Firstly, it is important to note that no records survive to indicate what rituals or celebrations took place at Winterfylleð. What we have is a recognition of the month itself and how winter was identified via a brief explanation by Bede:

“The old English people split the year into two seasons: summer and winter, placing six months – during which the days are longer than the nights – in summer, and the other six in winter. They called the month when the winter season began “Ƿintirfylliþ, a word composed of “winter” and “full moon”, because winter began on the first full moon of that month.”

Let us not forget that the passing of the seasons during the period in question was extremely important to the functioning of society and the survival of its people. Each month had its own purpose in ensuring that seeds were sown, plants grown, harvested, and then stored to aid with people surviving through the winter until the Summer began anew. We know from Bede that the coming of what we now call Spring would have fallen at the same time of Eostemonað or Easter-month which equates to roughly April in modern terminology with a variation on timings and dates due to the way that months were calculated according to the moon cycles. Consequently, Winterfylleð falls 6 months, or 6 lunar cycles, later and is the founding of Winter and the end of Summer.

This is clearly a significant point in time to recognise and acknowledge and it therefore stands to reason that such acknowledgement would have taken the form of some kind of feasting, celebration and ritual as we mourn the end of Summer and brace ourselves for the coming Winter. I, myself, do not acknowledge Spring and Autumn. The equinoxes were not, to the best of our knowledge, specifically celebrated by the Anglo-Saxons but we have the full moon at Eostre and the full moon at Winterfylleð that indicate the beginnings and endings of Summer and Winter much as other cultures would have celebrated the equinoxes.

The ritual I am to share with you is deeply personal. It is personal because it belongs to me, was written for me and I conduct my rituals alone, therefore you may take from it what you will and use it and adapt it for your own purposes. One of the reasons I love Fyrnsidu so much is that it is a largely blank canvas to work upon and to make your own. There are standard formats we can glean from historical evidence and there are many who draw from those examples to flesh out their own praxis or fulfil the needs of a community ritual, but then there are others who choose their own path with loose or even no historicity to base it upon because it just feels right to do it that way.

And who am I to argue with that? You do you and if it suits you, I’m all for it.

And so below is my ritual for Winterfylleð which I like to refer to as Winterfinding. It will take place this year on Saturday 28th into 29th October which is the first full moon of October following the Equinox in September and the beginning of the month of Winterfylleð which this year begins on 16th October on my calendar.

So now on to the ritual proper and my proposed format this year.

Firstly, my altar has now moved and is in a private cupboard within an outbuilding adjacent to my home. This helps me to separate it from the profane and keep it as a sacred space. Again, you do you. Because of where it is situated, I tend to now kneel with my arms outstretched before me and palms upwards, showing that I come before the Gods unarmed, open to the ritual and vulnerable before them. That vulnerability is important in my hearth praxis as it shows a willingness to engage one’s whole self.

Prior to this, I will have washed and cleansed myself, normally by way of a full shower, but in a pinch this can often be hands and face only. I don’t want to rush this ritual and therefore I would prefer to be fully showered. Water plays a key part in the liminality of the occasion, so whilst it cleanses, it also provides the gateway to the numinous.

I then hallow my altar having lit a votive candle. I move this sunwise around my altar three times and invoke Þunor-Hālgunghealdend (Hallowing Protector) to make this place sacred and protect it from malicious intentions and wights (wīhta).

I will then address the deities I wish to invite to witness the sacrifice. In this case, I intend to petition Nerþum-Þerscoldweard (Threshold Guardian) with a pinch of soil from the grounds of my home and offer incense and repeat the following:

Nerþum, Nerþum, Nerþum
Mother of Earth
Bringer of life
Keeper of the dead
You are both womb and tomb
Guardian of the threshold between life and death
I ask you to open the way between the worlds so that the Gods and the honoured dead may hear my entreaty
You are of us, as we are of you
So we begin as dust, so too do we end as such
I beseech thee to accept this offering of incense and fruits grown from this land, placed upon this altar in gratitude
Hail Nerþum, none look upon your countenance and live, such is your divine beauty

I call now to Frīg-Heorþmodor (Hearth-mother), Frīg-Heorþweard (Hearth Guardian)
She who protects my children and my family
Weaver of the web of Wyrd
I call to thee and ask you to convey these offerings from my hearth to their intended recipients
I pray you will accept this offering of an apple from my orchard and water that has fallen upon our property by way of thanks
Hail Frīg, mother of my hearth

I call now to Ēostre-Efnīwung (Renewal)
Oh she of the divine light of dawn, bringer of Summer!
You bring with thee the hope of new life and the warmth of love
But now you must sleep within the embrace of blessed Nerþum
You rest so that the cycle of life will continue and winter will return
I ask thee to accept this offering of honey to sweeten your journey towards thy earthy bedchamber
Hail Ēostre, may you bring the death of winter again on your anticipated return

Hail Sunne-Feorhgiefu (Giver of Life)
She who brings light, life and warmth to all our lives
Now you will go in search of blessed Ēostre as she disappears from the land
You will seek her further and further afield and the cold will return to these grounds
I beseech you to not forget us, to not leave us and to allow your light to guide us through the winter
I ask thee to accept this offering of mead such that it may warm your heart as you journey from us

Hail Mōna Nīht-hopa (Night-hope)
He who shines radiance upon us in the darkest of times
The darkness begins now to encroach on our days, keeping us to our homes and hearths
I ask that you help us to see that light when our hearts feel numb from the cold or indifferent to our environment
May you expose those who move in the night to act against us, protect us from their intentions
As the dark hours threaten to overwhelm us, I ask you to be that beacon of hope we need
I ask thee to accept this offering of camomile tea to help maintain calm and peace through the long nights

I give thanks this night also to fair Ingui-Æhteman (Husbandman), Ingui-Eowend (Virility) and I bid you hail
Hail to he who gives life to the land and brings virility to men
During these long winter nights, I ask for you to inspire me to be a better husband and father
Help me to draw close those I care about most and protect them from the harshness of winter
May new life abound once more at Wintersdeað
Please accept this offering of acorns that will impregnate the ground with new life as you do with fair Nerþum

I call finally to the honoured dead – to my ancestors and those who have shown me love and care throughout my life and without whom my life and those of my children would not have been possible. I welcome that love, that care and that positivity into my life and I know that you continue to surround me and my family with it. I speak to you now, humbly, in sincere gratitude and unending love for everything you ever did that had led us to this point. The web of wyrd is tangled, sometimes it is frustrating, worrying or even frightening, so to have your support behind us every step of the way means more to us than you can ever know. As we head now into the winter months, the temperature will drop, the days will become shorter and we will need each other that much more to support and provide warmth and hope for the future. I ask you to continue to show us your love and care throughout these long months and beseech you to accept this gift of mead in return. May it provide you with some warmth against the cold, some sweetness against the sour, and some gold to radiate the hope we all have for the future.

Hail to all the gods and the honoured dead here mentioned. I am grateful for your listening ears and your time this night.

From the gods and the honoured dead, to the earth, to us
From us, to the earth, to the gods and the honoured dead
Gifts have been given, may they be well received.

Hail fair Nerþum, that gives to all men. I call to you finally, Nerþum-Þerscoldweard (Threshold Guardian) and ask that you now close the way between the worlds and accept my gratitude for doing so.

And with that, I extinguish the votive candle and sit in peace for a few moments.

****

As with all rituals, these are deeply personal things that may resonate with some, and not with others. Please do take from this what you will, I sincerely hope you find some of it useful and are able to hold your own ritual, or blōt, this coming Winterfylleð.

Sceadugenga, Sceadugenga slipping through the trees
Insidious and dangerous, it willl bring you to your knees
Hiding in plain sight, their true nature you cannot see
Sceadugenga, Sceadugenga it is deaf to your pleas

Shadow-stalker, shadow-stalker watching your every move
Seizing, twisting all your words so that it will never lose
Backing you in a corner with allegations it can never prove
Shadow-stalker, shadow-stalker no fool sees through their ruse

Dark-lover, dark-lover it opens its gaping maw
Attacking all your loved ones it leaves you bruised and raw
Promising such riches has left them wanting more
Dark-lover, dark-lover it has left their hāma poor

Sceadugenga, Sceadugenga of you we have no fear
Harken to the Old Ways and Sunne’s light is ever near
Banish all those shadows and wipe away your tears
Sceadugenga, Sceadugenga there’s nothing for you here

Peorþ / Peorth is pronounced “PAY-OR-TH”. It is a most fascinating rune because not very much is really known of it. People have speculated about the meaning of the word based on clues from the rune poem and have drawn somewhat different conclusions on it from meaning a “dice box” to “chessman” and even sexual relations of some description. The issue with the chess connation is that chess did not arrive in England until after the Norman Conquest, long after the rune poem was written. Pollington states in his “Rudiments of Runelore” that it could reflect the filling and emptying of the primeval well of past time which overflows when an age of the world passes, resulting in cataclysmic events not unlike the Norse belief in Ragnarok which is not attested in Anglo-Saxon sources. He also mentions it may derive from the Celtic word “ceirt” which is the ogham name for the apple tree. Alaric Albertsson believes it relates to gaming in general terms due to the rune poem and its description. He states there is an emphasis on the friendship, laughter and cheer associated with gaming and that the mystery with this rune associates with the mystery of play itself.

For me it is a community rune, reflective of the lifelong need for “play” with friends, family and community and the development of those bonds through such pastimes. It could be argued that the rune looks not unlike a cup that has been shifted horizontally in order to dispense dice from within. I must say that the Dungeons & Dragons nerd in me finds this quite appealing. The random nature of the outcome of play is thus reflective of this rune in terms of indicating that sometimes our fate is out of our hands – literally dependent on the throw of the dice! I don’t find that to be in a negative way, however, more indicative of the nature of human beings that are willing to play along and see where the game takes us. Wild abandon, perhaps, somewhat carefree.

This brings with it the other side of the coin in that it may also indicate the need to get serious and stop playing around. Interpretation of this rune alongside any others in you cast/draw is therefore key to working out how it relates to the querent as an individual.

The more I have begun to explore the runes and consider their meaning, the more I have found them to be relatable in every part of our lives. They truly pull together different aspects of human existence and coalesce this into genuine meaning that can help us to move forward with our lives in a way that can be fulfilling and cognisant of the factors at play in our daily lives. Mastery of the runes is a long way off, as interpretation of them is fraught with danger and difficulty, yet in time I think the runes can and will be useful to me in helping me and others through this confusing life.

Thank you for coming with me on the journey, I look forward to exploring the remaining runes in due course.

Phonetic value as “th” as in thorn.

Now this is either Þorn (Thorn) or Þyrse (Thyrse), depending, it seems, on your interpretation of the rune poems. Certainly, the meaning differs between the Icelandic and Norwegian rune poems as compared to the Anglo-Saxon and some have clearly mused on the possibility that the Anglo-Saxon scribe of the rune poem opted for a less “Pagan” version of the poem so as not to draw upon the mythology of giants and other creatures.

Despite the differences in the poems as regards to whether they refer to a thorn or a thyrse, the implications remain similar: This is not a good rune to see in a reading! Thorns are sharp and painful. They represent at the least, discomfort, and threat – even a place that is almost impossible to get to like the giant thorns that surrounded the palace during the 100-year slumber of Sleeping Beauty. The hawthorn tree is attributed with having blossoms which are considered unlucky to some. For me, the hawthorn is and was used as a barrier to farmers fields, a barrier between their land and that which is not their land. Inner and outer, a painful exit or a painful entry from one place to the next. The comparisons can be drawn between moving from one life event to another and having to endure significant hardship to do so.

Hawthorn berries, or haws, are usually bright red, the international symbol of danger. Despite this, the berries are believed to have several health benefits, loaded as they are with antioxidants in the form of polyphenols so at the right time of year, they can be prepared appropriately for consumption. Therefore, in my view this relates strongly to the very nature of life itself. If the rune presents itself during the season where it is in full fruit, then it may represent hardship coupled with potential reward – I.E. that the challenge will be testing, but there may also be a reward. But at what cost, however?

Uprooting a hawthorn is said to be bad luck, and similarly given that it represents painful challenge and potential misery, it is not a simple case of uprooting it at the source, it must be handled carefully, recognised for the fact that life yields challenges and rewards, not always in equal measure, but that no life will ever been complete if we have not had our capabilities tested from time to time.

When hawthorn is laid as hedgerows, over time it becomes an impenetrable mass, representative of what can happen in life if you ignore your problems for too long – they become very difficult to resolve! The rune itself clearly looks very much like an upright thorn and needs little in the way of understanding to perceive it as such. It is a warning when it appears in a divination, and warnings should be heeded. Consider again the position and prominence of it upon the cloth if you are scattering runes as the interpretation of the warning will hinge upon how close it is to your spiritual centre and what relationship it appears to be having with any other runes.

Clearly it suggests at the very least to proceed with caution. Keep your eyes open as although it represents a hazard, it does not necessarily mean interaction with that hazard is unavoidable. With preparation and understanding, you may be able to recognise the threat in time and avoid it, just as you would not wilfully blunder into a hawthorn bush. As a result of the cautionary nature of this rune, it is also a strong protective rune when employed in charms or bindrunes when it comes to protecting something you may not want to be commonly known. This is not necessarily in reaction to a known threat, more as a protective presence to prevent someone or something from blundering into your protected enclosure – like a runic hawthorn hedgerow.

Wassail! Wassail! All over the town,
Our toast is white and our ale it is brown;
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.

Here’s to our horse and to his right ear,
The gods send our master a happy new year:
A happy new year as e’er he did see,
With my wassailing bowl, I drink to thee.

So here is to Cherry and his right cheek,
Pray the gods send our master a good piece of beef
And a good piece of beef that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee.

Here’s to our mare, and to her right eye,
Gods send our mistress a good Yule pie;
A good Yule pie as e’er I did see
With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee

The Æcerbot Charm is a Christianized version of a clearly pre-Christian traditional ritual of blessing for the fertility of fields. There is reference to a “holy keeper” which is perceived by Rosenberg (1966) to be Þunor which is not at odds with the heathen practice of using a hammer of Þunor or indeed invoking his name as a blessing to consecrate and bless. Herbert (1994) suggests that the plough is a symbolic penis; hence it is used to inseminate the ground with seed, thus is a possible reference to the importance of Ingui as a fertility god. Rosenberg also theorizes that the bread that is laid is symbolic of the “corn-baby” that was widely used across Europe. There are obvious links to other gods in the ritual that can be used in substitution by the modern Fyrnsidere to replace the Christianized form and I have included these in my own version of the charm following the original Old English version below.

I recognise that my own version of this ritual may not be to everyone’s taste, however it is a personal thing to me that I would consider if seeking a blessing with any planting I was looking to do in a field that seemed curiously afflicted with a poor ability to grow crops.

The original is below in Old English, followed by my own interpretation for modern use. I have not provided a direct translation as these are widely available on Google.

*****

Her ys seo bot, hu ðu meaht þine æceras betan gif hi nellaþ wel wexan oþþe þær hwilc ungedefe þing on gedon bið on dry oððe on lyblace. Genim þonne on niht, ær hyt dagige, feower tyrf on feower healfa þæs landes, and gemearca hu hy ær stodon. Nim þonne ele and hunig and beorman, and ælces feos meolc þe on þæm lande sy, and ælces treow – cynnes dæl þe on þæm lande sy gewexen, butan heardan beaman, and ælcre namcuþre wyrte dæl, butan glappan anon, and do þonne haligwæter ðær on, and drype þonne þriwa on þone staðol þara turfa, and cweþe ðonne ðas word:

Crescite, wexe, et multiplicamini and gemænigfealda, et replete, and gefylle, terre, þas eorðan. In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti sit benedicti. And Pater Noster swa oft swa þæt oðer.

And bere siþþan ða turf to circean, and mæssepreost asinge feower mæssan ofer þan turfon, and wende man þæt grene to ðan weofode, and siþþan gebringe man þa turf þær hi ær wæron ær sunnan setlgange. And hæbbe him gæworht of cwicbeame feower Cristes mælo and awrite on ælcon ende: Matheus and Marcus, Lucas and Iohannes. Lege þæt Cristes mæl on þone pyt neoþeweardne, cweðe ðonne:

Crux Matheus, crux Marcus, crux Lucas, crux sanctus Iohannes.

Nim ðonne þa turf and sete ðær ufon on and cweþe donne nigon siþon þas word, Crescite, and swa oft Pater Noster, and wende þe þonne eastweard, and onlut nigon siðon eadmodlice, and cweð þonne þas word:

Eastward ic stande, arena ic me bidde, bidde ic þone mæran domine, bidde ðone miclan drihten, bidde ic ðone haligan heofonrices weard, eorðan ic bidde and upheofon and ða soþan sancta Marian an heofones meaht and heahreced, þæt ic mote þis gealdor mid gife drihtnes, toðum ontynan þurh trumne geþanc, aweccan þas wæstmas us to woruldnytte, gefyllan þas foldan mid fæste geleafan, wlitigigan þas wancgturf, swa se witega cwæð þæt se hæfde are on eorþrice, se þe ælmyssan dælde domlice drihtnes þances.

Wende þe þonne III sunganges, astrece þonne on andlang and arim þær letanias and cweð þonne: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus oþ ende. Sing þonne Bendicte aþenedon earmon and Magnificat and Pater Noster III, and bebeod hit Criste and sancta Marian and þære halgan rode to lofe and to weorþinga and to are þam þa þæt land age and eallon þam þe him underðeodde synt. Đonne þæt eall sie gedon þonne nime man, and gegaderie ealle his sulhgeteogo togædere; borige þonne on þam beame stor and finol and gehalgode sapan and gehalgod sealt. Nim þonne þæt sæd, sete on þæs sules bodig, cweð þonne:

Erce, Erce, Erce, eorþan modor, geunne þe se alwalda, ece drihten, æcera wexendra and wridendra, eacniendra and elniendra, sceafta scira, hersaewæstma and þæra bradan berewæstma, and þæra hwitan hwætewæstma, and ealra eorþan wæstma. Geunne him ece drihten and his halige, þe on heofonum synt, þæt hys yrþ si gefriþod wið ealra feonda gehwæne, and heo si geborgen wið ealra bealwa gehwylc, þara lyblaca geond land sawen. Nu ic bidde ðone waldend, se ðe ðas woruld gesceop, þæ ne sy nan to þæs cwidol wif ne to þæs cræftig man þæt awendan ne mæge word þus gecwedene.

Þonne man þa sulh forð drife and þa forman furh onsceote, cweð þonne:
Hal wes þu, folde, fira modor! Beo þu growende on godes fæþme, fodre gefylled firum to nytte.

Nim þonne ælces cynnes melo and abacæ man innwerdre handa bradnæ hlaf and gecned hine mid meolce and mid haligwætre and lecge under þa forman furh. Cweð þonne: Ful æcer fodres fira cinne, beorhtblowende, þu gebletsod weorþ þæs haligan noman þe ðas heofon gesceop and ðas eorþan þ we on lifiaþ; se god, se þas grundas geworhte, geunne us growende gife, Þæt us corna gehwylc cume to nytte. Cweð þonne III Crescite in nomine patris, sit benedicti. Amen and Pater Noster þriwa.

*****

Below is my own version of the ritual to fit with my personal Fyrnsidere praxis presented in Modern English:

Here is the remedy to a land that has been bewitched or fouled by unclean wīhta (Wights), malevolent entities or any untoward thing such that your crops do not grow as they should. On the night of the new moon, take four pieces of turf from four parts of the land and mark how they previously stood. Then, take oil (Rapeseed, sunflower) and honey and the milk of every animal which may be on that land, and a piece of wood from every kind of tree which is grown on the land, save sacred oak and beech, and a piece of every named plant, except only burdock, and then put Þunor-hallowed water sourced from the land onto them, and let it drip three times into the place of each piece of turf, saying these words:

“Grow and multiply and be filled, this earth. In the names of Ingui (Ing) and Nerþum (Nerthum) may it be blessed” Afterwards, carry the turfs to your wēofod (altar) and sing four blessings over those turfs to Ingui, to Nerþum, to Bēow (Bue) and to Frīg (Free), and let the green sides be turned towards the altar. Afterwards have the turfs brought to where they were before the setting of Sunne (Sun). And let Þunor (Thunor) have four signs of the hammer, made from rowan-wood with the Þorn (Thorn), Ear (Earth/Grave), Ēðel (Estate) and Ing (Ing) runes carved upon each. Let the hammers lie in the bottom of the pit and then say:

“Þorn, Ear, Ēðel, Ing” above each.
Then take the turfs and lay them above the hammers and say these words nine time above each: “Grow! Þunor-Corngrowere (Thunor-Corngrower) bless this ground.”

And then turn yourself to the east and raise your open palms skywards and say these words:

“Eastward I stand, favours I ask for myself
I ask the famed master, I ask the great Lord Ingui
I ask the great keeper of the honoured dead, Nerþum
I ask both below and above
And the true holy mother, Frīg
And the high hall of Wōden
So that with Ingui–Ēowend’s (Virile Ing) permission this charm I may
Satisfy with thought turned towards firm purpose
Awaken the fruits of this land for our use in the world
Fill these fields with steadfast trust and faith
Make the this soil complete with earthly riches such that all may benefit”

Then turn yourself three times sunwise. Then stretch yourself out and recite the Rune Poem. Then make offering to Ingui-Ēowend, and to Bēow-Sulhhandla (Ploughman Bue) , and to Þunor-Corngrowere, and to Frīg-Eallmeaht (Almighty Free) and to Nerthum-Eorþan Modor (Nerthum Earth-Mother) and to the honour and grace of him who owns the land and all those who are dependent upon him. When all this has been done, then let an unknown seed be taken from the needy and then give to them twice as much as is taken from them. Have all the ploughing-gear brought out and put together. Have a hole bored on the plough-stick filled with incense and fennel and Þunor-hallowed soap and salt. Then take the seed, set it into the plough’s shaft and say:

“Erce, Erce, Erce, mother of earth
may the fertile one, the lord of the Ingaveones
grant fields growing and sprouting
increasing and strengthening
with shining shafts of bright crops
and the broad barley-crops
and the white wheat-crops
and all the crops of the earth.
Grant to him oh Lord Ingui
and all the blessed Gods
that this tilling be protected against any enemy
and it be victorious against any evil
of witchcraft and malevolence seen throughout the land.
Now I ask the ruler who shaped this world
that no woman be so word-strong nor man so clever
that he or she should be able to turn aside my words thus spoken”
When the plough is driven out and turns the first furrow, then say:
“Hale be thou, Nerþum, earth-mother!
Be thou growing in Ingui’s embrace
Filled with food for the use of men”
Then take each kind of meal (Flour made from the crops of the land) and bake a hand-sized loaf and knead it with milk and Þunor-hallowed water and lay it under the first furrow. Then say:

“A field full of food for the race of men bright-blooming may you become blessed in the name of the gods and this earth on which we live; the gods who made these lands grant growth to us as a gift so that each grain may come to us for our use.”
Then say three times: “Mighty Þunor-Corngrowere, let it be so blessed”.

*****

You will note that there are multiple gods and goddesses referred to throughout this piece. The following is offered in explanation:

Þunor: As previously mentioned at the beginning of the article, it was identified by Rosenberg in 1966 that the “Holy Keeper” referred to in the charm may relate to Þunor whose name was, and still is invoked as a means to consecrate, hallow and hold spaces and objects which were to be used for sacred purposes. I have used him for the purposes of blessing both within my hearth and without, therefore to me he remains a natural choice in his aspect as “Corngrowere/Corngrower” to essentially sanctify the land.

Ingui: Ingui in his aspect of “Ēowend/Virile” is called upon as a giver of life and as a literal “sower of seeds”, called upon to take an earthly role in impregnating the land with the seeds given by the needy/almsmen/beggars in the physical form of the plough itself, entering the earth with the act of sowing. He is the perfect choice for such a role, given his strong link to virility and fertility.

Nerþum: The Æcerbot charm refers directly to Nerþum in her role as Eorþan Modor/Earth Mother and the Earth in the Angle tradition of life and death is both womb and tomb, essentially. Given her strong role in the charm, I have referred to her by her known name whilst retaining the alternative reference to her as “Erce” which is within the original charm in Old English. To all intents and purposes, it is to her that we are pleading that the seed of Ingui will take hold for our benefit.

Bēow: As the Barley God concerned with the agrarian cycle, in my view such a pleading in this ritual would also need to include some reference to him for he lives and dies each year with the cycle and we are asking him to come forth in this aspect and grow to his fullest potential. He is also known as the Sulhhandla /Ploughman and would be concerned with such when seeking to turn around the fortune of a blighted field.

Wōden & Frīg: Perhaps the more contentious of the God’s/Goddesses I have included in my version of the charm. I have referred to them because the literal translation from the Old English refers to the “true holy mother” and the “high hall” which, it could be argued, relate to Frīg in her aspect as mother-figure to mankind, and Wōden in his aspect as All Father. Wōden could be appealed to here in several aspects – Wordsāwere/Wordsower as a means to enforcing the strength of the charms words, Lǣce/Healer to appeal to him as a healer of the land, or even Wēstend/Destroyer in his aspect as a Desolater to destroy the presence of that which has seemingly cursed the land. To that end, I have used his name in the general form without being specific.

With regards to the moon cycle I have chosen for the selecting of the turfs, this is so that the ritual is completed on the day following the night of the new moon as it has all the connotations and associations with new beginnings and new efforts that appealed to my common sense.

The runes are referred to twice in my version, as in the Old English version it recounts having crosses made of ash and marked with the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, therefore I have selected four runes from the Futhorc that I would etch upon hammers made from rowan-wood – runes that I felt lent themselves nicely to the spirit of the ritual though you could justify the use of many other runes in their stead should you so wish. The recitation of the Rune Poem replaces the litanies referred to in the Old English version.

And finally, the “water taken from the land” is an extrapolation of mine away from the “holy water” concept in the original, because I feel that water as a purifying and liminal agent used frequently in hearth praxis, should be taken from the land on which one resides. I find this an important concept as the water is already associated with the land and ties in nicely with the plants, wood and turfs that have been sourced already. This should be hallowed by Þunor also if it is to be in keeping with the original ritual.

Taken as a gloss for “witch”, the word has uncertain origin and has also been strongly associated with “Hag” or “Crone”, however the Old High German cognate, hagusizze has the meaning of “border/hedge-sitter” and may specifically relate to a class of females who would literally sit upon the border or boundaries of sanctuaries such that they straddled them and received power and knowledge from being dwellers of both the profane and the sacred.

These women were also associated with some of the characteristics of Wælcyrigean in sharing their raw and bloody power. The term “Hægtesse” is referred to in the Lacnunga charm, Wið Færstice as a specific group associated with other beings of the Otherworld (Namely, the gods and elves) therefore these women may well have been supernatural in origin, considered to be powerful, almost deific in origin and certainly to be feared by mere mortals, yet possessed of extraordinary insight and knowledge.

Both Bede and Coifi refer to heathen temples in similar fashion indicating the importance of boundaries when setting aside the sacred from the profane:

“…ða wīgbed ond þa hergas þara deofogilda mid heora hegum”

“…the altars and the harrows of the temples with their boundaries” (Coifi c.627 AD)

“…aras et fana iodlorum cum septis quibus erant cirumdata”

“…the altars and temples of the idols, with the fences by which they were surrounded” (Bede 731 AD)

The fact that Bede remarked on the boundaries of the sanctuaries implies that these were significant and has allowed us to draw the conclusion that some form of emphatic boundary would be necessary to designate the point at which the worshipper crossed from the profane to the sacred space.

The significance of sitting on a boundary is that it is a liminal space, open to influences from both sides and thus important in the heathen worldview. We know from evidence that those who worked magic or sought information from the Otherworld were in the habit of sitting on a barrow mound in Norse traditions and that this was known to the Anglo-Saxons similarly “sittan sundor æt rune” or “sit apart in secret thought”.

The Hægtessan are remembered in the place-names of England, such as Hascombe (Surrey ) and Hescombe (Somerset) meaning, literally “Witch Valley”.

A Burgrune has similar meaning, specifically “female skilled in mysteries of the high place” and is also glossed from the Latin “parcas” meaning “fates” which ties in well with practices of divination in high places on platforms raised above the surrounding land, such as seiðr rites. The term may have some reflection upon tales such as Rapunzel and the Germanic seeress Veleda who performed her prophetic magic in a high tower. The boundaries that would be straddled in this example may be between earth and sky as profane and sacred places, set apart from more traditional sanctuaries.

A Hægrune means “one of the boundary who is skilled in mysteries” and is one of a group of terms associated with female supernatural or magical figures, also including Leodrune “one skilled in mysteries within the tribe” or Helrune meaning “one skilled in the mysteries of the world of the dead” and could therefore reflect a more shamanic leaning, involving the Otherworld in journeys and necromancy.

Of particular interest is that these roles appear entirely associated with powerful female supernatural beings with extraordinary powers and magical abilities. There appears to be no male cognate and thus the domain of prophecy, divination and mystery seems to be exclusively female. The one notable exception to this is that of Wōden himself, whose use of magic to divine information and wisdom seems to be unique in terms of male deities that are known within the Anglo-Saxon pantheon.

I’ve finally gotten around to expanding on the pages I have here, so have created pages linked to the following:

The First Merseburg Incantation

The Second Merseburg Incantation

The Wið Cyrnel Charm

The Wið Dweorh Charm

The Wið Færstice Charm

The Wið Ymbe Charm

Wælcyrigean

The Mōdru

Please do check them out and shout if you have strong opinions on any of it!