Swabian Pride

Part 2: Frau Holle and Perchta; seasonal symbolisms of the Wild Hunt by Sean Jobst 31 December 2020 "Frau Gode" by the German painter Ludwig Pietsch (1824-1911)    Continuing from Part 1  concerning the Wild Hunt, special attention should be made about the Germanic goddess variously known under her regional names as Perchta/Berchta in Southern Germany, Frau Holle in Central Germany, and Frau Herke/Freke/Gode/Wode in Northern Germany (Heath, 5). She is Vrouw Holle in Flanders and the Netherlands. All share such close associations with Frija, the wife of Wodan, that we can hypothesize they're one and the same - as is most pronounced with the Wild Hunt: "Frau Holle, elsewhere called Perchta, rushes through the airs at the head of her procession, and the people below either put some food on their roofs, or set a special place at the table"(GardenStone, 110). She is mentioned in many fairy tales and folklore. Jacob Grimm conceived of Holle as originally a sky goddess...

Part 1: Introduction; various cosmic and natural symbolisms; timing and relation to holidays by Sean Jobst 29 December 2020 "The Ride of Asgard" (1872) by Norwegian painter  Peter Nicolai Arbo, portraying the Wild Hunt    There is an undercurrent of ancient wisdom deeply embedded in folklore and traditions. This is a basic truth I have come to recognize these past few years, leading me on a journey I can only describe as enlightening. It was a task I took up in my past examinations of folklore, identifying remnants of the ancient Germanic goddesses Zisa  and Ostara , and the various traditions and legends around the auspicious time of Walpurgisnacht . Using that same basic format, I will now examine traditions, folklore, and legends about the Wild Hunt - a pan-European motif with its regional variants. I will focus more on the Swabian and Alemannic, Flemish, and Iberian traditions of my ancestral lands, with parallels in nearby cultures so as to gain a deeper pi...

by Sean Jobst 25 September 2020    Last Tuesday, I spent all afternoon hiking the trails in the nearby forests. These form part of the Talladega National Forest along the slopes of Mount Cheaha (2,413 ft / 735 metres), the tallest mountain in my state. Getting out on these trails remind me of how blessed I am to live at the southern foothills of Appalachia, for the alternative reality of life - what actually matters and will be truly sustained (not "sustainable") in the future - is within landscapes such as these and not some larger, "smart" cities the elites want to engineer as the new reality. Just as the events of 2020 have seen an acceleration of such schemes, we who have the insights to make and live our own parallel reality can and should accelerate our own efforts.    But such thoughts were not my main focus as I reflected on more primal matters of spirituality. For just as these forests - sacred and teeming with life - have withered all the storms (literal a...