Paganism: Spotlight on Walpurgis Night

For those who are interested in Paganism. On the eve of Beltane is the celebration known as Walpurgis Night or the Night of the Witches. How will you celebrate it? Enjoy!

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Tater

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Spotlight on Walpurgis Night
by Elysia
Llewellyn Unbound

Witches and Wiccans around the Northern Hemisphere are gearing up for Beltane, or May Day, this coming Sunday. Falling on Beltane Eve is a holiday called Walpurgis Night, which has long been regarded as the time witches would gather on a rocky mountain in Germany known as the Brocken. While Walpurgis and Beltane have similar timing and some common themes, Walpurgis Night has traditions, lore, and correspondences all its own, and happily, Llewellyn has just published a book devoted to this interesting topic: Night of the Witches: Folklore, Traditions & Recipes for Celebrating Walpurgis Night. In honor of Walpurgis Night on Saturday, I interviewed the book’s author, Linda Raedisch, to find out more.

First things first – Walpurgis Night falls on April 30, or Beltane Eve. How is it different from Beltane? What is its significance?

The oversimplified answer would be that Beltane is the Celtic observance and Walpurgis Night the Germanic. When you look back into history and prehistory, the line between Celtic and Germanic and even Slavic are not at all clear, especially in Central Europe. It was a long time before the Roman designations caught on and the peoples concerned realized that they were supposed to be different ethnic groups. If you could go back to Roman times, I don’t think you would see so much difference between these peoples’ celebrations of May Eve. Since then, the so-called “Germanic” version has evolved into a night that’s first and foremost about witches. In the Middle Ages it was about driving them out. Now it celebrates them. Among the general public, kids dress up as witches and devils just as American kids do at Halloween, but it’s also about today’s German Witches celebrating their identity. Unlike many holidays, Walpurgisnacht has a geographic epicenter: a mountain called the Brocken in northern Germany. Nowadays, Witches gather there openly, but they were believed to gather there in secret since the time of Charlemagne and probably before.

Night of the Witches is a rather out of the ordinary book for Llewellyn to publish, as it does not deal with modern Wicca in the least! That said, do you think Wiccans will still enjoy it and find something of value in it? Can witches celebrate Walpurgis Night too?

One of my few friends who actually read the book asked me, “Wow, how do you know all that arcane stuff?” For Wiccans it’s not arcane stuff at all. Some of the content is for the general reader who has never heard of runes or besoms or valkyries. But then again, since Wicca is essentially an English religion, Wiccans might find something new in the book’s European slant. It’s possible that some Wiccan readers may not yet have run into an Alraune or a Bilwis or a Drude. And of course, the crafts and recipes are there for everyone. I’ve noticed that modern Witches always seem to be on the lookout for gifts for one another – is it all those Sabbats? You can use some of the craft ideas in the book to make gifts... Full Article

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