An Introduction to the Winter Mother
Litany of the Winter Mother
"Silver-Skinned Dame,
Thin-wristed Queen,
Hawthorn-Clad,
Rowan-Crowned,
Elder-Bound;
Lady of the Dead,
Barefooted Dancer,
Aspen-Fair,
Mother of Holly,
Crow-Voiced Dame;
Harp's Silver-Blue Gleam,
Turning of the Tide,
Genius of Cold,
Bride of Boreas,
Birth of Frost.
Winter Mother."
Beneath snow-laden boughs of Aspen a Queen weaves her tune; the Winter Mother dances gracefully amidst the thicket. She is a personification of the Winter Tide, a Goddess of Death and Renewal, and a Witchmother in her own right. As the tides shift from light to dark and the first snows grace bare earth, the Winter Mother makes her appearance as the patron of Winter, of frostbitten fingers, of crackling skin, of the hearth, of hibernation, of Winter crafts, of song and tale told in the dark, and of the Dead these tales recall. In her aspect of the Cut-Wife, the Winter Mother extends a helping hand to mothers-to-be, to the infertile, to those having passed in labor, and to the countless Dead roaming the wintry landscape. As the Aspen Maiden, she is the hero of the starving, of the poor, and of all those fallen victim to the dangers of Winter.
The Winter Mother comes on tiptoe, barefoot upon the snow. She balances carefully on frostbitten toes. In her left hand she carries a basket woven of frost-dried reeds, despite her wrists being too thin to carry the weight of its load. Her right hand clutches a sickle with bloated, darkened fingers. She is clad in rags half-stained by hedgerow berries made juicy by frost and thaw. Her chest is a harp of skin drawn over bone. A string of Rowan berries adorns her neck, from which the head of a Buzzard sprouts. Crow-voiced, she leads a retinue of Dead, who follow closely to the tune of her song. Each carries a harp, or a fiddle, or a flute, joining the beat of their step to their joyous cacophony. Some, in their celebration, clutch with bare hands the brambles of Rose and Hawthorn, not feeling their prick by virtue of the numbing cold. Geese are often seen marching along, unaware that they will be made into their feast should they forget to stray South with their peers.
Veneration
Within my work, the Winter Mother is the most important emanation of the Land. I begin her veneration with the first snows, and put her to death when the first Aspen leaves appear. To this end, a simple figure is made of reeds, grasses, and twigs collected as the first snows are falling. She is adorned with a garland of Rowan berries, and fed a bowl of hedgerow fruit, wine, bread, and salt. This figure will be the object of my veneration for the months to come until it is drowned or burned in the Spring, echoing an ancient Slavic ritual venerating Morana, the Goddess of Winter. Offerings are made to her throughout the Winter months, to avert the danger, strife, and illness this time of year often brings.
I call upon her in times of need to bolster my finances, and to ensure my cupboards are never empty. I pray that she blesses my home with warmth and comfort, protecting it against errant Shades and Goblins. I also ask that she take the role of governess, ruling over the household spirits in the Winter months to ensure they are fed and put to work. In this capacity, she is a Goddess of the Home and the Hearth, ensuring safety and plenty throughout the most difficult time of year. She will often share tales and teachings in dreams, weaving complex fairytales through which she reveals charms and practices for all needs.
Though she is kind, she is fearsome in equal measure. In times of spiritual attack or violence towards the home, she is called upon to summon her retinue of Dead and retaliate. She reverses enchantments, dominates Daemons and Shades, sends back ninefold that which is thrown. The Winter Mother is unrighteous; she can be called upon by the members of the home she attends to send hauntings, the Night-Mare, and Ill-Winds. She may be presented a mark for when she rides with the Wild Hunt. She is sent to take the blessings of another and deliver them to the witch, to rot another's provisions, to rupture their flow of income, and to salt their plot, ensuring a poor harvest in the coming year. The Winter Mother is fiercely loyal to her household, and will not attack those who venerate her also.
With these petitions, we may present bread, wine, and various baked goods. We may burn flour and Poplar buds in the woodstove or upon coals. Beeswax candles can be lit before her, and rosaries pronounced. She may be adorned with strung Rosehips, Hawthorn, Rowan, or Crabapple, and dressed in rags. Baskets can be woven in her name, and sickles sharpened before her altar, for this sound rejoices her. Traditional folktales, songs, and dances may be performed for her.
Her time is the Full Moon, when she can be seen dancing beneath its rays, but she can be venerated at any time, in the rays of the morning Sun or in candlelit darkness. Her feast is to be celebrated a week after the first snows have claimed the earth with no fear of thaw. The Eve of the Winter Solstice is especially important to her, as she prepares to ride with the Wild Hunt. She may be included in Epiphany celebrations if desired, but it is not necessary to do so. Candlemas may be celebrated by making offerings, dipping or purchasing candles, having them blessed by the Winter Mother, and reading folktales by their light.
Correspondences
Plants
Hawthorn
Hawthorn is one of the main Genii through which I work with the Winter Mother. Its berries can be strung into charms or into rosaries to honour the Winter Mother, and its wood can be made into protective crosses and talismans. Its thorns are used in all types of spellwork calling on the Winter Mother, especially for reversal of hexes, the dominating of Shades, and for destroying the Evil Eye. Its berries may also be used in workings of abundance and prosperity, and may be offered along with other hedgerow fruits to feed the Winter Mother.
Rowan
Rowan is the plant through which the Winter Mother's bounty is most seen. Harsh winters will see more berries in the Fall, and these may thus be used in workings of prosperity and security in the Winter months. Its wood can also be made into crosses for protection, and its leaves may be burned to bless the home. Its berries can be strung into garlands, rings, and rosaries for protection and for adorning the Winter Mother.
Aspen
Aspen is the chief wood of the Winter Mother, and its branches may be used to fashion her effigy in the Fall. Its leaves announce her departure, when this effigy should be burned or drowned. Its leaves may be laid beneath the Winter Mother's feet to shield her from the cold of bare earth, and its bark may be stripped and used as a remedy against Winter fever and chills after petitioning the Winter Mother for health.
Birch
Birch can be used in much the same ways as Aspen, but upon its bark may also be written petitions and prayers to the Winter Mother. Its switches may be woven into baskets to honour the Winter Mother during the dark months, and these should be used to store her various materia collected over the Winter. These may only be used in Winter, and should be stored throughout Summer or burned/drowned along with her effigy in the Spring.
Rosehip
Rosehip is a primary offering I make to the Winter Mother, by simply leaving a small bowl of them before her. This fruit is the most nourishing to be found in the hedgerow this time of year, and serves to keep the gloom of Winter at bay. A tea may be made of those not offered to the Winter Mother, to be drunk before dreaming with the Mother.
Apple
Apple is another prime source of nourishment for the Winter Mother, although I reserve it for when I am working with her aspect of the Cut-Wife, through which she summons the Dead and prepares a feast for them. These are burned in the woodstove or tossed into hedgerows when they are spent and wrinkled. Dried Apples may be mixed into breads or baked goods to feed the Winter Mother, or made into a powder to bless the home and draw abundance.
Stones
Schist
Schist is a metamorphic stone forming large sheets of brittle, thin layers of grey-black stone resembling slate. This stone may be used to craft talismans of the Winter Mother, and used in working of protection. It can also be used as a surface upon which offerings are made, or as an incense burner if a suitable piece is found. It can be crumbled and left at the entrance of the home for protection against Winter spirits.
Animals
Crow
The Crow is the Winter Mother's voice, and its appearance during rituals dedicated to her is to be taken as a good omen of her presence. Its beak may be used in divination when speaking with the Winter Mother, and its feathers may be used in talismans and charms honouring her.
Buzzard
The Buzzard is the animal form which the Mother takes on most often in my dreams and visions. Its wings may be made into fans to keep with the Winter Mother, and its individual feathers may be added to her effigy to represent her Buzzard head. Dreaming of a Buzzard or encountering one in the wild represents a blessing from the Winter Mother, and this should not be taken lightly. If you are able to obtain its body, it can be powdered and added to all Winter Mother materia, or turned into various talismans for protection, health, prosperity, and witch flight.
Goose
The Goose can be fed to the Winter Mother during large celebrations. Its feathers may also be given as a token of love towards her. Goose feathers may be blessed by the Winter Mother and laid beneath the pillow to aid in dreamwork. The ash of its feathers, or its powdered flesh/bones can be made into a powerful prosperity oil/powder, and its eggs or nest may be used to bless pregnancy, to enhance fertility, and to protect a newborn child.
Astrological Associations
Fixed Star Vega
The Winter Mother revealed to me that the star she is most closely associated with is Vega, the Falling Vulture. The indicator stars of Cygnus, Deneb, and of Vulpecula, Anser, are also important to her. These may be observed or incorporated into Winter Mother veneration and practice, although I have not yet made the steps towards understand their mystery. However, talismans of Vega may be empowered and blessed and left with the Winter Mother to strengthen her presence and ability to protect the household against danger both mundane and magical. This star also grants power over beasts, which helps the Winter Mother in her role of governess, handling the household spirits and dominating rival Daimons and Shades.
Moon
The Winter Mother is closely associated to the mysteries of birth, death, and motherhood. The Basket is her Lunar implement, with which she collects the reflection of Stars in frozen ponds and lakes. Lunar plants such as Mugwort and Lunaria may be used when working with the Winter Mother, and an ointment of Mugwort may be used with an oil dedicated to the Winter Mother for journeying forth in dream.
Saturn
As the ruler of the dark half of the year, the Winter Mother in her Cut-Wife aspect is extremely Saturnine. She carries the Sickle to represent her power over beginnings, endings, and the crossing of boundaries. Poisons of Saturn, such as Belladonna and Henbane, may be used when working with the Cut-Wife for conjuring the Dead and for the sake of cursing another. Saturnine plants such as Comfrey and Plantain may also be used for protection and healing with the Winter Mother. An oil brewed from the wood of Pine can be used to anoint the Winter Mother's effigy during celebrations, and may be blessed by the Mother to combat illness and fight off the Night-Mare.
A prayer to the Winter Mother
I leave you with this Prayer of Entreaty to the Winter Mother and her retinue of spirits which, together with the Litany of the Winter Mother (above), may be used to begin your work with her. Further prayers are supplied with the Winter Mother's Rosary. These are also available on Patreon.
"Lutes and flutes and strings drawn tight,
Forgotten crimson berries of Winter's sight,
A silver-threaded path of light
Beneath my feet shines in delight.
That path which you have traced,
Beneath the boughs of arbors paced,
Guiding the Dead to their place
Of rest and dance and jest.
Silver-skinned devils, maidens fair,
Queen of Winter's air,
Verdant, serpentine river;
Lead me now,
Lend your hands to my works of witchery,
That upon the air may hang my desires
and sounds of revelry."
Cheers,
Mahigan