#disting

[artstationable]

Wiktor Öhman

Principal Artist at Epic Games

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[feldgeistchen]

My Germanic Pagan Celebrations

Disclaimers: 

-> these are the celebrations that I personally celebrate. I personally prefer celebrating on equinoxes, solstices, and the dates in the middle of these events, but many other pagans have other preferences or set dates

-> there are also other pagan celebrations that I personally do not take part in but which other pagans might find important. Also, I do not celebrate Samhain, Imbolc, Mabon, and the like, since these are more Irish / Celtic pagan celebrations (though many of the following celebrations are on the same day and carry a similar meaning as these holidays)

Disting / Charming of the Plow:

This day celebrates the overcoming of winter and the revival of nature. It is also called the ‘charming of the plow’ and marks the beginning of the agricultural year and celebrates the hope for spring and a bountiful growing season. 

I celebrate Disablót / Disting at the halfway-point between winter solstice and spring equinox. In 2023, this day fell on the 3rd of February.

Várblót / Spring Equinox:

This day celebrates the return of the sun since as of this day, the days will be longer than the nights. Thus, sun symbolism and sun gods play a big role on this day. It also marks the beginning of spring and therefore has a strong connection to fertility and agricultural themes and the gods connected to these themes. 

I celebrate várblót on the day of the spring equinox, so usually around the 20th of March.

Mayfest / Majblót:

This day marks the half-way point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and it celebrates the end of the colder half of the year and the beginning of summer. It also celebrates the greening, blooming, and blossoming of the plants around us.

I celebrate this holiday on the day that marks the half-way point between the spring equinox and summer solstice. In 2023, this day fell on the 5th of May.

Summer Solstice / Midsummer:

This day is the longest day of the year and celebrates the return of the sun and its light and warmth, life, fertility, and the potential for a good harvest.

This celebration is on the day of the summer solstice, so usually around the 21st of June. 

Freyfest / Freysblót / Freyfaxi:

This day marks the half-way point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. It celebrates the first harvest of the year (usually the grains) and the collection of the fruits of our labours this year. Frey, the god of fertility, is especially celebrated on this day.

I celebrate this holiday on the day that marks the half-way point between the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. In 2023, this holiday falls on the 7th of August.

Höstblót / Autumnal Equinox:

As of this day, the days will be shorter than the nights. Therefore, this day celebrates the end of the light and warm season, and the preparation for the upcoming dark and cold months. It is also seen as the second harvest festival, where we celebrate the bountiful summer and stock up for winter. 

I celebrate höstblot on the day of the autumnal equinox, so usually around the 23rd of September.

Vetrnætr / Winter Nights:

This day celebrates the end of summer and the beginning of winter. It is the last of the three harvest festivals of the year where we celebrate the end of the harvest season and everything it brought us, and prepare for the harsh winter that is coming.

I celebrate this holiday on the day that marks the half-way point between autumnal equinox and winter solstice. In 2023, this day falls on the 6th of November. The vetrnaetr are often celebrated for 3 days.

Winter Solstice / Midwinter / Yule:

This day celebrates the shortest and darkest day of the year. It celebrates the hardest and darkest part of winter that has been overcome and the return of the sun and its light and warmth. 

I celebrate yule on the day of the winter solstice, so usually around the 21st of December, and yuletide on the 12 days following it.

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[norsemythologie]

🌸 Dísablót & Imbolc 🌸

Happy Imbolc to all who celebrate! This holiday marks the mid-point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. I observe Dísablót at this time, and I’m so excited to formally celebrate it this year! Some of my cost effective/minimal effort celebration ideas include:

— lighting candles to represent mini bonfires welcoming in the light, warmth, and rebirth of spring

— styling my altar with images of the goddesses I work with most closely, the Nornir, the Valkyrir, my female ancestors, and any female figures who inspire me

— bake small cakes or biscuits as a symbol of the coming planting season and it’s bounty

— offering tea (awareness in present moment), flowers (requesting good favor and health), salt (purification, taste), one of the cakes made, and some crystals on my altar. The flowers and/or crystals set on the altar convey a meaning of their own and can be chosen according to your goals for the year! (If you work closely with Hel, you may wish to let your flowers wither on your altar to symbolize death and rebirth, a natural process of life)

— making a list of some of my goals for the year, especially in light of how I may or may not have gotten a start on those goals throughout January

— you can even make four holes in your garden, corresponding to the four cardinal directions, and place a cake in each to ask the Dísir to bless the planting season

— additionally, you can anoint your plow or garden tools with oil and cinnamon (consider wearing gloves) for a successful season

— little straw dolls are commonly made during Imbolc to represent the goddess Brigid. Straw decorations or dolls would make a wonderful offering for any pagan celebrating the coming spring!

I hope you all enjoy the holiday, and I would love to see a few images if anyone is setting up their altar in a new way!

[thorsvinur]

This is the full moon period of Góa, also the time when the Disting/Dísaþing and Dísablót would take place in Early Medieval Sweden. The names respectively translate to "Assembly of the Dísir" and "Sacrifice of the Dísir", the word Dísir (singular Dís) being somewhat ambiguous in that is seems to be applied to female deities, spirits and sometimes even people. The dísir as a whole appear to have been largely regarded as protectors and guardians of the family and the home, potentially including female ancestral spirits. Several Old Norse deities have "heiti" (bynames) that include -dís as well, such as Freyja (Vanadís, "Dís of the Vanir") and Skaði (Öndurdís, "Ski-dís"), and certain feminine names such as Freydís (Dís of Freyr) include it.

The Dísaþing and Dísablót in Sweden were originally held at the full moon closest to the vernal equinox, but later on toward the end of the Early Medieval period the festival was secularized and moved into early February in order to not conflict with the period of Lent. Adam of Bremen attests to the practice of a large blót at Uppsala in conjunction with a great assembly near the vernal equinox, and in Heimskringla Snorri writes the following:

“In Sweden there was an age-old custom whilst they were still heathen that there should be a blood offering in Uppsala during Góa-month. Then they would sacrifice for peace and victory for their king. And thither would they come from all over Sweden. There also were all the Swedish things. There was besides a market and a fair, and it lasted a week. But when Christianity came to Sweden they still kept the law thing and the market there. And when Christianity prevailed throughout Sweden and the kings no longer sat in Uppsala, the market was shifted and held at Candlemas. It has always been held then ever since, but now it does not last more than three days.”

[autumnwitchbomb]

Dísablót/Disting

​​In Norse belief, Disting is the festival of the Idises. For those who do not know, the Idises (or Disir) are the souls of the women of your family line – the eldest mothers, who still watch over their children through the generations. The name Oimelc means “ewe’s milk” in Anglo-Saxon, as this was the time when the first lambs were being born. Frigga is sometimes hailed at this time for her spinning of wool.. Oimelc has been associated not only with snow and cold, but with healing, with hearthfire, and the singing around it. Some of the Nordic gods honored during this time are Ullr, Skadi, and Rind – all deep-winter figures. Some people also have honored Logi - a fire giant - Loki’s first wife Glut along with their daughters Einmyria and Eisa, because of the hearthfires. Bragi is also sometimes honored here for the poetry created to pass the long winters. Eir, Mengloth, and Mengloth’s maidens can also be honored at this time for the aspect of healing as communal illnesses are often at their worst during this season. Another possibility is honoring Surt and the primal giant Ymir as part of the fire-and-ice Norse creation myth.

Disting is characterized by preparing the land for planting.  In ancient times, Disting was the time when the cattle were counted and one's wealth was tallied; thus making it a festival of finance as well. It was said that new calves born during Disting were a sign of great prosperity for the coming year. Disting was also the time for the Thing (or main law gathering), so Forseti, Tyr, Ullr, Syn, and Var may all be honored as they are associated with oaths and lawgiving.

Also called ‘Charming of the Plow’ after the Anglo-Saxon spell and ceremony. Recorded as a regular feast only in Sweden, this blessing takes place in early or mid-February. The name means ‘Thing (assembly) of the Goddesses’. In Sweden, it was the first public moot/fair of the year; in Denmark, this is the time when the first furrows were plowed in the field (an activity much hedged about with folk custom). This is a feast of new beginnings, at which the work of the year to come is blessed.

[norse-witch]

Disting (Dísablót ) - February 1st

The true date of this Norse holiday isn’t known. Some of have celebrated it at the beginning of winter, some at the end, but I am personally celebrating it around February 1st because it’s basically my ‘middle’ of winter where I live. It’s usually celebrated sometime in the winter solstice, though.

Dísablót is a sacrificial holiday dedicated to celebrating female spirits known as the Dísir. 

I usually keep my personal female spirits in my thoughts during this time and say prayers of thanks to them for protecting and watching over myself and my family, including Freyja, Eir, Frigga, Skadi and Sif, but it’s also very appropriate to celebrate the spirits of your female ancestors, as well as the Valkyries. 

Although mostly a celebration of the goddesses, some male gods that are celebrated as well also include: Ullr, Surt, Tyr, Var, Forseti, and the giant Ymir. 

The Norse worshipped the female goddesses during this time for the fertility of the fields, to have order and peace at home, and to receive the motherly touch of motivation. 

Feasting was the main way of celebrating but I also suspect that the Norse people sat around hearth fires and told the myths of the goddesses and stories to their children and other family members.   

sources

disting disablot

[relearningmytarot]

#Disting/#Imbolic reading

3Feb2020

Spread by @seedsofshakti

Decks; #PrismaVisionsTarot & #GreenGlyphsLenormand by James R Eads

[cluboftigerghost]

Playing with Clouds in Kammerl mode, and with the Disting Mk3 Phaser. (The same patch formed the basis of my Naviar Haiku entry this week)