Der Voryuul 2020: Nacht 2

 VORYUUL

Nacht 2: Bedrachdungsvorschlack

Wer bischt du heitich? Bischt du froh? Bischt vergniechlich?

Night 2: Meditation Prompt

Who are you these days? Are you happy? Are you contented?

Der Voryuul 2020

Heele zu de Grenzeziewe… Die, vun de dunkle Ort, vun unner der Schwell, un die datt im Draamzuschtand… Losset uns alldiweil darrich der Voryuul vun de lanne.

Hail to the liminal deities… They, of the dark places, from under the threshold of consciousness, and those in the dream state. Let us learn from them at this time of Voryuul.

Nacht 1: Bedrachdungsvorschlack

Es 2020 (doch im Gang) iss ’n zaehes Yaahr gwest. Was hoscht du iwwer dir glannt? Bischt du desselwert Mensch, as du im 2019 waarscht?

Night 1: Meditation Prompt

2020 (though ongoing) has been a tough year. What have you learned about yourself? Are you the same person who you were in 2019?

Berchtaslaaf: Herring, Lentils, Coins

Berchtaslaaf begins at sunset tonight.

In addition to the required herring and gruel meal, we have a couple of other things to consider.

- Three coins set out on the windowsill. There is an echo of the Lutzelfraa's begging during Voryuul in this custom.

- Lentils (uncooked and not to eat) scattered. Lentils are not part of the required meal, but there is an association in some circles between Berchta and legumes, and our oral lore specifically names lentils.

The lentils are scattered in a manner similar to the three-bean offerings that we are to do when we disturb the soil for gardening or planting. Lentils are good nitrogen fixers, which could be also a link between Berchta's concerns with rebirth and renewal and Luul's concern with keeping young greens safe and strong through the winter.

Many Urglaawer have come to know Berchta better in 2019. I am among those who have. Now with Twelfth Night fast approaching, I have come to understand the beating that She gave me during Voryuul with my musings. All of this turmoil actually has paid off. I got Her message (with a bit of help from Frouwa for extra clarity). I have worked through and understood some of the things that made me uncomfortable, and I can base some New Year's Resolutions on changing my reactions to some of these inputs.

This will be an extra special Berchtaslaaf because it will be the first time that we carry Her statuary through the town. I expect this to become a growing and evolving tradition over the next few years.

Hail Berchta!

Yuletide Verbots and Completing Projects

Yule starts at sunset tonight.

Recommended practice is, prior to sunset, to open projects that you wish to work on and to complete before sunset on December 31 (the start of Twelfth Night and Berchta's feast day). Currently-open projects should be completed by Twelfth Night or abandoned completely and restarted in the New Year. Ongoing projects can identify a goal of a phase completion or a stopping point. New projects should be delayed until the New Year once Yule begins; focus instead on completion of that which is still in process.

Historically the oldest references were to spinning and weaving but Pennsylvania German oral tradition also extends it also to smithing, canning, and carpentry. Urglaawe examines the mindset behind the need to complete open tasks and the Verbot on starting projects during Yule, and we apply the concept to all aspects of our lives wherever it is practical and possible.

Job requirements may make some of this difficult or impossible to avoid, but the mindfulness applied to figuring out appropriate areas in your life to recognize the need for completion does matter.

Berchta and the lesser-known Berchtold are deities associated with the end of something or the completion of a cycle prior the the restart. There are many considerations that go along with the mindfulness: responsibility, deprivation, organization, preparation, and being willing to abandon partially-completed work if procrastination is a problem.

Krampus is NOT the "Son of Hel"

While I am suddenly indeed seeing this claim that Krampus is the son of Hel, there is no evidence of it in southern Germanic or Alpine lore. Neither Hel nor Loki were known to our folk, and, while I think it is acceptable and sometimes necessary to utilize Scandinavian lore, personal gnosis, or comparative myths to fill in gaps in the lore of the south, the concept of Krampus being the son of Hel omits Berchta and our own lore from the region, including remnants of a horned god. 

This horned god has associations in our own oral lore with some tales from other regions in (and astride) the Alps and in the Deitscherei with the god Holler or the Eternal Hunter, from whom Krampus was perhaps derived. Some may also be led to place Krampus' roots in Wudan, Dunner, an elf-type of entity, or an animal spirit, and a good case can be made for each of them.

My opinion would differ if Krampus were known at all in the north, but he was not. Thus, it smacks of cultural appropriation to remove Krampus completely from the context of the southern lore in order to place him haphazardly in the lore of the far north and to artificially reconstruct his family line to match the north's lore. Links can be drawn, lessons can be learned, and dots can be connected, but the declaration that he is the "son of Hel" completely dismisses the history of the south.

Check out Grimm's "Teutonic Mythology," pp. 514-516. The same post-conversion denigration for Holle and Berchta also impacted house wights, deity companions, etc., and turned them from being understood as beneficent (or even benevolent) to being malevolent. Krampus is likely a product of that same degenerative process While ascribing him to be the "son of Hel" makes for an interesting story, the true story of how our deities came to be the models of the stereotypical depictions of witches and demons is, in my opinion, far more interesting and necessary for us to control. 

Since it was the south that encountered conversion efforts first, it is natural that it would be the deities known in the south who would suffer such profanities against their reputations first. Add to it the fact that goddesses were of such prominence in those regions, one can imagine the vitriol with with the patriarchal church might treat those goddesses.

Zwelfdi Nacht, Berchta, New Year, Frey... In Short, A LOT!

Tonight (December 31 into January 1) is the Twelfth Night of Yule (remember that Heathen (and therefore Urglaawe) days begin at sunset on the prior day. Thus, "Sunday" actually begins at sundown on Saturday.

This is also the night of the progression of Berchta, a powerful goddess known to the Continental and Pennsylvania Germans. She may actually be Holle known by a different name, or She may be a Vanic relative of Holle. However, historical treatment of Her has portrayed Her as much harsher than Holle and as having one foot significantly larger than the other. The difference may actually be a splay that resulted from Her endless spinning. Interestingly, this splay and the subsequent odd appearance of Her foot may be the origins of Mother Goose. ;)

The owl is the sacred animal to Berchta. I find it interesting that Her progression happened in different areas at different times in December, and much of December of the Deitsch Yaahrsraad (zodiac) falls under the sign of the Eil, or the owl. I have not found reason to draw any firm conclusions as to a relationship between them.

Also, apparently Berchta has a favorite dish. It consists of herring and oats or oatmeal. Folklore holds that She gets upset when people eat items other than those sacred foods on Her day. I confess that I am not sure I am ready to have that be my only meal today, so hopefully She will not be offended!

I want to wish you all a successful and prosperous 2012. May you have much luck in the new year!

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Much of this information can be found in Jakob Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, volume I, particularly pp. 272-282. Berchta was/is often depicted with an owl beside Her or in Her arms.

Other items, such as the Deitsch Yaahrsraad, come from oral interviews with 80+ Brauchers by the Three Sisters Center and are the property of the Oley Freindschaft (Guild) of Braucherei. Graphic depictions of the Deitsch zodiac are the property of Susan Hess, who may be contacted at the Farm at Coventry in PA.

Additional aspects of this information come from the living traditions of the Deitsch folk as practiced in Urglaawe.