Walpurgisnacht, or Witches’ Night

Walpurgis Night- observed on April 30th in Germany, Czech Republic, Finland, Estonia, Sweden and elsewhere.  A night when children light candles and play tricks on their neighbors.  A night in which Catholics honor Saint Walpurga.

Celebrated by modern day pagans as the night of witches.

“Walpurgis Night was when, according to the belief of millions of people, the devil was abroad—when the graves were opened and the dead came forth and walked. When all evil things of earth and air and water held revel.” ~ Bram Stoker, “Dracula’s Guest”

“WILD HUNT (Ger. wilde or wüthende jagd; also wildes or witthendet heer, wild or maddening host; nachtjäger, night huntsman, etc.), the name given by the German people to a fancied noise sometimes heard in the air at night, as of a host of spirits rushing along over woods, fields, and villages, accompanied by the shouting of huntsmen and the baying of dogs.” from 1900 The International Cyclopaedia: A Compendium of Human Knowledge, Volume 15.

Occuring exactly six months after Samhain, Walpurgisnacht is considered to be, the “other Halloween”, as it is also a time when the veil opens between the worlds of the living and the dead. It is on this eve that German witches were said to meet upon the Brocken.  This, the highest of the Harz mountains,  famous for casting enormous shadows of a person into the mists below.   There they would pay honor to their “devil” and celebrate the coming of spring. It is also on this night that the Wild Hunt ends. The collected souls, taken by the Goddess Holda into the earth so they may be reborn.

it is a time for speaking to those on the otherside.  Of divination and magic.  Of daring a glimpse into the dark.

Walpurgisnacht- A lovely time to call upon Hecate as she has also long been associated with the Wild Hunt.  Roaming the nights with her sacred black dogs.  Goddess of the crossroads, the moon, sorcery, and ghosts. She who rules in the underworld, earth, and heaven.  She, Queen of the Witches.

Goethe’s Faust: “To the Brocken the witches ride…” (“Die Hexen zu dem Brocken ziehn…”)

Tarot Thoughts: My Card

Some time ago, the lovely Digital Dame introduced me to the Bohemian Gothic Tarot.  An act that I’m eternally grateful for as this deck has inspired,and continues to inspire dozens of rich story ideas.  But despite the fact that I’ve also used it for divination with very good results, I haven’t truly studied it.  Deciding it was time to change that, I took out the deck and wondered about the fun ways I could get more intuned with it.

Favorite card?  Too many.  This deck is a whirl of rich colors and imagery.

The card that says, “me”.  That is what i shall discern first, I decided.  My significator, if you will.

The Strength card?

While the black-winged demoness atop the lion appeals to the part of me which embraces the wild, animal side in all of us, I couldn’t say that was me me.

The Queen of Swords?

isn’t she as cool as the Norse hell?  But as much as I love learning, and hopefully accumulating wisdom, I couldn’t say I was her, either.

I continued through the deck.  All along having a feeling who it would be, for it was her face which had first drawn me in.

What did i see?  A woman full of lust and life.  Gazing with delight at the moon.  Full of dreams.  Water symbolized by the cup and by the blood wine.  Yet the red velvet dress speaks of fire; so while this woman is touched by the moon, she does not get lost in reverie.  She has the passion, strength, and fortitude to make things happen.

That my astrological self is made of fire and water may come as little surprise.

I opened the booklet that came with the deck.

7 of Cups: “Daydreams- both realistic and fantastical.   Hopes, ambitions, possibilities- some feasible, others not.

Shadow meaning:  “self-aggrandisement.  Lunacy- becoming moonstruck and delusional.”

– Which card, may I ask, is *you* ? And does your significator stay the same through different decks, or are you inexplicably drawn to a certain card in a certain deck?