PLANNING FOR ENTSCHTANNING
This post is not about the actual Entschtanning ritual, but it is about the education piece for the Urglaawe community in the Deitscherei and the Diaspora. Entschtanning begins at sunset on February 1 (February 2 by our reckoning) and ends at sunset on February 13 (February 14 by our reckoning).
Entschtanning is our most complex observance. When meeting in person, we have to squeeze twelve days of effort into one day for the sake of practicality, since we don't all live near enough to one another to meet up several times during Entschtanning.
The actual ritual that folks do can still feature everything that is necessary, but the Discussion can be fanned out so that the information about the ritual comes in smaller chunks. For example, it is possible to hail the Matronae at ritual without having to go in depth on them on site the day of the ritual; that information could be explored on a day prior to or after the actual ritual.
Arranging it this way may help to ease the overflow of information that comes all at once when folks are beginning to learn about the observance.
Again, due to practicality, group ritual does not always fall on February 2. In years when it doesn't, we can focus on just one piece of the Entschtanning observance (notably, Grundsaudaag for February 2). The next day we could, perhaps, focus on the cleaning of the hearth, and then the other aspects can be spanned out.
Regarding February 2, the only aspect of Entschtanning that really has to take place on that exact date is Grundsaudaag.
The cleaning of the hearth is associated with February 2, also, but we have also done that on different dates when our ritual did not fall on February 2.
The Butzemann needs to be explained well before Entschtanning so that people who are interested have time to collect materials and to build some understanding. The Butzemannsege pretty much needs to happen at our group ritual, but solo practitioners may conduct that at anytime during Entschtanning (and technically they could do it all the way up to the Fall Equinox).
So, regardless of the date of our ritual, we can share the educational piece in smaller bits throughout Entschtanning.
We write posts daily throughout Entschtanning, focusing on individual topics and, when possible, connecting something learned on one day to a related topic on the next day.
1: February 2 (GRUNDSAUDAAG): We can post about the significance of the Grundsau and what Entschtanning means.
2: February 3: Discussion about Freid.
3: February 4: The importance of birch and the cleaning of the hearth.
4: February 5: An explanation of the general spring cleaning and how it turns back up in the lore of Wonnenacht.
5: February 6: The importance of oaths.
6: February 7: Zusaagpflicht
7: February 8: Explanation of Idise and feminine energies, including Gewwern
8: February 9: Explanation of Butzemannsege, tipping off from the fact that the spirits we are appealing to in the Weschtbledder bear some similarity to being Idise for the plants in the physical realm.
9: February 10: Matronae
10: February 11: Gemietlichkeet and the sense of belonging.
11: February 12: Explanation of our understanding of Fastnachts/Fettkuche. Greasing the tools
12: February 13 (LICHTFESCHT): Mindshifts - the emergence from the complications of being adherents to a non-dualistic religion in a society rife with dualism. Emergence of change; resolutions going into effect. Moving toward Oschdre and the rebirth.
