
22 Mar Where Holle dwells
We already mentioned Holle. But there are still some extra tidbits about Frau Holda, Holle. The benevolent Holle from central Europe reigns the sky and the weather—when she shakes out her feather bed it snows, when she does her washing it rains, the fluffy white clouds are her linen things put out to bleach, and the gray clouds are her weaving. Her name can even be associated with the meaning “kind, gracious”. The Dutch named the Milky Way after her—Vronelden straet (Vrou-elden-straat, “Frau Hulde’s street”) as one can read in the manuscript: De natuurkunde van het geheelal written by a monk from Ghent. It can be found by clicking this link: http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_nat001natu01_01/ – Vronelden Strate is also mentioned in the Teuthonista, a Low Rhine dictionary from 1477. In a way she’s like Frigg, a goddess of spinning, weaving, and other housewifely skills and helps people with smithwork and baking.
Holda is sometimes pictured with various attendants, including the spirits of the dead, particularly the souls of small children; night hags, enchantresses, Wodan’s Wild Hunt gang, women armed with sickles; and elves or dwarves, who snarl and soil the spinning if it is done at improper times. Holda is said to dwell in a cave or hollow mountain, where she keeps the souls of dead and unborn children. She can also be found in the woods or in wells and often appears near water, bathing or washing clothes. People can reach her realm by falling down wells, as described in the Grimms’ tale “Mother Holda.” Holda and Berchte, another similar deity, are particularly associated with the Yule season. They travel the country at this time, between the solstice and Twelfth Night, bestowing their blessings on the land and checking up on the housekeeping and spinning. If all is in order, they reward the virtuous worker with a fine new spindle or some particularly good flax. If the worker has been slothful and sloppy, they spoil and tangle all the thread. Holda has many traits later ascribed to Santa Claus or better Saint Nicholas; she punishes naughty children and rewards good ones, and travels about with her muffled servant, Holle-peter, or Ruprecht, like Saint Nicholas and his aide, Black Peter.
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Crows and Ravens in mythology
Crows are brought up in the mythology of countless cultures around the world as they are frequently characterised as guides for traveling between worlds. In European folklore, crows were said to convene courts, pass judgments, and also execute guilty members. Connected with the Goddess’s death aspect, crows came to be perceived as evil or simply fearsome. In medieval days, finding......
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Brigid, a history of a goddess full of mystery and magic
To fully grasp a Deity, you need to make an effort to understand the heritage and characteristics of the very first people to worship that Deity. Brigid originated in the pantheon of the Celtic people—the inhabitants of Ireland and the British Isles. Similar to Brigid, the history of these folks is mysterious and multifaceted. You can somewhat decipher what’s going......
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Holle & The Twelve Magical Nights of Yule
Frau Holle is connected to springs, wells and lakes, where she lives in a land on the bottom of the water. She is also connected with the fog. Holle can be seen as a bright shape drifting in the fog, and her fog maidens are “die Hollen”, who move over the land to come to the aid of women and......
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Where Holle dwells
We already mentioned Holle. But there are still some extra tidbits about Frau Holda, Holle. The benevolent Holle from central Europe reigns the sky and the weather—when she shakes out her feather bed it snows, when she does her washing it rains, the fluffy white clouds are her linen things put out to bleach, and the gray clouds are her......
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Holle’s kitten
Tidbits on the tale of Holle’s kitten. There is a mountain in Hessen, Germany called the Meissner where one still can find traces of the central German goddess Holle, Holda or Helja. It’s a place where her cult seems to have survived for a long time. There are roads going to the mountaintop and there are many hiking paths. Close......
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Holle: a nearly absolute power? A backstory
Holle: a nearly absolute power? A backstory Some tidbits about Holle Hella, Hel, known to all Germanic peoples, including the Goths as Hellarunester. A Gothic word for “witch” was Haljoruna. The name itself stems from a root meaning “to hide”. The word Hellirunar describes people who ‘rune’ (Speak, sing, whisper) with Hel/Helja, the goddess and realm of the underworld. “Hell”,......
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Finally the birds sing again
Every winged being is symbolic of spiritualization. Birds are very frequently used to symbolize human souls, some of the earliest examples being found in the art of ancient Egypt. The bird, according to Jung, is a beneficent animal representing spirits or angels, supernatural aid, thoughts and flights of fancy. Hindu tradition has it that birds represent the higher states of......
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Crossroad Rites & Ritual Sex Magick
TIDBITS – Crossroads Symbolism and mystical associations are common use and can be found everywhere … An old German tale about the knight von Falkenstein goes like this: At midday, Tiubel reigns over the free forest. The knight Heinrich von Falkenstein, wished “to glance at the dark world of the Hereafter”. A magician led him at midday to the crossroads,......
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