It would be Frau Holle. The original goddess of the wild hunt, and supreme earth mother. I love the story of Frau Holle because this is where a deity was allowed to live on in the consciousness of a people. Through the underestimation of the power of our mother goddesses. So sit back enjoy as we fall deep into our well of the unconscious feminine memory.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm024.html
After looking through so many tales I think the symbolism is fairly straight forward at the beginning here. We have our girl who has begun to bleed and transforms into a woman. When the reel was completely bloody that is when she is ushered into a parallel world. The world of the gods. This is the destiny of all women even if ignored. All women have the power to walk between the worlds, and I believe this is the power to walk between our conscious and unconscious selves. Jung made this popular, but this is not something new points out Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill: “The way so-called depth psychologists go on about the subconscious nowadays you'd swear they had invented it, or at the very least stumbled on a ghostly and ghastly continent where mankind had never previously set foot. Even the dogs in the street in West Kerry know that the "otherworld" exists, and that to be in and out of it constantly is the most natural thing in the world....”
In the parallel world the heroine comes across talking bread and talking apple trees. Our American psyche has labeled bread as an evil. Carbs are bad. I think it is funny that a unit of food is labeled as evil or bad, but that is my personal opinion. The wonder bread of the supermarket is not the most optimum source of nourishment. Most of the breads sold in grocery stores contain high fructose corn syrup which do a number on the liver. (Just to combat the HFCS advertising when HFCS is ingested the body thinks it is getting sugar and prepares the proper chemical release to handle the sugar. The problem is HFCS is significantly more sweet than sugar so the body cannot keep up thus damaging the liver. And HFCS in moderation is NOT the same as sugar don’t believe the advertising!) Bread made with whole grains and natural yeast is very nourishing and good for your body. Natural fermentation of bread produces enzymes that are very good for the body. Here is how to make your own sourdough starter using natural yeasts in your geographical area. *this is taken from Paul Pitchford’s Healing with Whole Foods
Sourdough Starter
1 cup water
1 cup whole-wheat flour
In a sterilized jar and with a sterilized spoon mix flour and water. Cover with a cotton cloth. Live airborne yeasts will begin to turn it sour. Stir daily with sterilized spoon for uniform fermentation. After 3 days your starter will be ready. Loosely cover with lid and store in a cool place
Sourdough Bread
14 cups whole-wheat flour
5 cups water
1 ½ t. salt
1 cup sourdough starter
Mix 7 cups flour with water, salt and starter. Add remaining flour slowly until dough becomes to thick to stir. Knead gently until smooth, uniform and elastic. Cover and let rise 2 hours in non metal bowl. Replenish starter. Knead dough again. Shape into 3 or 4 loaves. Cut shallow slits in top to keep from cracking. Place in oiled and floured bread pans. Cover let rise 4-6 hours. Place in cold oven with a pan of plain water on oven floor. Bake at 425 F for 15 min. Lower heat to 350 F continue cooking until golden about 45 minutes.
The newly bleeding girl now meets Frau Holle. From Frau Holle the girl refines her skills to make her a better bride. She is so industrious Frau Holle rewards her with a dowry. With the help of the earth mother she is magically transformed.
In a previous post I talked about the fact we do not have a ritual in modern society of a girl starting menstruation. Saying good bye to the girl we were. While reading Women’s work by Elizabeth Wayland Barber I came across the “string skirt”. Barber conjectures that the string skirt was symbolic of having reached menarche, but not menopause. Of childbearing age. This would be an awesome tradition to incorporate into our Heathen ways. The women of the tribe work on making a string skirt for the young girl who has reached puberty. Recognizing her new status in the community and blessing her with fertility for the future. Of course Frau Holle would be the one called upon.
Our young woman is ready now to walk among the conscious. She is ready to be part of society and find a mate. I think this is interesting as most teenage girls do seem to be sleep walking. I know I did. I barely remember 13-17. I see flashes of memory but always with a dark haze over them. I slept a lot, and when I was awake I still was asleep. In future posts I will talk about this stage of life as we have many tales that teach us about our sleeping phase.
The other daughter goes through the same process, and has very different results. This girl was not fit for marriage. Frau Holle can guide someone who is willing and ready, but she can’t guide someone who is lazy and unwilling to work. On a spirit level I think there is a lesson here. Those who dabble into a parallel world will end up with pitch or a curse. Those who are diligent in their work with be blessed with riches. We cannot think going to the world of the gods is going to be a walk in the park like the other daughter did, it takes hard diligent work.
In the end of spirit or of material the moral to all Heathen women is the same, the industrious woman will receive the blessing. A good solid Germanic moral. So happy baking and WAES HAEIL!!!
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