During FreeSpirit in the summer of 1999, about half a dozen Asatruar were treated to a Norse sweat courtesy of Ivo Dominguez. The protocol was based on the sumbel ceremony, and by all accounts was a truly powerful event - so much so that we wanted to do it again! On January 22nd, we got the opportunity to share in this experience once more, and the following is an account of my (Joe Mandato's) reflections on the event: My kinsman Larry and I drove through a few snow squalls on Friday night to get to Ivo's about 10:00PM. Ann (Medoburg Kindred), Bob (Ohio Kindred) and Bernhard (Thrudheim Kindred) had just arrived, and we stayed up for an hour or so talking with Ivo and three other members of his group (Mike and the two Jims). Our hosts were the absolute paragons of hospitality, and truly catered to our every need while we were there. Their warmth and generosity will long be remembered.
In the morning, Joe, Vicki and Amanda (from Gladsheim Kindred) arrived, followed by Cat (from Vingolf) and Mike and Denise from RKN. Now that everyone was there, we began the process of building the fire, which was a ritual in and of itself. We collected, and dedicated stones in the name of the nine worlds, the nine virtues, and the gods and spirits of the land. I dedicated stones to Jotunheim, self-reliance, Skadhi, Syn, and Thor (in my kinsman's Jon's name, who couldn't be there). After the stones were blessed, and placed on the platform of kindling and logs, and covered with yet more wood, the bonfire was lit, and the stones began to heat (which took about 2 hours). We later did a hallowing in the name of Thor and Sif, and eventually began the three round blot. The tradition of the sweat lodge dictates that experiences that occur inside the lodge are sacred, so I don't want to go into any detail about what happened inside. As the sweat itself ended, a few of us ran outside and lept and rolled around in the snow. THAT was fun :-). Despite the sub-freezing temperature, I didn't feel cold. I felt Skadhi close to me throughout the day, and I expect that had more than a little to do with it. In fact, I was actually so warm (even after the somersaults in the snow), that I couldn't even wear a t-shirt. After we were done frolicking in the snow, we clothed ourselves, and did a short blot to honor the spirit of the sauna, and bring closure to the ritual.
We had some great conversation as we were decompressing after the sweat, and were treated (again) to the hospitality of our hosts, and they fed us once again. A little later in the night, I cooked up some wild game (venison and boar), which, I thought, came out really well. After dinner (and a beer run), we basically all stayed up and conversed, until, one by one, we all trickled off to sleep.
In the morning we were (yup, you guessed it) fed like kings again, and talked for a few more hours before we regrettably had to say our goodbyes. The entire weekend was a tremendous experience, not only because we had the opportunity to be in a sweat again, but for the chance to meet and spend time with some truly great people. I look forward to spending time with them again!