When we celebrate Freyfaxi around the twenty-eighth of the month, let us each be mindful as we partake in the Blót to Frey, that while he is indeed the God of joy, plenty, fertility and the harvest, seldom does anything worthwhile come from nothing! The age old axiom comes to mind here; "We reap what we sow”. The more focus, attention and care we invest our energies in wherefore the positive endeavors of our lives are in regard, the greater will the harvested reward be too. Just as the fields of auld would not yield a harvest, save for the horse’s partnership which afforded our ancestors the means to plow and sow, said fields. So too it remains so today. We may see the quality of the Ehwaz ( ) Rune in terms of that which aids us in our worthy endeavors as did the horse aid the farmer. Here, our horse is called "Ethic". For it is the quality of sound ethics regarding work, industriousness, perseverance and self discipline which will guarantee the good harvest. We will always get back an equal return to what we are willing to invest. Food for thought folks.

Harvest too is also the holy time of 'Odin's Ordeal', whereby All-Father hung upon the world tree; 'Yggdrasil', for nine days and nights in order to win the sacred Runes which he passed on to us, his Kin...

"I know that I hung on that windswept tree

nine nights long,

wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,

myself to myself,

on that tree which no man knows

from where its roots run.

No bread did they give me, nor drink from the horn

downwards I peered;

I took up the runes, screaming I took them,

then I fell back from there."

Hávamál 138 - 139

Once more, following the train of thought, you receive from something only what willing to invest in it. Do you suppose that All-Father may have descried the the very secrets of life's mysteries, had he not been willing to invest all he had and thereafter, travel to the very threshold of death? I think not. This time of 'Odin's Ordeal' which is, Harvest 17th to the 25th, are nine days and nights which are sacred to many. For the Gothar, Brothers and Apprentices of the SONS OF ODIN, 1519 - Vinland Kindred, they are the holiest nine days and nights of our lives! Each member will 'Hang on the Tree', as we call it, for the entirety of the nine nights. We forfeit our voices during this time and sacrifice them to All-Father Odin. Our Apprentices will not speak the entire course of nine days and nights and they will fast as well during this sacred time. In addition to this, they will perform the true blood ritual of "The Valknut Rite". If an Apprentice allows so much as a single peep to escape his lips, the journey is over for him until next Harvest! Many members elect to repeat much of the entire rite annually, while others wish to simply fulfill the nine night requirement of silent meditation. I have personally completed the entire rite nine times in the past eleven years. We have had several fail. If you think this a mere simple task, attempt to remain silent for only two, or three hours, with people trying to speak with you. And then reconsider those whom do it for nine days and nights straight. One needn't be an Apprentice or member of any holy order to venture forth on such a noble endeavor and thereafter reap the harvest of thus. Each of us, whether we are seeking admittance into any order, kindred, etc., or are just seeking spiritual growth and wisdom, may find these nine days and nights most appropriate as each ones own personal rite in concert with 'Odin's Ordeal'. For in doing so, one may grow closer to Odin and to one's self! May you seek and discover... May you possess the courage to approach the gallows and the well, and may you not hesitate to drink deeply of its sacred water! Heil All-Father Odin!

Perform a Blót to Frey as part of your Freyfaxi celebration and meditate upon and Galdr these Runes: Ingwaz (), Jera ( ), and Ehwaz ( ).

For the Nine Nights of Odin's Ordeal, make a self sacrifice; seek to understand a new mystery.

Perform a Blót to All-Father Odin and meditate upon and Galdr these Runes: Ansuz ( ), Eihwaz ( ), Elhaz ( ) and Dagaz ( ).

I remain in Frith with thee.

“Drink deep of the well's holy waters. Drink until you are sodden with that sacred mead. Drink until you have drowned the agents of that Bedouin's faith, those whom have denied you your birthright! Drink until you spy the eye of Odin, and let no wight bar your way north!” - Casper Odinson Cröwell, Ph.D.