#alfar

AKA Frey, Yngvi, Ing, Ingwi, Yngvi-Freyr

(Note: Freyr's mother is a highly debated topic. We know that his mother was likely his father's sister, but there is debate over what her name is)

Quick Facts:

Tribe: Vanir

Domain: Fertility, Prosperity, and Peace

Parents: Njörd and Nerthus/Njörun

Sibling: Freyja

Spouse: Gerðr

Child: Fjölnir

(For the autumn season!)

This is a ritual that I’ve created some two years ago, as a gesture of thanks and acknowledgement to the álfar as land spirits. It acts as the “closing ceremony” for the harvest season, so it could be fun for you to perform it on Samhain if you celebrate, or on your preferred date to perform the Álfablót. It’s made up of three major steps; the offering of drink, the offering of food and the burning of autumn symbols, all of which are separated by invocation and prayer. Without further ado, I will detail the ritual.

The first step? To bake/cook/prepare your offerings of food and drink. I think it’s important to incorporate local seasonal ingredients, as they come directly from the land you live on and therefore, can be considered gifts from the harvest Gods and spirits. Examples of seasonal drinks might be cider (apple juice also does the trick if you’re alcohol-free!), mead, mulled wine, spiced drinks and the like. Seasonal foods might be include apple, pumpkin, corn, squash, etc…

The final offering requires you to go and pick a few good, local symbols of autumn. These can be fallen leaves, helicopter seeds, fallen flowers… Basically anything that you know will burn well and which you won’t have to pluck directly from the tree or plant it comes from. If you grow herbs, fruits and/or veggies, it’s also possible to offer them up as well. I also write down on a piece of paper a few things I’m grateful to the álfar for.

Prepare a ritual bowl or cup in which to pour the offering of drink, a plate in which to place the food offerings, and a fireproof space in which to safely burn the autumn symbols (I use my cauldron).

Optional but fun: I line each plate up in the order drink-food-fire in an outside space and kneel before them to perform the ritual. I then light incense and anoint each plate with ritual rosemary oil, for purification and protection.

Invocation: “I call upon the spirits and guardians of my land. I call to me the people of Yngvi-Frej who dwell in Álfheimr. Come to me Hidden Ones, come and receive that which I humbly choose to give back, in thanks and as to show my gratitude.”

As you pour the offering of drink: “May you accept this libation, symbol of the water which flows under the earth and nourishes the soil. May you look with fondness upon me and those who dwell on your lands.”

As you offer the food: “May you accept this shared meal, symbol of the many gifts of the earth. May you bring forth favorable and plentiful seasons henceforth.”

As you burn the symbols of autumn: “Another harvest has passed, with your blessing and your protection. Noble elves who answer to the Vanir Son, I am grateful for the land that you share so generously with me and my loved ones. Please bless the soils to be bounteous for the coming year.”

I realise there's a distinct lack of discussion of elves/alfar in Heathen circles, from what I've observed, so I would be interested in learning more about them.

Sorry, I left you hanging there for a little while but honestly I don't really know of very much. "How Elvish were the Álfar?" by Terry Gunnell is a good start and should hopefully lead you to other sources.

During my five year self study, I did a lot of things. One of the things I did was make myself available for people to remove spirits from their homes. I eventually had a client who was losing their eyesight. A child. It was then when I realized my own limitations.

The child I speak of was haunted by a darker spirit, if you would call it that. It actually wrote "no" in crayon on the outside of a two story window. Dunno how but it definitely wasn't the child who did it. Eventually that family succumbed to the spirits influence, because it was beyond anything I'd ever experienced.

What I learned through this experience was that all spirits are people. So, my approach now is to not remove, but to reason, even if that is not possible. Sometimes no matter what you do or how much effort you put into something like that, nothing will come of it. Possibly because the gods wanted me to see it that way. Maybe because the spirit was just more willful. Whatever the case is, my approach is to appease, not to destroy. Even in my own home, I don't cleanse. I welcome all spirits into my space if they wish to be there.

When spirits act hostile towards me, I do not act hostile back to them. Instead, I talk to them, I ask them why, and I ask them to stop. I try to radiate feelings of peace and calmness, because ultimately I do not know them. Usually these spirits in my experience, are beings who are angry for one reason or another. So more aggression often just makes them more aggressive. I don't believe in potentially killing or harming spirits or alfar of the Land. Not only is it part of them, it is their home. I am the intruder there. Anywhere they reside. They were likely there before me, before settlement.

I realize this is not the typical practice. However, I believe it is the best approach, at least for my own practice, is to vibrate acceptance and understanding. I've had way more success with that than I have with being hostile.