Today is Perchta's Day!

January 6th is the Perchtenlauf when her spirits run in processions both beautiful and wild. The Queen of Ice and caretaker of the souls of children, horned and bright, the stars shine like crowns upon her regal head, the consort of Krampus, the Mistress of the Alps. Perchta "The Bright One" Queen of the Heimchen, this is your day, may it be beautiful.

Spirit of the Day #10

Wyrm

A Wyrm is a kind of dragon, a version of it that is a complete serpent, with no limbs. They are enormous in size and typically breathe hot air or steam, and are sometimes venomous. One of the most famous Wyrms was the Lambton Wyrm that plagued Lambton Hill in Britain. While a kind of Wyrm called Knuckers are a type of water Dragon that lives in wells and bodies of water and are mentioned in the epic Beowulf. It could be argued that the Northern European Deity Jormungandr is a Wyrm. Wyrm once referred to all dragons but has since been reduced to specifically serpentine dragons, leading some to assume that the Wyrm is a memory of an actual creature that once lived in Europe varying from a large snake to a kind of Crocodilian. The most common role of the Wyrm in European lore is that of its slaying by a knight, though it often desires a maiden and some tales involve a marriage between a Wyrm and a young girl.

With One Round Down and Eight to Go before we have the final vote, it is now time yet again to vote for your Favorite Animal and get them a lore post to further their chances of Winning a full length article.

Bear Milk

In European tradition Bear Milk is attributed special properties. Many heroes are given special properties such as strength by being nursed by it, Atalanta being one example. Though it can also give the bearlike element of stealing maidens such as with Paris in the Trojan War. In the Medieval Romance of Valentine and Orson, Orson is kidnapped from his mother by a bear and reared on Bear Milk as a result he gained a pelt of thick hair and immense strength living his life as a bear and/or wildman. He is eventually discovered by his brother Valentine and the two go on numerous adventures before Orson becomes a great and powerful king. In the widespread tale of the half bear son, two varieties exist one such is that of the women impregnated by a bear, whose offspring goes on to accomplish great deeds and found nations. While another has the child nursed in the bears cave or with bears milk achieving bearlike strength and power, such as the well known tale of John of the Bear.-TLK

Spirit of the Day #11

The White Stag

The White Stag (Deer) is one of the most important spirits of Hyperborean tradition. They serve as messengers of the otherworld and omens of change, they appear in our realm and can serve as a means of traveling to the otherworld such as in the story of St. Notburga, and are often the form our gods take or a sacred animal therein. They are often a form taken by the fey and will deliver messages to people or serve as mounts for divine individuals. The White Stag also led to the development of the Scythians by leading them to their homeland, and served as the mother of the sun. Their antlers at times are symbolic of the tree of life. Due to their high importance to our culture and people it is taboo to kill them.