*This report was originally written by Sorn. It has been reposted here in an effort to collect all our resources on our new site.
With the solstice falling near a weekend, Keeper of Seasons Hall met on June 21 to hold its 2008 Midsummer’s Blót. As in the previous year, we met early in the day to avoid the worst of the season’s heat. Though summer storms had been visiting the area recently, we had nothing more severe than cooling winds during the ceremony; the day was clear and bright. Erich and Celeste had earlier scouted the Bosque for a new location for this year’s blót, a well-shaded site on the banks of the Rio Grande that offered a spectacular view of the river and its surroundings. In this holy place Erich led the blót, announcing our purpose in gathering and hailing the powers of the season; afterwards, each person present made personal hails, and the remainder of the mead was poured into the river in offering.
Following the offering of the mead, the Hall worked together to make a wreath in the shape of a sun cross from plants Celeste had brought from home. Celeste explained that the plants were a gift to Freyr, regularly given even when the giving was difficult to do. When the wreath was finished, I had the honor to throw it into the river, simultaneously creating a symbol for the passage of the year and making offering to the Lord of the Vanir.
After the wreath was carried away by the Rio Grande’s current, Erich made an offering of food to the ancestors on behalf of the Hall, thanking them for their role in creating a society capable of producing bounty and luxury that many take for granted. We next shared breakfast, enjoying each others’ company and the serenity of the Bosque. Some of our breakfast was saved for the landvættir, and Erich again made offering on behalf of those present. We packed our belongings and hiked out of the Bosque, resolving to meet again in a few weeks for our public meeting.
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