Great piece on the Wild Hunt
Penance, Power, and Pursuit:
On the Trail of the Wild Hunt
by Ari Berk and William Spytma
The calkins clinkered to a spark
The hunter called the pack;
The sheep-dogs' fells all bristled stark
And all their lips went back.
"Lord God," the shepherds said, "They come,
And see what hounds he has;
All dripping bluish fire and dumb,
And nosing to the grass.
"And trotting scatheless through the gorse,
And bristling in the fell:
Lord, it is death upon the horse,
And they're the hounds of hell!"
—John Masefield
from "The Hounds of Hell"
Even in Winter, you are not safe. Stay indoors, attend your hearths. Try to keep the night at bay by the telling of your tongue. Remember your kin, honor your ancestors. For at this time the dead begin to stir, riding upon hallowed and familiar roads, galloping through villages and wastes, flying through the forests of the mind. Such raids are reminders that the past is not a dead thing, but may return, like a hunter, to follow us for a time.
More at this link: http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/forhunt.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
I have always offered a small prayer for our deceased pets, that they be allowed to join the Wild Hunt so that they can play with the other dogs and cats that have gone before them. I always felt that for them it was a happy place to spend their time until it is our time to cross over and see them again.
As to the Wild Hunt itself, I have never felt it to be a bad thing, unless of course you disrespect the Hunters or their animal companions. I have witnessed many things in my life, but I have not had the pleasure to see the Hunt up close. For some reason I have always wanted to see it, even before I found my own path and still practiced Catholicism with my family. I still recall the first time I heard about it in grade school and wanting to see it. When I was little, I would even get up at night and run to the window to look out if I heard a bunch of dogs barking in hopes of seeing it pass. I even dreamed of joinging them.
Those are good memories and I still wish to see it to this day. I just don’t get up and run to the window at night if I hear all the dogs on our block barking (They are usually barking at some possums that live around here).
