More on Walpurgisnacht

As Walpurgisnacht draws nearer, we begin to reflect on the spiritual significance of this event. Beyond the symbolic, if not literal, return of full fertility of the land, there is a related transition in the state of the mind and of being.

Urglaawe recognizes the cycles of life in the form of the Lewesraad (Life Wheel). While we usually describe it as the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, there are other spokes on the wheel that reflect other phases of life. 

If Grundsaudaag (February 2) represents conception or the potential for rebirth, and if Oschdre (Spring Equinox) represents the physical rebirth, then Walpurgisnacht represents the rise of awareness and the increasing maturity of the mind. This expansion of consciousness and of purpose and determination in our daily living is a central theme in Urglaawe. 

Although the physical rebirth is represented in March, the Bright Half of the year does not begin until the spark of consciousness turns into a growing flame. Holle's return from the Wild Hunt represents a settling of order that provides the environment in which the planted seeds (physical and spiritual) may take root and grow.

Interestingly, the arrival of the three Frost Giants in May serve multiple purposes. First, they represent the physical threat of frost to the tender plants. Second, they represent the threat of the forces of chaos to the survival of the Mannheim and to cosmic order. Third, they represent the forces of ignorance as a threat to the rising, yet tender, consciousness.

As Dunner forces the retreat of each of these Frost Giants, He defends the realm of Mannheim from the threats to the physical and to the spiritual. In this context, we see the interaction of the Wane (Vanir) and the Ase (Aesir) in terms of the physical representations of fertility and the ability to advance human consciousness. Holle prepares the environment; Dunner defends it, thus allowing for more the expansion of the creation.

Our role in this is to use the gifts bestowed on us by Wudan, Wille, and Weih to continue the advancement of the human life wave. The physical and spiritual provisions are not complete without the use of the mind to secure and to stabilize the order in our realm. In a manners similar to the proverbial horse and water, the deities give us the gift of consciousness and will help and guide us, but it is up to us to use our minds to take advantage of the gift.

We have the capacity to help the gods and the goddesses in their pursuit of cosmic order, enlightenment, and consciousness. The awareness of that capacity, and the rise in our ability to put it to use, is represented in the observance of Walpurgisnacht.