Weekly Features

The Weekly Shaman

Hi everybody!
 In the good old days, it was considered wise to have all of the spinning and weaving done by Christmas time. With the holiday season finishing off the year it was once believed that all housework left unfinished would be destroyed by malicious fairies and other spirits connected to the winter blight. Spinning was a special target of wrathful spirits, who enjoyed tangling all the spinning left on the wheel and sometimes would even smash the wheel itself.
Spinning has a long association with fairies and can be traced to more ancient goddesses connected with fate. The proverbial fairy godmother likely has her origins in ancient weaver goddesses who spun, measured, and decided the fates of mortals. In this form fairies were usually welcome in homes where there was a birth and would bestow gifts on the child and predict it fate. Again, it was considered a good ideal to have all to the housework done, especially the spinning.
It was considered a good ideal to lay out a feast for these enchanted visitors. Fairy godmothers might also appear at marriages and at the death of a loved one. When the fairy godmother appeared at a death it was to escort the person’s soul to the next world. Again, if the house work was not done the fairy godmother might be less favorable in her blessings, possible cursing the mortals. Many of the matronly fairies, like Befana, the Christmas Witch, may have originated in these more ancient goddesses. With Yule being the longest night of the year and at the end of the year, the coming New Year had to be started on the proverbial right foot and this meant keeping these seasonal spirits happy.
Happy winter and stay warm.