A Ride With The Wild Hunt

This is a Mind Witching exercise which is particularly appropriate around the times when the Wild Hunt is said to be chasing across the sky, and Mid-Winter is one of those.
     There are many figures who are said to lead the Wild Hunt, and as this is a personal journey, you can decide which version suits you, your beliefs or your personality. So here are some examples:
     Herne the Hunter. Some say that Herne was a mortal hunter, a servant of the king, who hunted around Windsor Great Forest. Others believe he is a personification of the spirit of the hunt, the Horned God who can be both the hunter or take on the form of a great stag which all pursue.
     Diana, known as the Queen of the Witches is said to lead her band of Witches through the midnight skies. Or it could be the Queen of Faerie who leads the Seelie Court in a wild carouse across the skies, picking up mortals who take their fancy.
     Or is could be Odin, leading the riders through thick and thin, between the worlds on his grey, eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.
     Sometimes the leader is unknown, and instead it is a great shrieking mass of ghosts and spirits who sweep past. Or they could be lead by Arawn, the Celtic Lord of the Underworld, or even Death himself.
      Of course, with the Wild Hunt one can never be sure, and the reality may turn out far different than you had prepared for. There is also the old belief that if the Wild Hunt is called, they cannot leave without adding a member to their ranks....

     For this working it is traditional to start by lieing on your bed. Old accounts tell of people who appeared to be asleep in their beds yet afterwards told tales of fantastical flights to magical meetings, so this working will emulate those accounts.
     For a start you can light a candle or two and some incense (I like Frankincense for this), but these are optional, and (of course) if you have any candles lit, make sure they are safe and can cause no harm.
     Lie down and close your eyes. Create your magic circle around yourself. You can use a ritual you are familiar with, or simply imagine yourself within a blue bubble.
     When you are ready you will call the Wild Hunt.
     As a Witch, I shall describe this in a Witchy way, but your experience might be quite different.

Diana, Queen of Witches All

Hear, tonight, my spirit call,

Catch me up and take me high

On your wild ride through the sky!

    You can say this out loud, or in your head. You can repeat the incantation three times, then be ready!
     You may feel a breeze growing around you, a wind whipping up. Or you might feel a strange trembling or shaking, almost like an earthquake. Or you might simply suddenly find yourself whizzing through the air, like a leaf caught on the wind.
     Enjoy the sensation, look around you. You might see faces, you might see Witches, male and female, some flying, some riding animals, goats, horses, donkeys, geese or swans. You might see some on broomsticks, and others just dancing on the thin air.
     Below you there might be the bright, twinkling lights of a town or city, or you might be flying over dark countryside, with just the odd light to mark the sparce houses.
     You might be above or below the clouds. Perhaps you can see the Moon and stars, brighter than they have ever seemed before.
     You can tell from the way the clouds and the scenery whips past you, that you are travelling fast. You might recognise the landscape below you, the shape of a river or the turning of a road, or you might find that you are flying over wild moorland and heading for a rocky mountain ahead.
     At the head of this wild ride is a chariot or wagon drawn by two marvellous creatures which seem to change shape as you try to focus on them. Are they cats, or goats, or perhaps even unicorns?
     The woman in the chariot has long, dark hair and wears a cloak which streams out behind her. She directs the horde, raising an arm and pointing to the mountains before you.
     Suddenly you see a bonfire leap into life and all around are points of light, candles or torches.
     The whole crowd of Witches heads for the bonfire, dropping lightly to the ground like leaves or feathers and begin an intricate, twirling dance on the hillside. They hold hands in a long snaking line and you feel your hands caught as you are drawn into the dance.
     It feels so free and joyful. You can dance as wildly as you fancy, you will not get out of breath.
     Now the dancers wind around the bonfire, forming a circle which swirls around the fire,
    Then suddenly they stop.
     You find a goblet in your hand. Look into it, what magical wine does it hold? Will you taste it?
     As you gaze into the liquid, you realise the face of the Goddess is looking up at you. You glance up and find that She is standing right beside you.
     'My child, what do you need?' she asks
     Now is the time to make your petition. What magic help do you need? What would you like the Goddess to provide? What would you like to know?
     Make your wish known to the Goddess.
    She smiles. You have been heard.
     And as quietly as She came, the Goddess is gone.
     Do you wish to stay and talk to others at the meeting? Some will teach you magical skills, others may tell you stories, or show you visions. There may well be spirits of loved ones here, people you have missed, or who you would like to tell your news to.
     Eventually the meeting will fade. You may fall asleep, or you may simply realise that you are back in your own bed, safe and warm, content and relaxed.
     Remember to thank the Goddess for including you in Her wils ride and magical meeting. You can ask also that you be allowed to participate again.

    Merry Solstice!

Odin and the Runes

The story of Odin and the runes is a very magical one.

Odin was the chief of the Aesir, but his main quest and aspiration was always for knowledge. So he decided to try and learn the knowledge of the magical symbols known as the Runes. The story of what he did and what he learned is contained in an ancient poem known as Havamal, 'The Words of the High One' so this poem is not someone else's interpretation of what occurred, but Odin's own words.

Odin knew that he had to find the source of the runes and that he would have to pay for his knowledge. He chose to sacrifice himself by hanging himself on the world tree Yggdrasil:

I know that I hung on a windy tree
Nine long nights,
Wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
Myself to myself,
On that tree of which no man knows
From where its roots run.

Odin knows that only being prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice will give him any chance of learning the magical secrets of the runes. How many of us would think that knowledge was worth more than your own life?
As he hung on the tree Odin was poised between life and death:
They gave me no bread, they gave me no drink

The outcome could have gone either way, and as he hung in that in-between state, after nine days and nights of suffering suddenly he saw the runes appear below him, reflected in the waters of the well of Urd
I peered down below, took up the runes
Screaming I took them and fell back again.

The effort of getting the runes to reveal themselves to him was immense, and as he seized them, knew them, learnt their meanings, he fell from the tree with the runes in his grasp.

The next stanza reads like a shamanic spirit journey. Odins body so exhausted and damaged by his ordeal and the pain of wrenching himself from the tree has put his spirit outside his body, his body appears dead, but his spirit is learning still:
Nine lays of power I learned
From the famous Bolthor, Bestla's father
He poured me a draught of precious mead
Mixed with Odrerir

In other words, Odin journeys to the spirit worlds and there he learns directly from his own grandfather. Bolthor was an ice giant and his daughter Bestla is the mother of Odin. Bolthor aids his grandson by giving him a special draught of mead to speed his recovery from the ordeal

Well-being I won and wisdom too
I waxed and grew
From a word to a word I was led to a word
From a deed to another deed

So Odin returns from the spirit world, his soul returns to his body and he is not only alive, but stronger and wiser too. And he knows that what he has learnt will be knowledge he can and will put into action, not only words but deeds - from one deed to another.

Magic is not a theoretical subject.

It is all very well being able to memorise the meanings of tarot cards or the symbols of the runes, but they are NOTHING unless you use them.

You are not a magician/witch/shaman unless and until you take that step and USE your knowledge.

The Winter Shaman - Part 2

In 17th century Britain after the revolution, when Cromwell and the puritans came to power, Christmas and all its festivities were banned as Pagan and Heathen and nothing to do with christianity.

And he was so right.

Just about all the stories and traditions associated with Christmas and the birth of Christ are pinched from older religions, traditions and beliefs - or are downright fiction (lies).
For a start no one knows when and where Jesus was born. The story of the Roman census and the Holy Family having to travel to Bethlehem is a complete fiction. It was devised simply to make it appear that the birth of Jesus fulfilled a prophesy by Isiah.
The date of Christmas, the 25th of December, and many of the details surrounding the birth, such as being born in a stable (cave) between the ox and the ass, and the cry 'The bridegroom cometh!' were all lifted straight from the myths of Mithras, the chief rival religion to christianity in early Rome. Some scholars argue that it was sheer fluke that christianity was chosen as the state religion of Rome rather than Mithraism.
Decorating the home with evergreens around the Winter Solstice was another tradition that goes back to ancient Rome and the fun and games of Saturnalia. As does the tradition of masters and servants swapping positions - still seen to a lesser extent in the modern office christmas party.

So let us have a look at the character and attributes of the mysterious Gift Bringer.

For a start - why mysterious?

Part of the magic of the Gift Bringer is that they are not seen to be giving the gifts. They give anonymously, the only sign that they have been are the gifts they leave.
St Nicholas hid outside the house and threw money either through an open window, or down the chimney. By good luck (or magic) these coin bags fell either into the shoes or stockings of the young women they were intended for. Father Christmas also enters the house down the chimney and leaves gifts in socks and stockings.
I remember as a child asking how Father Christmas could get into houses which had no chimney. But his magical nature means that despite his apparent size he can enter homes even through the smallest keyhole.
St Nicholas travels on his white horse, while Father Christmas and Santa Claus have a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Many of the ancient gods have chariots or mounts which fly across the sky, from Ra in his boat to Apollo, Athene and of course Freya in her chariot drawn by cats, and Odin on his eight legged horse Sleipnir.

Another of the attributes of the Gift Bringer is that magically they know exactly what gifts to bring. Almost as if they know the receiver intimately.
Over the last 100 years or so, it has become popular for children to write letters to Father Christmas telling him exactly what they would like to receive (letters read with great interest by their parents). These letters are merely a modern manifestation of an ancient tradition: petitioning a deity, saint or spirit for special help or wishes.

So why call the Gift Bringer 'the Winter Shaman'?
Because many of the attributes of the Gift Bringer are also attributes of a tribal or divine shaman - and the supreme shaman in the Northern Tradition is Odin or Woden.

The Shaman is one who can pass between the worlds of men and spirits carrying messages and bringing back gifts. Odin hung as dead for three days on the world tree and returned to life bringing the gift of the knowledge of the runes. He was known also to journey vast distances in the spirit world in the blink of an eye, while appearing to sleep as if dead.

The reindeer are a creature of the cold northern lands used for transport and to pull sleighs for thousands of years. Why should Father Christmas use reindeer, a creature which has been extinct in the British Isles since before the Romans came? The roots of this attribute certainly go back into the mists of our Pagan ancestors beliefs.
The white horse of St Nicholas echoes the mount of Odin, his grey Sleipnir, swifter than any other mount and able to ride through thick and thin, between the worlds and through the Winter sky, calling the Wild Hunt to follow (the Wild Hunt also rides the night sky around the Solstice).

The green of his coat is the colour of evergreen plants, reminding the world that life continues and the world will bloom again. He wears fur because it is practical in the cold north and he is a hunter and shaman who has respect for the spirits of the animals killed.

He brings gifts which appear magically, and is never seen because he is in spirit form.

He is the servant of the community, doing their work as he passes between the worlds, through matter and spirit, down chimneys and through key holes.

Bringing fun and merriment:
                                                And a Merry Solstice to all !