In a Forest of Winter Enchantment: A Special Fiction Piece by The Modern Merlin
Good afternoon and Frohes Muttersnacht to you all! For those who don’t know, Mother’s Night is celebrated the night before Yule (the Winter Solstice) in many traditional Germanic customs. Not only are our earthly and ancestral mothers honored, but also the mother goddesses. This part of my Winter holiday celebration is when I switch into a more ancestry-based practice, incorporating various Celtic, Germanic and Anglo-Saxon beliefs concerning the winter solstice tradition. All this, while still honoring Saturnalia, which in essence welcomes in “Jack Frost” or “Old Man Winter” as he is now called. This fiction piece is inspired by the energy of Mother’s Night, and is in celebration of all mothers out there; from our spiritual mothers, to our earthly mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and the Goddesses. I hope that you enjoy this short piece, as I experiment with fiction/inspired writing.
In a Forest of Winter Enchantment
I walked up to the threshold of the forest, and could smell the fresh pine among the cold wind blowing the snow all around me. The hum of a few active critters still braving the cold winter’s embrace could be heard from within the forest. There was something else, too; something I’d never sensed before, but it felt all too familiar at the same time. I look above the tall pines in front of me, and I notice a white barn owl staring down at me, wondering what my next move will be. I sense that she’s wondering if I’ll brave the unknown, and maybe she knows something I don”t. I decide to walk into the forest, and notice her following me, eventually flying out ahead of me, almost blending in with the snow. She eventually perched herself up on a small boulder, and looked at me, almost asking me to come and pet her head. Intuitively, I decide to carefully approach her. She hoots, and I go to pet her head, and in that moment, she’s gone! Not flown away, but simply vanished!
Astounded, I search for a logical explanation, but can’t find one. Lost, confused and beating myself up, I sit down against a tall, bare oak tree. I hear in the stillness of the snow and forest what sounds like footsteps. Terrified that it could be a predator, I stand up, and get ready to fight to the death if necessary. Out from the shadows emerges a brown bear; horrified, I attempt to run, but trip over brush and fall face first into the snow. The bear keeps approaching, but it doesn’t attack. Instead, it sits, and waits for me to collect myself. Once I realize that this bear is a friend, and not a foe, I calm down, and instinctively go to follow it deeper into the woods. I’m led to a remote clearing in what felt like another world, deep within the forest of snow covered trees and ground. Daylight began to fade, and for the first time, I heard the bear speak to me: “help me gather firewood, darkness approaches and we must stay warm. You’ll be safe with us for the night”. Shocked, I reply “Us?”. “Us. You’re among friends. My name is Modbjörn and I am the Great Bear of the Forest. My friends, The Wolf of the Woods, The Owl of the Night, and The Fox of Evergreens are here always; always guiding, protecting and helping the forest, and those who honor it.”
Wondering if I’d eaten magic mushrooms on accident, she interrupts my thoughts: “I promise you, you’re not losing your sanity, nor your mind. This is the way of the ancestors. Humanity has lost its connection to its mother, the Earth, and her creatures, their spirits, and the spirits of their own ancestors. For the few that will remember, we will call, guide and protect.”
Not knowing what else to say, I start gathering firewood, and help Modbjörn build a large pile of firewood and light it. Once the fire is built and lit inside the shallow end of a cave nearby, the Fox of Evergreens comes and lights it, without saying anything, with a bundle of mistletoe, holly, evergreen, pine and cedar he’d gathered on his journeys. He then used it to cleanse us, warding off any negativity, worry or concern we might’ve still had with us. For this was the night that the Great Mother was to visit, and I was to meet my mother, our mother. As the time passed, I would stoke the fire, and add more firewood to it. Eventually, the Wolf of the Woods joined us, as did the Owl of the Night shortly after.
Once everyone had gathered ’round the fire, Modbjörn opened: “Tonight, our Mother comes and visits us. We must do her honor, and celebrate our home and her endless nurturing. We must remember we are one with her, and she is within us. In our dreams, and in our waking hours, we are part of her.” She hands each of us a cup filled with a tea she’d been brewing over the fire, and continues: “drink these sacred herbs and connect once again with our Great Mother. Remember what it feels like to be connected to her, and a part of her.”
We each drink the brew, which tasted like chamomile with a minty after taste, and a bitter kind of sweetness. Whether it induced a state of euphoria or not, it allowed us to once again see our mother, all around us. Slowly, and surely, we all began dancing in ecstasy, feeling the joy of once again being at one with our great mother. In this ecstatic state, I began to see myself differently; I looked down, and noticed that I wasn’t so different from the creatures that had joined Modbjörn and I in receiving our Great Mother. She came to see each one of us personally, providing comfort, healing, and grace. When she got to me, she didn’t look like she did for the others; rather, she looked like the faces of my mother, my grandmother, and their mothers and grandmothers, and so on. Her eyes morphed to the bluest of blues, and her hair the earthiest of brown. She said nothing, and everything all at once, without even speaking.
I jumped awake to the sound of my iPhone’s alarm, and realizing that it had only been a dream, I shut off my alarm, and begin getting ready for the day. When I go to put my shoes on before I leave, I notice they’re cold, and a puddle of cold, semi-frozen water sits beneath them. I pick them up, perplexed as to how that could be, and notice that there’s a small layer of mud on the bottoms of them. “How could this be?” I think to myself as I put them on. I go to put my coat on, getting ready to brave the cold, snowy day outside, and notice the feather of a white owl. Confused, I open the door, and immediately I’m confronted with the scene from the center of the forest from my “dream” the night before. Or was it a dream?
Frohes Muttersnacht! Wishing everyone a wonderful Holiday season, no matter what you celebrate! I will be taking a break until shortly after the New Year to celebrate. Happy Holidays!
~The Modern Merlin
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Author Bio:
The Modern Merlin has been a Polytheist and Animist Pagan, Witch, Sorcerer, Wizard, Druid, Mystic, Ceremonial Magician, Occultist, Shaman, Seer and Soothsayer for 15 years, worshipping and casting magick with deities and spirits from many cultures, including Ancient Greece, Rome, Norse & Germanic, Celtic, Egyptian, Sumerian, as well as many Faeries, Nymphs, Dryads, Ancestors and other nature and land spirits and spirits of place. He is a Priest of Hecate, Diana, Hades, Lilith and Persephone. He has experience in the Left and Right Hand Paths, working with both hands as needed. He currently practices Necromancy and Deathwalking, as well as Traditional Witchcraft, Druidry, Hellenism and Ceremonial Magick, incorporating all of them into a cohesive practice, with some shamanic touches. He studies and practices Astrology as well as Tarot and other forms of divination such as Runes, Palmistry and Ogham. He has also been investigating the paranormal for over 10 years and has a keen interest in researching various mythologies, cosmologies and folklore from around the world. He is the Co-Editor of PaganPages.Org and he has a personal blog where he shares Astrological, Pagan, and other magickal wisdom for free! He gives readings and other spiritual services on his Facebook Page, The Modern Merlin, as well other free informational posts for everyone to see!
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