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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Berhta

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
Melting Old Witch Winter

 Propitiate, v. (< L propitiare, to render favorable, appease) 1. trans. To render propitious or favorably inclined; to appease, conciliate (one offended).

 

The good news: it may not be time to kill the black goat in the back yard just yet.

Not quite.

In pagan lore, a propitiation is an offering that you make when you want Them (or one of Them) to stop what They're doing. As one would expect, propitiatory sacrifices take many forms.

Here in Snow Country, winter started off understated, but late in January it turned nasty. We've been running 20-30 degrees colder than usual (we haven't seen above freezing for almost a month), and we broke the historic snowfall record for the month of February. There's a blizzard predicted this weekend and another for mid-week, with possible total accumulations of twelve or so inches to add to the three-some feet of snow already on the ground.

Fortunately, everyone agrees that Old Witch Winter loves pancakes. Why, I'm not sure—there must be a story out there somewhere, probably buried under the snow—but she does.

So, as I write this, the yeast sponge bubbles away in the warmth of the oven. By the time the snow falls on Saturday, the batter will be nice and sour and stinky: just the way she likes it.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Steven Posch
    Steven Posch says #
    Griddle cakes are the oldest bread that there is. Happy eating!
  • Anthony Gresham
    Anthony Gresham says #
    I've never heard that story about pancakes and Winter, but I like it. It just so happens that I was lucky enough to find a packag

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
The Lie that Tells the Truth

CRASH!

A massive commotion out on the front porch. The kids rush to the window to see what's happening. That's when the screams begin.

Out of the darkness of Midwinter's Eve, a hideous face is looking back at them from the other side of the pane, mere inches away. Over her shoulder pokes the muzzle of a huge black goat, seven feet tall if an inch.

The door crashes open of its own accord.

Oh gods, no! It's “Mother” Berhta: Old Witch Winter in person.

The kids are terrified, the kids are delighted. They'll be playing Mother Berhta for weeks. Berhta is mean, Berhta is scarey. Berhta kicks Santa's butt any day of the moon.

And she's the one with the presents.

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Recent comment in this post - Show all comments
  • Andrea
    Andrea says #
    Very nice!

According to my sources, Mother Berhta (otherwise known as Old Witch Winter and the Widdershins Polar Vortex) is angry because an insufficient number of people honored her on Bertha's Night this year.

The situation, admittedly, is complicated by the fact that exactly when Berhta's Night falls is a matter of dispute. According to some, Berhta's Night is Old Yule, Thirteenth Night (i.e. the Thirteenth Night after Midwinter's Eve). Some would say, Twenty-Sixth Night; some, Thirty-Ninth Night.

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