Vanir Funeral Prayer
The worlds turn around the Tree,
As time turns around us,
Spring to summer, summer to autumn,
Autumn to winter, winter again to spring,
And we accept the cycle of life
Into our hearts, into our bodies, into our lives.
Ingvi Frey, Golden One whom we mourn each summer
As the waving golden heads of wheat go down,
And you go down as well, for your yearly journey
Into death. Comfort us in our grief and pain,
And bless this soul whose life we celebrate,
And who we send into the golden eternity
Of the sacred land that gave you birth.
Nerthus, Veiled Queen whose glance is fated,
Giver of the autumn fruits, we accept your law
That all seasons must turn, and all must be cut down
In time. Reaper of the harvest, we bow to the scythe
Even as we shed tears for the body that will go
Into the devouring earth forever. Open the boundaries
Of your land, and may the soul we sing to you
See all seasons turn there, and be at peace.
Goodfather Njord, winter has come to our hearts
As we sing the loss of one we love. May his soul sail
On your ship across the ocean to the Green World,
Navigating safely between the ice floes,
As our mourning song keens like the wind
And frosty winds speed our beloved on their way.
Keep them safe, guard them well, until their feet
Step upon the greenest shore of all.
Freya, Green Maiden, Lady of Spring,
Never let us forget that newness comes again,
Never let us forget that there will be joy again,
Never let us forget that the parting of friends
Is but a short time, though it seem long to us,
And we shall meet again someday among new growth
And green seedlings that spring forth
From the barren ground, from the fertile Earth.
Hail to the Keepers of the Seasons,
Hail to the Keepers of the Earth,
Hail to the Green World from whence our world
Takes sacred fertility and sacred cycle.
We accept that turning round
Into our hearts, into our bodies, into our lives.