The news reports from yesterday and from this morning have most certainly triggered in many of you the same reaction that they did in me: revulsion.

Just skirting the headlines, we see a shooting, a pepper spraying incident, another trampling, and a mass looting.

From Braucherei, Urglaawer learn that the intentions behind a gift, which would also include the process of obtaining the gift, are imprinted energetically upon the gift. When a procurement of a gift is the result of theft, violence, or subterfuge, the gift becomes toxic to the recipient. While the Wurt (Wyrd) of the perpetrator will deservedly be impacted by the actual inhumane act, unfortunately, so will the Wurt of the recipient be negatively affected.

Our society has been reduced, somehow, to going below the lowest common denominator; we are in fractions of fractions at this point. The consumer culture hyperbolizes the Black Friday sales, thus whipping up a fervor among those who willingly buy into the frenzy. The mayhem is abetted by a media that are always looking for ways simultaneously to condemn and to glorify social drama.

On the large, social scale, this annual disorder will not change. However, among the various Heathen paths, we can strive to ensure that our holiday observances do not become overtaken by meaningless consumerism.

Surely there are many reasons to purchase and to give gifts to one another. In fact, the gift exchange is a hallmark of Heathenry. However, we must be conscious of the intentions behind our gifts and of the state of mind we are in when packing and presenting them. To do otherwise is to behave irresponsibly with ourselves and our communities.

As we progress towards Yule, let us reject the chaos that has beset our nation. Instead, let us attune ourselves to the best interests of our communities and our collective and individual Wurt.

My first encounter with Der Ewich Yeeger (The Eternal Hunter) that I can remember was when I was about four or five years old. I was at some event being held by my mother's extended family. It was a pleasant afternoon. Suddenly, a brief burst of noise erupted all around us. It did not last long, but it was a surprising din of barking sounds. One of my older relatives said to me, "Don't worry. It is just Ewicher Yeeger scaring up the ghosts on the mountain." She said that Ewicher Yeeger helped to feed the early settlers and that we owe our survival to him.

Many years later, I began to seek more information on the entity who dwells on the Kitatinny Ridge (more commonly known as the Blue Mountain Ridge). I found this reference to his story in a book called American Folklore and Legend (pp. 28-29; Readers Digest Association, 1978):

One summer when some early settlers were struggling to maintain a colony, there was a terrible drought. The crops failed, streams were waterless, and all the wildlife left the vicinity. The settlers were in dire circumstances, and as venison was their only source of meat, one of the old men decided to use his dogs to hunt and chase back the deer. Before taking off for the wilderness, he promised his people that he would hunt forever, even through the sky if necessary, to save the settlement from starvation. After he had been gone for a few days, the deer began to appear in the valley, but the old man never returned. Ever since then, on certain nights during the hunting season, people still hear the barking of a pack of hounds off in the sky. "The Eternal Hunter," they mutter.

Urglaawer generally view Der Ewich Yeeger quite differently. He is usually seen as a Herne-like figure, and indeed, some Urglaawer call Him by the name of Hern (pronounced roughly like Hann). The picture even bears some resemblance to Herne the Hunter (lacking really only the horns). 

The picture above brings in some features associated more with the god Holler, which is another valid possibility, particularly in relation to the presence of mountaintops sacred to Holle on adjacent ridges. 

Either way, the Deitsch settlers on and north of the ridge owed their survival to Der Ewich Yeeger. Thus, it is fitting that we honor Him. Meat offerings are customary, but even flowers or other votives are acceptable. The ridge is long and wide, and the places for offerings are many.

The ridge draws closer and closer to the right of the picture above, but this particular location along the Lechau (Lehigh) served as a spiritual spot at which to share in ritual offering to Der Ewich Yeeger.

Although a typical Urglaawe times for ceremonial offering to Him would be in November, there is never an inappropriate time to honor the gods and goddesses (Ziewe) of our folk.

Hail!

This weekend Distelfink members welcomed the arrival of spring with a ceremony dedicated to the goddess Oschdra. 

Although little is known about Oschdra, Jakob Grimm states in Teutonic Mythology that Her name lives on in places in the German lands (IV, 1371) and that She is considered to be a White Lady (III, 908) along with Holle, Berchta, and others.

She heralds the arrival of spring, and the hare, which is sacred to Her, has become one of the longstanding traditional symbols of the arrival of spring. The egg, serving as a symbol of fertility, is another sight that is commonly seen paired with the hare. These two elements appear in American Easter (the name of which is derived from the same root as Oschdra) traditions, many of which were brought to this country by the Deitsch immigrants. 

The term "Oschdre," with the contemporary meaning of "spring equinox," is plural, which indicates that the observance lasted for more than one particular day. Thus, we continue to celebrate Oschdra's arrival for several days afterwards, seeking Her blessings on plants that are peeping out of the soil and on seeds that we will use throughout the season.

We welcome Oschdra's arrival on a cart that is wheeled past an offering to Her. Upon the cart we place some of the plants that are already growing inside the home or greenhouse along with any seeds for which we will seek blessings. The cart is taken into the house (or, in the future, temple)  and is present throughout the Urglaawer rite. Items from the cart can be shared among the ceremony's participants as a welcomed reminder of spring's coming warmth.

In the post-modern era, most of us are separated from the harshness of winter by our modern conveniences. It is very difficult to imagine how much the arrival of spring meant to our ancestors!

So today we honor Oschdra, the goddess of the radiant dawn... the goddess of upspringing light... a spectacle who brings joy and blessing to a land and a folk who are eagerly awaiting rebirth!