January Totems: Blackbird

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree. January's totems are Wolf, Blackthorn, and Blackbird.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Wolf (Faol) – guardianship, ritual, loyalty, free spirit, intuition, shadow
Blackthorn (Straif) – blasting magic, guardians, boundaries, no choice
Blackbird (Dru Dhubh) – territoriality, omens, enchantment, gateways

Blackbird

The Blackbird notoriously sings at twilight and dawn -- the liminal times -- making it a guardian of the gateways and between-places.  This makes it an ideal totem of January, the time when one year ends and another begins.

Rhiannon's birds were said to be blackbirds, as they are enchanted birds of the otherworld.  They were said to "wake the dead and lull the living to sleep", another nod to their liminal singing, and a hint that the blackbird is capable of the shamanic work of dreamwalking and spirit communication.

The blackbird, or ousel, is the first animal Culhwch asks regarding the whereabouts of Mabon, as it was the oldest animal that Culhwch knew of.  Again, the blackbird stands as the gateway to the animals that remain in the quest: stag, owl, eagle, and salmon. 

The blackbird in Culhwch's tale, here named the Blackbird of Cilgwri, answers that he is so old that he found a smith's anvil when he first came to Cilgwri, but that time was so long ago that the anvil has long since worn away from his pecking at it.  The blackbird is  especially sacred to blacksmiths.  In Irish ghobadhu means both blackbird and blacksmith.  The blackbird has the unique habit of bashing snail shells and nuts on stones, much as a smith would use an anvil.  For these reasons, and his coal-black feathers, the blackbird is sacred to smith gods, such as Tubal Cain.

Blackbirds are territorial, and seeing two together is considered a sign of good luck.  It is also good luck to have a blackbird build its nest on your roof, or anywhere near your home.

In North America the red-winged blackbird is perhaps the most iconic of blackbirds.  One Native American legend states that the blackbird tried to warn the people of a village that a man had set the marsh on fire.  The man angrily threw stones at the bird, wounding its wings and staining them blood red.  Thus, the blackbird is a bringer of omens, and of self-sacrifice.

January Totems: Blackthorn

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree. January's totems are Wolf, Blackthorn, and Blackbird.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Wolf (Faol) – guardianship, ritual, loyalty, free spirit, intuition, shadow
Blackthorn (Straif) – blasting magic, guardians, boundaries, no choice
Blackbird (Dru Dhubh) – territoriality, omens, enchantment, gateways

Blackthorn

The Blackthorn is a tree of winter.  The fruits of the tree, known as sloes, ripen and sweeten only after the first frost.  Sloe gin is made from these fruits.  A cold spring is traditionally known as a blackthorn winter, as the blackthorn often bears its white blossoms while winter's chill still hangs in the air.

The blackthorn has vicious thorns that can cause painful infections, and forms dense thickets when left to spread on its own.  It has tough dark black bark, hence its name.

Blackthorn's Gaelic name "straif" has connections with the English word strife.  Its thorns as sometimes used in witchcraft as "pins" to pierce wax poppets.  Some legends attest that the witches mark was made upon the flesh of a witch with a blackthorn thorn.

Blackthorn's wood is used in the creation of the Irish cudgel or shillelagh, which is an old traditional tool of the male leader of a coven.  Blackthorn staves and wands are used in blasting/cursing magic.

Charm of the Thorn

As a storm of tangl'd Briars
I cast forth the spines of torment:
Byt weave of thorns I bar the Way!
Ye Strength of the Nail of the Cross,
All spirits foul be fix'd upon Thee.
Let Ghost and Flesh twain be punctur'd
And Darkness fall -- for thou Art bound!

~Viridarium Umbris: The Pleasure Garden of Shadow by Daniel A. Schulke

January Totems: Wolf

In our tradition we divide the year not only by eight solar and agricultural holidays, but also by the Kalends. We celebrate twelve months of the year by the common calendar, plus a special thirteenth month for Samhain.  These month cycles are associated with different totemic spirits. Each month is assigned an animal, a bird (or other flying creature), and a tree. January's totems are Wolf, Blackthorn, and Blackbird.

The totemic associations are as follows:

Wolf (Faol) – guardianship, ritual, loyalty, free spirit, intuition, shadow
Blackthorn (Straif) – blasting magic, guardians, boundaries, no choice
Blackbird (Dru Dhubh) – territoriality, omens, enchantment, gateways


Wolf

The Wolf is associated with intuition, learning, the Shadow, faithfulness, and inner strength. The Wolf allows you to go beyond “normal” barriers to learn and grow. Wolf reminds us of the inner power and strength that come when we are alone, and it teaches us to know our deepest selves. Sadly, the Wolf is highly misunderstood and has often been shown as an adversary to humans in movies and stories.

This animal embodies many qualities of the hound, but with a wildness not to be found in the domesticated dog. It is valued for its affinities with humans. Wolves are highly social, friendly and intelligent. Several stories in various cultures depict wolves adopting human and divine infants to rear, and Wolves are often adopted as godmothers and godfathers.

The Celts would cross-breed hounds with wolves for a powerful battle dog. In the area of fighting, it is important to know that the Wolf does not fight unnecessarily. In fact, it will avoid fights if it can. Like a true Warrior, it does not have to demonstrate dominance, but can when called upon.

The Morrigan takes the form of a She-wolf and attacks Cu-Chulainn for spurning her amorous advances, and one of Cerridwen’s gifts as Henwen was a wolf-cub. The Wolf is an ally of the Horned One on Gundestrap cauldron. (And in many images, there is a powerful connection between the Wolf and the Raven.)

In magic and medicine, people have believed that a Wolf’s hide provided protection from epilepsy, and the teeth were considered lucky – rubbed on teething baby’s gums and worn as charms and amulets.

In the Americas, the Wolf is seen as the spirit of free and unspoiled wilderness. There are several types of Wolves in this part of the World – the Red Wolf, the Mexican Wolf, the Timber Wolf (or Gray Wolf), and the Arctic Wolf. In size, they are smaller than people imagine (about like a good-sized German Shepherd).

Wolves are very ritualistic and carefully defined rules. They have sacred territories and a hierarchical structure (alpha male and alpha female – a “pecking order”).

They implement complex communication using body language and facial expressions, which can help us conveying our moods and understanding others. They also have very complex verbal communication. Their howls have a variety of meanings, including conveying location, social uses, and for fun.

The Wolf can teach us the balance between authority and democracy. (True freedom requires discipline.) They are very loyal to each other, and within the pack the alpha male and female often mate for life. The whole pack is tolerant and careful of pups. Wolves can “adopt” if something happens to parents, and they will sometimes baby-sit.

Some of the other skills the Wolf can teach include choosing battles. (As predators, they only pick the old, young and sick.) They have great strength and stamina, being able to travel long distances to hunt. They don’t waste anything, which is seen in their gorging on prey. And they are very loyal, making quick and firm emotional attachments.

Faces of the Holly King

Names 
Janicot, Woden, Odin, Gwyn ap Nudd, Arawn, Iuan, Krampus, Hod, Hob, Basajaun, Lucibello, Iu-Hu, Old Nick, Misrule, Pan, Baphomet, Scratch, Puck, Buccos

Station of the Wheel
Northwest, Yule, December, Glass Castle, Cold Moon

Totems
Goat, Holly, Wren

Tools
Glass Orb, Druid's Egg or Glain y Nidir

The Holly King is a speculative archetype of modern studies of folklore and mythology which has been popularized in some Neopagan religions. In his book The White Goddess, the author Robert Graves proposed that the mythological figure of the Holly King represents one half of the year, while the other is personified by his counterpart/adversary the Oak King: the two battle endlessly as the seasons turn. At Midsummer the Oak King is at the height of his strength, while the Holly King is at his weakest. The Holly King begins to regain his power, and at the Autumn Equinox, the tables finally turn in the Holly King's favor; he later vanquishes the Oak King at Yule. Graves identified a number of paired hero-figures which he believes are variants of this myth, including Lleu Llaw Gyffes and Gronw Pebr, Gwyn and Gwythr, Lugh and Balor, Balan and Balin, Gawain and the Green Knight, the robin and the wren, and even Jesus and John the Baptist.

Wōđanaz or *Wōđinaz is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism. Woden probably rose to prominence during the Migration period, gradually displacing Tyr as the head of the pantheon in West and North Germanic cultures.

Testimonies of the god are scattered over a wide range, both temporally and geographically. More than a millennium separates the earliest Roman accounts and archaeological evidence from the 1st century from the Odin of the Edda and later medieval folklore.

The name of Woden is connected to a Germanic root *wōd-, preserved in Gothic wôd- "possessed" and Old High German wuot "rage". Old English had the noun wōþ "song, sound", corresponding to Old Norse óðr, which has the meaning "mad furious" but also "song, poetry". Modern English preserves an adjective wood in "dialectal or rare archaic use", meaning "lunatic, insane, rabid". The earliest attestation of the name is as wodan in an Elder Futhark inscription. For the Anglo-Saxons, Woden was the psychopomp or carrier-off of the dead, but not necessarily with exactly the same attributes of the Norse Odin.

A celebrated late attestation of invocation of Wodan in Germany dates to 1593, in Mecklenburg, where the formula Wode, Hale dynem Rosse nun Voder "Wodan, fetch now food for your horse" was spoken over the last sheaf of the harvest. David Franck adds, that at the squires' mansions, when the rye is all cut, there is Wodel-beer served out to the mowers; no one weeds flax on a Wodenstag, lest Woden's horse should trample the seeds; from Christmas to Twelfth-day they will not spin, nor leave any flax on the distaff, and to the question why? they answer, Wode is galloping across. We are expressly told, this wild hunter Wode rides a white horse.

Meditation: Visiting the Holly King, Janicot

Our tradition uses guided meditation to help impress certain symbols on our member's consciousness. Below is our Yuletide meditation. It takes place in the Glass Castle, which is the northwest area of our compass.  It is the home of the Holly King, who we honor as Janicot.  To use this meditation let yourself relax comfortably and picture yourself drifting downward and inward to the third realm, the lower realm. The third realm is a place of darkness and mystery.  Let yourself sink down into the third realm and rest there peacefully.

Meditation: Visiting the Holly King, Janicot

You awake in a grove of holly trees at night.  Frost has made the ground around you hard, and sparse snowflakes drift silently through the air.  A full moon illuminates the grove and causes the frosty earth to look as if it were made of glass.  It is cold enough to see your breath fog the air. Other than the sound of the frosty forest floor crunching beneath your feet the grove is entirely silent. 

Despite the chill and silence you are certain that you can feel something watching you.  You are startled to make out the shape of a large black goat silently standing between two holly trees near you.  The goat watches you, motionless, except for the steady rhythm of breath.  As he stares into your eyes you feel that you can hear his thoughts.  The goat claims he has something important to show you.  He moves towards you slowly and turns so that his side is facing you.  He then asks you to climb on his back for a ride.  You do this, silently and carefully. 

When you are situated comfortably on the goat's back he begins to walk.  Slowly at first he plods through the stands of holly, then trotting faster as the forest clears.  Now through an icy meadow he runs at a full gallop.  The cold wind whips at your clothing and snowflakes sting your cheeks.  The goat charges faster still and ahead you can see the edge of a steep cliff.  You cling to the goat's shaggy hide as he leaps over the cliff's edge. 

You are surprised to discover that your steed is now flying.  Swiftly through the night air you ride atop the black goat.  He soars high above the holly trees.  Higher he climbs and faster too.  Into the snow clouds he flies, and across the mists above the clouds he carries you. 

Through the mist you can see a sparkling castle.  It appears to be made of glass or ice, and it shines like cut diamonds in the moonlight.  From its turrets hang banners of pale blue and white.  As you approach the castle you can hear the sound of a choir singing softly from within. 

The goat alights on a snowy bank near the great mirrored castle doors.  He says that he will wait for you outside.  You ask him what place this is and he answers, “There are many names for this place.  Some call it Merlin's Tomb.  Others call it the Fata Morgana.  I call it the Castle of Glass.  It is the home of King Janicot and his glass orb.” 

The doors of the castle fly open suddenly and reveal a glass staircase within.  You enter the castle and climb the staircase.  You are surprised to find that although the staircase is very long the climb is an easy one, as though you were floating.  Yet, as you reach the top of the stairs you find that you are suddenly gasping for breath. 

In front of you are two large intricately carved doors of glass covered in countless symbols. Among these you notice a wren and a goat. You move to touch the doors and they swing open at your gesture.

The room inside twinkles with pale icy light. In it you see a cloven-hoofed man with a long black beard and a crown of goat horns. He is seated on throne of glass and he wears fur hides. His eyes are dark and he regards you with a cool countenance. To his right is a table with a large glass orb hovering over it. To his left is a staff of holly bearing leaves, and berries. “I am called Janicot” he says. His voice is soft and low like thunder in the distance. You can feel your body chill when he speaks. The scent of pine and mint fills your nostrils. Your entire being is infused with piercing coolness and you feel shocked into alertness.

He smiles knowingly and gestures to the glass orb to his right. “This is the treasure of the Glass Castle.” You peer into the glass orb and can see a mist swirling within it. From the mist come shapes and symbols, some from your past, some from your present, and some from your future. The symbols evoke feelings of joy, wonder, sadness, desire, heartbreak, and deep love.

The symbols swirl faster in the mist, causing you to feel overwhelmed with emotion. Janicot laughs. His laugh is jarring and you can feel your mind spinning into multiverses you dared not dream of. Janicot steadies you with a sharp glance. “I have a message for you,” he says.  He leans forward and whispers his secret message in your ear. [long pause] 

Janicot bids you farewell and shakes your hand.  Your flesh stings at his frigid touch.  The room begins to fill with mist and you take your leave of it hastily.  You hurry down the glass staircase and through the mirrored doors.  The black goat waits for you on the snowy bank.  You climb aboard his back and he launches into the air, accompanied by a flock of small brown birds.  They are wrens, you realize, as you soar back across the misty moat.  The black goat flies you beneath the snow clouds and down over the tops of the stands of holly.  He lands gently in the same grove of holly trees where you first met.  You settle in beneath a large holly tree and rest.