THE WILD HUNT BY SHANI OATES (EMPYREAN 2019)

On the 6th of February 2019 I visited Nottingham to attend once again, a lecture at Empyrean the Nottingham Pagan Interest Group. My visits to Empyrean have become more frequent during the last two years. There has been an increase in the number of speakers presenting lectures on subjects of a personal interest to me. It should also be noted that the quality of these meetings is remarkably high.

The lecture this February evening was on the subject of the Wild Hunt and the speaker was Shani Oates, Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain and internationally recognised author. It was as expected, complex, deep and informative; covering the science of phenomena, stone age hunter-gatherer traditions, European origins and apotropaic practices.

The evening began with an introduction to the mythology of the Aurora Borealis and its place within the cultural perceptions of the northern lands. This ran through a gamut of associations, how the aurora marked a darker tide with a focus on protection, a phenomena affecting our perceptions, a locus of the discarnate and a general aura of strangeness.

This led on to a mention of spirit paths, those processions of the departed, the corpse ways. Juxtaposed we have the midsummer sun with that of midwinter night. The Polar night being a period of darkness lasting some forty days yet further south, we have the anomaly of a sun shining late into the night.

For an a people living in such a land, the question of whether the sun would ever rise again is a natural one. Influencing perhaps the mythology of Ragnarok and the consuming of the sun itself, here we begin to realise that ancient threads still touch our lives today. Shani Oates went on to inform us that the solstice was not observed in more ancient times, although the return of light was noted.

We learnt that there were three 'Blots' of significance to our northern ancestors and that the significance of each, is still extant for those whose paths are influenced by that culture. These were or are; the Autumn Blot falling in October, the true Midwinter Blot falling in January and the Summer Blot in April. Such seasonal festivals and observances are timed by the world around us, changes in the fauna, growth and decay, the migration of birds. The dates of festivals in an ancient calendar were not as rigidly fixed as they are today, in a less abstract but more linear concept of time.

The Maid introduced the concept of totemic elements in regards to the seasons, noting the influence of the sun, moon and stars upon ancient cultures. This influence lies behind potential origins of megalithic observatories and that the Wintertide as a period of time, has a primary focus upon light as opposed to a purely solar one.

In continuing the totemic theme mention is made of Alta Fjord in Norway and the caves that are today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here an ancient people, possibly ancestors of the Sami; left thousands of pictographs of animals and people in a number of caves. Some of the images are estimated to be six thousand years old.

In a further exposition of the theme, an obvious mention is made of Horned Gods such as Cernunnos and Herne; noting that they are not one and the same. I observe that as a Polytheist this difference is rarely mentioned, Herne is a Hunter but Cernunnos is not.

Taking us further and deeper, there was mention of the seven brightest stars of the Great Bear constellation. This asterism the Plough or Wagon, is historically a well attested seasonal marker. Continuing onwards we covered briefly, the Hairy Hunters, the Woodwose, Frau Holle, Yule Folk, Ancestral Spirits and visitations of the ancestral dead.

Observances relevant to this area are still part of the practices of the Slavic cultures of Europe and Asia, with various apotropaic charms to protect the home and invite spirits to enjoy the warmth of the hearth. Historically coming of Christianity marks a shift in perception, the association of ancestral spirits with the Wild Hunt changes to that of the Purgation of Demons. The Wild Hunt is obviously recognised as a period unsafe, landwights require blood anointments but now the Demonic Hoard requires appeasement.

Introducing what is without doubt Britain's most important and oldest folkdance, the Maid described the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance as the most primitive dance in Western Europe. Observing that originally the dance took place over three days and later in the year, which as a dance of the sun is of no surprise. The three days are of course the three days of the solstice, when the sun is said to stand still. The dance is in affect a beating of the bounds ceremony, world famous for the six pairs of mounted reindeer antlers that are a thousand years old.

This naturally led us to other animal totems, many related to fertility, abundance and other seasonal observances. These included the Mari Lwyd; traditionally played by a horseman, the Julbukk or Yule Goat, the Haxley Hood Game, mock beheadings and the mythology of the headless horseman himself. Other seasonal observances such as Soul Caking were given a brief mention. Here we note that there is a general belief that our British Traditions are of a southern European origin. We recognise the influence of Mithras, Sol Invictus, Saturnalia and Lupercalia. This assumption overlooks the enormous influence of the peoples of Scandinavia and the Baltic region.

Lupercalia is a festival of the wolf, Lupa being Latin for the female animal and is a totemic beast of the Goddess Juno (the Greek Hera). The festival was a purgation of the city of Rome and featured the use of whips (or thongs) made from goatskin. These whips are called Februa and it is from them that the month of the festival; February, derives its name. Banned in 391 but continued underground, it may have influenced the later development of the Mummers Play.

Continuing on we began to explore the origins of the Wintertide from cultures based within the Arctic Circle. Looking at the Old Hunt, the Battle Fury of Wotan, wondering warrior wolves (wonderful alteration) and a later figure the Harlequin, which may have been based upon the leader of similar hunts. This lead up onto Walter Map, the Hurley Thingers. a connection between Hurl and Herion as alternative names for Woden or Wotan. This connection naturally included Hela and of course, Wotan, Hela and Thor are all said to lead the Wild Hunt.

Jode as a name for Woden is then further linked to a Green Giant and the custom of leaving the last sheaf. Then quickly switching genders the Maid introduced us to Saint Lucy linking her to the Wild Perchten, the plural of Perchta and Berchta. Here during this festival we are told of a prohibition of carrying out housework and that bread in the shape of totem animals would be buried at boundaries.

The cauldron we are now experiencing, contains a heady mix of concepts and yet more is added to our recipe. Sex, death and fertility as associated with women brings us back to the Green Knight, to care and to sexuality. We observe that Robin Hood died at the hands of a woman and that Woden, as the wanderer, the stranger is connected to him. The Wild Hunt changes from a host of ancestral spirits to that of a Daemonic manifestation, an omen of ill fortune. The Sagas, those wondrous tales of Norse origin talk of attacks upon the living by hosts of Daemons. Whichever, the hunt is led by Odin (Woden/Wotan) and his daughters the Valkyries.

There was a short break which was needed. As is the norm with lectures by Shani Oates, the information and the depth of that information, can be both thought provoking and challenging. Launching into part two we were introduced to Cain's Hunt and astronomical symbolism, in particular Gabriel's Wain or the Wagon. Returning to Old Hornie and Hela briefly we begin to perceive the change in interpretation during the Christian period. Here the Devil takes the lead and a host of sinners replaces that of the ancestral spirits. Here we hear of a corpse bearing host, complete with coffins and women pierced with nails. A truly horrific Christian vision.

It is noted quite naturally that the Hunt has regional variations. Wales is offered as an example with references to Gwyn ap Nudd, the White Stag, the Red Eared Hounds, Fairy Raids, the Hills of Annwn and the kings of the Mabinogion.

Does a Wolfshirt lead the Hunt? Is it bestial and is there a link to various animals depicted in ancient rock-art, including horses? These questions are raised and we note that although the processing, our understanding may change, the underlying themes do not. The perceptions change markedly in the Christian period as noted. Frau Holle, the Perchten begin to be interpreted differently with the inclusion of the legends of Mother Goose. The Hunt is mirrored in the honking of the flocks as they migrate and it is observe that the goose is in Siberia, an important Shamanic totem.

Moving on we look briefly at the Seven Whistlers, swans and geese and omens of ill fortune once again. This spins us around to face the Gabriel Hounds, the Gable Rackett, the Corpse Hounds, Gallow Hounds and Fairy Hounds, with their white coats and red ears once again.

We note that within the context of the gallows that Pagans were buried together with heretics and criminals, in unhallowed ground. Nicely bringing us back once again to Odin, the battle-fury of the cult of Woden, Berserkers and animal transformation, wolf or bear. We observe that the wolf is often a symbol of death and that in England a wolfshead was the name given to an outlaw, an outcast. A veiled reference to Robin Hood again?

Hermes and Hecate are psychopomps and share a common symbolism. This symbolism and their associations with the Hunt, serve once more to illustrate that previously observed and unfortunate transformation, Pagan God to Christian Demon. Frau Holda may lead the Wild Hunt but we are reminded that Valkyries are not witches. An important point, as although Herodias, Fate, the Norns and the Fairy Raid may all be included within the context of the Sabbat, such confusion should be avoided.

Returning once more to the Wintertide observances and the period of Misrule, reiterating the associations of Odin, Dame Holda, Diana and her Darling Crew, totems including wolves and ravens, we finally reference Bede. The research carried out by Shani Oates in preparation for the lecture is so detailed and includes so many such references, one can hardly keep pace.

We refer to the Mothers, a seasonal reference, noting that the Pole, the Broom and the wand are all phallic and may symbolise once more, a wolf. Continuing with this seasonal theme we are introduced to Thor's Goat, the YulBuk (Yule Buck) a resurrecting beast, which may be linked to the Krampus and later Mummer's Plays.

Within the theme of transportation Shani Oates declares that the Wild Hunt is seen by those it takes. Mythology serves a social and political purpose with many meanings. Transportation becomes a tool for transformation, the gathering of the slain is the vision quest.

In drawing the lecture to a close, we see that that the darker aspects of spirit flight are of a Northern origin. The wintertide has many customs and traditions, such as for example the dumb supper.

We are instructed that engagement with the other is a call of blood to blood, life to life and death to death. There is a search for fusion, union and meaning, as we reach beyond the Mighty Dead to be with the Gods and the Ancestors. The Ancestral Train is indeed feared and demonised by the church, representing as it does a direct and divine link, rejecting the need for an intercessor.

‘The Wild Hunt is seen by those it takes.’ That phrase is for me personally, the most memorable of the evening. It strikes deep. Others will naturally have taken other elements of the lecture to heart but for me, it is that line above all others that has struck home. I have heard that call, reminding me in the words of the Maid, of the light of gnosis and the darkness of ignorance.