Explore Odin, Holle, Perchta, Gwyn ap Nudd, Herne, Arthur, and Irish goddesses through winter folklore, myth, and seasonal magic.
The Wild Hunt is one of Europe’s oldest and most enduring pieces of winter folklore.
It’s a ghostly cavalcade of riders, ancestors, spirits, beasts, and gods who sweep through the dark, midwinter skies.
Their hoofbeats thunder over rooftops. Their torches flicker between snow-laden clouds. Their horns echo across forests and mountains as the winds rise and the year’s light ebbs away.
The Wild Hunt has crossed centuries and cultures, from the Norse sagas to Alpine folktales, from Welsh mythology to the ghost-lore of Britain. It’s appeared under many names, many leaders, and many omens.
Sometimes, it’s a procession of the dead. Sometimes, a band of faeries. Sometimes, a divine host led by a god, goddess, or mythical king.
But its purpose is generally the same: To help sweep the world clean, stir dormant energies, escort souls, and remind the living to heed the turning of the year.
This article explores the major deities and spirits who lead the Hunt, the cultural roots behind their myths, and the mystical symbolism they carry into modern spiritual practice.
What You’ll Learn in This Post
- The mythological roots of the Wild Hunt across Europe
- Many of the deities, queens, and kings associated with leading the spectral riders
- Symbolic meanings of each figure and how they appear in folklore
- Seasonal themes linked to the Wild Hunt in December and early winter
- How these archetypes may inform ritual, meditation, and magical practice
Odin / Wodan: The One-Eyed Storm-Rider
Few figures tower over the Wild Hunt like Odin (Old Norse) or Wodan (Old High German).
In much of northern Europe (Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland), he’s remembered as the chief Huntsman, riding through storm winds on Sleipnir, his eight-legged steed.[1]
Odin’s Role in the Wild Hunt
In some sources, Odin rides with warriors from Valhalla.
In others, he leads a procession of the dead or the souls of the unbaptized.
Medieval chroniclers often described him as gathering spirits, driving winter storms, or pursuing supernatural prey.[2]
His associations with wind, storms, death, prophecy, and the dead make him a natural leader of the Wild Hunt.
The Old Norse word óðr means “fury,” “inspiration,” and “ecstasy”…all states that are deeply connected to shamanism and psychic vision.
Symbols of Odin in Hunt Lore
- Eight-legged horse (Sleipnir)
- Wolves, ravens, and storm winds
- Spear (Gungnir)
- Hooded silhouette in winter storms
- Ecstatic trance states
Seasonal Meanings
Around Yule, Odin becomes something of a liminal, wandering god. He moves between worlds, gathering souls, and stirring the deep intuition of winter nights.
Magical correspondences: Courage, vision, ancestral contact, storm magic, ecstatic states, runic wisdom.
Frau Holle: The Winter Mother and Keeper of Souls
In German folklore, the Wild Hunt is sometimes led not by a warrior god, but by the enigmatic Frau Holle.
She’s a winter goddess who governs snowfall, spinning, and the souls of the dead.[3]
Holle as Hunt-Leader
Unlike Odin, Holle’s Wild Hunt has a gentler, more domestic tone. But she’s still powerful and fearsome.
Folklore places her riding with unquiet spirits, especially during the Twelve Nights (Rauhnächte) between Christmas and Epiphany.[4]
She judges spinning, oversees household order, and protects children and women.
She also opens the well or the mountain (traditional portals to the underworld) and releases or receives souls.
Symbols of Holle
- Feather beds shaken into snowfall
- Snowflakes, spinning wheels, distaffs
- Geese and white animals
- Hearth smoke rising into winter air
Seasonal Meanings
Holle embodies winter purification, the changing of household rhythms, and the blessing of the home.
As Wild Hunt-leader, she moves between life and death, guiding souls and ensuring cosmic balance.
Magical correspondences: Home protection, threshold magic, snow blessings, ancestral women, domestic rites.
Perchta: The Bright One and the Dark One
From Austria, Bavaria, and Alpine regions comes Perchta, a shapeshifting winter goddess whose name means “the bright one.”
She often appears during the deep winter nights, sometimes radiant and fair…sometimes monstrous…with a procession of spirits known as the Perchten.[5]
Perchta’s Dual Nature
Her shining form blesses homes where work is completed and respect is given.
Her fearsome form punishes laziness, broken taboos, and disrespect, especially around spinning and household tasks.[6]
In many Alpine traditions, Perchta’s spectral parades blur into the Wild Hunt.
Her procession roams the mountains, crossroads, and valleys during January and the Twelve Nights.
Symbols of Perchta
- Shining white robes
- Spinning threads, distaffs
- Masks worn during Perchtenlauf parades
- The goose or swan
- Knives, distaffs, or a “Perchta’s foot” in lore
Seasonal Meanings
Perchta is a guardian of winter order. That generally means what must be completed, what must be released, and what must be honored.
Her Wild Hunt echoes themes of justice, winter purification, and the balance between work and rest.
Magical correspondences: Cleansing, protection, discernment, winter justice, household magic, liminal crossings.
Gwyn ap Nudd: The Welsh King of the Dead
In Welsh mythology, Gwyn ap Nudd is the ruler of Annwn, the Otherworld, and leader of a supernatural hunt involving hounds, faeries, and spirits.[7]
Gwyn’s Wild Hunt
Medieval Welsh poems describe Gwyn leading the Cŵn Annw, which were white, red-eared hounds.
They would roam through the skies to gather souls and maintain balance between the worlds.[8]
He appears in the Mabinogion as a chthonic figure overseeing battles between primal forces.
Gwyn’s Wild Hunt isn’t malevolent, it’s more cosmic. Think of it as a necessary procession that helps keeps the spiritual realms in harmony.
Symbols of Gwyn ap Nudd
- White hounds with red ears
- Mists, mountains, and lake portals
- Winter storms
- Faery hosts
- The Otherworld’s liminal threshold
Seasonal Meanings
Winter is Gwyn’s season.
He represents the deep mystery of the Otherworld, the gathering of wandering spirits, and the need for stillness and protection during the darkest months.
Magical correspondences: Otherworld contact, faery roads, ancestral rites, protection, dreamwork, thresholds.
Herne the Hunter: The Antlered Guardian of Windsor Forest
England’s most iconic Wild Hunt figure might just be Herne the Hunter, a spectral antlered huntsman said to ride through Windsor Forest with hounds and ghostly riders.[9]
Herne’s Origins
Herne appears in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and then in later folklore as a guardian spirit, possibly linked to older Celtic horned gods such as Cernunnos.[10]
Her story varies. Sometimes he’s:
- A royal hunter who died unjustly
- A forest guardian
- A spirit of the land bound to Windsor Great Park
- A Wild Hunt leader during storms
Symbols of Herne
- Stag antlers
- Oak trees
- Forest paths
- Ghostly horns and hounds
- Winter winds rattling branches
Seasonal Meanings
Herne represents the wildness of winter, the sacredness of nature’s cycles, and the protective spirits who guard the land.
Magical correspondences: Nature magic, shapeshifting, protection of the wild, forest communion, ancestral land spirits.
King Arthur: The Breton and Welsh Storm-Rider
Although not always associated with the Wild Hunt, Arthur appears in both Welsh and Breton folklore as a leader of a ghostly winter procession.[11]
Arthur and the Hunt
In some stories, Arthur leads a band of spirits hunting a magical boar, a giant, or otherworldly prey.
In others, he becomes a mythic king who rises in storms to defend the land, blurring into the archetype of the eternal winter rider.[12]
Breton lore particularly preserves this connection, often portraying Arthur’s hunt as a warning or omen.
Symbols of Arthur in Winter Lore
- Storm winds
- Ghostly cavalry
- Sacred kingship
- Legendary beasts
- Cross-cultural echoes of sovereignty
Seasonal Meanings
Arthur’s Wild Hunt symbolizes leadership, sovereignty, and the cyclical return of order. His is a winter myth of protection and vigilance.
Magical correspondences: Courage, leadership, sovereignty rites, ancestral British lore.
Irish Parallels: Dian Cecht, The Morrígan, and Speculative Links
So, Ireland doesn’t preserve a straightforward Wild Hunt myth, but some scholars speculate on parallels involving gods associated with war, death, and winter.
Dian Cecht
A healer-god of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Dian Cecht may seem an unlikely Wild Hunt-leader.
But his role in creating protective, almost supernatural structures (such as the Silver Hand of Nuada) connects him to winter sovereignty and liminal protection.[13]
Some experts speculate that he may belong to older Indo-European storm-rider patterns.
The Morrígan
More directly, The Morrígan (goddess of battle, prophecy, and fate) shares thematic resonance with Wild Hunt imagery.
She often appears as a raven or crow, flies over battlefields, gathers the dead, and escorts souls.[14]
These actions are closely aligned with Wild Hunt archetypes across Europe.
Symbols of the Irish Parallels
- Ravens and crows
- Winter omens
- Liminal battlefields
- Sovereignty rites
- Shape-shifting women of fate
Seasonal Meanings
The Morrígan and Dian Cecht echo themes of death, transformation, sovereignty, and the weaving of fate that define the European Hunt mythos.
Magical correspondences: Prophecy, fate, protection, sovereignty, psychic sight, ancestral gates.
Archetypal Themes Across All Wild Hunt Leaders
Across cultures, certain images tend to repeat, including:
The Storm Rider
The leader is often a liminal being who commands wind, storms, or winter weather.
The Psychopomp
Many guide the dead, including Odin, Gwyn, Holle, The Morrígan, and help them bridge worlds.
The Enforcer of Cosmic Order
Perchta inspects spinning. Holle regulates households. Arthur defends sovereignty. Herne guards the forest.
The Liminal Queen or King
All appear during the darkest, most magical season of the year, when the veil thins and ancestral presence may grow stronger.
Modern Magical and Seasonal Work with Wild Hunt Leaders
Here are a handful of ways you can reflect on or honor these themes during winter:
- Candle rituals for clarity or courage
- Ancestral offerings
- Winter journaling or storytelling
- Meditation on storm imagery
- Dream incubation
- Nature walks to listen for the “winds of the Wild Hunt”
- Personal rites of sovereignty or shadow work
These practices help frame the Wild Hunt not as a frightening omen, but as a practical reminder to clear old energy, honor the dead, and prepare for renewal as the year turns.
References
- Simek, Rudolf. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer, 1993.
- Lecouteux, Claude. Phantom Armies of the Night: The Wild Hunt and the Ghostly Processions of the Undead. Inner Traditions, 2011.
- Ginzburg, Carlo. Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath. University of Chicago Press, 1991.
- Rumpf, Louis. “Frau Holle and the Twelve Nights.” Folklore Studies, vol. 15, 1953.
- Bächtold-Stäubli, Hanns. Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens. De Gruyter, 1927–1942.
- Wuttke, Adolf. Der deutsche Volksaberglaube der Gegenwart. F. Perthes, 1869.
- MacKillop, James. Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Rhys, John. Celtic Folklore: Welsh and Manx. Clarendon Press, 1901.
- Briggs, Katharine. A Dictionary of Fairies. Penguin, 1976.
- Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun. Oxford University Press, 1996.
- Loomis, Roger Sherman. Celtic Myth and Arthurian Romance. Columbia University Press, 1927.
- Bromwich, Rachel. Trioedd Ynys Prydein. University of Wales Press, 1978.
- Gray, Elizabeth. Cath Maige Tuired. Irish Texts Society, 1982.
- Clark, Rosalind. The Great Queens: Irish Goddesses from the Morrígan to Cathleen Ní Houlihan. Irish Academic Press, 1991.
Disclaimer
This article is intended for educational, historical, and spiritual-exploratory purposes only. It does not claim that any practice will produce specific outcomes. Any ritual, seasonal practice, or symbolic work described here is optional and based on personal spiritual interpretation. This content is not medical, psychological, or professional advice, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. Always use discernment, honor your own boundaries, and consult appropriate professionals when needed.
