Monday, May 14, 2012

Daily rituals for each day of the week

In the English language, as well as the Scandinavian languages, six out of the seven days of the week are named after Germanic Gods. Most people, Germanic or not, do not know the origin of the names of the week for the most part.Yet they repeat these names--Tues, Wednes, Thur, Fri, and honor these deities each time they utter these days. Our people, the Germanic people, still honor our major Gods, more commonly known as Tyr, Odin, Thor and Freyr, along with Sunna and Mani, from the moment they begin to speak to the moment they die.
You, as the Germanic man, and the awakened Heathen, will take this subconscious honoring into consciousness. You will honor each of your deities on their namesake days in unique and exclusive ways.
Each day will be dedicated to a different deity. A common theme generally repeats: honor your patron deity each and every day, alongside the different daily deity. There are rituals for each, and usually a libation, a burned offering (remember, consume whatever you intend to offer as well!), and sometimes associated animals and neck-wear.

Sunday


On Sunday, you are to honor Sunna, the Goddess of the sun. Hail her after you hail your patron. On this day, you will give thanks to the sun, and that means you will enjoy its rays. On Sunday, take a hike, such as through the forest or in the mountains, and bask in Sunna's glory. It does not matter if it is foggy, a thunerstorm, snowing--the sun is still there, even if you can't see it or feel its rays directly. What I like to do during the spring and summer is to go into my pool and float on my back, eyes closed, facing the dusking sun, and I ponder about it, and Sunna. When twilight descends, I thank Sunna and I say good night.
Offerings to burn for Sunna are sunflowers and dandelions, or any flower, really.

Monday

Monday, you are to honor the God Mani, the God of the moon. Honor your patron in the morning, but you are to honor the Moon God when the moon first makes his appearance. Hail him. Your ritual for Mani will be to sit outside, face the moon, and ponder it. Ponder its beauty, ponder its purpose, pondr its role in moving the tides. Harken back to your ancestors by letting your mind wander about the moon, and your ancestors thoughts of it and the stars above.
Another way to tribute the moon is to take a moon-hike, when the moon is full and bright and eats at the darkness, so you can see. Moonbathing is another fitting tribute for Mani. Meditate on the moon.
A libation for Mani is red wine.
An offering for Mani is coffee beans*.
*Coffee beans make a fitting offering for Hel, as well.

Tuesday 

This day is Tyr's day, and on this day, you will tribute the God of honor and single combat, Tyr. In the morning, hail your patron and hail Tyr. Consecrate yourself with the Tyr rune and don it. Today you will honor the God of single combat and by competing in something. It can be anything, a sparring match at the local MMA training center, a game of bowling, target practice, a race, chess--just don't do something silly like play a video game, unless you're actually at the professional level, or playing against someone you know will be as equally competitive.
Do your very best. Play fair and honorably. If you lose, don't be a sore loser, there is never shame in defeat if you tried your best. Congratulate the victor, praise his skill, and thank him for the learning experience. If you win, don't be a sore winner, but don't praise the loser. You won fair and square. Shake hands before and after. Promise to compete again later, but never promise your opponent another victory. Dedicate the victory to Tyr if there is a victory. If there is a loss, promise Tyr that you will do better next time.
However, the real honor for Tyr will be when you make a self-sacrifice on this day. Tyr placed his hand in Fenrir's mouth knowing full well the wolf would snap his jaws down. Tyr did it for the well being of others, and for the greater good. On Tuesday, if possible, for the greater good, you can do volunteer work, such as the old folk's home. Animal shelters are another good choice. Honor Tyr by sacrificing your time for nothing but the sake of others.
There are many alternatives for this: go help your dad paint the garage, help the person carrying a large box out out of a department store, take your friend out for lunch and pay for him. Just do something where you sacrifice something, such as time, money or energy, for the sake of someone else. Dedicate this to Tyr, and you will honor him, and be a better person for it.
A libation for Tyr is water. It is pure and honest, as is he.

Wednesday

Wednes is the God gives his name to the mid-week day, otherwise known as Odin (or *Wodanaz, if we are to get technical). When you wake up in the morning, and after you hail your patron, hail Odin as well, by singing the Odal rune song, and don the Odal rune if you have it. Dedicate the day to him. As Odin is the God of knowledge and wisdom, you must appreciate the Allfather by increasing both your knowledge and wisdom.
For your knowledge, take an hour of the day to learn something. It could be something new, or you can improve on already a known aspect of your knowledge. Maybe learn how to write proper poetry or lyrics, improve your skills at an instrument, paint a picture--these are suggestions, the choice is yours. Do this for at least an hour of your day. Try to be creative, and thank Odin for your increased knowledge and if you were creative, dedicate the piece to Odin. You don't have to carve his rune or paint a picture of ravens, again, it is up to you, but just dedicate on this mid-week day to the mid-week God.
Sometime during the day, preferably just before you are ready to fall asleep and after you have prepared yourself for your rest, read something out of the Sayings of the High one from the Poetic Edda. Pick a particular verse, and read it, and then read it again. And again. Ponder on it. Mediatate on it. Discuss it with yourself. Wonder how this verse relates to these modern times, and how you can appropriate it into your life. Then thank Odin for writing it, and go to sleep, your last thoughts on this verse.
You should do this solemnly (ask your woman to let you be in peace, and if she objects, then she is not a good woman). Do this naked, as nudity is honesty. Do it in lowlight. Thank Odin for writing this piece of wisdom after you are done, and ask him to give you the ecstacy of wisdom.
If you have a dog, give your dog a little extra meat at dinner and tell him it's from Odin. If you spot a crow or raven (or a wolf, if you happen to be in wolf country), greet the creature and tell it to tell Odin you said hello, and thank Odin for watching over you.
For libations, take some mead (if you have it, if not, pour some honey into some beer), declare it to be from Mimir's well, and sprinkle it around the tallest tree possible, and state that it the tree is Yggdrassil.
Finally, your rune carving should take place on Wednesday.

Thursday 

In the morning, hail your patron, and then hail Thor, dedicate the day to him and don your Mjolnir, if you don't already. Make sure to consecrate yourself with the hammer first. Thor is the God of strength, so you must perform an act of physical strength to honor the God. You can be creative, as always--it is your body and your ritual, but the simplest and most logical way is to call upon Thor while you weight lift. Try to incorporate your lifting schedule to fall on a Thursday (if you don't lift, and you are a man, then shame on you! You have no business worshipping Thor!).
When you work out, channel Thor. Tell yourself you are Thor's son. Listen to heavy metal music attributed to Thor (Manowar's "Thor the Powerhead" works well for me, especially the live version). When working out, work out extra hard. Increase the weight more so than you normally would, even by a little. Don't use a spotter when you're doing chest presses--say to yourself Thor is your spotter, Thor protects, he will never let the bar fall on you. Do an extra rep or even set. Dedicate at least one full, max power rep to Thor and not yourself. The most appropriate exercise to do so is an exercise that incorporates almost every muscle in your entire body, and where you're lifting more than any other exercise, such as a deadlift or a squat. Make that rep the last rep of your set, dedicate it to Thor, thank him for watching over you and increasing your strength.
At dinner, consume goat cheese and goat milk, and goat meat if you can get it. More importantly, eat big! Drink big! Thor is known for his large appetite. Honor him by engulfing two or three fold the food you normally would! If you are weight training (again, if you worship Thor, you'd better be!) then this will not harm you, especially if you double up on the meat. Many guides to weight training, and masculinity guides, recommend a day where you are the lion and you take your share. Let Thor's day be this day!
For a libation, go to an oak tree and offer mead or other alcohol, and pour it around the tree. If you cannot do this to an oak tree, then do not bother to do it at all.
 Goat meat and goat cheese make good offerings for Thor.
If you happen to come across a goat, pay special attention to it, and even feed it if you can, reminding yourself that Thor is watching over you.


Friday

Though it isn't known if Friday is for Freyr, Freya, Frigga or a combination of the three, I am under the impression that it is Freyr, and thus I dedicate Friday to him. I find it highly unlikely that a day was dedicated to Frigga as she was not a prominent Goddess, not nearly as much as Freya, and she was never the patron of an entire people, as Freyr was/is (Swedes!). Another logical alternative is to hail both Freyr and Freya, as they are siblings, and share the same attributes for the most part.
That being said, Freyr is the God of peace and plenty. Today is a day of relaxtion and pleasure. In the morning, hail your patron God and hail Freyr. Dedicate the day to him, and promise him you will make it a day full of relaxation and pleasure.
The most obvious ritual for Freyr is to make love to your woman. And by that I mean sensual pleasure shared with a female that you care for. Relax, turn the lights down, light some candles, and have a romantic, soul-exchanging time. Channel Freyr when you have sex, and dedicate your orgasm to him. Do not masturbate and dedicate that to Freyr--that is both degrading and insulting to the God. If you don't have a woman to have sex with, and you are single, then your ritual will be to take the night to speak to a woman and to woo her. Channel Freyr while you do so. More or less, have romance or attempt to start a romantic relationship. Invoke Freyr when you are courting women.
At dinner, eat boar or pig. Burn a portion of it in your yard for Freyr. Horse would also be a great and fitting alternative if you can get a hold of it. For thousands of years, horse meat was sacred and powerful for our ancestors. It still should be for you.
For a libation, wine works well for both Freyr and Freya.
If you come across a boar or a horse, pay special attention to it and remind yourself that today is Freyr's day. If you're honoring Freya, do the same if you come across a cat or a falcon. Pay special attention to your cat as well, if applicible.

Saturday

For reasons unknown to me, the 6th day of the week somehow appropriated the name of the Roman God Saturn. Unless you have significant Latin blood, I do not recommend that you honor Saturn on this day, as he is a cousin God, and not an ancestral God for the Germanic man. In the case of the 6th day, your ritual can pertain to any God, Goddess, mythological hero, folk hero or even your own personal ancestor, such as a grandparent. You can dedicate the 6th day to any figure that you like, or you can use it as an auxillary and tribute a different figure each 6th day. The choice is yours.
As a result, the ritual you create is up to you. Don't use your imagination, use your intuition. Do what feels right, not what you think may be different or "cool".
However, do remember that traditionally our ancestors had bathed themselves on this day, hence Saturday was known as "Bathday", and that is why it did not have the name of a deity. Most baths at the time, especially for the commoners, were public baths. When Christianization took foot in Europe, public baths were declared evil and thus we bathed less.
Now, thanks to modern conveniences, we just don't have to bath just one day a week, but as Germanic Heathenry is a traditional religion, we, as descendants of our ancestors, we should pay tribute to them. You can do so by cleaning yourself extra well on Saturday, and take special care of any abberations on your body. If you have hemorrhoids for example, take the time to cleanse them on Saturday. If you have cuts or scrapes, make sure to apply antibodies. Do your house cleaning on this day and make sure to get the nicks and crannies you may ignore. Move the huge dresser and clean under it. Wash your car inside and out. Give your dog a bath. Don't be lazy.

Conclusion and for the record
By conducting these practices each day, you will discipline yourself, and your connection to the Gods will deepen. You will show the Gods your loyalty.
As many of you are aware, the concept of a 7 day week is biblical. While I do promote cleansing your life of all things Christian, the 7 day week is something we just have to accept. There is no changing it; it has been tried before, and it didn't work*.
*After the French Revolution, along with the measurement system, the French revolutionaries tried to revamp the calender to create a secular and rational calender, basing the year on 10 months and the week on 10 days. It failed miserably. 

9 comments:

  1. Thank you for your time and effort in sharing this with our growing community. It is much appreciated.

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  2. Thank you for your thoughts on honoring the gods during the week. However, I wonder if you were writing exclusively for men. A lot of the language here - especially the pot shot at women on Wednesday - is decidedly aimed at men, and a certain vision of men at that. Do you see heathenry as incompatible with a modern interpretation of gender roles?

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    1. I was wondering that myself. Even the part "if you don't lift and you are a man shame on you! You have no business worshipping Thor." My husband is a wounded veteran, lifting weights is difficult, why should he feel shame?

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    2. I too am a wounded veteran, I Lift through the pain.

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    3. Maybe his injury is in a place that prevents him.

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    4. Hail and good evening everyone so I wanted to make it very clear that there is no right or wrong way to honor the gods unlike other religions we do not have a doctorine I feel like it is need to say as such these should be considered as examples of what you can do vs what you have to do it's really up to you on how you want to honor the gods I suggest looking into each god or goddess and finding something that you can relate to and feel connected saying to yourself I can see myself in this type of light. The gods and goddesses do not surgerate Women nor men shit I've had my ass handed to me by some amazing women if you have questions feel free to message me hail to the gods of the Aesir and the Vanrir

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  3. Dear Thorson, thank you for sharing this! I am following your advice, honoring the gods of the days. But I always start my day with honoring Odin, standing before the altar I dedicated to him, saying praise and thanks, then I recite some stanzas from the Edda and the names of the runes. In the evening I hail Odin again, and share some mead with him.
    You told us to hail our patron first. But how do I know who is my patron? Is it the god to whom I feel most attracted? The god who is always on my mind and for whom I feel a deep longing for connection? Then it is Odin, but please tell me if I'm thinking right. Thank you for answering me.

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  4. What is the Odal rune song? And how do I find which rune reperesents each god?

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  5. Your article, though helpful in many places, is highly disrespectful in others. Anyone can find a way to worship any diety they see fit and in a way that resonates to them. Your sexist and ableist views are small-minded and not a reflection of true Heathen mentality.

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