Ritual Items:
- Drinking horn or glass
- Mead, beer, cider, or another beverage
- Blessing bowl
- Candle
Private Blót
In order to make an offering to Hel for yourself, your family, or a loved one, first pour yourself a horn (or glass) of mead or other beverage and say:
“Hel, ruler of Helheim, hail!
Howes-warder, the guardian of the graves, hail!
Baldr’s guardian and companion, hail!”
The protecting goddess of the cairn, hail!
Hail, Hel!”
Drink some of the mead or beverage and pour some out into the bowl for Hel to request her looking after a beloved friend or relative who recently passed or even an ancestor of old that you want to ask her to look after through this offering. Light the candle and say whichever of the following of the two prayers you need to for this blót:
Prayer for Beloved Dead
”Hel, you are the goddess who looks after our beloved dead
Ruler of Helheim and dweller within Éljúðnir
You are known to take in those who have died of natural causes
I ask you to look after and take care of my ancestors
I ask you that you treat them as if they were Baldr
Take care of them as if they were an honored guest
I make this offering to you in request for your kindness
For your generosity and benevolence towards my ancestors
So they may know they are remembered,
So they may know they are cherished,
And so that they may know that their stories go on.
As I honor you, may you treat them with honor!
Hail, Hel!”
Prayer for One Who Will Die Soon
“Hel, you are the goddess who looks after our beloved dead
Ruler of Helheim and dweller within Éljúðnir
You are known to have a compassionate heart
For I have a beloved person who will be entering your realm soon
I ask you that you treat them as if they were Baldr
I ask you to look after and take care of them for they were truly loved
Take care of them as if they were an honored guest
I make this offering to you in request for your kindness
For your generosity and benevolence towards this person I care about so deeply
So that when they arrive in your hallowed halls,
So they may know they are remembered,
So they may know they are cherished,
And so that they may know that their stories go on.
As I honor you, may you treat them with honor!
Hail, Hel!“
Order or cook yourself a special meal of your loved one’s favorite foods and drink. Also set out an place at your table for Hel. As you set up the meal, keep in mind that this meal you are setting up and providing might be what you are making sure your loved one gets to experience in Helheim. Give some of your food and drink to Hel with the thought of giving to her a gift for a gift. Throughout the meal, think of how our ancestors might view where their ancestors have gone on to after dying of natural causes. Helheim is known as a land of great abundance where their life continues on without us and imagine wanting to impress Hel as you explain to her what your loved one enjoyed in terms of food and drink.
Mentally reach back to those ancestors who might make such an offering to Hel centuries ago—whether of your flesh and blood or those who have also done as you are doing by making an offering. Imagine yourself as someone who is about to lose or has lost a loved one and is imagining how much they are enjoying getting the chance to meet up with other relatives they haven’t seen since they died, while you imagine sharing this meal with Hel, your drink with her, and each other’s presence.
Pour some more mead or other beverage in a final simple thank you to Hel and say:
“Spirits of the bountiful ocean, spirits of the fertile ground next to running water and plants of field, forest, mountain, sky, ancestors of old in Helheim, and to the goddess Hel: Accept this offering, my gift unto you. Hail, Hel!”
