Here is a little insight into how it can be to run a Blót Kindred within the Nordic Asa-community, it is easy to think that it is just and pull together a couple of good old men and women and out and hold a blót but in NAS/NAC our ambition is that all Blót Kindreds should be run in the same way so when you participate in an open blót you should recognise yourself regardless of which Blót Kindred you visit, and to achieve this, a little order is needed in the Blót Kindred.
It is important to remember that being part of a Blót Kindred is not a right or a given, you join a tight group of people who through hard work try to drive and bring the Asatru in their area forward so it can grow even stronger, a group that is and works like a family, who always stand up and listen to each other in ups and downs. The honour of being part of such a group is exclusive and should be taken very seriously, you should consider carefully if you are really able and willing to take on the responsibility you get when you join a Blót Kindred.
It’s not a group you can just join without lifting a finger or belonging to just because it sounds ‘cool’. It requires commitment and a willingness to help.
Running a Blót Kindred could be compared to running an association: you have a name, an objective, rules on the board, its composition (number of members and alternates), how it is elected, the decisions.
To make this work, you need a number of members, it is too much to do for one or two people as it can involve a lot of work with planning, purchasing, possible authorisation of information, everything that needs to be taken care of at the blot sites before the blót and after, transport/carpooling, possible rental of premises, food/barbecue area, etc.
The Blót Kindred therefore needs to include a Blót Kindred leader, an event manager, a cashier, two blót officiants so a minimum of 5 members but more members are preferable so that the tasks can be more easily distributed, this considering that we all have our lives with families, jobs, businesses and perhaps other activities in our spare time in sports and other voluntary activities that occupy a lot of time of us, here is a small description of what it can look like in the division of labour depending on what role you have in the Blót Kindred.
Each Blót Kindred must have a leader who holds the Blót Kindred together, a person that members trust and want to take responsibility, someone that members can contact, who calls meetings, allocates tasks, plans the time for the blót and other activities within the Blót Kindred, reports to the NBR twice a year, keeps in touch with the DBR.
Someone in the Blót Kindred should be the event manager who makes sure to plan for the place where the blót will be held, if permission is needed from the authorities at the location of the blót, makes sure that materials are available, possibly food / premises / rent, place for guild, carpooling / transport, for example, if you are going to hold an open blót on Anundshög in Sweden and you expect to be many participants and you suspect that it will attract many spectators as it is a public place, it requires permission from the authorities.
Someone in the Blót Kindred must keep track of the finances so a cashier is needed who keeps track of the membership list, purchases of consumables, receipts, orders from the community, any fees within the Blót Kindred.
In the Blót Kindred, you preferably need to have two blót officiants as it is preferable for purely practical reasons that one is in charge of the blót and one assists, being a blót officiant can be quite burdensome, especially when it is a blót with many participants. There is quite a heavy responsibility on a blót officiant as a successful blót involves a lot of preparation, such as which powers to invite to participate in the blót, finding out facts about the place you are going to perform the blót, that you are well read and have practised the ceremony in advance, being able to speak and make yourself heard in front of the participants in the blót, you should also be on site well in advance so that you are mentally prepared so that you have had time too landed in the place and are not stressed because you have skimped on time for the preparation of the site.
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words about working in a group, in order to succeed in getting everyone to work together and get everyone to work in the same direction in a group or as in this case in a Blót Kindred, it is important to get to know each other what strengths and weaknesses exist in the group and who is suitable in the different roles, especially if you do not know each other before, and that you take the time to do so, the conditions for successfully running a Blót Kindred will increase significantly.
Good luck, Til árs ok friðar!
If you have questions about starting or joining a Blót Kindred of the Nordic Asa-community, please contact the responsible DBR or NBR.
* DBR = District Blót Responsible
* NBR = National Blót Responsible.
/ Patrik Bergman, District Blót Responsible NAS District Mälardalen, Sweden 2021
Kristian Svensson Blót Kindred leader: Blót Kindred Sleipner, Östergötland, Sweden 2021
This is available as a downloadable document, download the document here (It´s in swedish)
