Riding through the night skies w/a horde of caribou, arriving at midnight accepting food offerings, living in the darkness of the far north, ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms...typical behaviour of a Christian saint? The "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" is yet another leader of the Wild Hunt, which commenced at Hallows and peaks at Yule.
The Teutonic god Hold Nickar (Old St. Nick?) galloped through the sky during the winter solstice, granting favours to his worshippers below. The original Nordic leader of the hunt was Odin, known in Germanic myth as Wodan. Odin rode his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. Today it is Santa who rides, with his eight reindeer.
The Teutonic god Hold Nickar (Old St. Nick?) galloped through the sky during the winter solstice, granting favours to his worshippers below. The original Nordic leader of the hunt was Odin, known in Germanic myth as Wodan. Odin rode his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. Today it is Santa who rides, with his eight reindeer.
Flying Reindeer! You bet they fly. Reindeer are sacred to nomadic tribal shamans of northern Europe and Asia, providing food, shelter and clothing. They themselves feed on grass and lichens, and are simply wild about the mushroom Amanita muscaria, aka "fly agaric". They will seek them out, then prance about euphorically while under their influence, effects of which can include sensations of flying. And so go the legends of flying reindeer. Reindeer games indeed!
Can humans play too? Yep, if they're willing to drink deer urine. The active ingredients of the mushroom are not metabolized by the body, but remain active in the urine. It's actually safer to drink the urine of a deer who consumed the mushroom than to eat the mushroom itself, as many of the toxic compounds are processed and eliminated on the first pass through the body, but the potent effects remain active even after six passes. The phrase "to get pissed," in Europe means to get drunk (but not necessarily "pissed off" as the American use would indicate) and was likely coined directly from this ancient practice, which preceded alcohol by thousands of years. [Am I recommending that you go out and drink "deer beer"? Absolutely not!]
One of the side effects of eating amanita mushrooms is that the face takes on a flushed, ruddy glow. Well, "ho, ho, ho!" - remind you of anyone you know? Let's take a look at this jolly red elf; why does he dress that way? When the time came round for the midwinter "Annual Renewal" festival, the ancient Siberian shaman would don special attire, specifically, a red and white fur-trimmed coat and long black boots. He would then go into evergreen woods to seek and gather the red and white spotted magical mushroom in an act of sympathetic magic whereby, if one dresses like their quarry while hunting, be it an antlered deer or a red and white fungus, you will find it.
One can imagine the awe felt by our distant ancestors upon discovering for the first time these colourful caps growing among the roots of the trees, this "virgin birth" magically springing from the earth without any visible seed. Looking for the sire, so to speak, they supposed it was a result of the morning dew, the "divine semen" echoed in modern representations as silver tinsel decoration. Amanita muscaria grow in pine and birch woods of western North America, northern Europe, but these days are more commonly found in fairy tale books and some vintage Christmas ornaments. They are also in Europe an emblem of chimney sweeps. This may be why:
Carrying his sackful of "toys" (the fly agaric), the shaman would then enter his reindeer skin yurt through the smoke hole "chimney" at the top, descending the birch pole "fireplace" to the floor. Once inside, he holds ceremony, guiding the group in stringing the "popcorn and cranberries" i.e., the mushrooms, and hanging them out to dry, which is another way to reduce the mushroom's toxicity while increasing its potency. The gifts distributed and shared, he leaves back up the pole and out the smoke hole.
Where does he go? Does he follow the migratory paths of the reindeer? Does he follow Elen (Bulgarian, deer) the antlered goddess of ley lines, "…whose trackways lead us through the frozen forest of our winter dreams"? Reindeer guide him on a magical journey in his sleigh of dreams, traversing the entire planet on a single night, and like other Wild Hunters that precede and follow him (La Befana, Hold Nickar, even the sea god Poseidon on his horse...) "Old St Nick" gallops through the sky at Yule, showering gifts upon his worshippers below. The shamanic flight paths spiral on upward around to the top of the sacred evergreen World Tree and on toward the highest star. We can see his sleigh chariot when we look up into winter's dazzling night sky of bright stars. There we find what we now call the big dipper, circling around the North Star, topping the central axis of the cosmic Tree, around which hang all the other star lights and planet "ornaments". And so the spirit of the shaman climbs the sacred tree, and passes into the realm of the gods. Something to think about while decorating for the holidays.
Santa lives directly under this star at the North Pole. Exhausted (and exhilarated!) from his turn at the helm of the Wild Hunt, Old St. Nick is going home.
Tarot: King of Cups, especially in the Greenwood Tarot where it is called Reindeer; VII Chariot, XVII Star
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Elen of the ways I am named. I keep the paths between the many worlds and wind the strands of time and place around the souls of those who travel on these ancient tracks. Those who seek the wisdom of the spirit, who are drawn thither by their dreams, must first encounter me at the gates of Solstice. Then, if they pass the tests I set before them, they may proceed, deeper and yet deeper into the mystery of the Winter harvest.
-from the "Sun in the Greenwood" ritual by John and Caitlin Matthews
***This article also appears in the Winter 2009 issue of Gaea's Own newsletter, which can be accessed here
-from the "Sun in the Greenwood" ritual by John and Caitlin Matthews
***This article also appears in the Winter 2009 issue of Gaea's Own newsletter, which can be accessed here
