Wacholder, Frau
Origin: German
Frau Wacholder is a spirit of magic, healing, prosperity, and abundance. She is invoked to prevent ghosts and demons from
bothering you as well as to facilitate communication with loved ones who have passed on to other realms. (She can open or shut those
portals.) Frau Wacholder is petitioned for fertility and protection.
Frau Wacholder is German for "Madame Juniper": she is the goddess of juniper trees. Junipers are significant, special trees with
unique properties, and so Frau Wacholder is a significant goddess.
Frau Wacholder may or may not be the same spirit as Hulda, also closely associated with junipers.

Junipers have many uses—culinary, medicinal, and magical: • Juniper berries are used to season food and craft intoxicating
beverages. (Gin derives from juniper.)
• Junipers serve as portals between realms; Frau Wacholder, a threshold spirit, oversees these gateways.
• Junipers are a staple of traditional herbalism with various medicinal uses.
They potentially exert a profound effect on fertility: sometimes enhancing it but also sometimes used to terminate pregnancy,
depending on use, method of administration, and dosage. In Central Europe—where Frau Wacholder comes from—one local species,
Juniper savin, is, amongst other medicinal uses, a powerful abortifacient, meaning it can theoretically be used to induce miscarriage. (It
is potentially a very dangerous method unless administered by a trained, skilled herbalist.) During certain eras, a juniper savin in the
backyard was considered the sign of a midwife as surely as three gold balls over a door indicate a pawnbroker. Local authorities went
on juniper hunts, eradicating the trees (and sometimes the people who owned them).
Wacholder, the German word for "Juniper" derives from the Old High German wachal ("awake") and tar ("tree"), literally "the
awake tree." Frau Wacholder is a vigilant watcher. As she allegedly sees everything, she is invoked for the return of stolen goods:
FRAU WACHOLDER STOLEN GOODS RETURN SPELL
This spell involves a juniper tree, a rock, and strong but gentle hands.
• Write your request to Frau Wacholder on paper or leaves. Her assistance may also be invoked silently or verbally.
• Very gently bend a lower branch of a juniper down to Earth, and then secure it with a stone. Place written petitions beneath the
stone. Petitions may also be written on the stone with invisible ink or blood pricked from your smallest finger. (Women may use
menstrual blood if deemed appropriate.)
• Be extremely careful not to break the branch or otherwise harm the tree, lest your spell backfire on you. (Brings lots of water for
libations and gifts for Frau Wacholder, just in case.)
• Demand that the thief hear your call and return your property now.
• Allegedly the thief and/or property will be brought to you via Frau Wacholder's intervention. If and when this happens, return to
the tree, remove the stone, and release the branch. Bring water for the tree and gifts for Frau Wacholder.

Offerings: Gin, jenever (Holland gin: the Dutch beverage from which gin derives), craft necklaces for her using dried juniper berries
as beads, plant juniper trees or care for them
See also: Hulda

Wadjet

Lady of Flame; Lady of the North; Lady of Heaven; Queen of Holy Spirits
Also known as: Udjat, Edjo, Buto
Origin: Egypt
Wadjet is a cobra goddess. Originally the guardian of the ancient city of Buto in the Nile Delta, she did her job so well, everyone
wanted her for their guardian, too. She became the matron of Lower (Northern) Egypt and eventually the pharaoh's own special
guardian goddess. Wadjet is the uraeus ("rearing cobra") on the pharaoh's crown.
Wadjet heals, protects, and punishes via the power of snake venom (but exponentially so as she has the powers of a goddess, rather
than a plain snake). Her other weapons include heat and fire. She is invoked for protection from snakes and from poison deriving from
any source. Wadjet protects devotees against enemies.
Wadjet assisted Isis when she was hiding in the Delta swamps with baby Horus and is sometimes considered Horus' fostermother.

M anifestation: Wadjet may appear as a cobra, a cobra with a woman's head, or a woman with a lion's head. She may also
manifest as a huge, winged serpent wearing the Egyptian Crown of the North, or as a woman wearing that crown.
Iconography: Wadjet is portrayed as an erect, rearing cobra poised to strike at the enemies of Pharaoh and Egypt.
Attribute: Her scepter is a stalk of papyrus with a snake twined around it, considered a talisman of strength and virility.

Spirit allies: Her primary ally and constant companion is Nekhebet. Together they represent Upper and Lower Egypt. Wadjet is
also sometimes considered the left Eye of Ra. She is closely associated with Isis, Horus, and Anubis.
Element: Fire
Plant: Papyrus (the djet plant)
Creatures: Snakes, especially but not exclusively cobras; also lions and mongoose

Sacred site: The center of her veneration was in Buto, an ancient city located in the Nile Delta, not far from modern Alexandria.
Her shrine contained a famous oracle.
See also: Anubis; Asklepios; Hermes; Horus; Isis; Nekhbet

Waiau
Origin: Hawaii

Waiau and her sisters Poliahu, Lilinoe, and Kahoupokane—daughters of Haumea and Kane— were born fully formed on Mauna
Kea, the now dormant Hawaiian volcano. Their father lived with them for a while. Before departing for further adventures, he created
the sacred pond Waiau, naming it in honor of the daughter who tends it. The sisters bathe in the pond, drink its water, and are charged
with protecting it from desecration.
Waiau is considered one of Pelé's principal and most formidable rivals. (Do not place them on the same altar.) She is both a volcano
goddess and a spirit of water, presiding over Mauna Kea's subterranean reservoirs. Lake Waiau is known as the bottomless lake,

traditionally considered an entrance to the Underworld. Goddess Waiau presides over this portal.
Sacred site: Lake Waiau in the Pu'u Waiau cinder cone on Mauna Kea, Hawaii.
See also: Haumea; Kahoupokane; Kane; Lilinoe; Pelé; Poliahu

Waldmichen

The Wood Nymph
Origin: Teutonic
Waldmichen may be a title used for Hulda in Lower Saxony, or she may be a closely related spirit. The Waldmichen lives in a grotto
deep in the forest where souls of unborn babies frolic. She owns a mill where she grinds old men and women into brand-new souls,
ready for rebirth. The Waldmichen is served by an entourage of rabbits sometimes envisioned as carrying eggs. It's possible that her
rabbits are the root source of the Easter Bunny.
M anifestation: She has a retinue of rabbits. Two hold up her train while two hold candles to light her way.
See also: Astara; Hulda; Nymph; Wacholder, Frau

Walpurga

Lady of Summer
Also known as: Walpurgis; Waldborg; Walburga
Winter is a persistent force that sometimes refuses to willingly leave. Walpurga, ancient goddess of beauty, warmth, fertility, the
renewal of life, and grain, was once the focus of rituals intended to defeat the forces of winter and permit the emergence of summer. For
nine days before May Day, the Wild Hunt, traditionally most active in cold weather, pursues Walpurga. She is their quarry. If they can
capture her, they can prolong winter, prevent summer, and keep riding all night.
On the run, Walpurga seeks refuge among local villagers who leave doors and windows open so she can find safety from frost and
her pursuers. According to one myth, Walpurga begged a farmer to hide her in his stack of grain. He did, acting purely from
compassion, not realizing her true identity. In the morning, she had vanished, leaving grains of gold sprinkled amongst his rye crop. May
Eve is Walpurga's night. If she can survive this night, then summer's arrival is ensured. Meanwhile, the Wild Hunters intensify their
pursuit in one last-ditch attempt to maintain their power.
Under Christian influence, Walpurga's Night transformed into a time to banish forces of Paganism, not the forces of winter.
Eventually, it was remade as a holiday honoring a saint instead of a goddess of summer. (However, it's still the night for witches to revel,
whether to cheer on Lady Summer or for one last opportunity of the season to dance with the Wild Hunters.)
Vestiges of Walpurga survive in the proliferation of spindles and thread used in divination and love spells on the night
named in her honor.

M anifestation: Walpurga is a beautiful crowned woman with long flowing hair, wearing fiery shoes.
Attributes: Ears of grain, spindle, a triangular mirror that reveals the future

Tree: Alder
Time: Walpurgis Night (May Eve, the night of April 30)
Planet: Sun
Element: Fire
See also: Wild Hunt

Wanyudo
Origin: Japan
Classification: Yokai
Spirits come in all forms. Wanyudo is a spirit in the form of a burning ox-cart wheel. He patrols the border between the living and
the dead. Wanyudo rolls back and forth, guarding the entrance to Hell. There are different versions of how Wanyudo inherited this task.
In some he was always a wagon wheel. In others, he is a transformed human punished for evil deeds. Wanyudo is now in the service of
Enma, Lord of Hell. Jizo and Datsueba are among the other spirit denizens of the frontier that Wanyudo patrols.
Although Wanyudo doesn't usually bother people—or, at least, not randomly—he is a terrifying sight. Some spirits may initially
appear innocuous but Wanyudo is clearly a supernatural being. Wanyudo may take pleasure in simply causing panic and terror however
encounters with him are potentially dangerous. If you approach him too closely or without respect or if you draw too near to Enma's
gates, Wanyudo will seize you and ferry your soul to hell. Wanyudo guest stars in the Japanese anime series Hell Girl.
M anifestation: Wanyudo is a rolling, burning wagon wheel with a man's stern, tormented face at the center.
See also: Datsueba; Enma; Jizo; Mononoke; Pan; Tsukumogami; Yokai

Wanzami

The Butcher; The Barber
Classification: Bori

Wanzami is the official butcher, barber, circumciser, and scarifier (cicatrisation) of the Bori. This may sound mundane, but
traditionally all these roles are considered sacred and charged with profound magic and spirituality. Wanzami, as befitting a spirit of his
importance, serves as judge among the Bori and lives in the House of Sarkin Aljan Suleimanu, whom he serves as a personal adviser.
• His father is Mai Dawa, Owner of the Bush, Chief of the Bori House of Hunters.
• His mother is Barhaza, youngest sister of Inna; hence Suleimanu is his uncle.
• Wanzami was raised by his mother's brother, Sarkin Fulani.
Wanzami is a close personal friend of Dan Galadima, who exerts considerable influence over him. They appear frequently together,
enjoy each other's company and are venerated together. The afflictions Wanzami causes include baldness, shaving rashes, sensitivity to
shaving, painful ingrown hairs that are prone to infection, and slow healing or failure to heal after surgery. Operations gone wrong may
be laid at Wanzami's door.
Color: Red
Number: 10

See also: Barhaza; Bori; Dan Galadima; Inna; Mai Dawa; Sarkin Aljan Suleimanu; Sarkin Fulani

Washers at the Ford
Origin: British Isles

The Washers at the Ford are death spirits, harbingers of doom, now often classified among the Sidhe. Their first documented
appearances are in Irish sagas, most notably the tale of Cu Chulain, Champion of Ulster. These spirits of doom appear in Ireland and
the Scottish Highlands. (Scottish variants are sometimes called Little Washerwomen.)
Their name explicitly describes who they are, what they do, and where they are found. While there are variations, the standard
Washer at the Ford is encountered in the guise of a haggard, distraught woman with disheveled hair, standing in the ford of a river,
keening and wailing while laundering blood-soaked linens. She is mourning for someone; traditionally if you can see her and make eye
contact that means that she's mourning for you, although this is not always the case. If the doomed person is sufficiently heroic and
deemed worthy of public mourning, the Washer foretelling his or her death may be visible to many others too.
Not all Washers at the Ford are identical. There is a Scottish Washer who manifests as a little old lady with only one nostril and red
webbed feet: if you can sneak up and grab her before she sees you, she's obliged to reveal for whom she mourns and grant you three
wishes, which might include redemption of the doomed.
Modern retellings of encounters with Washers at the Ford tend to be poetic and romantic with the Washers envisioned as
ethereal, wraith-like ghosts, something like White Ladies genteelly doing laundry. In fact, many old stories are pretty grisly.
The Washers wash more than linens. Sometimes they wash severed heads, limbs, assorted body parts, bloody weapons, and
armor. The river runs scarlet with blood and gore. There's no doubt that they are death goddesses .

In general—there are a couple of exceptions—the Washers do not cause death. Like their sister spirits, the Banshees, they only
announce it. Many Washers are anonymous. Serving as death harbingers may be their exclusive spiritual role. However, many famous
Irish goddesses also double as Washers, especially when the death of a true hero is imminent. These include Badbh, the Morrigan, and
Nemain.
See also: Badbh; Banshee; Bean Nighe; Cyhyraeth; Glaistig; Morrigan; Nemain; Sidhe

Weaving Maiden

The Spider Princess
Also known as: Zhi Nu
Origin: China
Depending on the version of her myth, the Weaving Maiden is either the eldest or youngest of the Jade Emperor's seven daughters,
collectively known as the Seven Sisters or the Seven Fairies. They are star maidens, associated with the Pleiades. (Depending on the
version of their legend, their father may be a solar deity or the Kitchen God instead.)
One day, the Seven Sisters descended to Earth to frolic in hot springs. They were observed by a young cowherd called Ox Boy,
who stole an item of clothing left on the banks of the spring. When all her sisters flew away home, the Weaving Maiden discovered that
without her garment she was stuck and could not fly.
Ox Boy approached and revealed that it was his theft that prevented her departure. Although initially sad, the Weaving Maiden fell
madly in love with Ox Boy, and they had two children and lived happily ever after for seven years. After seven years, her father

suddenly realized that she was missing, or he changed his mind about human-spirit marriages. Regardless of reasoning, celestial guards
were sent to forcibly escort the Weaving Maiden back to Heaven, separating her from her husband and children.
She did not go willingly. The Weaving Maiden wept so bitterly that finally it was decided that the lovers could reunite for one night
each year. Once a year, on the Feast of the Double Seventh, magpies build a bridge across the Milky Way and the lovers are permitted
to reunite. On the day of the Double Seventh, the Weaving Maiden is particularly sympathetic to lovers: in Chinese folk magic, it's
considered theideal day for love spells and requests for the Weaving Maiden's blessings of true love.
Another version of the Weaving Maiden's myth suggests that her marriage to the cowherd was arranged by her father.
There was no objection to the marriage per se until the two lovers became so passionately engrossed in each other that they
neglected all other responsibilities. The Weaving Maiden is no trivial spirit nor is she an ordinary weaver: her weaving helps
maintain universal order. Hsi Wang Mu, Queen Mother of the West, forcibly separated the couple and ordered them back to
work.

The Weaving Maiden blesses people with happy romance and marriages. She gives the gift for which she herself longs. She unites
lovers and families and may be petitioned to help discover your soul mate. She is a particularly beloved spirit also invoked for assistance
with fertility and healing. Although at the peak of her power and generosity on her feast day, she may be invoked anytime.
How do you know your spirit allies? In general, establishing their identity is a lengthy process of trial and error. The Weaving Maiden,
however, is a straightforward spirit who will let you know where you stand with her. This ritual can only be performed on the Feast of
the Double Seventh:
• On the morning of the Feast of the Double Seventh, find a spider.
• Using extreme care and caution, very gently place the spider in a box and leave it there for twenty-four hours.
• After twenty-four hours, liberate the spider to go where she will. Examine the box:
» If the spider started a web, the Weaving Maiden likes you.
» The bigger the web, the more she likes you.
» If there's no web, if the spider escaped without starting a web, or if you were never able to find a spider and so couldn't perform
the ritual, then perhaps another spirit should be considered.
M anifestation: In human form, the Weaving Maiden is an exceptionally beautiful, sweet, gentle Fairy. You can also see her in the
skies as one of the Seven Sisters (the Pleiades) and as Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra across the Milky Way from her
lover, now manifest as the star Altair.
Sacred date: Feast of the Double Seventh: the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar
Number: 7
Creature: Spider
Offerings: Cakes, watermelon. She is traditionally given special paper offerings, including paper garments, ornaments, and combs
(available before her holiday from vendors catering to traditional Chinese clientele).
See also: Fairy; Hsi Wang Mu; Jade Emperor; Jade Maidens; Kitchen God; Ox Boy; Pleiades

Wepwawet

Opener of the Ways
Origin: Egypt
Wepwawet is a road opener:

• He clears the path to success and good fortune.
• He opens the way to victory in battle (literal and metaphoric).
• He opens the road for souls to travel to the afterlife.
• He opens the way for new souls on their way to the womb.
Wepwawet, a particularly ancient spirit, originally comes from Upper Egypt. He has dominion over birth, death, success, and
opportunities. He removes obstacles, but he can close paths, too, so that roads to success, victory, and conception are blocked. If
Wepwawet is uncooperative, dead souls roam as aimless ghosts rather than finding the right path. Because of his associations with death
and the afterlife, he developed associations with Osiris and is sometimes considered his son, which makes Anubis Wepwawet's halfbrother.
Wepwawet is a desert wolf spirit. Say his name fast and listen to the wolf howl. Call his name—a war cry—when you seek his
blessings. He is fearless. Wepwawet leads pharaohs' armies to war. He opens the way to the Underworld and is envisioned standing at
the prow of Ra's barque when it makes its nocturnal journey through the Underworld provinces. (During the day, Thoth holds this
position.) One might think that two canine spirits affiliated with death might growl and bicker, but Anubis and Wepwawet are friends
and traveling companions. They may be invoked together and will share altar space.
M anifestation: Wepwawet manifests as a wolf, a jackal, or a man with canine head
Iconography: The traditional Tarot Moon card portrays a dog and a wolf (or a jackal and a wolf) standing on either side of a long,
mysterious path and howling at a full moon. This image may be understood as representing Anubis and Wepwawet.
Attribute: Mace and bow
Tree: Tamarisk
See also: Anubis; Osiris; Thoth

White Lady (1)

White Ladies are mysterious apparitions. Some are true spirits. Some are ghosts. In general, what they have in common is their
appearance: they resemble the traditional conception of a ghost. True White Ladies are the color of white clouds, sometimes transparent
or semitransparent. They are usually completely, strikingly, often unnaturally white, hence their name. The term White Lady makes no
reference to their ethnic background or appearance when they were alive. In life, many so-called White Ladies may have had dark hair
or dark skin. The point is what they look like
now. White Ladies are clearly supernatural beings—there's no mistaking them for
someone living, unlike many other spirits.
Sometimes ghosts or spirits who dress in white are lumped in with White Ladies. Many are more accurately called Ladies in
White, as the only thing white about them may be their clothing.

White Ladies are unnerving spirits, although many are beautiful. White is traditionally the color of purity and Western brides, but it's
also the color of death: bones, shrouds, and ashes tend to be white. White Ladies bridge these concerns. Although this is a vast
category, a high proportion of White Ladies died for love. Many died as brides, often on their wedding day. Some died of broken
hearts. Others were killed by lovers, husbands, or fathers who opposed their romance. Although some haunt the scenes of their death,
others pursue their true loves through eternity.
White Lady ghosts are ethereal wraiths. Many are particularly active spirits, making
regular appearances.They haunt houses,
mysteriously slip through walls, vanish and appear at will or dissolve into mist. White Ladies are sometimes a tourist draw. Many
mansions, hotels, and castles brag about their resident White Ladies.
In general, White Lady ghosts are disturbing but not harmful. (Exceptions do exist. Some vent their romantic frustrations on the
living.) Some seem to enjoy scaring the living daylights out of people with abrupt sudden appearances. These White Ladies tend to
haunt hotels or public areas where there is greater opportunity to surprise strangers.

Some White Ladies are harbingers of doom. Their appearance signals a death in the family. Unlike Banshees, they usually don't wail.
Instead, their appearance says it all.
Because most White Ladies are persistent but not harmful, they are generally left alone. It is relatively easy to coexist with most White
Ladies. Beyond appearing and haunting the premises, they do little harm—unless you perceive proximity to ghosts as integrally harmful
to the living, in which case it's probably easier for you to move than to displace them. Many are
very attached to the scenes of their
hauntings. If you really wish to remove a White Lady, standard exorcism methods used on other ghosts should work on them, too,
although White Ladies have a tendency to pretend they've been exorcised only to reappear years later when they think the coast is
clear.
White Ladies can become attached to homes or families with whom they live and may evolve into allies, scaring intruders
or giving warning of danger.

M anifestation: They're white! Many but not all are beautiful. The White Lady may dress in a bridal gown, draping white garments
a shroud, or a winding-sheet.

Offerings: Acknowledge her existence by setting a place for her at holidays or special occasions. Offer a portion of whatever
everyone else is having. Alternatively pastry and champagne usually please. Serve her a White Lady cocktail. Standard ingredients are
gin, Cointreau, and lemon juice, but ingredients like cream or egg whites are sometimes included to make the drink whiter. White Ladies
don't need a lot of offerings—they're preoccupied with their own private obsessions. In general, if they need or desire something, they'll
let you know.
See also: Ghost; Gray Lady; White Lady (2)

White Lady (2)
White Lady is also the name given to a species of European forest spirit, the equivalent of Fairies. In non-Celtic parts of Europe,
many Fairies don't wear green; they dress in white. These White Ladies live in packs in the wilderness. They generally do not emerge,
or at least not without cause. They won't bother you unless they perceive that you've invaded their forest home, in which case some are
pretty lethal. If you come respectfully and with good intent, most will not harm you.
These White Ladies are sometimes invoked for healing and oracular information. Many are botanical experts and can identify herbal
remedies for illnesses that have stymied conventional methods. They may be visited in the woods or via visualization.
Forest White Ladies are generally considered to be a combination of goddesses and ghosts. Ranks of the original nature spirits
areswelled by souls of women who've come to join them. White Lady goddesses are death spirits who rule an afterlife realm: a
woodland dance hall largely populated by women.

White Lady goddesses may be descendents of Swan Goddesses. Vila and Rusalka are sometimes classified as White Ladies.
German forests house spirits who are simply called White Ladies.

Offerings: Woodland White Ladies accept bread, milk, wine, honey, and dairy products, but they may enjoy champagne or a
White Lady cocktail, too. See White Lady (1) for details.
See also: Béfind; Berchta; Bereginy; Ielle; Rusalka; Samovili; Vila

Wild Hunt

The Wild Hunt is the name given to a wild procession of spirits. The Wild Hunt rides on windy, stormy nights as well as on specific
dates of the year like Halloween, May Eve, and Midsummer's Eve. They are particularly active during the winter, especially during the
Yuletide season.
The Wild Hunters aren't the only spirits out roaming around at night. Trooping Fairies cavalcade, especially on full moon nights,
Halloween, May Eve, and Midsummer's Eve. Their territory often overlaps with the Wild Hunt. The tradition of a parade of spirits who
may or may not be accompanied by spirits of the dead and living devotees appears around the world, including areas as isolated as
Hawaii. Legends of the Hawaiian Night Marchers predate European contact while in Japan,Hyakki Yako names the Night Parade of at
least one hundred spirits.
Sometimes these spirits troop or march like soldiers. Sometimes they're wild revelers or marauders. Dionysus and Shiva are but the
most famous of those who lead spirit parades. Some welcome the participation of people. Anyone who likes reveling with ghosts and
spirits is welcome. Other processions, like the Night Marchers of Hawaii, are more exclusive. Human reactions to these processions
vary. These spirits are powerful and unpredictable and it is usually considered advisable to stay out of their way. Magical practitioners,
however, often seek to observe or join this parade of spirits.
In some European traditions, dead souls periodically travel in procession to visit families and loved ones, led by deities who bridge
thresholds of death and life like Freya, Berchta, Herta, and Hulda, all of whom serve as leaders of the Wild Hunt.
B. Clay Moore and Steven Griffin's 2003 comic, Hawaiian Dick: Byrd of Paradise, draws upon legends of Night Marchers on
the Pali Highway.

Hanging with the Hunters may be punishment or pleasure. The Wild Hunt may do more than party: they may enforce justice. A
Danish runestone (gravestone engraved with runic inscriptions) concludes with the warning, "A rati be he who destroys this stone." The
rati is a person whose soul is taken and driven by the Wild Hunt.
Under the influence of Christianity, the nature of the Hunt changed; it was no longer considered sufficient to merely avoid the Hunt for
fear of being swept up. It was now sinful to even watch the Hunt as it passed. The Hunt became
associated with witchcraft. Those
humans who sought to participate (or who were trapped by the Hunters) were perceived as wicked witches or damned souls.
The Wild Hunt, once associated with souls of the dead seeking brief reunions with loved ones, became associated with the
punishments of Hell. The spirit who heads the hunt was literally a headhunter, out searching for transgressors against Christianity who
would be forced to join the host of imprisoned souls forever. The host of the Hunt now included those who somehow fell outside
Church sacraments: unbaptized babies, illegitimate children, major sinners, suicides, those deprived of funeral rites. Heathens, Jews, and
witches were allegedly among those riding with the Hunt, too. Traveling souls of shamans are allegedly fated to join the Wild Hunt if
unable to rejoin their bodies.
There are two ways to interpret this, depending upon personal perception:
• Disobedience to the Church dooms you to this parade of the damned.
• Those uninterested in Church sacraments revel in this sacred carnival.
The Wild Hunt is but one of many names for this nocturnal procession of spirits. Others include Asgard's Chase, Spirit's Ride,
Holla's Troop and Cain's Hunt. Spirits who lead the Wild Hunt include Arawn, Berchta, Diana, Freya, Frau Gaude, Herodias, Herta,
Hulda, and Odin. See their individual entries for further details.

Windigo
Also known as: Wendigo; Widigo
Classification: Manitou
Windigos are dreaded Native North American cannibal spirits, the stuff of nightmares, now primary subject matter for horror
entertainment. There are two kinds of Windigo, although they are interrelated: spirit Windigos and human Windigos.
The name Windigo derives from an Algonquian root word meaning "evil spirit" and "cannibal." Jesuit missionaries reported sightings
of Windigos in the 1600s. The Windigo is an incredibly tall, gaunt spirit of harsh winter, frost, and starvation. Windigos are spirits of ice,

snow, and winter. Their hearts are made of ice. Sometimes they travel in packs. They allegedly like to play catch or kickball with human
skulls.
A Windigo is always hungry. Its scream paralyzes its victims so they're unable to escape. Windigos are so horrific, many victims die
of fright just looking at them. They are the lucky ones. Those who remain alive are eaten alive, slowly. The closest comparison to the
Windigos' effect, in more ways than one, is not to other spirits but to the fictional Reavers of Joss Whedon's television series
Firefly
and movie Serenity.
Windigos can devour people, but Windigo spirits can also possess people:
• If they devour you, it's like being eaten by an animal or a person: you're dead.
• If they possess you, then you too become a Windigo, joining their ranks.
Thus roaming packs of Windigos may be comprised of spirits and the humans they have possessed. The same word, Windigo, is
used to indicate both the possessed person and the possessing spirit. A Windigo who attacks you may be a spirit or a human—the
result is the same. Anthropologists explain the phenomenon of Windigos as humans overwhelmed by cold and hunger. Traditional lore
understood the phenomenon as spirit possession. In Cree and Ojibwa cosmology, the human Windigo, once possibly a perfectly normal
person, is now a possessed cannibal.
Although the word used for the phenomenon is possession it's really more like an infection. The Windigo spirit is not within the
human, nor does the spirit manipulate the person. Instead, the human takes on the characteristics of the Windigo and behaves exactly
like one (i.e. they prey on other people, consuming them.).
This infection may be acquired voluntarily or not. Involuntary possession may derive from several sources:
• Actual physical contact with the spirit
• Being attacked or especially bitten by the Windigo spirit
• Dreaming of the Windigo (the Windigo may be understood as invading someone's dreams)
Windigo possession may be averted by throwing feces at the Windigo. This allegedly causes temporary confusion and may
allow time for escape.

Voluntary infection is accomplished through ritual. (Why would anyone wish to become a Windigo? For the power. For protection
against enemies. To punish others. Because Windigos are Manitous: they're not only marauding cannibals, but also possess fonts of
hidden wisdom.) An individual travels into a forest where Windigos allegedly live. The person fasts for days and then offers himself to
the Windigo spirit.
• The Windigo may accept the person as his own child.
• Alternatively, the Windigo may reject the petition and mercilessly devour the person.
If adopted and infected, the human transforms. He or she becomes perpetually cold and extremely hairy. The person develops a
craving for human flesh and may devour his or her own family.

M anifestation: Windigos are described as exceptionally tall but gaunt and emaciated. They usually lack clothing, no matter how far
below zero the temperature. The Windigo may be sensed before it is seen or heard: those in close proximity often feel chills. Sometimes
their arrival is accompanied by blizzards. Human Windigos do not achieve the immense height of their spirit counterparts.

Time: Winter; the Windigo tends to go on seasonal rampages. Windigos experience the opposite of hibernation: they become more
active during winter.
See also: Manitou and the Glossary entry for Possession

World Surveyor Man

The Gander Prince; Gander Chief; Golden Prince

World Surveyor Man is the spirit hero of Siberia's Finno-Ugric tribes. He is the seventh and youngest son of Numi-Tarem, the Sky
Father, and the goddess Kaltes, born when his mother fell to Earth from Heaven. World Surveyor Man's hands and feet are made from
gold. He is the original golden goose.
World Surveyor Man's primary function is to see all, know all, and protect people from whatever endangers them. When the sun
goes down, he traverses the sky on his gleaming white horse. His horse is as magic as he is. If he turns his horse's nose toward
someone, that person is healed. (Alternative versions say the horse is goldor that World Surveyor Man rides in a sleigh drawn by swans,
geese, ducks, or horses.)
World Surveyor Man gives shamans their power. In some Siberian cultures, this is meant abstractly, but in others it's literal: he gives it
directly to the shaman while they are entranced. World Surveyor Man lives in a seven-sided house with seven doors inside a sacred
forest. Once upon a time people were expected to visit him three times a year at his home (or if not possible, at least send a lot of gifts).
He is now identified with Saint George, Saint Nicholas, and sometimes Jesus Christ.
M anifestation: World Surveyor Man wears a golden hat and a garment with seven goose wings. He can adopt the form of any of
his sacred creatures.
Attribute: Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric mushroom; iron falcon; double-edged knife; a saddle with seven bells or tassels
Consort: The Swan Goddess
Creatures: Geese, swan, falcons, waterfowl, hares, mice, pike (fish)
Time: Appeals to World Surveyor Man are made at night.
Planet: Sun
Tree: Larch
Number: 7

Ritual: Traditionally, if one wished to summon World Surveyor Man, four ritual metal plates, each bearing an image of the sun,
were placed on the ground approximately where a horse's four hooves would be. Alternatively, four silver cups similarly placed calls
him, too. Archaeological evidence of silver trays associated with World Surveyor Man rituals, dating to the first millennium, have been
found in areas associated with the Ugric tribes.
See also: Kaltes; Swan Goddesses

Woyengi
Origin: Ijaw (Nigeria)

Woyengi, the Great Mother, is the divine Creatrix of the Ijaw people. She arrived from the celestial regions on a bolt of lightning to
an Earth devoid of people. What she found was a sacred seat beneath an Irokò tree (Chlorophora excelsa) and a lot of clay. Woyengi
sat on her throne and began to form people. When she had completed their bodies, she breathed life into them and asked each one to
choose a destiny. People selected their own genders, professions, ways of life, and manner of death. Whatever they selected became
their destiny.
See also: Nu Kua; Ogboinba