The Great Moot 2256

Report by Asrad CG

First published in ORB 203, Yule 2006

On Saturday the 4th Fogmoon 2256 members and friends of the Odinic Rite gathered in London for the Great Moot. Once again we were blessed with a very good turn out with members travelling from across Midgard to be with us. It is heart warming to see the effort that many of our members make to be with us at this very special occasion.

As is normal the day started off a little late, there are after all a great many hellos to say and introductions to make, but we eventually managed to get the day’s proceedings underway.

First to present their talk was Wulfstan OR who spoke of the great betrayal of our folk. As always this was a stirring and inspiring talk. Wulfstan was able to take a few questions at the end of his talk and given the time I am in no doubt could have answered questions all day.

Our second talk was presented by Eowyn OR, the Rite’s Environmental Concerns Officer. Eowyn’s talks are always very informative and full of detail. A full version of Eowyn’s talk can found within this issue of ORBriefing entitled “Holographic Ecology”.

The special ritual was re-introduced several years ago after a short break and since that time it has become a very powerful and uplifting part of the Great moot. Heimgest lead the Swastika rising ritual, expanding on last year’s ritual. Many people commented that after it they felt a great power from the ritual.

For the past few years the Court of Gothar has presented awards to individuals who have gone that extra mile, working for the re-awakening and for the Rite. This year we present two special awards, the first went to Boyke AOR from the Netherlands. He has worked behind the scenes on many projects including setting up the OR’s forum, created a Dutch Odinist language site, translating much of the OR’s material. He has secured the future of an ancient monument near his home in Holland, and many other jobs which are not visible to our members. All this has been done without seeking fame or reward. It was a pleasure to present Boyke with a small gift as token of our gratitude for his efforts.

The second award went to a lady who has done an immense amount of work for our incarcerated members. She has worked tirelessly to gain the rights of incarcerated Odinists in many states of the USA. She has sacrificed a great deal of time, money and effort to others, and so the Court of Gothar decided to once again award Laurel Owen AOR a small gift as token of our gratitude for the work she has done once again for FFF.

The third award we presented was actually presented to the Rite for our environmental work by another Heathen group in the USA, the Troth. This award was presented to Eowyn OR the Rite’s ECO. It is very pleasing that the Rite should receive an award from another group for our environmental work. This award recognises all the hard work carried out by our members, so well done folks and keep up the good work.

After the lunch break we resumed with three more talks. The first of these was presented by Boyke AOR who spoke about the importance of protecting our heritage sites. An excellent talk and we hope to be able to encourage Boyke to talk again at next years GM.

Next Hengest the IIO (Internet Information Officer) presented a short but very informative talk on the advances and achievements that have been made by the OR and its members through the internet. The internet has been a massive help to the OR and has allowed us to expand and communicate our message to a much wider audience than would have been possible without it. Hengest and his team of helpers have ensured that the OR’s presence on the World Wide Web is second to none!

The third talk was presented by Tyrsson OR, the Rite’s Garman and head of the OR’s Fyrd. Tyrsson presented a short talk in which he outlined the way he sees the Fyrd developing in the future. This was then followed by an impressive demonstration of some of Tyrsson’s skills as a martial artist on the unfortunate Martyn. Though the greatest danger was faced by Heimgest who was very nearly holed by a knife when Tyrsson demonstrated just how easy it is to block a knife attack, the assailant’s weapon, a rather blunt dinner service knife flew past Heimgest’s right ear! Tyrsson was reminded that one of his roles as the Rite’s Garman is to protect the CG, not eliminate it!

After a short break we held our auction, ably conducted by our fine auctioneer Hengest and his glamorous assistant Simon, well maybe glamorous is not the right term! Once again this fine team did an excellent job in prising valuable funds from our members. Seriously though the generosity of the members was wonderful and the extra funds raise will help us in our work. Big thanks to Lani for donating her beautiful glass etchings.

The last two talks came from Heimgest and myself, both of which can be found within this issue of ORBriefing so no point in me coving them again here.

With the talks completed and the rest of the day’s business concluded we prepared for the main Blot. This year we continued to expand on the regeneration that was started last year. It was a powerful Blot which raised an enormous amount of energy. The uniting of the folk- lands in the soil ceremony is always a potent symbol for me and this year I think we had the biggest level of input for many years. Soil from many parts our Odal lands united, just as we are united as one folk, one nation, Odin’s Holy Nation.

It is hard for me to describe just how people felt about the Blot, so I have taken just a couple of comments posted on the OR’s forum which I feel expresses just how successful the Blot was.

I have witnessed many a ritual in my time, but nothing prepared me for the power of today’s Blot. The Gods heard us, of that I am certain, wonderful stuff from all involved. Asrad’s singing of the Runes was awesome!
Mike P.

……..the Blot was awesome. I went away on a real high. I don’t think my feet touched the ground until I got to Holborn tube station!
David M.

The GM closed on a high with the Blot and I feel that it was a great success on many levels. With the daytime events finished we made our way to the evening social venue just a short walk away.

There is little I can say about the evening social other than it was a very enjoyable evening. I spoke to a great many people, but I would have liked to have spoken to even more of you for longer, but the time flew by as it does when you’re having fun and all too soon it was time to say our farewells.

The Monday Outing.
Last year we decided to take our Vinland comrades out to see a few ancient monuments. This year we decided to venture slightly further afield and were joined by our good friends and comrades from Comunita Odinista, Paolo and Kveldulf as well as Boyke, Marianne, Lani, AJ, Eowyn, Heimgest, Hengest and the chauffeur of course, me!

After a slightly later start, the mini bus was not ready for collection when I arrived to pick it up; we picked up our guests and headed out of London down the West Way to Oxfordshire. The journey out was good and despite the increasing level of mist, which Boyke insisted was English fog, we found our way to our first port of call the Blowing Stone.

Legend has it that this stone was once high on the Ridgeway and was once used by Alfred the Great to call together his militia. On the top of the stone there are some natural perforations which when blown into with the necessary skill, which only Hengest, Boyke and yours truly seemed to have, produces a sound like a blowing horn. Once it is achieved it is almost impossible to achieve again, mainly due to laughing too much!

Next we drove the short distance to the Uffington White Horse. This was the area where we held our summer Folk camp back in Fallow. We walked up to the Iron Age Hill Fort which is just to the East of the White Horse, and then made our way down to the White Horse itself. The views from here are wonderful and the weather was excellent, despite the mist which lay in the vale. Next we walked down to Dragon Hill, a manmade flat topped hill set below the White Horse and obviously a spiritual site. After everyone had taken in the views and atmosphere we set off to find some lunch. We found a nice restaurant and after a good meal and pleasant ale we made our way back towards Uffington, though by now the mist had turned into English fog, much to the delight of Boyke who has a fascination for English fog! Despite not being able to see much beyond the front of the van we managed to find our way back to the Uffington Hill and out of the low lying fog. We made our way up onto the Ridgeway and along to Wayland Smithy, an ancient Long Barrow.

We held a Blot at Wayland Smithy and during this Blot we returned some of the United Soil gathered at the Great Moot. Soil from the Odal lands re-united at this holy site. As we left this wonderful site the Sun was setting in the West and full Moon was rising in the East. This was an awesome occasion, very powerful, spiritual and a wonderful end to what had been a wonderful Great Moot.

Thank you to everyone that made the Great Moot great! It is the members that make the GM a success. Thank you all for coming and I hope to see you and many more at the Great Moot 2257!