Photo by Jörgen Hagelquist, Uppsala Nya TidningOn Monday, April 9th, Swedish Heathens gathered at the ancient mounds of Uppsala to celebrate their Spring Blot. This is the eighth year for the ritual, organized by Sveriges Asatrosamfund in cooperation with the Stockholm groups Idavallen and Bifrostfolket.

The recent government recognition of Sveriges Asatrosamfund has led to several profiles of Swedish Heathens in newspapers and radio, and two newspapers had brief stories on today’s blot. One story is in Svenska Dagbladet, while the other is in the Uppsala Nya Tidning.

Here is a translation of the Uppsala Nya Tidning article:

The Gods Invoked at Spring Blot

“I raise the horn to life’s eternal cycle!” “I raise the horn to friends new and old!” There were many salutations at this year’s Spring Blot as the mead went around among the people celebrating the arrival of spring at the Old Uppsala mounds on Easter Monday.

Rust colored cloaks, babies and caps were to be seen among the 60-plus people who had come to call upon their gods Frey and Frey [sic], and upon nature and its spirits.

“This is a demonstration that this is a living faith,” shouts Henrik Hallgren of Sveriges Asatrosamfund in his opening remarks.

This thousand year old tradition has been celebrated in Uppsala for eight years. Among the visitors was Anders Olsson, who has been Asatru since the 1970s. “My Asatru faith began as a Viking romantic phase when I was a teenager, but today it has grown into something larger. The important celebrations for me are at the change of the seasons,” he explains.

Medieval music begins to play. Fanfares sound from instruments such as the birch bark horn and the talharpa. A hail shower surprises the visitors. The offering begins. One by one, they go up to the fire with bread, grain or fruit. Spring is welcomed and the ceremony continues.

Julia Wiraeus