Haustblót—literally “autumn sacrifice”—is the harvest-season feast, also called Winter Finding. It’s a time to give thanks for what the land has yielded, to ask for a peaceful, well-provisioned winter, and to strengthen bonds with gods, ancestors, and landwights.
For modern Heathens, it’s also a perfect moment to lean into seasonal living: share food, store seeds, mend tools, tend wildlife habitat, and set intentions for the cold months ahead. is the Norse fall equinox feast.
Haustblót in 2025 will be on September 21st. It is typically held mid - September corresponding with Mabon on the Wicca calendar and the Autumn Equinox. However, the holiday is somewhat fluid based on the location and harvesting calendar.
History of Haustblot
Like many of our ancient celebrations, this one revolves around the agricultural calendar. Haustblót was a time of harvesting crops and preparing for winter. In many Nordic lands, there were only two seasons - winter and spring.
This was a critical time of year for our ancestors. The harvest was important so that people could survive during the cold short days of winter. Fear of starvation was a real thing.
They held three seasonal festivals. Start of Autumn, Mid-Winter/Yule, and Start of Spring.
““There should be a sacrifice at the beginning of winter for a good year, and in the middle of winter for a good crop, the third in summer day, that was the sacrifice for victory.” ”
From the 1893 translation into English by W. C. Green from the original Icelandic 'Egils saga Skallagrímssonar'. There is an online version here.
The Old Norse ritual year included a sacrifice at the beginning of winter (on winter day), another at midwinter, and one at the start of summer. That first sacrifice—in móti vetri—is the ancestor of modern fall rites and frames the season’s spirit: til árs ok friðar (for a good year/harvest and peace)
Snorri’s Hákonar saga góða describes a typical sacrifice feast: people gathered with ale; animals were slaughtered; blood (hlaut) was sprinkled on altars and participants; and the meat was cooked and eaten together. Whether every community followed this exact pattern is debated, but the core themes—sharing food and drink, praising, toasting, and asking blessings—are consistent.
Who to Honor: Important Gods for the Harvest
Freyr
As the God of harvests, Freyr plays a large role in worship during this season. He is the God of sunshine, rain, and prosperity. He brings rain and sunshine, essential for good harvests.
God of fertility, good years, and peace—quintessential for a harvest thanksgiving and winter-readiness. Toasting til árs ok friðar (to a year of peace) invokes that old formula for prosperity and peace.
He is often depicted with his boar Gullinborsti also a symbol of fertility and prosperity.
2. Freyja
Freyja is the twin sister of Freyr. Goddess of abundance, kinship, and the fierce, sustaining love that gets communities through the dark months. A love deity she is also the goddess of seiðr, a form of magic.
She is connected to both human and agricultural fertility. She has a cloak of falcon feathers that allows her to shapeshift and two cats that pull her chariot.
She is often pictured with her cats.
3. Skadi
Skadi (Skaði) a Norse jötunn and goddess of winter and the hunt. I often see her described as honorable and very powerful.
Skadi lives in the tall mountains, where their is snow all year. She’s an avid huntress, and her bow, snowshoes, and skis are her most often-mentioned attributes.
I often call on her during my winters in Wisconsin!
Skadi (Skaði) a Norse jötunn and goddess of winter and the hunt.
4. Landvættir
Landvættir (landwights) are spirits of the land. Thank them for your farm, local farmers, your garden, or neighborhood farmers market, for shelter and sustenance.
They are a vital part of the natural world, and their welfare is linked to the prosperity and safety of the region.
The Dísir
The Disir are female ancestral associated with fate, fertility, and the protection of clans or individuals. Historically associated with late-autumn household rites (álfablót), where outsiders were excluded and offerings were intimate. This is a beautiful time to honor your dead and the spirits of place.
Make sure to set a place for the ancestors and spirits. Having a Dumb Supper is a traditional meal with your ancestors that is often celebrated at Samhain.
Kid-friendly, earth-honoring ways to celebrate
Harvest Sumbel with Apple Cider
What to do: Set a simple altar with autumn fruits. Pour warm apple cider (or juice) and do three short toast rounds—1) to the nature spirits, 2) to their favorite teacher 3) to a personal goal.
Make it fun: Cut leaf-shaped paper “gratitude leaves.” Everyone writes one thing they’re thankful for and hangs it on a branch in a vase—your “harvest tree.”Bake a Jera Harvest Loaf & Share
What to do: Mix a simple bread or cornbread and score the Jera ᛄ rune (harvest/effort-to-reward) on top before baking. Offer the first slice outdoors with a few words of thanks, then share the rest at your feast.
Make it meaningful: Invite each person to name one skill they’ll practice this winterLandwight “Thank-You” Nature Walk
What to do: Take a short family walk to a favorite tree or garden spot. Build a tiny stone hörgr (little cairn) and offer a small, biodegradable gift: spring water, a home-baked bread bit, or a bundle of native grasses. Say thanks for shelter and food.
Eco-tips: Skip plastics, ribbons, and seeds of non-native plants. Leave the spot cleaner than you found it.Seed-Saving & Tool Blessing Station
What to do: Save seeds from your garden (beans, marigolds, sunflowers), label envelopes, and decorate with the runes Jera (harvest) and Fehu (abundance). Wipe and oil wooden tool handles; sharpen pruners together.
Ritual touch: Hold tools over the altar and speak a short blessing: “May these hands and tools bring peace and plenty—til árs ok friðar.”Build a Cozy Corner for Wildlife
What to do: Hang birdfeeders for the fall. Learn what backyard birds live in your region.
Learning moment: Talk about how leaf litter feeds soil life and helps native bees, moths, and beetles survive till spring.
How Can I Celebrate Haustblot?
Bonfires, dancing, feasting, and honoring the Gods were all important during the Haustblót celebration and things we can do as well.
Haustblot is often a very localized or regional celebration that differs on location. It is also seen as a time to have family get-togethers for a feast. Check out my sample feast and ritual below!
Seasonal Activities That Fit the Spirit of Haustblót
Think “gratitude + winter readiness + care for the living world.”
Harvest gratitude basket: donate garden surplus to a local pantry; include dried herbs or tea blends for winter wellness.
Seed saving & tool care: label seeds for spring; sharpen pruners; oil wooden handles.
Wildlife support: leave a brush pile or build a small hibernaculum for overwintering insects; clean nest boxes; set up a heated birdbath if your climate freezes.
Hearth skills: preserve apples, ferment kraut, or bake a barley loaf for Freyr.
Ancestor project: cook a family recipe; write a page about an elder who taught you something useful; add it to a household “book of kin.”
Community frith-work: host a potluck, mend-share, or seed swap; extend hospitality where it’s needed most.
A must for pagan families who celebrate Samhain!
Eat a Seasonal Feast
Check out your local farmers’ market or even your own garden to get some traditional fall foods. Squashes, apples, nuts, and root vegetables are all popular fall foods.
A fun family activity is to go to a pick-your-own farm and pick apples or fall pumpkins!
Foraging for wild edibles can bring you closer to nature and her cycles. This is a good time to look for wild fruits such as crab apples, walnuts, and pawpaws. Use a good guidebook such as The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: Finding, Identifying, and Cooking. Or take a class at your local extension office.
How to Celebrate: A Practical, Adaptable Rite
This is a simple ritual you can scale up or down. It keeps the heart of the historical pattern—gather, praise, offer, feast—while staying ethical and modern.
1) Prepare the space
Set a hörgr (stone altar) outdoors or a clean altar table inside.
Place seasonal offerings: bread, apples, root vegetables, a bundle of grain, honey, ale/cider/mead, and a bowl of clean water.
Add symbols of your focus: a sheaf for Freyr; family photos for the ancestors; a stone from your garden for the landvættir.
(Feasting, shared drink, and offerings are historically documented; we’re substituting respectful food/drink for animal sacrifice, as this is not legal or ethical in most areas)
2) Opening
Hallow the space with a brief spoken blessing and blowing the offering horn.
State your purpose: “We gather at the turn of the seasons to give thanks for the harvest and ask for a peaceful winter—til árs ok friðar.” Lift your mugs and take a drink.
3) Invocations
Call on Freyr (and any others you honor). Keep it conversational:
“Freyr, friend of fields and folk, we thank you for fruit and grain. Stand with us as we put food by, mend our tools, and share our table.”
Ancestors & local spirits: name those you wish to honor; invite the land itself to the feast.
4) Offerings
Pour a libation of ale/cider at the hörgr (altar) or into a dedicated bowl; set out bread, fruit, honey, or a portion of your meal. (Shared drink and communal meat/bread are central in the sources; adapt with plant-based foods if that suits your values.)
5) Sumbel (toasting round)
Three rounds work well:
Gods/Spirits: “Freyr, Lord of good years, green fields, and full barns—accept this cup and our work. May our tables be generous and our hands ready to help.”
Ancestors: “To those who fed us, taught us, and stood the winter before us. Sit with us again tonight.”
Oaths/Boasts/Promises: a practical, winter-ready pledge that you make to support your community human or animal (tend the bird feeders, volunteer at the food pantry).
6) Divination (optional)
A simple rune draw: “What should I focus on this winter?”
Historically, blót and divination are linked at various points in the literature, though methods vary. Keep it brief and grounded.
7) Feast
Share a locally sourced, seasonal meal. In older accounts, the meat from the sacrifice became the communal feast; today, the heart is the shared table.
8) Closing & giving back
Thank those invoked; return a portion of food/drink to the land (or compost).
Clean up thoroughly—leave the site better than you found it.
Get ready to forage! I give you 13 plants that are great to use in pagan rituals and witchcraft.
Taking Care of Your Animal Family
One of the things that our ancestors would have done during this time is to care for their livestock. Animals would have been brought down from summer grazing areas to be closer to shelter and safe from winter storms.
Taking care of your own pets during this time can honor that tradition. Make sure your four-legged friends (or no legs if you have snakes) are in good health and take them to the veterinarian for any needed care.
Bonfire
Do you have an outdoor fire pit? This is a great time of year to enjoy roasting marshmallows or dancing around the fire. Enjoy sitting outside on a cool fall evening and looking up at the stars.
Make sure your area is not under a fire advisory first.
The wild boar is one of the more powerful spirit animals. Learn more about them in my video.
Check out our Pagan Holiday Calendar to find other days to celebrate!
Author Erik Olsen, has a degree in Anthropology with a minor in Scandinavian Studies. He did a study abroad in Norway which allowed him to explore his heritage and immerse himself in some great living history.
Updated 8/10/25
