Witch core

“Happy Saint Walpurgis day, witch!”

“Happy first day of fairy month, fairy!”

*Both* “Happy first day of Virgin Mary month, Christowitch!”

Its name come from Saint Walpurga, who feast day is May the first. 

I regard her as the witches’s patron saint for that reason, with Saint Brigid and Saint Hildegard. Brigid have her feast day on February the 1st, a day regarded as the first day of spring. That’s why Irish people  still make, on that day, Saint Brigid crosses that are associated with witchcraft. As for Hildegard, she was a medium and wrote several grimoires about herbology and cryptozoology. 

Traditionally, May the first was the very beginning of hot season in ancient days, despite (like today…) these days can be cold due to the Ice Saints phenomenon. That’s why light fairies (seelies) ended their hibernation and dark ones (unseelies) would begun theirs.

 The ancient ones would be  terrified to cross the path of unseelies on their way to bed, and that night quickly get the reputation to be one of the biggest sabbaths of the year with one night exactly set six months later. That’s it: Halloween. The contrary happened (Unseelies woke up and seelies were going to bed) that night. You would spot no one outside on 30th April to May the first night (too afraid to met bad witches or even demons),

 and in some north European countries, it is still traditional to disguise as witches and have fun outside (well, except not, this year).

A witch Easter: moodboard

I thought I knew the most I could knew about witches…But I still do discoveries on the subject. Did you know that (I discovered it while searching for the term on Pinterest to do a moodboard) there is a tradition of Easter witches?

Hell yeah! I’m not speaking about Wiccans celebrating Ostara, I mean being associated with the Christian Easter.

I did not know that this is a thing in Scandinavian myths. In these countries, people believed in “Blockula” (never heard of this before either), a magical island that would only appear to witches, and made only for them, where they met the devil. An inverted Avalon, in a sense.

During the witch trials (XVIIth century) Scandinavians were terrified of witches, who visited Blockula  between Maundy Thursday and Easter (which they can’t stand, I guess). Witches had the reputation to steal to their neighbors things they could use to fly on and go to Blockula. Brooms, but also forks, rakes, cattle, etc. Peasants in Nordic  countries had the habit to hide their stuff during Holy week so witches won’t “borrow” these.

After the fear of witches disappeared during XVIIIth century, Scandinavians started to homage witches ‘s passage  at the time of the year. Until today, children, mostly, (but not only, elderly too) will dress as witches and go from house to house between  Maundy Thursday and Easter and ask for candies, Halloween style, giving branches with feathers in exchange . 

Hence Easter greetings cards featuring witches (note that they would wear a headscarf rather than a pointy hat, have colorful rather than black clothes, and for some reasons travel with a teapot -maybe because it is a long trip and they need to drink).

As the sky was supposed to be obscured with witches at the time of the year, Scandinavia associate Easter with witches, as closely as bunnies.

Mostly on https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/happy-easter-here-come-the-witches/. To summarize:

- Blockula appeared during Easter period because Scandinavians then thought the world was vulnerable to evil during Holy week.

-Scandinavians did not only hide their cattle and brooms from witches, they tried to chase them away by burning evergreen in their fireplaces and lit bonfires.

-Witches did not only stole brooms or anything else they could fly on, they kidnapped children, brought them in Blockula, then escort them back to their home, but the kids stay weak and ill for days after that. So children were locked at home as well during Holy week.

-Witches were gone exactly from Holy Wednesday night to Easter morning. They arrived just in time for the Mass (missing it would have been suspicious). But they could be identified, because of a tendency to recite their prayers backward.

-When the fear of witches faded, they were on the contrary seen as a good omen. Having a witch perched on the roof on Maundy Thursday was considered good luck, as witches brought blessings of prosperity and joy to inhabitants.

-Witches could left coffee pots in houses they visited too. It explain those kettles they bring with them on cards, as they were famous for being caffeine addicts (to not fall asleep during the trip ?) . I’m disappointed, I never drink coffee and thought they were tea pots.

(Hence the coffee box)

-Nowadays, kids who go from door to door at Easter can be dressed as witches, bunnies, cats, and chicks, but also (especially boys) in any pop culture character (like Stars Wars, Harry Potter...), Halloween style.