Nidhogg's Day Invocation
from the Pagan Book of Hours
Nidhogg's
Blot - 15 Blutmonath
Pagan Book of Hours
Order of the Horae
First Kingdom Church of Asphodel
Color: Black
Element: Earth
Altar: On a black cloth set several bare tree branches in an earthenware vase, a horn of mead, and the figure of a dragon.
Offerings: Pieces of wood with the name of a missed duty scratched on them.
Daily Meal: Tree fruit such as apples or pears or cherries or peaches.
Invocation to Nidhogg
At the base of the great World Tree
Dwells a black dragon
Whose name is Nidhogg,
Whose sole task is gnawing
At the roots of Yggdrasil.
As quickly as it gnaws away,
New growth comes forth
In a never-ceasing spiral.
At the base of each soul
Dwells a black dragon
Whose name is Conscience,
Whose sole job is gnawing
On our blithe thoughtlessness.
As it gnaws and forces us
To do what should be done,
It clears away our disorder
And allows for new growth
In the tangle of our lives.
Teach us, gnawer at the roots,
How to listen and decide.
Chant:
Roots of the Tree,
Hidden, mysterious,
Reveal them to me,
Dragon of Earth.
(Each person shall snap a twig from the branches on the altar and take it with them, laying it under their pillow to remember Nidhogg and their own consciences. The mead is passed around and shared, and the remainder poured out as a libation to Nidhogg.)
Artwork by Heather Schumacher.