feel like
It may be a greeting or a tribute to someone or something.
It may also be something you wish to say before the group.
This toast is also either drunk or offered.
It is important to note that all toasts are performed with mead.
This beverage contains alcohol, and if you do not consume it for any reason, it will still be offered at the site.
The above is only part of the ceremony.
Other elements are included as well, and these can vary from one occasion to another.
Good to Know:
• Nordiska Asa-samfundet/Noric Asa-community is apolitical, and we therefore do not accept any politically charged messages during our blóts and rites.
• To participate, you must swear by the god Tyr.
If you cannot do so for any reason, you will not be able to join the blót circle.
• Bring a drinking vessel.
Which will be used for the different toasts.
• We encourage you to bring offerings in the form of things nature itself can take care of, such as fruit, berries, grain, etc.
Please also bring a stone about the size of a fist.
These are placed on the harg over the years as a monument of our presence.
• Dress according to the weather.
The ceremony is stationary, and being cold is never enjoyable.
• We offer an initiation rite on site after the blót.
This means that before the powers, you may step into Ásatrú.
This costs 100 SEK — the fee goes directly to the blót kindred and helps us finance our activities.
If you also want a physical certificate of the performed rite, there is an additional cost of 60 SEK.
Payment by Swish is accepted.
Directions:
Set your GPS to “Apertins hotell” or use the map link below.
The site is located just north of the hotel along Öjenäsvägen, between highway 62 (Forshaga) and Kil.
The burial grounds are right beside the road on the north side.
The site is signposted as an ancient monument and burial ground.
Map links:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/FiAUTr1WLYJkwpMM7?g_st=ac
(Photography and videotaping may occur at all Blót and community events and subsequently published on the community’s various platforms).
