#Bavarian folklore

[catschimericalcreations]

Tatzelwurm Plush made from repurposed stuffed animals by Cat's Chimerical Creations

Did you know:

With every donation you make at https://ko-fi.com/catschimericalcreations you can unlock one fun fact about any repurposed Beanie Baby hybrid plush beast of your choosing!

[im-a-dream-wizard]

My Personal Guide to Works pertaining to German, Bavarian, and Alpine Folk Magick

This is not an exhaustive list, just a list of sources that inform my practice. Readers will benefit from being able to read German (and sometimes Bavarian/Boarisch German).

Not all works are specific/exclusive to these folk practices and may include other traditions in addition.

I will be updating this list as I recall or find works to add to it. It is not alphabetized or organized in any specific way. If you’d like to recommend a title for this list, let me know!

Additionally, I cannot speak or vouch for any of the views or opinions of the authors. Some of these sources are certainly outdated and could potentially contain content that is offensive or bigoted, which is not something I endorse. Finally, there are some sources that are of debatable historical accuracy, so take them with a grain of salt.

Books

Pow-Wows or Long Lost Friend, John George Hohman

The Secret History of Christmas Baking by Linda Raedisch

The Old Magic of Christmas by Linda Raedisch

Night of the Witches by Linda Raedisch (a great resource for Walpurgisnacht)

Mountain Magic: Celtic Shamanism in the Austrian Alps by Christian Brunner

Alpine Magic by Christian Brunner

Pagan Christmas by Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling

Göttin Holle by Gunivortus Goos (also available in English)

Hausgeister! by Janin Pisarek, Florian Schäfer, and Hannah Gritsch

Queens of the Wild by Ronald Hutton

Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey Kenneth Johnson

Niederbayerische Sagen by Michael Waltinger

Witchcraft Medicine by Wolf-Dieter Storl, Christian Rätsch, Claudia Müller-Ebeling (available in both English and German)

Der Heilige Hain by Christian Rätsch

Von Sonnwend bis Rauhnacht by Valentin Kirschgruber

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Spirit Beings in European Folklore 2 by Benjamin Adamah (I encourage you to read their sources as well, it’s important to find primary sources)

Deutsche Mythologie by Jacob Grimm (English as “Teutonic Mythology”) Please take Jacob Grimm with a grain of salt.

Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (There’s a lot of caveats to this, as it is highly outdated, but it is still a handy resource for reference. HOWEVER, good luck finding it. You might find some volumes available online but there are very few complete reprints of this encyclopedia, at least that are affordable.)

Tiefe Wälder, dunkle Legenden by Josef Probst

Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer (This is basically a 15th century manual to “witch hunting” and contains bigotry and and a lot of factual inaccuracies. However, it has some content that can provide some insight into folk magic and superstition of the time. It is very violent and explains the torture process of those accused of witchcraft, so be warned)

Journals and Scholarly Articles

Holda: Between Folklore and Linguistics by Thomas Leek

Perchten and Krampusse: Living Mask Traditions in Austria and Bavaria by Molly Carter

Divination: Mother Holle as Goddess of Seerdom by Ullrich R. Kleinhempel

Percht und Krampus Felix and Ulrich Müller

The Distribution of The Legends of Frau Holle, Frau Percht, and Related Figures by Erika Timm

Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments by John B. Smith

Holle's Cry: Unearthing a Birth Goddess in a German Jewish Naming Ceremony by Jill Hammer

Content Creators

Ella Harrison

The Witches’ Cookery

De Spökenkyker: A great resource for Silesian-German folk practice!

[briefbestiary]

Now to catch a wolpertinger one must either salt its tail or perform the aptly named "sack, stick, spade" method.

The "sack, stick, spade" method consists of propping open a sack with a spade, lighting a candle inside as a lure, and finally removing the spade and trapping it after it has gone inside.

[mask131]

Green spring: The wolpertinger

THE WOLPERTINGER

Category: Bavarian folklore

Remember when I made a post about the Dahut/Dahu, during my very recent Cold Winter series? Well meet his German cousin: the Wolpertinger! Also called the Wolperdinger, Woipertinger or Woiperdinger. Just like with the dahu, the wolpertinger is a completely fictional creature that was invented to mock people, as a sort of “running joke” that became part of the folklore.

There are actually traces of the Wolpertinger existing as a folkloric being, since Bavarian legends about the beast were recorded in the 16th century, but the actual “existence” of the wolpertinger started in the 19th century, when taxidermists began creating “stuffed wolpertingers”. Originally these fake animals were created as a nod to the local folktales, to be bought by Bavarian families as a weird little decoration or as a tool to help storytelling when the wolpertinger legend was told to children… But the “stuffed wolpertinger” fad grew unexpectedly fast, as people found a new use for these fake bodies: selling them to tourists and visitors of Bavaria… This was the start of the fame of the wolpertinger. Whenever people wanted to scam or mock foreigners, when someone was ignorant of everything about Bavaria or obviously gullible and naïve, a stuffed wolpertinger was presented to them, and the beast was described as a part of the local fauna everybody knew about – and the “victim” was incited to buy the stuffed body as a souvenir of their trip to Bavaria. This “good joke” lasted to this day, as you can still find dead wolpertingers for sale on markets or in souvenir shops across Bavaria.

The wolpertinger actually has several different names depending on the part of Bavaria you are in: Oibadrischi, Rammeschuksn, Raurackl… And equivalents of the wolpertinger also started appearing in other regions of Germany: rasselbock in the central regions, dilldapp in Hesse, elwetrisch in the western lands… To this proliferation of names corresponds a proliferation of appearances: for you see, the whole point of the taxidermized wolpertingers was originally to just put together various animal elements to create a fantasy beast fitting the elusive and mysterious tales of a strange creature. As a result, each taxidermist did a different wolpertinger, and the creature had no fixed or “canon” appearance. The only thing people could agree on was three facts: the wolpertinger is quite small in size, it has a chimeric appearance mixing elements taken from other species, and it is a carnivore. The most famous and widespread description of the wolpertinger presents it as a hare with antlers, wings and fangs – most illustrations of the beast go with this description. However there are many other depictions of the little critter: a horned and winged squirrel, a half-hare half-deer creature with a cockscomb, a chicken with antlers, a mix of a fox and a duck, or a cross between a marten and a pheasant… There are so many different descriptions of the wolpertingers that people started explaining that the race probably started out as the union of opposition species, creating bizarre hybrids, that then found mates among each other – and now each individual is unique, bearing traits of all its ancestors species, randomly organized on its body.

Beyond all this, the only two other facts the storyteller will always be certain of are the wolpertinger’s habitat (the forests and mountains of Bavaria), and its diet: meat… to be more precise human meat. Indeed, part of the joke if warning tourists and travelers that if they wander carelessly and alone in remote and wild areas… they might get attacked by wolpertingers. And the warning usually comes with tales of imprudent tourists who got devoured alive by these little, but ferocious, beasts…

- - - - -

If you are American, the idea of a horned hare will probably bring to mind another name: jackalope, which could be considered another folkloric cousin of the beast.

The dahu in France, the wolpertinger in Germany, the jackalope in Northern America… Other names you might look into are the Swedish Skvader (a half-hare half-bird creature invented in the 20th by a taxidermist out of hunters tall tales), or into the “wild Haggis” (the critter of the Highlands whose flesh is the dish called “haggis”… or at least that’s what joking Scots might tell a particularly naïve tourist). And of course… who could forget the Australian “drop bears”?

[postcard-from-the-past]

Bavarian folklore garment

German vintage postcard

[folkvisuals]

Let Down Your Hair

With talks of a Tangled live action remake, I decided to create somewhat of a mood board, inspired of course by beautiful Bavaria♡

[lunawolfewolf]

The Wolpertinger

A creature from German Folklore, this is a very illusive creature that is said to hide within the Forests of Bavaria...

[spaicymeatballs]

Bavarian Hotties

See all of my work on IG: @spaicy_meatballs

[grave-buster]

WAIT THEY GAVE VOLKOV A DAUGHTER????? fuck now i need to know more. i don't care abt neo-borg but i'm like the only volkov enjoyer so now i'm super curious. also i'm planning a beyblade women tournament and i'm gonna have 2 put her in the preliminaries

YESS THEY DID. Here's a link to Aoki's colored illustration of her: http:// sakura2factory.web.fc2.com/image/regina20201209.jpg (remove the space after http://)

Her name is Regina Hase, and she is the final antagonist of Beyblade RISING. The first female last boss in Beyblade plastic gen.

I can't recall rn if she directly states, "I'm Volkov's daughter" but I'm very sure she's his daughter (people in the Japanese fandom also seem to think this).

Edit: Okay yeah it's confirmed, she even calls him Father. My memory is very hazy XD

She runs a beyblade gambling ring, DBB. Initially, she disguises herself as Volkov, until Yuriy realizes she's not really him. She was also the one who got Yuriy kicked from the World Championships by circulating videos of Yuriy being all "muahahah I am so evil" while destroying beyblades. She also tried to ruin Takao's reputation by tricking him into battling at DBB and broadcasting it, falsely claiming that Takao is also a DBB blader. She defeats Takao, and gives Yuriy a hard time until Takao joins in on the match and helps Yuriy defeat her.

She has purple hair like Volkov (her long hair is a wig btw, her real hair is very short), and calls herself 'Volkov's heir' at one point, I think. Her nationality is stated as "German-Russian" in a page in the manga, and since her mother Emilia is shown to be German, I think it's safe to say she gets the 'Russian' part from Volkov. She meets Volkov after being defeated by Yuriy and Takao. She talks to him, and at one point Volkov mentions how Regina's anger upon being defeated is just like her Mother's.

Instead of leaving with Volkov, she decides to go her own way.

Later, it is shown she opens the Deustche Beyblade Liga, DBL with her mother. Also, beyblade RISING is very parenthood-centric. A lot of the characters have their parents shown, and some of the plot involves their parents as well. I think it's safe to say Volkov is her father.

Her bit beast is the rabbit Wolpertinger from German Folklore. It is said to live in Bavarian forests. Her launcher is a crossbow launcher like Brooklyn's, although it is handheld rather than worn on the arm. Her last name 'Hase' also means Hare/Rabbit in German, similar to how 'Volkov' means Wolf in Russian.

I think I already described what her beyblade is like, right?

I love how it looks! It took me two years to realize there are two rabbit heads on the lower part. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the way the spikes work. It's a bit too over the top, even for beyblade XD A toned down version of it would be amazing tho!

I also find it interesting that Regina is the one who wears Volkov's iconic mask in RISING, while Volkov himself wears an eyepatch here, presumably from losing an eye? It feels as though he 'passed the torch' to his daughter.

Thanks for the ask! I'm happy to see anyone show interest in Regina. Also, your beyblade women championship sounds amazing!! I'd love to know more about it.

Edit 2: I removed the image and added a link to it on Aoki's site instead, for the longest time I thought you couldn't share links to his illustrations either? But now I saw a post explaining you can.

[thedrawingunicorn]

Sometimes seen in the Bavarian woods, the Wolpertinger can be seen. A pile of disjointed animal parts this small creature is said to be ferocious.

A bit late but it is done. I am really enjoying the built in time on this prompt list.

Prompt from @/buttercat_paradox ‘s prompt list for #obscureoctober

#inkart #myth #folklore #legend #creature #mythicalbeast #octoberchallenge #beast #watercolor #indiaink #illustration #wolpertinger #cryptid

[banefolk]

In love with these whimsical folkloric illustrations of poisonous plants from the Arzneipflanzenbuch (Medicinal Plant Book), published in Augsburg, Germany circa 1520-1530. The dragon-shaped root of the belladonna illustration brings me joy! The whole book has been digitized and can be viewed online via the Bavarian State Library website.

Top left: belladonna

Top right: henbane

Bottom left: opium poppy

Bottom right: mandrake root

[rogue-taxidermy-of-sarina-brewer]

Wolpertinger Wednesday ~

A lighthearted and whimsical commission from many moons ago. The infamous “wolpertinger” of Bavarian folklore, only this time with a Northern Minnesota twist. The internet fell in love with this piece back in 2009. Over the years it has appeared on a number of news and entertainment sites across the globe including locales as far away as Brazil, Japan, and Russia. Fifteen years later this charming little character is still popping up in Google searches and warming people’s hearts.

Wolpertingers are a long-standing tradition in German folklore, particularly in Bavaria. These fictional creatures are said to inhabit the deepest, darkest parts of the forest and stories about them have circulated for centuries. Akin to the flying Jackalope of the American Great West, wolpertingers are purportedly the hybrid offspring resulting from the ‘ungodly’ mating of a hare and a deer. Taxidermy mounts of wolpertingers are a big part of the tradition. Mounts served as mascots in German taverns as far back as the early 1800’s, and still do to this day. There is also a long tradition of these mounts being sold as souvenirs in Bavaria. Originally locals sold stuffed wolpertingers to gullible tourists, claiming the mounts were hunting trophies of real animals. These days they are a popular gift shoppe novelty in the region.

Historical illustrations and paintings of wolpertingers traditionally depict them as a hare/rabbit with antlers and wings, sometimes with bird talons replacing their paws. In addition to rabbits, fox were often used to create the taxidermied tavern mascots. Modern mass-produced taxidermy mounts of wolpertingers are usually made with the comparatively inexpensive pelts of muskrats and ground squirrels. I decided my version of a wolpertinger needed a humorous twist that would set it apart from traditional interpretations so I utilized a grey tree squirrel, a species not found in old-school wolpertinger mounts. The remaining animals I used to create my version are traditional components, in this case game bird wings, duck feet, roe deer antlers, and fox fangs.

See more of my work at www.Sarina-Brewer.com

[im-a-dream-wizard]

Considering writing a masterpost of works that have informed my Bavarian/German/Alpine folk magick…

[skogenraev]

Strawberries - Magical Properties

🍓  The spiritual meaning of strawberries symbolizes love, passion, and healing. This fruit has been revered for centuries in various cultures for its connection to emotional and physical well-being. 🍓  The strawberry’s heart shape, vibrant red color, and sweet taste make it a powerful symbol in the spiritual realm. 🍓  Love and passion: Strawberries are associated with love and passion due to their red color and heart shape, often linked with the goddess Aphrodite. 🍓  Healing and purification: The strawberry’s high vitamin C content has long been believed to possess healing powers for both body and soul. 🍓  Abundance and fertility: Their seeds, which are visible on the outside, represent life, growth, and abundance, symbolizing a fruitful existence. 🍓 Spiritual growth and transformation: Strawberries symbolize the journey towards inner growth and enlightenment, as they ripen from green to red, signifying personal transformation. Although strawberries have only relatively recently been cultivated in Europe and western cultures, beginning around 1300 C. E. in France, folk all around the world have used strawberries for a variety of purposes for centuries. In South America before the Europeans arrived, strawberries were traded. North American First Nation tribes used strawberries as medicine, particularly as a women’s medicine used to clear toxins and support fertility and child-rearing. In Asia, strawberry’s detoxifying properties were also recognized as many as 2600 years B. C., at which time the Yellow Emperor used the leaves of the strawberry plant in a weak tea to detoxify and reduce the effects of aging. The Romans used Strawberries to lift the spirits and relieve bad breath as well as to treat a variety of digestive complaints. Strawberry’s popular reputation, however, solidified around fertility early on, and there it has remained. Strawberry shows up in European mythos as a fertility-inducing and love-producing fruit beloved of goddesses such as Venus, Aphrodite, Freyja, and the Virgin Mary. It was said the fruit of strawberry, when shared with another, would produce love. In Bavarian folk tradition, strawberries are gathered and hung in baskets on the horns of cattle to pay the local nature spirits in trade for many healthy calves and cows who produce an abundance of milk. It was said that if a pregnant woman carried strawberry leaves in her pocket they would relieve the pains of pregnancy. From inducing love to producing offspring, strawberry has been recognized as a potent little herb. It’s no wonder, too, strawberry has enjoyed a solid standing amongst the fertility herbs of folklore and mythos. Strawberry is a member of the Rosaceae family, also known as the Rose family, known for their love-inducing properties. Through her seeds, strawberry amplifies this message of dedication. Strawberry seeds grow on the outside of the fruit and can germinate even when soil isn’t present. Strawberry knows deep down no matter what the present conditions appear to be, she has the power to succeed. Strawberry magic is the magic of success through inner vision that sustains until the outer world is ready to receive. Success, as strawberry teaches us, requires proper preparation of one’s self. Wild strawberries tend to concentrate their energy and healing properties more intensely and in small fruits than their cultivated cousins. Thus, if your project has grown up or come to you through a wild, uncontrolled, undirected manner or source, you may be able to expect a longer duration of more concentrated energy and small-sized but intense fruits. Conversely, if your project has been carefully cultivated, you may enjoy large, abundant fruits for a shorter period. In Astrology, strawberry is considered a feminine plant and is governed by Venus. Strawberry’s element is water. 🍓 Symbolism - Love, passion, purity, and fertility 🍓 Color - Red, symbolizing vitality, life force, and sensuality 🍓 Shape - Heart-shaped, representing the heart chakra and emotional connections 🍓 Associated Deities - Freya, Aphrodite, and Venus, goddesses of love, beauty, and fertility 🍓 Historical Use - Used in ancient Roman ceremonies as a symbol of love and fertility 🍓 Cultural Significance - In medieval Europe, strawberries were used as a symbol of perfection, purity, and righteousness

🍓 Spiritual Practices - Used in rituals to attract love, enhance passion, and strengthen relationships

🍓

Medicinal Properties

- Rich in vitamins and antioxidants, promoting physical and spiritual health

History & Lore 

 "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." (Dr. William Butler, 17th Century English Writer) Dr. Butler is referring to the strawberry. Strawberries are the best of the berries. The delicate heart-shaped berry has always connoted purity, passion and healing. It has been used in stories, literature and paintings through the ages.

 In Othello, Shakespeare decorated Desdemonda's handkerchief with symbolic strawberries.

 Madame Tallien, a prominent figure at the court of the Emperor Napoleon, was famous for bathing in the juice of fresh strawberries. She used 22 pounds per basin, needless to say, she did not bathe daily.

In parts of Bavaria, country folk still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, who are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and abundance of milk in return.

The American Natives were already eating strawberries when the Colonists arrived. The crushed berries were mixed with cornmeal and baked into strawberry bread. After trying this bread, Colonists developed their own version of the recipe and Strawberry Shortcake was created.

In Greek and Roman times, the strawberry was a wild plant.

The English "strawberry" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "streoberie" not spelled in the modern fashion until 1538.

The first documented botanical illustration of a strawberry plant appeared as a figure in Herbaries in 1454.

In 1780, the first strawberry hybrid "Hudson" was developed in the United States.

Legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other.

The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color.

Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII had a strawberry shaped birthmark on her neck, which some claimed proved she was a witch.

To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.

The wide distribution of wild strawberries is largely from seeds sown by birds. It seems that when birds eat the wild berries the seeds pass through them intact and in reasonably good condition. The germinating seeds respond to light rather than moisture and therefore need no covering of earth to start growing.

Strawberries in Bible

While there are many interpretations of what strawberries may represent in the Bible, one of the most common is that they symbolize righteousness and purity.

In Song of Solomon, for example, the narrator compares his love interest’s lips to “a cluster of ripe grapes” and her breasts to “two fawns, twins of a gazelle.” This analogy is often extended to include strawberries as well, with their reddish hue and seeds representing the blood of Christ and the fruit of salvation respectively.

Strawberry Facts

🍓 The average strawberry has approximately 200 seeds.

🍓 A strawberry flower averages five to seven petals.

🍓 Americans on average eat approximately three-and-a-half pounds of fresh strawberries each per year.

🍓 Strawberry word has its origin from Old English words “steowberie” or “streawbelige”.

🍓 Amazing good for pregnant women. Birth defects like spina bifida can be reduced if they eat strawberries on a regular basis.

🍓 The strawberry plant is a perennial. 

[paranormal-playground-podcast]

The Legend of the Wolpertinger: Unraveling the Bavarian Myth

The Wolpertinger The Wolpertinger, a creature of Bavarian folklore, has captured the imaginations of locals and visitors alike for centuries. This mythical beast, said to inhabit the Bavarian Alps, is a chimera, a composite creature with the body parts of various animals. Indeed, the Wolpertinger, with its antlers, wings, fangs, and other unusual features, is a testament to the creativity and…

[postcard-from-the-past]

Bavarian folklore garment

German vintage postcard