Spring has come, stepping lightly. This is the beginning of the season of awakening. At this moment, we look to the East, the most auspicious direction in Ozark tradition, and we see all things recreated anew by the Three Sisters at the edge of the world; Helling- which means Day, Nacht- which means Night, and Oschdre- the Dawn. Where Night meets Day in this time of balance, the world bursts forth with color. Oschdre and her sisters step out on the horizon and recreate the world anew! This Sunday at my UU Fellowship, we will read Where Color Comes From; Origin of the Distelfink and celebrate these liminal goddesses. With the Sisters, may we step into a new harmony.
When I was first exploring the Waincraft’s Lord of Plenty, it took me a while to truly understand what was meant in their description of this Power. Waincraft specifically describes him as a bear god, but in the deity names listed, he seems to be a bear in name etymology only (Mathgen, Math ap Mathonwy, Matunos…), for in the Celtic myths, I couldn’t find anything that described him the way that Waincraft does.
Waincraft says of the Lord of Plenty; “Across ancient Europe, he was the Bear-King, ruler of the most noble, sacred and mysterious creature in the cultural imagination of the time. He is the protecting and preserving force that ameliorates the harshness of his brother’s realm.”
The parallel concept in Correllian traditions is the King archetype; “The King is the God passed from warrior to leader, nurturing family and community rather than merely himself.”
I came to think of the Lord of Plenty as a strong, kind, and generous King archetype, much like the character of the ghost of Christmas present in the Dickens story A Christmas Carol– but in the 1970 movie adaptation titled “Scrooge”.
And then I came across another bear connection quite by accident. I was looking up American folktales and found the story Whitebear Whittington from the book Grandfather Tales by Richard Chase. I immediately fell in love with this tale that is a cross between Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that this is a sacred story full of metaphor- a deeply meaningful mythology disguised as a fairytale, and it opened up a deeper level of understanding for me.
I especially love the story Whitebear Whittington, perhaps partly because the story is a traditional Ozarks and Appalachian tale, so it feels very homey and personal with the imagery and the way it’s told. But I’ve also come to realize that a lot of other bear fairytales have the same kind of archetypal symbolism. In these stories, the bear is always a wealthy prince or a king- a figure of abundance and power. However, in Whitebear Whittington, he seemed to simply be a well-off guy– a strong and gentle man who is also a good provider.
I think a lot of the abundance and comfort feeling of the character comes from the physicality of his bear aspect. On one hand, bears are big, powerful, and scary- so to have a bear as a protector would be very comforting. But bears are also big (abundant) and soft. I’m reminded of the story Snow White and Rose Red, in which the sisters’ mother lets a bear into their home to warm up by the fire.
“The bear said: ‘Here, children, knock the snow out of my coat a little’; so they brought the broom and swept the bear’s hide clean; and he stretched himself by the fire and growled contentedly and comfortably. It was not long before they grew quite at home, and played tricks with their clumsy guest. They tugged his hair with their hands, put their feet upon his back and rolled him about…” –-Grimm’s Fairy Tales
So this image we have of the bear is that of strength and power, but also softness, gentleness, comfort, and abundance. He is a hibernating animal, a very earthy god- he sleeps when nature sleeps. He wakens with the spring. In the tales, he has a dual man/bear nature, until at last the enchantment is broken. If we were to think of these stories as a tale of the seasons, perhaps the spell would be broken in the spring- a peek from the cave at the Winter Thermstice (Imbolc), and full emergence at the Spring Equinox. Then the Bear King becomes a Young God- Hero/Lover- Maponos once again.
In Whitebear Whittington, he tells his bride, “Now I got a spell on me and I can’t be a man but part of the time. From now on I can be a man of a night and stay with you here and be a bear of a day, or I can be a bear of a night and sleep under your bed and be a man of a day. Which had you rather I be?”
This is another reason I like this particular version of the bear fairytale. Whitebear does not try to hide his enchantment, his dual nature, from his bride. She is given quite a bit of choice in the nature of it even. Neither is she held there in fear, for upon arriving at their home, he says, “This house and everything in it belongs to you now, and there’s nothing here to hurt you.”
The bride is never named in this particular tale, but we know her well. She is Youngest Daughter of three sisters. As the story begins, she is a Maiden. As the story progresses, she becomes a Mother. When the story takes a turn, she visits, and wins the favor of; the Crone.
At some point in many of the hero myths, the hero often sees the colors white, red, and black, (such as red blood on white snow, and a raven feather) and decides his future bride must have those colors.
Now white is a symbol for purity, but also for light, and youthful deities of the light half of the year, such as the Maiden. Black symbolizes death and the Crone, but also the substance of decay which creates the fertile conditions for new life to grow, and the dark half of the year. Red symbolizes life blood and fertility and is often a symbol of deities of the ripening season, and the Mother.
This ancient color symbolism is often repeated in fairy tales as well, but more so just red and white, and sometimes dark green is in the place of black. There’s three sisters and the color symbolism is frequently present in the dresses they choose. In Whitebear Whittington, those colors are attached to Whitebear himself. (An earlier telling included the color symbolism of black as well; it was a crow that dropped feathers to lead Youngest Daughter to Whitebear. Chase changed it in the book to a white bird with red speckled feathers.) Then there’s the three drops of blood that were shed on his white fur. These colors indicate that this is a story of the mysteries of light, darkness, and the life in-between. This is Youngest Daughter’s blood, and it marks Whitebear as her own. He is hers and she must reclaim him, awaken him from his enchantment.
Returning again to imagining the story of Whitebear as a seasonal narrative; one could conclude that it could serve as a year-round story. (Though in the actual tale, as it’s told, the events happen one after another and the time of year is unspecified.) But imagine… you could say the white rose was picked on Spring Equitherm/May Day (a time when mates are chosen), then Youngest Daughter was taken as Whitebear’s wife at Summer Solstice (June- a traditional time to get married). Their three children symbolize the harvests of the year. Whitebear’s wife leaves to visit family sometime after Autumn Equitherm/Hallows Eve and soon realizes Whitebear is gone. It would be at Winter Solstice that she receives three golden magical nuts (perhaps symbolizing a Winter Solstice triple sunrise, or their three children & three harvests of the year) from the Crone (out of the darkness, light). At Winter Thermstice/Imbolc (the time of ritual cleansing) she spots him and washes the blood from his shirt, but does not yet have him back. Then finally she finds and wakes him from his slumber and enchantment at the Spring Equinox.
Many of the most popular Neopagan terms for the holidays we commemorate are problematic. This is largely due to those specific names being popularized after being published in the Green Egg in the 1970’s. Don’t even get me started on why “Mabon” isn’t a good choice of naming for the Autumn Equinox. If you don’t already know, you can go see John Halstead’s article, the Worst Named Pagan Holiday.
Many of these names have very cultural/mythological based themes. In the past, I am someone who has explored several of the cultures of my ancestors as inspiration for my Pagan practices. But in recent years, I’ve come to the realization that I need to turn my focus to my own here-and-now culture. No matter how much they inspire me, I will never be a part of those other cultures. I am separated from them by an ocean and by hundreds of years.
My aim is to live the best aspects of my own culture, as much as possible. So I began using some of my culture’s names for holidays, but they’re incomplete, and sometimes Christianized. There are also instances in which there is no equivalent holiday in my culture, but I want there to be one to complete the seasonal narrative. (I mean, we have “Groundhog’s Day” but no equivalent of Lùnasa at the opposite end of the year? What’s that about?!)
Now I know there will be those who are quick to point out that there was never a single ancient culture that commemorated all eight holidays of the modern Neopagan “Wheel of the Year”. Yet, they are events in Nature. Having evenly placed commemorations in the cycle of seasons seems highly appropriate for a Nature-based spirituality (though I know not all Pagans are Nature-based). There is something in Nature to celebrate or commemorate at every turn of the cycle. If there are no outward signs of its marking in my culture, then that needs adjusting.
So my solution for the names I use for the holidays– for the solstices and equinoxes, it’s simple, as they have long established scientific names. But a little lesser known is that the Cross-Quarter days have similarly established naturalistic or scientific names. They are the thermstices and the equitherms.
So the solstices mark the extreme points of the daylight cycle for the year; Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night, and Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night. Then, the thermstices mark the extreme points of the thermal cycle for the year. This is because the thermal/heat cycle lags the daylight cycle- it takes a while to feel the effects of the solstices. So… Winter Therstice is the approximate coldest part of the year, and Summer Thermstice is the approximate hottest point of the year.
It’s along similar lines for the equinoxes; the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes are times of equal day and night, but the Spring and Autumn Equitherms are when that equilibrium has caught up in terms of temperature, as days that are likely to feel truer to the season.
Just as the dates of the solstices and equinoxes change from year to year, so do the Cross-Quarter dates of the thermstices and equitherms, and they’re often on different dates from what cultural customs dictate. The scientific method of determining the date can be more complicated than just finding the exact middle between two dates as it also takes into account local terrain shifts. You can find accurate Cross Quarter dates for your region, as well as the solstice and equinox dates for any given year- on the archaeoastronomy website.
This greenman doll is bendable! Your kids will love hanging one from a tree branch or from a Spring Equinox basket. Here’s how I made it:
Print out the template above. (If you copy and paste onto a word document, it should fill up half the page in landscape mode. If it doesn’t, shrink or expand to get the right size.) This doll is actually sewn before it is cut out, so you’ll need to trace the pattern onto the wrong side of your fabric. I used an iron-on transfer pencil and traced over the outline, then ironed it onto back of the fabric. With the right sides of two pieces of fabric facing each other and pinned in place on the corners, sew (a very fine stitch) on the lines all the way around. Now cut closely around the outside of the lines you’ve sewn. To turn the doll right side out, cut a small slit in the middle of the doll’s chest. Use a skewer get the skinny parts all the way pushed out. (Sorry I don’t have pictures for these first few steps… this doll has actually been in my basket of unfinished projects for years- from when I still had a working sewing machine.)
When you’ve got it all turned out, take a couple of chenille stems and twist one in the middle to the size of the doll’s head, and twist the ends down to form loops for the hands. Tape sharp ends down. The other chenille stem is for the legs. Bend it in half and twist loops at the ends for the feet. Tape sharp ends down. Insert chenille stems into the doll casing through the slit cut in the chest. When they are in place, fill the doll with stuffing, putting in little bits at a time and pushing into place with a skewer. When the stuffing is even all over, sew the slit in the chest closed by hand.
Glue a silk leaf onto the doll’s chest wound. (Re-purpose the leaves from old silk flower arrangements found at a thrift store.) I hot glued three onto this one’s chest at different angles. For the face, I folded a leaf in half and cut leaf and horn shapes around the edges. I’ve made some before using several very small leaves arranged around the face. Paint on or draw on features with a marker and you’re done!
Recently while thrift shopping, I came across a figurine of an angel holding a rabbit. “Oh neat”, I thought- “that can be a deity figure for my Spring Equinox altar!” I didn’t much like the colors though; it never seems to look right to me how small figurines have the details painted in. Then I remembered what I did for altar statues before I started sculpting; I made them look “rustic” with layers of acrylic paint. So now I’ll share that method with you…
You’ll need: paintbrush sponge white acrylic craft paint (or acrylic gesso) dark acrylic craft paint light beige or off-white acrylic craft paint
1. First, clean all the dust and grime off your thrift shop treasure.
2. Next, paint a layer of thick white acrylic paint or acrylic gesso. This will make the subsequent layers of paint look even. Let dry thoroughly.
3. Now give the figure a rough layer of dark acrylic paint, concentrating on getting paint into the creases. I used a shade of green called “thicket” for the figurine shown here. Let dry thoroughly.
4. For this next step, use a sponge instead of a paintbrush. Dip the sponge in a light shade of acrylic paint like “parchment”. Lightly blot the sponge and dab over the figure; mostly getting the raised parts. Don’t try to get paint down in the crevices. Let dry.
There you go! From cheesy to rustic in four simple steps.
Here’s an alternative to the usual Spring Equinox baskets; a big papier-mâché egg for each child to crack open! They can also be used as a bowl to hold decorated eggs and other goodies throughout the festivities of the day.
Materials: balloons (One for every egg you’ll be making.) Newspaper paper towels (optional) *flour & water paste string tacks drip pan
Blow up a balloon and hang from the ceiling by a string (with the tack), at a height you can reach easily. Place a drip pan underneath. (Alternatively, you could hang this project over the kitchen or laundry room sink.) Going with the grain, tear newspaper into 1 inch wide strips. Prepare flour and water paste in a bowl. Dip one paper strip into the paste, then run it between two fingers to remove excess paste. Wrap the strip around the balloon. (Leave only a small opening at top of balloon.) Repeat, layering edges, until the entire project is covered. Keep the strips as free of wrinkles and bulges as possible. Add another layer and let dry. The balloon with shrink away from the paper as it dries. When dry, take out balloon and seal over opening with more papier-mâché strips. Cut egg in half horizontally. Fill with goodies. Reseal with strips of papier-mâché. (For the final layer, you may want to use squares of paper towel dipped in the paste, to create a good painting surface.) Let dry thoroughly and paint.
*Flour & Water Paste ½ cup flour 3 cups boiling water ¾ cup cold water
Slowly pour cold water into flour and stir to make a paste. Pour paste into the boiling water, stirring constantly. Cook for 5 minutes or until the paste is thick and smooth. This paste is nontoxic and will last for months if you keep it in the refrigerator.
Decorate home for the holiday / make crafts to decorate home.
Take seasonal (outdoor) pictures with family/friends.
Bring home foliage from above outing for crafts/decoration.
March 1st – 8th
Firm up ritual plans, if you haven’t already. Will you be attending a festival, local event, a family event, or doing something on your own? If you are planning the ritual, decide on location and script/liturgy.
Prepare papier-mâché eggs (if using), or any craft that needs drying time.
Shop for basket fillers and holiday clothes (if needed).
March 9th – 15th
Prepare garden for planting or check on/seek out places to wild craft (forage).
The World Egg Creation Story During the telling of the following world egg creation story, two participants hold up a large paper egg. (This can be decorated ahead of time by the kids.)At the end of the story, kids burst through the egg from the other side, bringing fresh or paper flowers to the people in the circle.
“In the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, there is a myth of the world being created from the fragments
of an egg laid by a diving duck on the knee of Ilmatar, goddess of the air:
One egg’s lower half transformed
And became the earth below,
And its upper half transmuted and became the sky above;
From the yolk the sun was made,
Light of day to shine upon us;
From the white the moon was formed,
Light of night to gleam above us;
All the colored brighter bits rose to be the stars of heaven
And the darker crumbs changed into clouds and
cloudlets in the sky.”
Ozark Pagan Mamma 