WILD HUNT (PART I)

WILD HUNT I. I can already feel it coming, strong winds roaring, I hear the hooves of horses among the dark clouds that hide the moon, the howling of wolves and dogs...Odin leads the Wild Hunt, god of the winds and the dead. He is accompanied by his son Thor, the Valkyries, an army of berserkers, wandering spirits, packs of dogs and wolves with eyes of fire...They ride on black horses whose neighing mingles with the wind. They roam the skies and forests on winter nights, from Samhain to Beltane. They seek the damned to drag them to the Underworld, the dying and the damned who want to join their army. It's said that the souls of some people leave their bodies at night, while sleeping, to join the Wild Hunt. The leader is Odin, but it wasn't always this way, nor in all regions. In some areas it's said that at the head of the ghostly army rides Holda, the Germanic Mother Goddess, who some link with Frigg, Odin's wife. In Germany and Scandinavia people say that on winter nights, when a strong wind whips through the forests, the hunting horns are heard and it's the sign that the Wild Hunt is coming. The presence of the Wild Hunt is a bad omen, a sign of famine, catastrophes, deaths, bad harvests... But it wasn't always like that. In ancient times the Wild Hunt was only formed by a couple: Wotan and Holda (Odin and Frigga) who came from Asgard to visit humans and bring abundance and welfare to people, while in return they received offerings. But overtime everything changes, or perhaps things don't change, but us. We change, irremediably, and with that we make things change. But as I always tell you, the essence is still there. Art by Kasia Krzysztofowicz.

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