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Translation:
"Hail, Holle"
Written and Sung by Birgit Knorr
Written and Sung by Birgit Knorr
Hail, Holle, dear mother,
Hail, Holle, high woman.
Souls sway deep in the water,
Souls think deeply in the lake.
Feather flakes fall quietly,
Feather flakes fall.
Give us good work today,
Give us good work now.
Your flakes,
The snow is shining in the country.
Bathe me in thy well,
Well brings me to your country."
Holda, her motherly voice travels from deep within her well, echoing in all directions of time and space. Come to her well, and submerge yourself in her healing waters, and find yourself rising from the deep to a magical world on the other side. This place is our inner world, and Holda asks us to work diligently there. What appear to be mundane domestic tasks to the outer world are mindful practices that balance our inner world. Holda teaches that there is no separation between the inner and outer worlds, and that they influence one another. Therefore, magic is found in the seemingly mundane tasks that life requires of us to survive and thrive.
For a moment I request that you ask yourself: what brought you here to read about Frau Holda? How did you come to know her? What can you learn from her to enrich your life?
"Holda in Summer" by me, Nixie (Melani)
My Personal Journey With Holda
Upon reflection, I believe Holda has always been present in my life. She was mysterious and nameless in the past. Holda's symbols have become obvious to me when I've reflected on
memories, stories I've heard and read, experiences outdoors in nature,
divination, dreams, along the hedge, and on the other side.
A memory comes to mind from when I was a child playing under a large live oak tree next to the house where I spent the first twelve years of my life. I remember looking up into the tree boughs at the sunlight filtering through the green leaves. I felt a loving, protective warmth surround me in the company of that tree. That is the earliest recollection I have of connecting to a goddess' presence. In one of her many guises Holda has been described as being a lovely fair-haired maiden, but when she turns around her back takes on the form of a tree. That memory came to mind when I read that about her.
In 2015 I had an intense experience that jolted me out of a deep sleep in the dark, wee hours one morning. Suddenly, I was gasping for air, and found myself in that strange yet familiar place between waking and dreaming. In my mind's eye I could see a crone with empty black pits where her eyes should have been, and her mouth stretched open as her scream whipped about like a tumultuous, howling wind. Her skin was weathered and leathery, shriveled and pulled taught over her bones. She was frightening at first, but I didn't turn away from her. My heart was beating rapidly, but the longer I faced her the less scary she seemed. I could feel my breath become calmer, and my heart settle a bit. I couldn't resist looking away from her eventually to take in my surroundings. The dream was in a dark, windy place, where leafless trees thrashed about like hands of the undead. There were cyclones whirling about in the distance, but the crone was pointing with a long, knobby finger to where I needed to go. There stood before me an old stone well, glistening with slimy algae in what appeared to be moonlight. I peered into the well, which went from being a bottomless pit of darkness to a whirling spiral of gray mist. I could sense the crone urging me to get on with it, so I jumped in. I pulled myself out of that in-between place, and woke up with tears streaming down my cheeks, and my heart racing from the intensity of the experience. I didn't know who the crone figure was at the time, and could come up with a list of goddess names that could have been hers.
Holda appeared to me again during the 2016 summer solstice full Rose Moon. During my runecast that evening Berkana came up, and while I was reading one of my books on runes to refresh my understanding of the rune Holda's name was listed under the deities associated with it. It seemed like the rest of the words on the page blurred out of view, and her name struck me with a significant feeling of recognition. It was like divine timing, and it elevated my heartrate like my dream from the previous year. Only this time from excitement instead of fear. I realized later on when referring to my runecast journal that Hagalaz, Uruz, and Laguz appeared in several runecasts previously. It was like she was spelling her name for me, H - U - L, and I didn't make that connection until I saw her name listed under Berkana! I knew in my heart that I'd discovered the name of the goddess that has always been there for me. I devoted myself to Holda on June 20, 2016 as my matron goddess.
Is Holda's flax spun into your own personal story? If so, I would love to hear about it.
Other names associated with Holda:
Fru Goda, Frau Goda, Frau/Mother Holle, Mother Holly, Frau/Mother Rose,
Frau Woda (feminine form of Woden, also known as Woden's consort),
Holda the Merciful, Holde, Holl, Holle, Hollerbeier Fraa, Holly, Huld, Hulda,
Hull, Hulle, Mother Goose. Her name is often preceded by the German honorific Frau, which translates to "crone" or "woman."
She
is viewed by some as an interpretation of Bercht/Berchta/Percht/Perchta, Freya, Frigg/Frigga, Hel, or Hela (for one must travel down the well to access her dwelling in the land below), the creatures known as huldra/huldrafolk, elves, faeries, Nerthus, the
Norns (because she shares the same physical deformities caused by spinning), the Eastern European Baba Yaga,
Eostre/Ostara, Epona, and Saint Lucia or Lucy.
Holda in one or more of her manifestations is an integral figure in several heathen and/or pagan traditions:
Urglaawe, Deutsch folk magic, and Pennsylvanian Dutch Braucherei.
CORRESPONDENCES
ANIMALS: Aurochs (extinct species of cattle), Cat, Donkey, Goose, Hare, Horse, Spider, Swan, Wolf.
HOLIDAYS: Vernal equinox (she is a goddess of abundance and fertility), Walpurgisnacht, Harvest time, and Yule. In modern times she is still venerated around the Christmas holiday.
COLORS: Black, blue, brown, gray, green, gold, red, and white.
MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES: Belschnickel/Belsnickel, elves, faeries, Holden, and possibly the Huldra, or Huldrafolk.
OBJECTS: Apron, basket, conical hat, boline, distaff, down-filled bed/pillow, hail, ice, linen, elderberry syrup, plough, scythe, sickle, snow, snowflake, spinning wheel, wagon, wheel, and yarn.
ORIGIN: Teutonic (ancient Germanic culture), Northern/Western Europe, Scandinavia, and possibly as far east as ancient Mesopotomia.
PLACES: Anywhere snow is present, Cabins/cottages, caves, farms, fields, forests, gardens, graves, groves, hearths, homes, kitchens, lakes, meadows, mountains (especially the Brocken Mountains), rivers, rows of crops, sky, springs, wells, the underworld, and vernal pools.
PLANTS: Apple, Beech, Birch, Elm, Fir, Flax, Holunder/Elder tree; Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) also known as Hollebier Schtock), Holly, Wacholder/Juniper(Fire Tree, Kaddig, Knirkbusch, Kranetbaum, Kranetbusch), Lady's Mantle, Linde/Lime Tree (Tilia cordata, not the citrus fruit variety), Maßholder/Field Maple (elder maple), Pine, Rose. (Her devotees are urged to ask her permission before removing any part of these plants out of respect.)
PRACTICES: Agriculture, Blanzeschwetze (communicating with plants), crafting, domesticity, child-rearing, hard work, raising livestock, spinning, textile work, weaving.
RUNES: Berkana, Hagalaz, Uruz, Laguz, Isa.
STONES: Garnet, Snow Quartz, Stichtite.
TRADITIONS: Braucherei, Deutsch/German folk magic, Ecclectic Wicca, Northern Tradition Paganism, Ecclectic Paganism, Heathenry, Teutonic Paganism, Urglaawe.
*****This post will be frequently updated with more correspondences and references.*****
REFERENCES/SOURCES
Berkano
http://www.rune-magick.com/pages/aettir3/02_berkano.htm
Empowering Your Life With Runes by Jean Marie Stine
"Grimm's Fairy Tales " by Brothers Grimm
Holda's Shrine: Who is Holda? - Northern Tradition Paganism
Frau Holle by Jenny Jinya
http://www.northernpaganism.org/shrines/holda/about.html
Norse Magic by D.J. Conway
My playlist for Youtube videos on Holda:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtpZrzC1dZMRXXvnbkY4OsSpEnBgUB3wo
"Mother Goose Rhymes" by various authors
The Sacred Journey and Migration of Frau Holda Into our Modern Reality, and her Many Names and Faces by SummerGaile
http://orderwhitemoon.org/goddess/FrauHolda/index.htm
