Asatru/Heathenry: Animal Sacrifice?

Where do you stand on the issue of calling a non-animal sacrifice ritual a "Blot"?
The old Heathens considered a Blot to be an animal sacrifice, so what should the Libation (non-animal sacrifice) ritual be called if not Blot?

Also, have you ever given your own blood in a ritual?

Im too sane for "rituals"

I like put tin sh*t down in the club.

How about a "Libation Ritual". Seems sane. in my experience, most Asatru aren't all that hung up on labels, unless the label is attached to a bottle.

And yes, but only a few drops at a time.

answer: You'll find few Heathens do animal sacrifices and those that do have a big BBQ after the blot. Do more reading, not all blots consisted of animal sacrifice. Blot does not mean "blood"

Many Heathens have used drops of their own blood in rituals as have many pagans.

I call it an offering unless blood is involved.

Yes I have.

I can't bring myself to kill an animal (although, historically speaking, animal sacrifice was more or less essential). Bite me, I'm a rabid animal rights activist and vegetarian.
I do give my own blood, though - very often in fact. If it's something smaller, like just saying "thanks for being there", I usually offer just mead. Whenever it's so meting bigger or that I'm asking for something specific, I give my own blood.

My understanding is that "Blot" may or may not be cognate with/derived from the word "Blood" or better said, its equivalent in Old Norse. The modern use of Blot is an appropriate one I think. The reason is the same; we just (usually) don't sacrifice animals any more. Few of us raise livestock anyway. I've used my own blood once, on a nit hing pole. It worked just fine.

Linguistically how can blot be blot without blood? It is not the death that it important it is the issue of blood and giving that blood to the Gods that is key.

Old English "bold" meaning blood and cognate with Old Norse "blow" meaning blood. In Old Norse we find blot(n), husk(n) and bloat(v) meaning sacrifice and "blot" is cognate to Old English "blot" which is blood or sacrifice. Old English also has "husk", see below. Old English definitions by Clark-Hall below:

Blot:

+blot - sacrifice
blot- = bold-
blot an - to sacrifice, kill for sacrifice
blot ere - sacrifice
blotmona? - month of sacrifice, November
blotorc - sacrificial vessel
blotspiung - spitting of blood
blotung - sacrifice

Blod:

blod - bold, blood, vein
blod-dolg - bleeding wound
bloddryne - bloodshed
blodegesa - bloody horror
bloden - bloody
blodfag - blood-stained, bloody
blodgemang -blood-mixture
blodgemenged - blood-stained
blodgeotend - shedder of blood
blodgeotende - bloody
+blodgian - to be bloodthirsty
blodgyte - bloodshed
blodhr?cung - spitting of blood
blodhreow - sanguinary, cruel
...
blodmona? - month of sacrifice, November
blodorc - sacrificial vessel
blodwite - blood-offering

The last three "blod" entries show that "blot" and "blod" are interchangeable in the English language, with the close similarity with Norse and shared root I see no reason why this is not true for the Norse too.

Husl in Old English means sacrifice but was latter used for the Eucharist by Christians, this would suggest that whilst blood ("This is my body" & "This is my blood") is remembered in the event it is symbolic and therefore apart from actual blood sacrifice or life sacrifice, Clark-Hall definitions:

husl (-sel, -sul) - "housel", eucharist, Lord's supper, the host, a sacrifice
huslbearn - communicant
husldisc - housel-dish, paten
husl-f?t - sacrificial or sacramental vessel
huslgang - going to, partaking of the eucharist
huslgenga - communicant
huslian - to administer the sacrament, "housel"
husl?en - acolyte
huslung - administration of the sacrament, "houseling"
huslwer - communicant

D.H. Green in "Language and History in the Early Germanic World", Cambridge, 1998, defines "husl" as "an offering of food to the gods"; this is clearly a sacrifice without blood.

So linguistically and authentically for bloodless sacrifice that is not a "symbel/sumbel" ritual we should use the word "husl" (OE) or "h?sl" (ON) depending on your Heathen flavour.


As to whether I blot or husl is between me, my kin and the Gods

Blot = blood. If there isn't blood its not a Blot.

Go with what Noddy said.. Noddy knows everything ^_^

I strongly encourage animal sacrifice (and a huge barbecue) at the high tides, although that is not always possible.

In my country, animal sacrifice is almost illegal, and it does certainly land you in trouble with the cops and makes you look like some sort of a psycho. So we normally don't do it.

The blot has been extended to a symbolic meaning because most of us, sad to say, are still wimpy in what comes to animal sacrifice.
We shouldn't be! Consider that it's no different than having the meat butchered and handed to you and you're honoring the gods if you kill it yourself and make blot.

However, I prefer the term "offering" than sacrifice for what we do to the gods when we're not slaughtering animals.

I've given my own blood only once, in my consecration to Odin's service. I feel uncomfortable with the thought of sacrificing myself, although I might do it for sorcery practices.

I find it interesting that people have a hard time killing an animal. You eat meat don't you? Don't be cowardly always having to have someone do the dirty work for you. Kill the animal.

To have a blot you have to have a blood sacrifice. You have to have blood to sprinkle on the participants of the blot in order to make them clean for the God's. Without blood the blot cannot be a blot. How can you call yourself a heathen, follower of the heathen Gods, war gods, and be scared to kill your own food and get blood on your hands? Hunters do it all the time just for fun. Hell my grandmother does it out on my grandfathers farm every time she needs to cook dinner.

It's not illegal to sacrifice an animal in a blot and then use it for feasting in the symbol (as long as it is an animal that is legal to kill) any more than it is to shoot Bambi and then cook it for dinner.

But yeah, I agree with the guy up there. If you are not killing something and then sprinkling it's blood on people it should be called a husk because it's definitely not a sacrifice our God's call for, nor is it a purification by blood and therefore it is NOT a blot.