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Alfablot: A Private Rite for the Ancestors and the Hidden Ones
When: Late autumn (timing varied by household)
Meaning: Honoring the alfar ancestral spirits and powers of fertility, luck, and prosperity
Alfablot, literally “sacrifice to the elves,” was not a great public feast but an intimate and secretive rite, carried out at the homestead. The skald Sigvatr Þordarson’s poem Austrfararvisur tells us outsiders were not welcome he was even turned away from door to door while traveling during the season of the blot.
Traditions of Alfablot
Led by Women: Sources hint that the lady of the household often presided over the offerings.
Ancestral Spirits: The alfar were closely tied to the dead and to the family’s luck (hamingja), ensuring fertility of land and kin.
Offerings: Ale, food, and other sacrifices were shared with the unseen guests.
While autumn is the best attested time, other sagas such as Kormaks saga show that sacrifices to the elves could also be made at need, such as to bring healing or aid in hardship.
The hush around Alfablot marks it as a deeply personal and spiritual rite, meant to strengthen the bond between the household and its ancestors, ensuring blessings for the year to come.