The Way of the Warder(Class)

08 Jul, 2026

This is a free version of the class I developed for those called to become Warders, enjoy!

The Guardians and my Personal Creed

Warders: Who are they, and What do they do?

So you want to write Poetry like the Norse?

Syllabus

Welcome to “"The Way of the Warder”, an introduction to a not discussed enough sacred role in the esoteric community well as contemporary heathenry. The goal of this course is to introduce what it means to be a Ward or Warder, why the role is so important, and how to begin the practice of being the foremost guarantor of safety for our community by esoteric and pastoral care means.

Class Sessions Week 1: Welcome to the Class!

This week will introduce the participants to the course, each other, and to some key concepts that will guide the rest of the class. Lesson- What is a Ward, and what is our creed? Assignment-review the creed and think of discussion points or questions.

Week 2: Those in our charge

This will introduce participants to a variety of types of beings and things that can fall under a Wards care as their “Charge”. Assignment-To pick a topic that you have need, do need, or think someone may need support for and find a resource that can help with such-from the aspect of being a Ward taking care of their Charge. . It can be a help group, a phone hotline, website, book, etc. I want to see all the ways we can be inspired and educated to help others

Week 3: How do we provide guidance?

This week participants will discuss how best to utilize the resources that the class has brought in from last week, as well as other techniques brought forth in the lesson. Assignment-Participants will be asked to evaluate their own protective practices and altar, or non -altar setups in preparation for the next week's lesson.

Week 4: Protective Measures

This week will introduce participants will discuss what protective measures are, which ones make the most sense in a Warding context. Participants will also be introduced to the Skaldic poetry meters as another means for Warding. Assignment-Everyone is to compose a Warding spell whether in prose or poetry and an accompanying sigil or Bindrunes. The goal here is to really tap into yourselves and let that meld happen between yourself and the words and arts and see how that can transfer into your practice Book Recommendation: “By Rust of Nail, & Prick of Thorn” by Althea Sebastiani

Week 5: Trance States

This week will be a discussion of the different ecstatic states, how to facilitate and how to ground and cleanse after entering said state. Assignment- Final Project- Rubric is as follows The strategy questions answered what techniques are you going to have on deck that you think will be the most feasible spellwork and/or sigil work to help guide the ritual- so setting the space, defense against any deities or entity's not invoked, protection for attendees, how to remove a charge from attendance if they need help, and to close the ritual space after the ritual team closes it on their end. aftercare plan for attendees and yourself who is going to handle which steps? which one will be caster and which will be the watcher/aftercare

Week 6: Final Project and Conclusion

This week is purely for discussion on each participants final projects and to answer/ask any final questions anyone may, below is the midsummer ritual layout.

The Fellowship of Fire & Ice 2024 Midsummer Blót June 19th 2024 (4PM PT/5PM MT/6PM CT/7PM ET) Sunday June 30th, 2024 at (2:30PM PT/3:30PM MT/4:30PM CT/5:30PM ET)

Themes: The Midnight Sun, Dispelling lingering shadows, Illumination & Light

1. Welcome & Introducing the Blót (Lilith)
2. Invocation of Fire & Ice (Lia and Steven)
3. Skald (Steven)
4. Guided Meditation (Lys)
5. Blót (Lilith, Steven, Lys)
6. Divination (Lys)
7. Collective Chant (?)
8. Closing (Lilith)
9. Warding/Aftercare (Lia)

Welcome & Introducing the Blót

Hello, and welcome to our Midsummer Blót, we are so happy you can be here today as part of our community. If you've never attended a Blót before, it's similar in structure to other community or group based rituals you may have participated in the past.

I would like to take a moment to introduce the ritual team to you all. Today we have myself, (Lilith) as Gythia, Lys as Volur, Steven as Skald, and Lia as our Ward.

Our intentions here today are to recognize and honor Freyja and Freyr, the landvaettir, and the honored dead. We will begin the ritual by invoking Fire and Ice.

Invocation of Fire & Ice - Lia (Isa) & Steven (Kauna)

We invoke Fire & Ice through the chanting of the runes Isa (Ice [ᛁ]) and Kauna (Fire [ᚲ]). To join in the invocation, choose which rune you'd like to chant.

[Ritual Participants] chant the invocation. Please join in, chanting either of the two runes, with your microphones on if you choose.

With this invocation, we will move into our Skald retelling.

Skald (Steven)

Guided Meditation

Lys then leads a guided meditation.

Thank you all for joining us for this guided meditation. Please take a couple minutes to get comfortable in the present once again.

Blot

We will do three rounds and will invite you to join and offer a toast. Following a toast, we cry "Hail!" -- through audio or the chat -- to honor the toast that was made. Please share your own toasts in each round, by unmuting yourself or sharing them in the chat. We will read the invocations in the chat out loud as they come up. Our Blot rounds this evening will be as follows:

Round 1: Honoring the Gods Freyja and Freyr (Steven) Round 2: Honoring spirits and the landvaettir (Lys) Round 3: For the Honored Dead (Lilith)

I'll start round 1. We invite Freyja and Freyr to join us. (Steven)

Hail to Freyja and Freyr! Powers of Light and growth, vibrance and magic Hail to love and sex, fertility and sensuality Hail to what you grow in us and the world, where you lead us and what fruits we may look forward to inthe seasons to come.

Moving to round 2. We invite the spirits and the landvaettir to join us. (Lys)

Hail to the landvaettir! We invite you welcome to this celebration. Hail to those named and unnamed. Hail to those protecting nature and the Earth. Hail to those aiding us in our growth. Hail to those we do not understand or have forgotten. Hail and welcome to the wisdom and power of the landvaettir. Hail!

Moving to our final round, round 3. We invite the Honored Dead to join us (Lilith)

Hail to our beloved honored dead, And Hail to Hel who holds many of our ancestors in her embrace, Whichever hall you may inhabit,
We wish to call on you tonight, To celebrate this fiery summer and plentiful yield.

Now let us prepare ourselves to undergo this blót's divination.

Divination (Lys + Lia)

Thank you all for joining us for this divination. Please take a couple minutes to orient yourself and get comfortable.

Collective Ritual Chanting (Lia)

Now let's come together in a collective chant to bring our focus together towards closing this blót. We'll be chanting the following:

We'll start by listening to the chant in the first round and then joining in collectively. [Ritual Participant] will chant the first round, and you are welcome to join the chant in the second round.

Please join this chant with your microphones off.

I am a part of all that is All that is is part of me I belong here into this world I belong here all who I am

[YouTube Link]

Closing (Lilith)

As we bring this blót to a close today, we thank Freyja and Freyr; the vættir, land-wights who come alive as the sun returns; we thank our Honored Dead, and wish them well.

Afterword (Lilith)

Thank you all so much for joining us in this Midsummer Blót! As we come out of this charged space, remember to take a few good breaths to bring yourself back into your body, and center yourself once more in the rhythm of day to day life. Make sure to eat something substantial -- we burn a lot of energy doing this work, and concentrating for this long! -- and drink a large glass of water to rehydrate yourself.

We'll be keeping this zoom going for the next while to connect with you all, in this community we have continued to build here tonight. Welcome!

Recommended Books:

Ryan Smith: The Way of Fire and Ice, Spinning Wyrd

Althea Sebastiani: By Rust of Nail and Prick of Thorn

Irisanya Moon: Pagan Portals, The Norn

Laura Tempest Zakroff: Sigil Witchery, Visual Alchemy

Important Exercises: Creations of Ryan Smith

Understanding the Breath:

1. Begin by finding a quiet space where you can sit comfortably.

2. Close your eyes and breathe normally at a relaxed pace.

3. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. As you draw in your breath slowly count to nine. Your breath should begin at number one and finish at number nine.

4. Hold your breath for a slow count from number one to number nine.

5. When you have reached number nine while holding your breath begin to slowly exhale through your mouth counting down from number nine to number one. Begin breathing out on number nine and have completely emptied your lungs of air.

6. This process of breathing in to the count of nine, holding for the count of nine and breathing out to the count of nine is one breath cycle.

7. Begin a second breath cycle. On this cycle focus on how your lungs feel as they fill with air, hold breath and release it.

8. Now begin a third breath cycle. On this cycle focus on how your heartbeat feels during each stage of the cycle. Pay attention to what causes it to speed up and slow down.

9. If you need to repeat the second or third cycles to better observe how these parts of your body feel go right ahead. You should not rush ahead to the next step until you have a firm sense of what is taking place during each cycle. What matters is feeling and understanding the interactions between your breath, your heart and your lungs.

10. Once you are comfortable with what you are feeling during the second and third cycles begin a fourth breath cycle. In this cycle focus on how the rest of your body feels during each stage of the cycle. Do you feel tense during some moments and relaxed in others? How does it feel when your heart speeds up and slows down? Pay attention to what you sense during these moments.

11. You may repeat the fourth cycle as necessary.

12. The breath cycles of this exercise will be used in further exercises in this book to help you achieve a state of relaxation.

Spatial Awareness:

1. Begin by finding a place outdoors where you can sit in place without fear of being disturbed or made unsafe. Follow the steps of the breathing exercise outlined in Chapter One. Continue the breathing exercise until your heartbeat is calm and you feel at ease. Keep your eyes closed throughout the exercise.

2. Once your body is in this resting state focus on your hearing. Let your attention drift and take in everything around you. Let the sounds of the immediate environment fill your mind. Listen deeply, savoring every sound you can.

3. You can also do the same with your sight. If you choose this approach keep your eyes open and take in all the sights around you. Do not focus on any specific detail, item, or thing present but let your eyes take in everything around you. Let your vision drift without focusing on any specific thing. Regardless of which method you use once you have taken in your surroundings you are ready for the next step in this exercise.

4. You should now focus on seeking out four specific things with your senses. If you are using your ears then search for the quietist sound you can hear, the loudest sound you can hear, the furthest sound from you that you can hear, and the closest sound to you that you can hear. If you are using your eyes then look for the smallest thing you can see without moving your head or eyes, the largest thing, the closest thing, and the furthest thing.

5. Once you have found what you are seeking listen or watch for whatever is in their vicinity. Everything in the world moves in relationship with everything else, just as we all live in relationships with the spirits around us. Once you have determined the closest things to each of the four things you have observed you may return your focus to normal.

6. Take the time to reflect on what you have observed.

Engaging with the Sources:

1. For this exercise you will need to go to your local library. Go to the history section and pick out two books on the same subject.

2. Once you have selected these books there is some important information you will need to take down.

3. Look up both authors of the books you have checked out. Take note of their education, qualifications and prior work.

4. Open both books to the page with the publication information near the front cover. Write down the name of the publisher and the year it was published.

5. Next open the books to their tables of contents. Compare how they organize the information on the subject and what is emphasized.

6. Now that you have taken down all this information read both books. While you are reading them pay attention to how the subject is discussed by each author. Write down any significant differences and arguments made. This is especially important to focus on when both authors are discussing the same information, events and evidence.

7. After you have done this check out a primary source document discussed by both authors. Read it and compare what is said in the source to what the authors say about it. Take note of the differences and similarities in what they say.

8. Analyzing how the authors approach the same subject is just as important as the events they describe. When reading other works use a critical eye, pay attention to the claims made by the author and compare them to the claims made by others. True understanding of any material comes from analyzing the arguments of many different, credible perspectives.

Calming the Sea & Sky:

1. Begin with the breathing exercise outlined in Chapter One. Perform as many breath cycles as necessary to reach a relaxed state before beginning the next step.

2. Once you are relaxed close your eyes and visualize the open ocean with the sky above it. Let everything in your visualization begin to move on its own. Do not focus on creating waves, ripples from the wind or motion in the sky, simply let it happen in a way that feels most natural.

3. When you feel everything is moving on its own you may begin with the next element of this meditation. This part is a bit tricky to realize so take as much time as you need to get it right.

4. In the space you have visualized in your mind allow your feelings and stresses seep in to very specific spaces. Let your thinking, worries and concerns be reflected in the sky as stormy weather. The more occupied your mind is the more ferocious the storm in the sky should be.

5. As the sky becomes a mirror of your mind let your feelings, emotions and stresses manifest in the oceans. The size, speed and consistency of the waves and motion of the sea should match your distress, concerns and feelings.

6. Allow these elements of your visualization to manifest uncontrolled. Let the mirrors of sea and sky take shape on their own and do not force their conditions to match your expectations. What determines if what you are visualizing matches your internal state is when it feels most appropriate.

7. It is now time to part the storm and calm the seas. Feel what is driving the forces causing the storm. There may be one root cause or many. As you begin to process the causes of the storm allow this to change the vision. As your thoughts become clear let the clouds part and as you better understand your emotions let the seas calm. Continue this process until you are rewarded with a sunny sky, or if you prefer a starry night sky, and calm waters.

Reaching the Divine:

1.Begin with Understanding the Breath. Continue until you have reached a state of relaxed calm with steady heartbeat and breathing.

2.Start whispering the names and titles of the deity you are working with. Start with their name before continuing with their other titles. Once you have gotten through all the ones included go back to their name and repeat them all again. Go through this process at least three times.

3.As you whisper the names of the specific deity visualize their symbols in your mind. Start with the first that comes most easily to you and as you whisper more names visualize additional symbols.

4.As the symbols become clearer begin thinking about what that deity is associated with. Focus on what that means for you, how those associations make you feel and what ideas or images come to the surface as you do.

5.Let your mind drift. Sit in this unfocused space silently for as long as you feel comfortable doing so. When you feel the time is right open your eyes.

6.Write down everything you felt during this meditation. Pay particular attention to anything you didn’t expect or can’t easily explain. These moments of insight are the beginnings of when the Gods came directly to you.

7.As you practice this exercise more with the same deity your impressions and experiences will become clearer. This will make it more possible for you to build a reciprocal relationship with the Norse Gods.

Three Grounding Breaths

1.Begin by breathing in swiftly through your nose, feeling the breath travel down through your body to the ends of your fingers and the tips of your toes.

2.Breathe out swiftly from your mouth, feeling the rush of air as it leaves your body and empties your lungs.

3.Breathe in again through your nose, feeling the breath tickle the ends of your ears, the back of your neck, and the tip of your nose.

4.Breathe out swiftly from your mouth, expelling all of the air in your lungs in a measured, rapid fashion.

5.Breathe in one more time through your nose, feeling the breath fill you steadily as you open your eyes and take in the world around you.

6.Breathe out steadily through your mouth as you take in your surroundings with all of your senses.

Thank you-Instructor, Liagis Margfirar