Freyfaxi, Ásatrú (date varies)

This feast day is held at a time between late July and late August and marks the the harvest in Iceland. (Some, but not all, sources place it precisely at Freysfest, ie what other European tradition calls Lughnasadh/Lammas, viz August 1, or its eve.) Dedicated to the god of the harvest, it is time for celebration with horse races and martial sports.

A blot (formerly, ‘blood sacrifice�? but now generally a more benign ritual) is held to the god Freyr (Frey) and his sister, the goddess Freya (Frigg). Also honoured at Freyfaxi may be Nerthus and Njörðr, Þórr and Sif and Farmatýr ('Cargo-God'<WBR>, one of the names of Óðinn (Odin). Their protection is sought over the fruits of the harvest during the coming darker half of the year. Frey especially is honoured as god of the green and fruitful months. Horses, too, are central to the Freyfaxi festival.

According to an old legend from Norse saga, Freyfaxi was a blue dun stallion belonging to the 10^th-Century Icelandic clan-chief Hrafnkel Freysgodi ...