by Suki Moyne

This ritual, if done inside and not at a natural spring or outside well, requires a large bowl filled with water from a spring or well. It’s all right if it’s a standard Artesian well for a house – so long as the water came up from the ground as directly as possible. It also requires pieces of red and green cloth with Eir’s bind rune drawn on them – Eihwaz and Raido, on top of each other – and small stones of many colors, and red thread.

First an invocation to Eir is spoken:

Hail to the Healer of the Holy Well,

To Asgard’s woman of soothing hands,

Whose touch knits wounds

And salves the marks of fire.

Friend of Menglad on her high mountain,

Friend of Frigg on her high throne,

Friend of the fallen warrior who asks

For mending and surcease from pain.

May blood be stanched, may flesh be whole,

May you look with generous eyes upon us.

Then each person is told to take one of the pieces of cloth, and think of a healing that they would ask for themselves, or for someone else. If it is a healing of an acute condition that needs to be treated immediately, they should take a red cloth. If it is a healing of a long-term illness that needs to be remediated, they should take a green cloth. Then they should reach into the bowl of stones and ask Eir to place the right one in their hand. The stone should be wrapped up in the cloth and tied with the red thread.

When this is done, the wrapped stones are dropped, one by one at a slow pace, into the bowl of water, while this invocation is spoken:

Holy Well of the Goddess Eir

Whose name means Healer

Whose being is Mending,

Wash us with your waters

And wash our loved ones as well.

May all be made whole,

May all be made healthy,

May all be made well.

Everyone echoes, “May all be made well,” and then the bowl of water is taken to a sunlit place and left for at least an hour. Then it should be taken to a natural area and the water poured out on the ground, and the wrapped stones buried in the earth. It is all right if it takes a few hours to get it there. Just don’t let it spill.

Artwork by Thorskegga Thorn.