This is the guide to Symbel/Sumble:

It is a Heathen drinking ritual based on accounts of feasting practices : Want a quick explanation?  TLDR

Was Symbel an actual ritual?

In Pre-Christian times, we don't have evidence of Symbel being a particularly religious ritual. It was a custom at Blot, and usually at the feast that followed, that a cup was passed around from guest to guest. The guest was encouraged to offer a toast, a song, or a story. Sometimes this story took the form of "boasting" about their accolades to establish their identity.
Whether or not a symbel was anything special or included all the elements we do today is based more on our interpretation of heroic literature and not some ancient rulebook that someone found chiseled into the side of a Danish cave.

How does Symbel work?

Heathens pass a drinking vessel (usually a horn but it can just as well be a nice cup) between one another, say something, take a drink, and pass it again. There are three formal rounds to start, but a good Symbel can go for many informal rounds late into the night. 

At the end of a round, whatever is left in the vessel is poured into a bowl. That remainder is then poured out as an offering.

This tradition almost invariably comes at the end of the night, after the Blot, either during the Feast or after everyone has finished eating and moves to a different place to get to drinking.

Note on the passing of the drinking vessel
Predictably in the Norse Pagan world, there are a few schools of thought as to how to pass the drinking vessel, but there are two main ones.

Those that pass the horn from person to person
Those who designate a single person to bear the horn from person to person
The first method you'll see a lot more commonly, but the second you will see if you ever enter into symble with a group that derives their tradition from Theodisc belief.

Symbel traditionally has three rounds
First Round: To the Gods
Second Round: To Ancestors and Heroes
Third Round: Open Round

You don't have to do it this way, this is just the way that you'll most commonly see out there in the Heathen world when you're going around to different rituals. 

What do you Drink for Symbel?

Typically, alcohol is consumed during Symbel, and here are the most common kinds listed from most common to least common

Mead
Beer
Wine
Cider
Spirits like Vodka, Tequila, or Rum are never used in Symbel. They are far too potent!

You can also use something else besides alcohol. Alcohol is merely traditional because fermented beverages were far more commonly consumed in Medieval times due to water generally being unsanitary and the fact that fruit juices and milk didn't preserve well. 

Thankfully, nowadays, we have a lot of different non-alcoholic drinks to choose from. We suggest a sweet drink for the delight of guests. Of course, take into account dietary restrictions like lactose intolerance and diabetes in your calculations.

Fruit Juice (apple or grape is typical but if you want to get fancy and wow your guests you can have mango, lychee, or tamarind)
Sweetened Milk (You can mix sweetened condensed milk or dissolve some honey in milk or make something like Egg Nog or Horchata to surprise your guests)
 Get creative! You're not operating within the realm of tradition here, so the only goal is to delight God and guests alike. 
"But My Ancestors would not have drank that!"
You'll hear from some circles that we want to stick as closely to "tradition" as possible when it comes to Symble. I say "tradition" in quotes because the fact is, we don't know that Symbel was a ritual for one thing. For another thing, we don't know if the beverage was important. 

The fact of the matter is, Symbel is not a ritual for the Gods. It is a ritual for us, the community. Symble, like the Feast, is a time for us to be together in fellowship and enjoy the good things life has to offer. In that spirit, and the spirit of Hospitality, you should always fill your cup with what you think is going to delight your Guests. 

In all likelihood, your ancestors would have loved Horchata. They just never got the chance to drink it.

The Rounds of Symbel

There are three first "formal" rounds. After these three, Symbel gets a bit less formal and more fun.

It's considered bad form to leave during the first three rounds, but not afterward. Unless it's for an emergency.

It's important to listen more than you speak during Symbel. Some people like to hold court or "Bogart the Horn" and you don't have to be that person. Sometimes the stories people tell during their toasts are quite interesting or very emotional.

Round One: to the Gods

This is where we typically offer a toast to the Gods in general, or to one God in particular. Here's some helpful stuff that I wish I knew when I went to my first Symbel.

The most correct thing to do here is to simply offer a toast to the God who was just the subject of the offering.

If the offering was to Freyr Yngve, then it's always in good taste to offer a toast to the Lord of Peace Himself. Toasts to other Gods can be tricky, especially if it's a deity that others do not recognize or that the Host may be openly hostile to.

The great thing about being a polytheist isn't that we have a lot of Gods, but that we have allowed for a lot of different kinds of religious experiences. But sometimes, those can come into conflict. We want to avoid that conflict in Symbel. 

You might feel like you need some kind of encyclopedic knowledge of the Gods and their relations before you can speak. You don't.

Just a simple toast to the God you just offered to will be just fine. Or silence. Silence is always in good taste.

Round Two: to Ancestors and Heroes

This round we offer to our Ancestors in general, or to a specific Ancestor we want to remember. Or, if not an Ancestor, about a Hero we have. Don't think that this has to be some kind of Mythic Hero of Germanic Lore. This could be anyone whom you feel is a particularly strong example of something you admire.

Heroes can be tricky because often we can have heroes who are famous for their political implications. For example, if you want to hail Napoleon Bonaparte, a French person might think that's dandy whereas almost anyone else would say not. So be careful about navigating those controversies and always ask your Host if you have any questions about whether or not a name would be acceptable.

This is a particularly emotional round for many of us because many of us are remembering the nearly departed--friends or family who have only recently passed on.

This is the round where you are most likely to see tears and hear very strong emotions.

If that's not something you're comfortable with, of course, you don't have to participate. But if you do stay, please be sure to give the people speaking the space they need to go through whatever they need to go through. The very act of holding that space for someone to speak about their grief is itself a great service.

Many Heathens consider it very bad luck to toast to someone who is still alive in Round Two. Some take this more seriously than others and will make you retract your toast, lest you inadvertently put a wish for someone's death into the Well of Wyrd!

If you are unsure of whom to raise a toast to, you can always stay silent or you can make your toast to whomever the Host toasted.

Round Three: Open Round

This is the open round where you get to give a toast to whomever you like. This is typically the time when people feel that they should make an Oath, a personal boast, or tell a funny story about a friend. One way to think of it is that Round Two is for the Dead whereas Round Three is for the Living.

This is where you toast to the living. And the best toast you can make is, predictably, to the Host. Wish them good health and wealth until you meet again. 

Once again, you do not need to say anything at all. But if you feel so inclined, this is a good time to thank your Host for a great time.

What do I say during Symbel?

You can always say nothing.
This is critically important. During any round and for whatever reason, you can choose to say nothing at all. You can simply close your eyes, bow your head, raise the horn, and take a drink (or kiss the drinking vessel). There are Heathens out there who can make that simple gesture more powerful than any words.

Sometimes you may be thinking of someone to toast who has recently died, and you find yourself overcome with emotion and you can't speak. Or perhaps something particularly wonderful happened and you just can't seem to speak to how grateful you are, you simply feel it. You need not steel yourself for a speech! The most fitting tribute to that feeling is to simply let it be in silence, and not try to force it down so that you can speak.

This isn't Lokasenna and it isn't your opportunity to hold court
In the first three rounds of Symbel, it's important to be polite to your Host or your Guests. You may feel like you are the center of attention and you may (like many in the Pagan community) love the spotlight, but remember: this ritual is not for you. It is for the community. You are part of the community, not the center of it.

This is not the time to bring up gripes, air your grievances or hold court on an issue. This is a time for gratitude, reflection, and most especially empathy. 

You should be listening far more to what others say than thinking of what kind of brilliant thing you are going to say when your turn at the horn comes. 

Oaths During Symbel

Do I have to make an oath during Symbel?
Some Heathens impart a very mystical meaning to Symbel: the words we speak over the horn are carried directly to the well of Wyrd (Urd) and thus words spoken when sitting in Symbel have particular significance. Many of those folks believe that is an ideal time to make a particularly important oath.

But the truth is, you can make an oath at any time, given that there's someone to hear it that you respect enough to hold you accountable to it. It just so happens that you're usually sitting in Symbel with people that you respect and love, so that's as good a time as any if you want to make any kind of oath.

That being said, it's generally considered impolite to make an unannounced oath during Symbel
Declaring that you're making an oath in Symbel is a bit like making a wedding proposal in the middle of a baseball game. Some people appreciate it, some people don't. And the person you need to care the most about here is the Host. If the Host says "No oaths, please" then it's considered a very bad form to make one.

It's best to ask beforehand and get consent and general agreement (especially from the Host) before you go an oath all over the place.

We will have another article on Oaths specifically later on but for now we are just talking about the etiquette concerning oaths spoken at Symbel.

What Happens Next? The later rounds of Symbel and the Value of Heathen Friendship
Well, now that you've got a few drinks in us...

Normally now Symbel starts to break up into smaller and smaller groups. Sometimes the remaining group gets rowdy, sometimes they get very serious and thoughtful.

This is also where community safety becomes really important. Because we can't have these great moments in later rounds without the assumption of safety. If you don't feel comfortable staying or are getting a bad feeling, you can say "imma head out." 

You should also remember, alcohol and driving don't mix. Don't jump up from a symbel and hit the road. If you drank booze it doesn't matter if it was in a ritual or not. It's going to be in your system all the same. Make sure you're not going anywhere for a while.

But if you've got a good feeling, you're not going anywhere and that trust in community safety is there, then drink on! 

The great thing about sitting in Symbel is that if you stay long enough, you'll have made friends for life. Almost guaranteed. No Heathen ever forgets people they sat in a long Symbel with when it was just down to the last ten, or five, or even just two people.

Even though you could be four or five sheets to the wind, get dragged off to bed at 5 in the morning, and sick with the worst hangover of your life (mead hangovers are the absolute worst, bet), those later rounds can be treasured memories that you wouldn't trade for anything.

 

TLDR:

Symbel or Sumble is a drinking ritual based on accounts of feasting practices in pre-Christian times. It is not known whether it was a religious ritual or a custom at Blot, where a cup was passed around from guest to guest during the feast that followed. The guest was encouraged to offer a toast, song, or story, sometimes taking the form of "boasting" to establish their identity. Symbel involves passing a drinking vessel (usually a horn) between one another, saying something, taking a drink, and passing it again. Typically, alcohol is consumed during Symbel, and mead, beer, wine, and cider are the most common types of alcohol used. There are three formal rounds: the first to the Gods, the second to Ancestors and Heroes, and the third is an open round. Symbel is a community ritual and a time for fellowship to enjoy the good things life has to offer. In the spirit of hospitality, one should fill their cup with what they think is going to delight their guests. There are two main methods of passing the drinking vessel: passing from person to person or designating a single person to bear the horn from person to person