UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Heathenized Æcerbot Charm

This rite restores fertility and vitality to land that has become barren or weakened. The land is symbolically described by clods taken from its corners, ritually anointed, and blessed through invocations of Heathen gods to re-establish its sacred connection with divine and ancestral forces.

You will need:

• A trowel or similar tool for taking the clods
• Honey, milk, yeast, and ash (or incense smoke) for anointing the clods
• Four small staves (tánas) of quickbeam (rowan) wood
• A knife or other tool to carve runes upon the staves

Begin by going to each of the four corners of the field or garden. With your trowel, carefully take a clod of earth from each corner, describing the boundaries of the area you wish to bless. Bring these four clods to a central sacred space.

Anoint each clod carefully with honey, milk, yeast, and ash (or incense smoke), speaking these words clearly as you anoint them:

Field be fruitful, filled with plenty,
Earth grow strong, ever thriving,
Honey-sweetened, milk-nourished,
Ash-renewed, Ing-blessed soil.

Before sunset, craft four small staves (tīenas) from quickbeam (rowan). Carve upon each stave the name of one deity, followed by the Old English word “hālgung,” meaning “hallowing”:

• Wōden hālgung
• Gerda hālgung
• Þunor hālgung
• Ing-Frea hālgung

Then take these staves and place them into each of the corner-holes from which the clods were taken, speaking clearly at each placement:

Wōden hālgie þās eorðan.
Gerda hālgie þās eorðan.
Þunor hālgie þās eorðan.
Ing-Frea hālgie þās eorðan.

Next, return the anointed clods to their original corners, placing each atop the corresponding stave.

Standing before the clods, recite clearly these words nine times:

Weaxað and wrīdaþ and weorðiaþ þās foldan.
(Grow, and flourish, and honor this earth.)

Then face eastward and bow reverently nine times, speaking these words:

Eastward I stand, and blessings I bid,
I bid the All Mighty Os, Warden of Wisdom,
I bid Ing-Frea bright, bringer of bounty,
I bid Gerda, guardian of green fields,
I bid Thunor strong, lord of storms,
I bid Hrēðe, herald of spring’s returning,
That I may rightly speak this galdor,
With firm heart and voice clear,
To waken these crops for worldly gain,
To fill this fold with faithful fruits,
To bless this green earth, as elders taught,
That rich shall be he who rightly gives,
Who shares his bounty by the gods’ good will.

Then turn yourself three times sunwise, prostrate yourself briefly toward the earth in reverence, and say clearly three times:

Hālig, hālig, hālig wes þū, Eorðe, mōdor fīra.
(Holy, holy, holy be thou, Earth, mother of men.)

Afterward, standing upright, say once clearly and with reverence:

Erce, Erce, Erce, mother of earth,
May the Ealmihtig Ós grant you
Acres waxing and flourishing,
Fields fruitful and fertile,
Growing and strengthening,
High shafts, bright crops,
Broad barley, white wheat,
And all the fruits of earth.

May the Warden of Wisdom grant you,
With Ing-Frea, bright bringer of bounty,
And Gerda, guardian of green fields,
Their blessings to make this land whole.

Finally, move slowly around the field or garden, gently smoothing the soil with your trowel. At each corner, speak clearly and with intent:

Ing-Frea, bright bringer of bounty,
Grant good grain and golden growth.
Gerda, guardian of green fields,
Hold and shelter harvests whole.
Thunor, mighty storm-warden,
Send rain softly from above.
Hrēðe, victorious maiden fair,
Ward and watch those who work here.

Step away quietly, acknowledging the gods and spirits who guard this land, and offer a token of gratitude, such as mead or bread, if you wish.