Walpurgisnacht, the Second Halloween

“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”

Walpurgis night, or as it’s often referred to in its German form, Walpurgisnacht is the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurgis, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Walpurgis Night falls on April 30th and is a traditional holiday celebrated in northern Europe and Scandinavia. 

It may surprise you to know this festival has little to do with either Saint Walpurga or Christianity. The origins of this festival may be found in the period before the arrival of Christianity in northern Europe. 

Instead, it is a spring celebration with striking similarities to Halloween. Walpurgisnacht, falls exactly six months from All Hallow’s Eve, or Samhain.

As the festival falls during the period when spring arrived, the pagans conducted rituals to welcome spring and ensure the fertility of the land.

Many of the ancient cultures divided the year into just two seasons, summer and winter. The dividing line between the two seasons were Beltane and Samhain, with Beltane being one of eight solar Sabbats in the pagan calendar, its date based on the sun.

For some reason, Walpurgis Night is also associated with witches..

Picture: “Walpurgisnacht. Der Aufbruch der Hexen” (Walpurgis Night. The Departure of the Witches) (1878) by Luis Ricardo Falero.

Hexennacht – Witches Night

Many practitioners of the magickal arts believe that Walpurgis Night is a great time for powerful ritual spell work. It’s considered a day that equals Samhain; when the barrier between the worlds is thin and easily crossed. Witches and sorcerers were more powerful on this night than any other night except Samhain. 

In Britain, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, Beltane often begins at sunset on April 30 and continues through May day. 

Since the medieval era at least, it was believed that the night before Beltane equals Samhain; when the barrier between the worlds is thin and easily crossed. The night would be filled with ghosts of the dead, fairies, shapeshifters, lesser demons, and all sorts of feral magical beings, and in regards to Walpurgis, witches were at their most powerful.

Many practitioners of the magickal arts believe that Walpurgis Night is a great time for powerful ritual spell work.

"Witches, warlocks, and wizards gather for the Great Sabbath of the year. Some fly to the meeting places on their brooms or forks, others turn themselves into cats, goats, horses, and toads for the journey, some leave their bodies and attend the meeting in spirit, while others cover their bodies with a secret ointment to grow bat wings so they can fly to the gathering. In their place, they leave a vicarium daemonem, their demonic double. It doesn’t matter which method is used for traveling, as long as the meeting is honored by everyone’s presence.

They gather just before midnight at crossroads, mountain tops, and in forests, they light a roaring bonfire which they jump through and dance around, until their Horned God arrives in their middle and the true Night of the Witches begins!"

In German folklore it is said that witches from all over the land would gather for a great sabbath on top of the Brocken (also known as the Blocksberg), the highest peak of the Harz mountain range. Although not tall by Alpine standards, the peak stays very cold and is shrouded by mist and fog most of the time. The surrounding land is inhospitable with gnarly trees and strange moss-covered rock formations which have been given foreboding names such as Devil’s Pulpit or the Witch’s Altar. 

According to writings from the 16th and 17th century, witches were purported to hold a large gatherings on Walpurgis Night. This notion was first recorded during the 17th century in Johannes Präetorius’, The Blocksberg Performance, a tome about the history and geography of the mountain and the region. It was, however, during the 19th and 20th century that the witches’ sabbath on the Brocken became popular in art and literature, most notably in Goethe’s well-known play Faust.

Picture: Lewis Morrison as "Mephistopheles" in Faust! – "The Brocken". Poster for a theatrical performance of Goethe's play showing Mephistopheles conjuring supernatural creatures on the German mountain, the Brocken (or Blocksberg), which according to the tale is the scenery for the Walpurgis night, from 30 April to 1 May. 

Walpurgisnacht Traditions Around The World

Throughout Europe and the United States, Walpurgis Night is still celebrated. One common tradition seen everywhere is a bonfire. It was considered good luck to burn anything no longer useful on Walpurgisnacht fires. In many cultures, small scarecrow-looking dolls are made during the day and ritually imbued with all the back luck and ill will of the past year. They are then tossed on the Walpurgis bonfires that night along with worn-out, burnable household items.  Also, the arts of the cunning women, or wise women of the forest were especially potent during this time. Their magic often revolved around love, sexuality and fertility.

In Sweden, it seems as if the entire nation is ablaze to celebrate Valborg. Across the country, citizens gather around massive community bonfires to sing welcoming songs to Spring. As the night goes on, there will be drinking, dancing, and even fireworks. One old custom, though no longer popular, would send the children into the woods to collected branches of greenery to decorate the village houses.

In Finland, the holiday is called Vappu and people have picnics and drink homemade mead during the day, but can be seen running through the streets at night wearing masks, drinking, and screaming as loud as they can. The Finns borrow heavily from the Germanic tradition of celebrating witches. It’s one of the four biggest Finnish holidays and is the biggest carnival day of the year.

Germans often leave out a piece of bread spread with butter and honey called an Ankenschnitt. This offering is left outside to appease the phantom hounds and to order to protect people from bad weather or bad harvests. They also celebrate around great bonfires and some of the youth are known to play pranks similar to the “tricks” played at Halloween.

In Bavaria, Walpurgis Night is known as a Freinacht or Drudennacht. Young people roam the neighborhoods pulling mischievous pranks, such as wrapping cars or trees in toilet paper.

Estonia refers to the holiday as Volbriöö, and celebrates witches. It precedes Kevadpüha, the day which marks the arrival of spring. Volbriöö still sees carnivals, celebration and drinking, often with people dressed as traditional witches.

In the Czech Republic, Walpurgis Night is known as Pálení čarodějnic, which translates to the “burning of the witches” in English. Witches made of rags and straw are burned in bonfires amidst plenty of drinking. Whenever a burst of black smoke is emitted from the blaze, a cheer goes up as the witch is said to have flown away.

In America, most pagans gravitate toward celebrating Beltane as it has a broader meaning. There are still some covens who use Walpurgis Night for serious spell work or other magickal rites.

Also read:

• Krampusnacht will give you the Christmas of your nightmares

Imbolc, Midwinter Festival of the Goddess's Light

February 1st is one of the great cross-quarter days which make up the Wheel of the Year. It falls midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and, in many traditions, including Celtic, is considered the beginning of Spring.

Imbolc means “in the belly”. This refers to the pregnant ewes who are about to birth their lambs, but can also refer to the Goddess, as in “in the belly of the Mother”, for in the womb of Mother Earth, even though it may to be apparent to us yet, there are stirrings. The seeds are just beneath the surface, ready to sprout; this is a time of quickening and new growth. Imbolc does not bring dramatic change from the apparent death of Winter-the trees do not burst into blossom overnight, leaves do not immediately sprout from the branches, plants and flowers do not instantly carpet the earth. This is a very mysterious time-growth is gradual and seeds lie hidden in the earth, slowly pushing the first shoots up through the soil and yet all still appears lifeless.

In Western Europe, this was the time for preparing the fields for the first planting. 

The other name for this festival is “Oimelc” meaning “ewe’s milk” in reference to the lactating ewes. For our ancestors, the lambing season was another sign that Winter was combing to an end. The gamboling lambs seemed to herald the warmer days to come. 

Imbolc is a celebration of newness-the promise of fertility new life and new hope. Imbolc is the festival that celebrates the transformation of the Goddess from the dark Crone of Winter to the radiant Virgin of Spring. The ground is awakening and the seed is placed in the belly of the earth. The promises of the return of the light and the renewal of life, which were made at the Winter Solstice, are now becoming manifest. It’s the dawn of the year. It is time to creep out of Winter hibernation; it’s the time of germination. This is also a traditional time for new beginnings, a time of initiations and taking a new name.

In the Christian calendar the day after Imbolc, February 2nd, is designated the Feast of Purification, when Mary went to the temple to be ritually cleansed after giving birth. According to Hebrew tradition, all new mothers had to be “purified” forty days after the birth of a male child (eighty days after the birth of a female child). When Mary attended the temple and presented her new baby, she met the aged holy man, Simeon, who prophesied that the infant would become “a light for revelation”. In memory of this prophecy, candles are blessed in church on this day. There is a candlelit procession and candlelit services are held, giving rise to the feast name of Candlemas.

This, of course, has a Pagan origin, like many Christian celebrations. In ancient Rome, a similar rite at this time of year honored the Goddess Juno Februata. It was Juno who generated the ‘febris’ (Latin for fever and the origin of this month’s name) of love and on this day her worshippers carried burning candles.

February 1st is the feast day of Brigid, who began her life as a Pagan Goddess and ended up a Christian saint. Her name originates from the Gaelic words Breo-Saighit, which means fiery or flaming arrow. The Church of Rome could not hope to extinguish her flame, so they attempted to control and contain it by creating a saint in her image, changing the name to Bridget. Some church scholars say there never really was a Saint Bridget, but because the Catholic Church couldn’t very easily call the Great Goddess of Ireland a demon, they canonized her instead. In her temple at Kildare, nineteen priestesses tended an eternal fire-an inextinguishable flame. It is said that on the twentieth day, the flame was left to burn by itself, though some say Brigid attended it herself.

On her feast day, beginning at sunset on February 1st and ending at sunset on February 2nd, her statue was washed in the sea-for purification-and then carried in a cart through the fields surrounded by candles. Sacred fires were lit, since she symbolized the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the forge and the fire of poetic inspiration. Brigid is the protector and preserver of all memory and knowledge-she is also called Brigit, Brid or Bride. Her role is that of teacher and magical instructor and she empowers her students with wisdom and knowledge to nurture the land, keeping it safe and productive and for the good of all.

Brigid is a Goddess of Fire, Creativity and Fertility. She is known as the Goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing. She is patroness of inspiration and midwifery. 

In Britain, there are many sacred wells and many of them are dedicated to Brigid. The water in these wells contain healing minerals and people tie ribbons to nearby bushes and trees so that they flutter in the wind like prayer flags. As the cloth is torn to rags by the wind, sun and rain, illness falls away too.

One of the nicest folk customs still practiced in many countries is to place a lit candle in every window of the house, beginning at sunset on February 1st, allowing them to burn until sunrise on February 2nd. 

Other customs include weaving “Brigid’s crosses” from straw or wheat to hang around the house for protection, performing rites of spiritual cleansing and purification, making “Bride’s beds” to ensure fertility of mind and spirit (and body if desired), and making Crowns of Light to wear.

Since this is a time of new beginnings, this is a good day to ritually celebrate all things new. Plan a ceremony to name a new baby, officially welcome a new person into your family or home, take on a new name or make a commitment to a goal.

Many Pagans have an annual ritual of voluntarily surrendering something they are fond of between Imbolc and the Spring Equinox. Perhaps this is the origin of Lent? You can give up something frivolous or serious, but it should be something you will notice and miss.

Today is Imbolc, the day of midwinter.

The cold has begun to fade away,

and the days grow longer.

This is a time in which the earth is quickening,

like the goddess womb,

birthing the fire after the darkness.

The Goddess has returned with the sacred flame.

This is a time of rebirth and fertility,

and as the earth grows full of life,

may you find abundance on your own path.

Moon Worshiping

Hunter-gatherer societies generally thought of the moon as male, and its absence during new moon periods as dangerous.

Conversely, agrarian societies regarded the moon as female and benevolent. This may be because the planting and harvest schedules were based on moon cycles, and the moon came to be seen as a symbol of fertility. Over time, that relationship towards agricultural fertility expanded to include human and livestock fertility, hence the female symbolism.

Evidence of moon worship has been uncovered at archaeological digs all over the world, from the ancient Celts to the Egyptians.

Because of its size and also because of the events which accompanied the first appearance of the Moon, many ancient peoples regarded the Moon as the chief of the two luminaries. “The sun was of smaller importance than the moon in the eyes of the Babylonian astrologers.”

The Assyrians and the Chaldeans referred to the time of the Moon-god as the oldest period in the
memory of the people: before other planetary gods came to dominate the world ages, the Moon was the supreme deity. Such references are found in the inscriptions of Sargon II (ca. -720) and Nabonidus (ca. -550). The Babylonian Sin—the Moon—was a very ancient deity: Mount Sinai owes its name to Sin.

The moon has always played an important role in Egyptian religion. During ancient times, it was never as important to the Egyptians as the sun, though the moon was considered by them to be the nightly replacement of the sun. Within all of the known creation accounts, the Sun is always paramount. However, in the relationship between the Moon and the stars, the lunar god can be designated as "ruler of the stars”. The associated genders and level of benevolence changed according to dynasty.

That symbolic tradition survived and traveled to the Middle East, where the crescent symbol figures heavily into Islamic tradition. Archaeological evidence shows that Allah was initially the moon god, married to the sun goddess, and the stars were his children.

Modern pagans are primarily responsible for the resurgence of moon worship, although the attitude is somewhat different from the ancient traditions. Wiccans, especially, freely admit that they do not necessarily worship the moon itself, but use it as a symbol to represent the Goddess. The Goddess is the female aspect of deity, associated with fertility, while the sun is the male aspect associated with protection - these traits are often invoked during ceremony or magic rituals, to exploit the predisposition of the state of the sky to enhance the ritual's outcome.

Most moon festivals take place in autumn, because they are normally associated with the harvest. Halloween began as the pagan Samhain, and Thanksgiving is another modern interpretation of ancient harvest festivals.

Modern Chinese culture still celebrates the Mooncake Festival, which falls towards the end of September - another harvest festival. The bearing of lanterns and the giving of mooncakes commemorates a 14th-century uprising against the Mongols, but the holiday itself is focused upon the moon. Altars are set up to face the full moon, and the moon goddess Chang'e is a prominent figure of the day, prayed to by women hoping for good husbands and fertility.

Also read:

• Who is the Moon Goddess?
• Plant your own magical moon garden
• Inspiring Quotes About Autumn

Iceland's first pagan temple in 1000 years ready in late 2018

The God of Thunder is making a triumphant return to Iceland. After 1,000 years without a temple of worship to the Norse gods, Iceland is resurrecting its pagan roots. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

In Iceland, the Ásatrúarfélagið, or Æsir faith, represents the contemporary continuation of Norse paganism. Named after the Norse pagan gods called the Æsir – which includes a pantheon of popular Norse gods such as Odin, Thor, Frigg, and Baldur – the spirits and entities that the folklore represents are also taken into consideration. This contemporary version of the original pagan religion was founded in Iceland in 1972, and was granted recognition as an official religion with the ability to legally conduct ceremonies and collect state tax following the year after.

The religion does not take a stance on politics, nor is there a fixed theology. However, a general pantheism is embraced. With an increase in members in the last few years, the need for an official space in which to officiate ceremonies and gather also heightened. The religion saw a 50% increase in registration of members since 2014, and is the largest non-Christian religious group in Iceland with almost 4,000 members.

In 2008, the Ásatrúarfélagið was granted a plot of land in the wooded Öskjuhlið area of Reykjavík on which to build a temple. Previously, the organisation only had a meeting office and a burial ground. The proposed plot of land is situated in an idyllic location next to a forest filled with walking paths and overlooking Nauthólsvík beach.

Members of the religion celebrated the Winter Solstice in 2017 with a ceremony and feast on the site of the new temple in Öskjuhlið. The current high chieftain, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, initiated the ceremony that’s celebrated among many different cultures and is a tradition that predates the first Icelandic settlers and even Christianity.

The architect, Magnús Jensson, has been designing the temple in a timeless aesthetic, with Viking-era connotations in a circular shape built into the surrounding natural features. The design will also take into account the significance of planetary alignments, the golden ratio, and sacred geometry, as is common in many important religious constructions around the world. The construction of the temple, although ready with a proposal since 2008, was delayed because of the financial crisis during the same year. However, construction began in 2015 with plans to complete the project in late 2018.

Also read:

• Krampusnacht will give you the Christmas of your nightmares
• Io, Saturnalia! The Pagan Roman Winter Solstice Festival
• The Yule Goat Pagan Tradition

Io, Saturnalia! The Pagan Roman Winter Solstice Festival

Saturnalia, the most popular holiday on the ancient Roman calendar. Dedicated to the Roman god Saturn. In Roman mythology, Saturn was an agricultural deity who was said to have reigned over the world in the Golden Age. In the Greek myths, Kronos (Saturn) was the Roman Deity of Time and an ancient Italian Corn God known as the Sower.

The Saturnalia festival has an astronomical character, referring to the completion of the sun’s yearly course, and the commencement of a new cycle. Saturn, represented by the sun at its lowest aspect at the winter solstice. The earth is cold, most plants are dead, and it was believed that the sun might also be approaching death. 

Saturnalia celebrated the sun overcoming the power of winter, with hope of spring when life would be renewed.

Originally celebrated on December 17, Saturnalia was extended first to three and eventually to seven days. Remarkably like the Greek Kronia, it was the liveliest festival of the year. 

Saturnalia festivities began with ritual and sacrifices in the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, signing, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, slaves were given temporary freedom to say and do what they liked, and certain moral restrictions were eased. A mock king was chosen (Saturnalicius princeps); the standard greeting during this period was “Io Saturnalia!”. There is a theory that Santa Claus’s ‘Ho, ho, ho’ has its origins in this cry of “Io”.

Many of the decorations involved greenery - swathes, garlands, wreaths, etc - being hung over doorways and windows, and ornamenting stairs. Ornaments in the trees included sun symbols, stars, and faces of the God Janus. Trees were not brought indoors (the Germans started that tradition), but decorated where they grew.

People were just as likely to be ornamented as the trees. Wearing greenery and jewelry of a sacred nature was apparently common, based on descriptions, drawings, and the like from the era. 

Although probably the best-known Roman holiday, Saturnalia as a whole is not described from beginning to end in any single ancient source. Modern understanding of the festival is pieced together from several accounts dealing with various aspects. 

The Saturnalia was the dramatic setting of the multivolume work of that name by Macrobius, a Latin writer from late antiquity who is the major source for information about the holiday. 

In one of the interpretations in Macrobius's work, Saturnalia is a festival of light leading to the winter solstice, with the abundant presence of candles symbolizing the quest for knowledge and truth. The renewal of light and the coming of the new year was celebrated in the later Roman Empire at the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, the "Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun", on 23 December.

The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year.

Also read:

• Krampusnacht will give you the Christmas of your nightmares

Interesting Day of the Dead Facts

Indigenous people from Mexico believe the soul is eternal and that it can travel back and forth from this world and the next. The celebration of the Day of the Dead is based on the belief that the souls of their loved ones will come back and visit them.

The Aztec Holiday.

Rituals celebrating the lives of dead ancestors had been performed by Mesoamerican civilizations for at least 3,000 years.

The Aztec Festival of the Dead was originally a two-month celebration during which the fall harvest was celebrated, and figures of ‘death’ were personified as well as honored. The festival was presided over by Mictecacíhuatl, Goddess of the Dead and the Underworld, also known to the Aztecs as Mictlán. In the pre-Columbian belief system, Mictlán was not dark or macabre, but rather a peaceful realm where souls rested until the days of visiting the living, or los Días de los Muertos, arrived. Over the course of the festivities, participants place offerings for the dead in front of homemade altars, including special foods, traditional flowers, candles, photographs, and other offerings.

Although primarily a Mexican festival, the Day of the Dead is in fact celebrated by Catholic cultures throughout the world. Many countries in Latin America, Europe and Asia mark the day.

It is related to Samhain and Halloween. 

When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Central America in the 15th century they were appalled at the indigenous pagan practices, and in an attempt to convert the locals to Catholicism moved the popular festival to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints and All Souls days. All Saints Day is the day after Halloween, which was in turn based on the earlier pagan ritual of Samhain, the Celtic day and feast of the dead. The Spanish combined their custom of Halloween with the similar Mesoamerican festival, creating The Day of the Dead.

Many Mexicans bristle at any hint of the relationship between Halloween and The Day of The Dead but the two celebrations are undeniably linked. 

Party at the cemetery

The souls of children are believed to return first on November 1, with adult spirits following on November 2. Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods that will be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2 families usually clean and decorate the graves where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with offerings.

In some places in Mexico families embellished the tombs of their loved ones for a vigil during the night. The vigil lasts until dawn and includes music, food and drinks at the graveyard. This is a real party!

The elements of the altar

One of the most important traditions is the set up of an altar in memory of the deceased where the four elements of nature, water, wind, fire, and earth are represented. Also it is traditional to have photos in the altar of the departed ancestors. 

Traveling between this world and the next is hard work. To sustain the spirits as they travel food and drink is placed on the altars, usually favorite dishes of the departed. Each altar also includes Water, Salt and Bread as well as a washbasin for the dead to spruce up when they return.

Day of the Dead Bread

This bread known as pan de muerto is baked and eaten on the Day of the Dead. It’s a sweet, egg-based bread usually containing the herb anise, and made during the weeks leading up to the holiday. The bread can be baked in different shapes such as skulls, bones, flowers, and animals, and is often eaten at the altar. 

Marigolds

Mexican cempasúchitl (marigold) is the traditional flower used to honor the dead. It is yellow like the sun and represents life and hope. They are used in the altars and graveyards.

The fragrance of the Marigolds is supposed to lead the spirits home.

Sugar Skulls and La Catrina

Decorated sugar skulls are a particularly unique Day of the Dead tradition. The molded sugar skulls are meant to represent the life and individuality of the departed.

La Catrina (an etching created in the early 19th century by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada) has become an iconic image of the festival. It depicts a female skeleton, usually dressed in elegant clothes.

No Mourning

Far from a sad occasion, Day of the Dead celebrates the lives of loved ones who have passed away with family gatherings and joyous memories.

The Aztecs did not believe in mourning their dead as tears would make the spirits’ journey more difficult, rather they celebrated their lives and memory.

Souls fly on the wings of butterflies 

While the fall is the season for the Day of the Dead, it’s also when monarch butterflies arrive in Mexico. Legend has it that the butterflies are the souls of the deceased returning to earth. What a beautiful image for such a creepy occurrence.