Feast of Brewing. . .

The feast of brewing appears to be part of a folkloric process that started in Scandinavia inspired by a painter from 1915. Midvinterblot by Carl Larsson shows the sacrifice of a king to stave off a famine. The modern take on this is that Midvinerblot are celebrations of making sacrifices to ensure a plentiful gathering of food and prosperity for the coming rest of the year. Modern Druids often use beer in their ceremonies for this holiday.

Beer is an ancient beverage. it is one of the oldest drinks humans have produced. The first chemically confirmed barley beer dates back to the 5th millennium BC in modern-day Iran, and was recorded in the written history of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and spread throughout the world.

Over the centuries in Europe, beer making was the provence of monasteries and women. Until the 15th century in England, women could own business brewing their own ale. After that time period, professional guilds took over brewing and women lost access to this craft, much as has happened with other activities in human societies.

Druids believe that when Druids were part of society in Ireland and in Great Britain, while the women of a settlement or household would have taken on brewing for family and guests, brewing would also have been part of the Ovates’ responsibilities. Ovates are the prophets, seers, healer and diviners in the Druid world.

Assisting a local brewster with fermentation problems; advising on herbs for flavour or for health; creating medicinal beers and alcoholic tonics; and in the case of master-brewer Ovates, teaching refinements to the process—all would have fallen within the Ovates’ community remit. For the Druids alone, Ovates would have created the beers used as ceremonial drinks—inspirational, possibly psychotropic—or herbal beers drunk simply for fellowship amongst themselves.

Returning to the notion of a sacrifice to ensure good health and prosperity, we can see that the grain used in beer making and fermentation process could take the place of more macabre sacrifices such as Carl Larsson’s painting. In Wicca, it is understood that the grain sacrifice occurs at Lughnasadh and refers to the God himself allowing the sacrifice, so he can follow the mythic trope of dying and rising later in the year.

The notion of sacrifice is very ancient as well. The first altars were for sacrifice and it was believed that the gods liked the smoke or the parts of the animals that people didn’t want to eat, and the rest of the meat was shared with the community. Most modern people don’t really have a relationship to sacrifice as the ancients would have understood it. I think that may be a result of the Christian mythology where the death of Jesus is seen as the final sacrifice. Islam includes an entire religious holiday based on sacrifice honoring the story of Abraham who would willingly sacrifice his son because God told him to do so. Recall Islam means submission to God. Certain African diaspora religions still practice animal sacrifice. Could we not see our own BBQs as sacrifice and reclaim them as a spiritual practice?

A definition of sacrifice, as a religious rite is that an object is offered to a divinity in order to establish, maintain, or restore a right relationship of a human being to the sacred order. I believe for most Pagans, the right relationship to the sacred order is truly a mutual relationship with our concepts of deity. Offering beer to our divinities or imbibing beer in ritual, can loosen our consciousness to be more receptive to divine experiences or guidance. While I completely understand not everyone would feel comfortable using beer in ritual, for those who are interested, it could be a fascinating practice because beer itself has such deep roots. Even making a libation of beer could link us to our ancient ancestors, which can be a very visceral experience.

Currently, in my spiritual life, I am exploring Traditional Witchcraft which uses folklore heavily in constructing practice. As an Anthropologist, with a fascination with folklore and folkloric processes, Midvinterblot which came from an artist, now has a life of its own as a time to contemplate any sacrifices that might need to be made to ensure health and prosperity as the year advances. We might see those sacrifices as something we need to let go of, or something that needs to be given to the gods, or just sacrificing grain or other plants to create beer or other potions that elevate our consciousness into the divine realms for sustenance to meet the year’s challenges and thrive.