#lokablot

Take your time, the Gods understand <3 I am going to do a read along on the poems to make them easier to understand. If you would like to read them, and have specific needs to be met, just let me know and I will do so <3

@lokablot That would be great! It honestly just comes down to I have a hard time staying focused and if there are too many filler words, or if the text isn’t broken up (it’s easier to read if there is a line of space in between) it makes it harder for me to read through. 

So, with April 1st coming up, I was speaking to my roommate about when exactly Lokablót is celebrated. For the most part, there seem to be 3 most popular options, since there isn’t exactly a set day.

A popular choice is April Fools, which is fitting for our lovely trickster. I’ve heard of some other people celebrating on Halloween as well. (depending on your cultural holidays)

The third would be in the summer, usually July/August, when the star Sirius shows up. Some people associate the star with the dog days of summer and the heat, others due to what could possibly be the Icelandic name attributed to the star, ie Lokabrenna (or you're like me, and Loki just straight up slapped you in the face with the star)

The first two are pretty self-explanatory, but the third is where it varies.

Especially since the heliacal rising of Sirius is dependent on geographical location, so even if there’s a general time frame for when this happens, it tends to vary from region to region.

So how to calculate when Sirius will first become visible for your location?

There are a few online "calculators" for this. Originally I used one on a Kemetic blog (since the Kemetic holiday Wep Ronpet is also celebrated on the first appearance of Sirius as well), but as of last year that one is no longer available. A lot of blogs referring to Sirius used that original site, so I figured I should share a few up and running ones.

I went through quite a bit, from installed apps to excel sheets to web sites, but out of them all the easiest to read (and my preferred version) can be found at In The Sky, where you'll come to a page giving you the following options:

Select the following options:

Display settings: Show rising and setting times, show observability

Object type: Any

Object: Sirius

Timezone: Use local time (You can set as needed. See img below)

Start date: Up to your discretion. For me I will usually select July 1st

Interval: Day

Rows: Up to your discretion. It takes longer to load the more rows/days you choose to show

All that you need to do is to make the above selections and to adjust your time zone. There is also an option to select your city or manually put in your Latitude and Longitude (select the little wrench icon).

Then, press Update, and you'll have a generated list.

So for my location, this means that Sirius will be first visible on August 18th. The maximum number of rows that this one gives you is 500, so it's not the best if you're trying to mark down all the future year options, but this version is one of the easiest to work with imo.

If you are looking for a heliacal calculator that can give you multiple years, CultureDiff might be worth trying out. You will have to supply an email (it can be anything, there is no email confirmation) and the site gives you a password for the beta program.

After entering, you will need to choose the below option:

You will need to know your latitude for this one, and it does have some other options for how decent your eye-sight is as well as your altitude. Fun, but you can just leave the prefills and only add in your latitude:

I did a private blót to Loki and His family (Sigyn, the 6 children, and, yes, Odin too) at a secret altar in Prospect Park that a friend and kindred-mate of mine set up. It was very personal and very moving, and the rune reading at the end was very positive. Yes, the seal is meant to represent Loki (because He turns into a seal in one myth, and because I grew up near the California coast so I have a personal connection with seals, and because I like them). I hope the pumpkin cider I offered had His seal of approval.

Bonus:

terribly blurry pic, but this robin watched me the entire time, and didn’t move even when I got up after the blót and walked towards him. Fearless little thing.

Bonus #2:

3 - I believe I will be having children, eventually someday. If I can I will try to raise them with the option of choosing heathenry, I will raise them with the stories and the gods to turn too, but I will give them many other options as well. While I’d prefer my children to be pagan at least, I’d never force them.

9 - Ah my favorite Edda. It has to be either the one where Loki gets excited at the prospect of dressing Thor like a bride to get his hammer back, or Lokabrenna itself because honestly who doesn’t love a party where everyone is roasting each other?

15 - If I could love in any of the nine realms…. I would chose Vanaheim, realm of my godly mother and where gods of nature and human desires reign. It is a land of love and light and where I think I’d feel most comfortable.