Part 1 of my winter essays is now up for download!
“Winter I” is a summary of the natural and supernatural phenomena that occur during the cold and dark half of the year.
Content:
❄️Hunters in the Black of Night and White of Day: birds of prey, overwintering birds, subterreanean life, hair ice ❄️Celtic calendar, Samhain, Winter Solstice, Mutternacht ❄️Time of Taboos and Dark Folklore: household taboos, Perchta/Frau Holle, Spillaholle, Irish Phuca, Raunächte ❄️Elusive White Deer of the Otherworld: Arthur, Pwyll Pen Annwfn, St. Eustache, St. Hubert ❄️Of Hunting and Haunting: black huntsmen, wild hunt, cursed hunters, Herne ❄️Ancient God of the Wild: Cernnunos ❄️Hunting Goddesses and Hunters: Artemis, Actaeon, Orion ❄️The Wrath of Winter: Wendigo
These two healthy mandrake roots are now available in the shop.
Bodhi (to the right) is named so for its posture and serene appearance, radiating ease of mind and inner peace. It is currently thriving with lots of strong green leaves.
Likewise is Rahda Juggernaut (to the left). A dear colleague suggested the name and I could not think of any better title. Though not quite as big, it appears massive and has dozens of root tendrils (a sign of its health). A juggernaut was an Indian temple wagon, but later became associated with something mosntrous and unstoppable, perhaps because once the wagon was set into motion, it could not be stopped anymore. At the same time this root has something gentle and giving about it, hence I added the surname Rhada.
Over the years I have sent many mandrakes with their portraits to new homes and together we experienced wonders and transformations, all tied to these powerfull root allies. It is thus a tradition that we keep alive by fostering and caring for the mandrake.
By purchasing this root and artwork you agree to care for the root and handle the art according to the standards outlined in my form for purchasing original art from me.
Ships with DHL Express. Please e-mail me at info @ teufelskunst.com for exact shipping cost.
As this year’s circle is about to come to a closure, and with Samhain approaching, I felt inspired to write a summary of my research on the wheel of the year.
The wheel of the year is based on the nature observations of our ancestors. It follows natural cycles* and fixed times, such as the solstices and equinoxes, which devide the annual circle into four quarters. Together they form a solar cross, in which the four arms mark the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn, winter (which are characteristic for Europe, as it was once covered in rainforests resulting in a relatively stable climate). This solar cross can be devided further into four lunar cross-quarter events: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. These in-between times were considered magical and as doorways to and for the spirits. They fall on the respective full moon of the months of February, May, August and November. For convenience today it is usually on the 1st of these months, when official celebrations of these liminal times take place. The magician may utilize both the full and the new moon, and partake in social activities on the fixed dates.
The celebrations surrounding the solstices are sometimes helt over the cause of 12 sacred nights. The Celts considered Samhain as the beginning of the new year. In Norse religion it is the dark half of the year when the motion of the annual wheel slows down and finally stands still on the winter solstice. It then takes the strength of the golden boar Gullinborsti, who by the end of the Rauhnächte slowly sets the wheel of the year into motion again.
The appearance of the sun cross in Bronze Age religions coincided with the introduction of the spoked wheel. As part of the solar chariot it replaced the solar barge. This sun wheel bears resemblance to the medicine wheel petroforms of native American people as well as the dharmachakra of Indian religions. In his books W.D. Storl refers to it as the European Medicine wheel and links it to our sylvan Celtic origins.
The first appearance of spoked wheels dates to 2000 BCE: Caucasian horsepeople, who travelled with spoked-wheel war chariots deep into the Greek peninsula, joined the mediterranean peoples living there and eventually helped form classical Greece. Celtic people enhanced the spoked wheel with an iron rim in 1000 BCE. Likely, spoked wheels were introduced to China from the West between 2000-1500 BCE.
The horse-drawn chariot, horses and wheels played a special part in Germanic and Slavic divination rituals (hippomancy). They believed their deity rode on the horse or drove the chariot and gave answer through the horses’ behaviour. For example Slavic people would let a blindfolded horse walk in a circle divided by wooden spokes or speersand it was observed whether it stepped on one. The sacred horses (often white, seldom black) were kept seperately.
Apart from being a milestone in the development of humans, the spoked wheel also has connections to deities of weaving and spinning, such as Frau Holle (Dame Hulda), who is the embodiment of an ancient omnipotent earth goddess. Her symbol is the spinning wheel, her sacred herbs and trees open up the realm to the world of the spirits all year round.
Due to the US cancelling international de-minimis contracts, the affordable “Warenpost” shipping option is no longer available to my loyal US customers. Frankly, it sucks. =(
From now on I can only offer the option to ship with DHL express. Any – new or old – custom fees and import taxes must be researched and paid by the customer.
For the time it takes to adjust the new shipping fees I am forced to temporarily remove shipping to the US from my shop.
If you plan to order from me, please email me and consider saving up for ordering wholesale or special items, which would justify the shipping fee. The advantages of having things shipped with DHL express are fast and save delivery to your door.
I am always trying to see the positive and turn bad into good. I put countless hours into my art. I hope some people out there will value this and still be able and willing to pay for what it’s worth. ✌️
The complete wheel of the year as incense blends. Each crafted individually, inspired by the seasons, their devas and their spirits. It’s been quite a journey. As so soften, I got lost in the details, rather than quickly writing up and following a concept. The ingredients are subject to change, as my perception of the annual cycles evolves and expands. This offer includes all 8 incense blends for the wheel of the year festivals, as well 1 baneful blend for the Rauhnächte. The bags contain approximately 30 ml of each blend. Printed instructions are included. For details please read the descriptions in the single listings.
🔥REMINDER: for receiving incense in time for Lughnasadh you have to order until Monday! Any orders placed after Monday will be handled and shipped in August, when we are back from the mountains.
Tomorrow I will be packing and shipping last orders before this much needed break.
This means there is still a narrow time window to order and receive our Summer Solstice incense et al!
Summer solstice traditions are manyfold and vary regionally. They include: dancing around and jumping naked over the fire, while wearing a girdle made of mugwort, sometimes also setting a wagon wheel on fire and pushing it down a hill, burning straw figures, burning wreaths made from weeds and scattering the ashes in the garden or field, collecting healing herbs (called Johanniskräuter) and passing them through the flames of the midsummer fire to be blessed by the fire god and increase their potency, lighting mullein torches, eating elder bread, drinking psychoactive beer, searching for the male fern’s seed.
The solstices mark important turning points in the annual cycle of the earth and the sun. In myth this is reflected in the killing of Baldur (the god of light) by Loki (Lugus) or the oak king (symbolic of the sun) being defeated by the holly king (symbolic of the dark season). While these are myths, the sacrifice of elderly priest kings on the solstice might have been a real practice among pre-celtic European people.
The summer solstice celebrations last for 12 nights, similar to the 12 nights following the winter solstice. With the arrival of Christianity, the veneration of Saint John the Baptist, who according to lore was beheaded on the summer solstice, substitutet the worship of the oak king and sun god, and the solstice celebration was replaced by St. John’s day. One of the most importrant healing herbs of Europe and even fireflies were thence re-named after the saint. Likewise, the once revered Bilwis (wise men or women who protected the fields and ensured their fertility) were turned into corn demons themselves.
+ + + +
The Summer Solstice incense blend is dedicated to the rituals surrounding the summer solstice, when the sun reaches its annual zenith. The ophidian seal adorning the incense is inspired by the viper’s bugloss (Echium vulgare) herb, which is typically blooming then and is an ingredient in nine-herbs-charms.
The ingredients for this blend are the herbs and flowers traditionally associated with the summer solstice. The incense blend evokes a vision of a blooming meadow at dusk: bushes of blue flowering viper’s bugloss cover the ground and transform into serpents. Plantain, thistle and St. John’s wort grow beside it. Fireflies begin their nocturnal wedding dance. Nearby, the fragrant yellow flowers of the evening primrose glow in the evening light and emit their sweet scent into the sweltry air, attracting the most wondrous kind of fairy folk, and their flowerheads turn into scaled dragons…
Use this blend for divination, purification and letting go of the old, for protection, renewal, celebrating the night, inspired dreaming and creativity. The blend can also aid in decision making and gaining deeper wisdom: cast out the serpent as a symbol of “evil” or embrace it as a bringer of wisdom and become a serpent yourself. The solsice is also a good occasion for consecrating a magical weapon, as well as exploring new systems of magic…
May 2025 starts directly with a new planting cycle and is blessed with two planting cycles as well as plenty of flower days! It’s great for sowing and planting outdoors all your favorite flowers.
Most auspicious and rooty looks that earth trigone paired with the new moon in Taurus (an earth sign) on May 27. Good time for Mandrake?
Times marked with —– are not good for any gardening activity and are best left out.
Several weeks were spent on this illustration and incense for the annual celebration of Beltane, exploring folkloric and mythical backgrounds of this important spring festival.
In European tradition it is the cuckoo that announces the arrival of spring. It is celebrated on the first day of May and often the evening preceding the celebration of light is filled with drinking and ecstatic dancing. It is also then that the maypole is installed.
This pole is at the center of the celebration. On top of it is seated the green wreath made of seasonal flowers, herbs and green tree branches. The pole itself is often a birch tree or spruce from a nearby forest. Around the wreath are tied colorful bands in white, green, yellow and red or showing local colors. The red may represent the blood of sacrifice – on such important festivals animals were sacrificed in the name of the gods and then consumed. The red could also stand for the blood of the virginal goddess of spring as she enters into union with the sun god Belenos (or Bel), the “bright one”. The pole and the wreath stand for a sacred marriage of Flora / Persephone and the sun god or the god of the wild. In their likeness the May queen, usually the fairest and most skillful of all the young women is elected together with her future spouse – the man that first climbs on top of the maypole. He then becomes the green man, as his body is painted green, his face blackened and wearing a mask of leaves. He also represents the Oak king (summer) that has defeated the holly king (winter).
Viewed from above, the circular shape of the wreath becomes the gate of the cauldron of the Cerridwen, inside of which is brewed the elixir that transforms the innocent boy Gwyon into the enlightened man Taliesen, the “bright one”, right on Beltane. Part of the brew are nettles and black henbane – perhaps the most important shamanic initiation herb of Europe. Noteworthy, it is only three drops that carry the magical essence – the rest of the brew is poisonous, and as Gwyon is shocked when accidentally spilling three drops on himself, he pours out the rest and poisons the surrounding rivers. Needless to say, Cerridwen is furious when she finds out about Gwyons mishap and chases him mercilessly. During a brutal transformative initiation marathon he turns in to a rabbit (earth), a fish (water), a bird (air) and finally into a wheat kernel = seed (fire). The Cerridwen turns into a black hen and swallows him. In her belly he is reborn as an utterly beautiful boy, who she cannot kill. She abandons him to the sea. Washed ashore he is found right on the first day of May and becomes Taliesen, the “bright one”.
The old Irish Beltaine is derived from common Celtic belo-te(p)niâ, meaning “bright fire”. Fire is often part of spring and May Day celebrations, e.g. for cleansing (burning) the old and making way for the new or as a simple reference to the return of the sun. The sun god was also known as Bel or Belenos.
Field flowers that carry the signature of the sun are the dandelion and daisy. They are often part of the flower crown worn by the May queen. Other flowers from which the wreath is made are ground ivy, which exposes the presence of any witches. The crown is often also made of hawthorn which blooms now or the fragrant (but poisonous) lily-of-the-valley.
The linden is another important tree in May day celebrations as it is often at the center of gatherings and dance. In some areas it is also costum to install green birch trees with a heartshaped sign on which the name of the adored girl is written as Maypoles infront of her home. It is then left to her to guess who the admirer is.
Entering the blue hour, the bats are out and the spirits of nature join the round dance, as the warm air is sweltry from the smell of blooming lilac, elder and broom. It is not hard to imagine how the dancers would transform into broom stick riding witches and their animal familiars. The Mayday customs were of course abhored by Christian church officials, who re-dedicated the feast day to Saint Walburga and renamed it into Walpurgisnacht and turned the sacred bonfires into pyres. But the celebrations continue unto this day and the nature spirits are there for who reaches out to them.
>>>
Included in this offer are 1 black on black and 1 black on green A5 print + “Beltane” + “Walpurgisnacht” incense blends. Limited edition of 12 copies. Shipping now!
