Sigrblót is the norse celebration of spring, which happens during the fourth full moon after the winter solstice.
In 2025, that's April 12th-14th.
Usually, harvest and fertility deities are honored during this holiday, but it can also be any other deity or spirit.
How to celebrate
(This is not the 'right' or only way. Feel free to personalize the experience to your liking.)
One
Enjoy the sun. Go outside if possible or sit on your balcony or in front of an open window. Do something you like, like drawing, painting, reading, or just sitting still with your eyes closed. Try to appreciate the fresh air, the singing birds and the warmth of the sun.
Two
Give offerings to harvest/fertility deities, or any deity or spirit you like. Offer something they are associated with or you think they will like, and something you made yourself like food, homemade ice tea, art, a plant or a poem. (The offerings do not have to be destroyed.)
If you have something to thank them for, feel free to do that.
Three
Eat something seasonal if you can. Work together with your loved ones to cook something that all of you will enjoy. If that's not an option, cook or order something that'll make you feel good.
Don't be afraid to make it fun! You can turn on some music and dance in the kitchen, or take way too much time decorating cupcakes.
Four
Say a few words about loved ones that have passed on. If you want, put a picture of them on the table so they can join you during the celebration. Share stories and maybe even give them an offering too.
Five
Share with your loved ones how you did with your goals from last year. Did you achieve them? Was it hard? What did you struggle with? Did you learn something new?
Exchange advice and knowledge. Everyone can learn something.
Six
Set new goals. Sigrblót is the new year's of the old norse people. This is when the world starts to come out of its shell again. Take advantage of that energy and write down some goals for this year. Meditate on them or manifest them if you want.
Please be aware that none of this is set in stone. You can celebrate however you want and it'll be just fine! This post is simply meant to act as a guide for those who are looking for ideas.
Note: these are just ideas based on something I struggled with when I was a newbie pagan. I by no means am saying you can't use the word "amen", I'm just trying to help those who may not want to! If something works-- then it works!
Being raised in a very hard-core Christian household I was always taught to end my prayers with the phrase "Amen", but when I realized the faith didn't really fit me... I found that using that phrase didn't really fit me either! So, what could you say in place of it? Here are some ideas! Some I came up with, some I scoured the internet to find!
"THE END"
I have two younger siblings and they both used to say 'the end' all of the time because they thought when we said 'amen' we were actually saying that. It's very direct, but I suppose it works!
"AS IT IS REQUIRED" / "AS YOU REQUIRE"
I also use this phrasing in place of "so mote it be" when I do spellwork, not because it's a bad phrase, but mainly because I'm the type of person who has to vibe with the words I utilize. (I'm sorry I'm insufferable lol). I've used it at the end of prayers and it's nice and to the point without being too crass sounding.
"AND SO IT IS"
This one always reminds me of manifestation. Kind of a "I will obtain xyz" mindset. Sometimes I use it if I'm praying for help when I'm working towards a goal.
" DONE "
The first couple of times I tried praying without using the word "amen" I got lost on what to say, so I very awkwardly just said done and went about my day. It might work for you, but it definitely felt weird for me!
"AND SO IT IS, AND IT ALWAYS WILL BE"
I've used this phrase quite a bit and I currently like it a lot. I mainly use it when I'm doing prayers to show my admiration for my deities, or when I'm doing prayers for special occasions. I came up with it while writing some poems this Beltane and it kinda just stuck!
" LET IT BE SO " / "SO BE IT" / "VERILY" / "TRULY"
According to wikipedia, these are all translations of the word amen? So I suppose you could find a way to use them!
"BLESSED BE"
I'm gonna be honest, I lurked on some reddit forums for ideas and this one came up A LOT. I've only ever really thought of this phrase as being a form of "goodbye", and I didn't realize you could end a prayer with this!
"THANK YOU"
Sometimes the best way to end something is just a simple "thanks for listening".
UTILIZING ANOTHER LANGUAGE
If you feel so inclined, finding a language that suits you and your practice and looking for a similar meaning to 'amen' might be helpful to you!
POP CULTURE / LITERATURE
This may sound weird, but I saw a few people talking about using "This is the way" from the Mandelorian, and I even saw someone who recommended using "as you wish" from the princess bride! I also saw a suggestion where someone took a phrase from an Old English text and utilized it! The world is your oyster!
So there's a teeny list to get you started! As always I'd love if people would reblog with their own ideas and alternatives!
This is something I've wanted to talk about for a while (in more detail than I have in the past) since it's such a pervasive struggle in Pagan circles. So, I'm going to break down the overall differences in how our religions generally define divinity as opposed to Abrahamic faiths (the main three being Islam, Christianity, and Judaism with a focus on the first two), as well as how we see these differences manifesting culturally.
Very Long Post with beginners in mind who have questions about the role of Divinity in Paganism!
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To start, let's define some key traits of the Abrahamic God and his role within the faith of his worshippers.
In Christianity particularly, He's often defined as a "Tri-omni God," as in he is omniscient, omnibenevolent, and omnipotent. In simpler terms, an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good being. This God's judgment is that which determines the universe, it's absolute, and it's unlimited.
He's attributed as being a "prime mover," as in that which began everything. The concept of the holy trinity, as well, refers to the all-encompassing nature of the deity: existing above creation, within creation, and in tandem with creation simultaneously and equally.
The idea of total judgment and/or absolution is also a key concept of these religions, and that is where we get these ideas of sin, hell, heaven, repentance, etc. Judaism, obviously, differs a bit here, but Islam follows pretty similar.
So what does Abrahamic influence look like in Pagan circles?
"Will the Gods be mad at me if I ___?"
"Do I need to ask permission before I ___?"
"Is it a sin in paganism to ___?"
"Something bad happened to me. Did I anger the Gods?"
"I can't hear the Gods talking to me. What am I doing wrong?"
"I'm too scared of messing up to start my practice."
It's easy for me, with a few years of experience, to say that we are polytheists with no central authority (or very little, at least), we can have as many or as few Gods as we wish, and we may offer as often or as rarely as we wish. So forth and so on.
However, many of the people who ask these questions are only familiar with the Abrahamic God's unquestionable and singular authority. This leads to insecurity when operating within a religious system without authority.
There's also the other direction wherein people overcorrect and reject any sense of a developed religion to completely avoid any reminders of the centralized, structurally-driven experiences with their old faith.
This can look like excluding certain Gods on a surface-level 'moral' basis (e.g., Zeus), discrediting worshiper/worshipee relationships in favor of working relationships, or completely disregarding myth in their practice.
These things come about because someone who is used to the more literal interpretations of the Bible (or other dogmatic holy texts) would expect pagan myths to be treated the same, so they reject them altogether. Someone might exclude Zeus because the myths make him out to be a rapist and an adulterer.
This does not account for the fact that the myths are symbolic and metaphorical allegories that use the Gods to connect a spiritual perspective to physical or cultural realities of the times they came from. In other words, those who can not deconstruct the literalist perspective are more likely to fall into the same fallacies when it comes to Pagan myths.
How Would I, Personally, Understand the Gods?
So, knowing how Abrahamic faiths have influenced some practitioners to view Divinity, how should we look at the Pagan Gods? It's fairly subjective, but I'll start with my perspective.
The Pagan Gods are not Tri-Omni. They are not all-powerful, all-knowing, or even all-good. This is because they do not exist as something greater than the physical, but are instead the spiritual connection to the physical. In a sense, they are "beyond," but still not above. I wouldn't say that they are limited by the laws of reality, but rather, they are the laws of reality.
The concept of "all-knowing" is a trickier one. From the perspective of a Norse Pagan, I would argue that fate is never set in stone, that we are still working on the tapestry that is our destiny.
How can the Gods know beyond what does not exist? I don't believe they do. Can they know more than us? Can they have a perspective beyond us? Absolutely. The stars, the clouds, the rains, and the winds are all a part of something beyond us, and also including us. That doesn't make them "all-knowing."
As far as "all-good," that's a questionable concept on its own, in my opinion. I would not consider them malicious, of course, but I would say that Gods do exist beyond mortal ideas of morality. Is a hurricane evil because it destroys homes and livelihoods? Or is that just the way of natural occurrence? The philosophies within Pagan religion, such as hospitality and reciprocity, are concurrent within nature and humanity, and those are therefore concepts we should think long and hard on.
Why do we worship the Gods, then?
"If they aren't as powerful and all-encompassing as the Abrahamic God allegedly is, then why do we worship them?"
It's a good question. I, personally, don't believe that any religion truly has an all-powerful God, so that aspect just isn't in question for me. I practice Paganism because connecting to the world around me, both spiritually and physically, is more valuable and enriching than other belief systems.
Worshipping the Pagan Gods is not something I do out of fear of punishment, hope for salvation, or obligation to a higher authority. That's why Pagans aren't commanded to proselytize. Instead, Pagan religions work on the concepts of voluntary engagement with themselves, their communities, and the natural world as part of the natural cycles of giving and taking.
We choose to worship, not based on any requirements, but because it's fulfilling for us on a spiritual level without having to forsake the things that make us human.
This leads me to my next commentary on the differences between these religious umbrellas:
Structure in Society: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up
Christianity and Islam in particular, are Top-Down religions. This means that they rely on the enforcement of a higher authority to operate.
The acceptance of a dogmatic book that claims to be the word of a God is, of course, the most notable feature of these religions. One could also point out that there are established religious systems of hierarchy (clergy) within Christianity, and similar functions within certain sects of Islam and Judaism.
The authority (at the Top) commands certain truths to become known, without question, and for the common worshipper (at the Bottom), to make these their reality.
(Obviously, this is a generalization and not all practitioners of these religions will follow along like this. However, over centuries of these religions existing, these are the overarching trends of their practice.)
Paganism, on the other hand, is derived from the average person's cultural and spiritual experiences (From the Bottom), developing alongside shared natural, cultural, and spiritual perspectives of the rest of the community until it forms something cohesive and well-understood so that it filters upwards into the main nexus of society (The Top).
Over time, this may then become another religion in a position of power that is enforced with authority, but this is not true for the majority of its history or practice, largely due to the lack of orthodoxy or dogma. Even in notable societies, like Ancient Greece, pagan worship and beliefs could vary greatly by region and city.
These societal differences in the structures of these religious groups reflect the way divinity is viewed. In Abrahamic religions, their God is the unquestionable leader of all things. In Paganism, the Gods simply are, and we may choose to allow them into our lives.
What this Means for You:
Paganism comes in many, many different forms, and it's highly individualistic.
I'm willing to bet there are going to be a few things in here that both Pagans and people of other faiths are going to disagree with, but this is based on my experiences and knowledge, in a general presentation, about how these topics may affect your pagan practice.
Deconstruct authority. This is a non-dogmatic religion with very little concept of orthodoxy or of othropraxy.
Learn for yourself. Learn why things were done, learn what philosophies accompany certain actions, and learn why some things should be carried on today (or shouldn't).
Unlearn Monotheism and the "Tri-omni" God. These don't apply to Paganism.
Take your time. These Gods are not wrathful, they are not vengeful, and you are not obligated to worship. Learn, practice, and love at your own pace.
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Very Long Post, sorry again! I'm more than open to discussion and commentary, but please keep it civil. This is a very generalized post that is an attempt to address a very complex struggle as concisely as possible.
There are a lot of things I haven't gone over, and there's a lot more to be discussed on the matter. For this reason, feel free to add on!
(Editing to add in)
This can not POSSIBLY account for all variations within both religious umbrellas. This is a broad overview of how mainstream Abrahamic religious structures have altered the way divinity would've been viewed (or maybe should be viewed, now) by Pagans.
HELLENIC AND KEMETIC POLYTHEIST/PAGANS COME TO ME! I NEED ANSWERS
Hiiiiiii, i'm Eliot and i'm trying to get into the hellenistic and kemetic religion,i already tried to be a Loki devotee but i did It HORRIBLY (I only had One green candle,no offerings,no sylbols,no nothing,I Just talked to the candle) i'm so Sorry for lord Loki for how BADLY I treated him
ANYWAY
now i'm trying to be a Hermes and Thoth devotee, Hermes because i genualy feel a very Deep connection With him,idk how to explain It,i feel it in my soul, and Thoth because i really enjoy learning new things and i like writing (i Want to become a writer yk)
But idk how to do It well, i know the basics,the main thing Is having a candle, you should give offerings that change based on the God i'm going them to, i should add some sylbols of the gods on their altars ect...
but i still have doubts
SO HERE MY QUESTIONS FOR YALL! (Pls be kind With them, don't insult me)
I don't have any free shelf or something like that for and Altar, all i have Is my desk, Is It still valid for making an Altar?
Do i Need to put Hermes's and Thoth's altars very far away from eachother? (Since yk, they're from different cultures ect...) Or they can be next to/near eachother Without any problem?
For divination, Is the tarot card and dice method good? If yes, I was thinking about using the egyptian tarot cards for Thoth,obvius reason, but (get ready for a STUPID question) are they olso good to use for Hermes too? Before i get another deck of tarot cards that Aren't egyptian
I Heard that there are some Daily things you can do to be closer to the gods or something,like for Hermes you can be kind to like bus drivers,taxi drivers ect... People that help you travel, leaving coins around,greeting him every time you go out ect... Are there some similar things for Thoth too? Like i know that for him i could like write my book everyday and learn a new thing Daily but are there other things?
The candle,Is It a SHITTY idea to keep It burining 24/7? Plus,do i Need to ask the God to light up and close their candle?
Do the gods get mad if i read/Watch things that Aren't like documentaries or classic book or something like that? Like of i play Hades (the videogame),Watch Blood of Zeus, listen to Epic the musical (i'll admit that i used to olso read Ennead and i deeply regret It) and things like that they will get mad?
This Is something specific to Hermes, i called my cat Hermes After him, does this thing Will make him mad?
Still for Hermes,I have a candle that i buyed thinking about using It for his altar,Is this candle good?
Ok so this was all, if you Want to give me more advice for my devotion to Hermes and Thoth feel free to do It!, thank you so much if you answer my questions and have a good day!
Definitions
Worshipping a deity is all about respecting them, honouring them, living in a way that represents their domains and aspects.
Working with a deity is exactly as the word suggests, a working relationship plus worshipping. A more personal and in-depth back and forth between you and the deity you work with on a long-term goal or in life generally but the specifics are between you and the deity.
Do you need to ask to worship?
No. Deities are just that, deities! You can worship whoever you want and feel drawn to. You can ask them for favours, provide offerings, and pray to them.
Do you need to ask to work with a deity?
Yes, but you don’t need to wait for them to reach out first. You can always express interest in working with them for whatever reason, provide an offering, and either ask for a specific sign or perform divination. A no now doesn’t mean no later, so if a deity says no to working with you, don’t worry. It doesn’t mean never, just not right now!
Can you make an altar for a deity you don’t work with or only worship?
Yes, and as always, make sure you respect that space if you are dedicating it to a deity.
Working vs Worshipping example
You work with Apollo in the musical aspects of your life, having more personal guidance and support on learning your chosen instrument and playing in a band.
You worship his twin sister Artemis by lighting candles to honour her and care for wildlife with bird feeders, hedgehog homes, birdhouses, and an outdoor ceramic water bowl.
Which is more important?
Neither. Whether you worship or work with a deity, both are equally important and just because you don’t work with a deity doesn’t mean your relationship with them is less than. Respect, honouring, and religion specifics are always important in both.
yeah the gods I worship are there, like Loki is there for outcasts or misunderstood people, and because I do worship them and thank them they are there for me.
Reaching out to other deities is such a stark contrast of worshipping in christianity, but it’s also similar. When you look at what was done was a selfless sacrifice (when you look at this in traditional christianity this is very contradictory but from my perspective the old testament god and the new testament god are two very different beings), wanting a relationship; but that’s where it stops. With christianity there is so much you aren’t worthy of, deserving of, you are so imperfect and unclean that there is no way of even coming close to earning it, no matter how much you give. With christianity there is also so much emphasis on death of self, you are not allowed to enjoy this life because self care and taking time for yourself is selfish and taking away from time spent ‘in the faith’, time that could be better spent praying and studying the bible. that doesn’t get you anywhere. that just leads to stagnancy.
Faith can evolve in christianity only so far, in polytheism you can ask the same billion questions and you will get some sort of answer, in christianity. no questions. no questioning anything, unless it’s a GOOD and SAFE question about the bible or faith, only those questions you can ask. nothing else. you will get ignored. you will get judged. you will get pushed away.
and the fact that with paganism you are actively encouraged to do research and ask questions and form your own relationship with your deities, is just so! it’s so euphoric and different and amazing!
That is your special being you keep in contact with, who you can set mutual boundaries with, who you can have any kind of dynamic that feels right to you. It’s amazing and so so healing.
That’s kind of all I had to process for now, there absolutely will be more to come though. Thanks for taking the time to read
The following list are some of the superstitions that I’ve heard or learned about over the years, in no particular order:
• Throw rice in the air to make it rain
• Carry a potato during winter to ward against colds
• Smell dill to get rid of hiccups
• Lay thorn branches by your doorstep to keep evil away
• Place chips of cedarwood in a box with coins do draw money to you
• Hang seaweed in the kitchen to ward off evil spirits
• Burn allspice to draw money, luck, and healing
• Place a piece of cotton in a sugar bowl to draw good luck to your home
• Scatter chili flakes around your house to break a curse
• Scatter salt/sugar to purify a room
• Put a pine branch above your bed to ward off illness
• Carry a chunk of dried pineapple to draw luck
• Ask an orange a question before you eat it, then count the seeds. Even # = no. Odd # = yes
• Toss oats outside your back door to ensure beautiful crops/plants
• Place lilacs around the house to rid unwanted spirits
• Add salt to bath for purification
• Write your sigils on stones and carry them with you
• Put sigils on medication bottles to help quicken their efficiency or for added healing benefits
• When guests come over, light a white candle by the door; it will take their negative energy and purify the home.
• To get rid of guests overstaying their welcome, turn any broom in your house upside down (bristles up)
• Toss salt on the front porch every Friday for good luck and prosperity
• Carry a blade of grass to increase psychic power
• If something or someone is bugging you, write it on toilet paper, wipe, and flush it down the toilet
