Pagan nature deities are the core of German myth and folklore. To ancient Germans, spirits reside in all natural things, not only trees, animals, brooks and cornfields but also in sparkle of light on water or an errant breeze.
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The powers of nature spirits can be Faerie, trickster, benevolent, demonic or godlike. Spirits have a wide range of abilities and personalities.
Nature spirits are equated with weather magic, abundance, health, fortune or misfortune. The origin of wishing wells comes from Germanic water spirits, the Nyx or nixies.
Water Spirits - Nixies
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Nyx can be benevolent, harmful or indifferent. Evil water nixies lurk along marshy shorelines and inside wells to capture and eat children. They drag victims into the water to drown.
Others can walk among mortals and even settle down with a human spouse and have a family. A nixie has a beautiful voice and irresistible allure, much like the Loreley of the Rhine.
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In the human realm nixies always show signs of their true nature, such as wet clothing hems, webbing between fingers or toes, even a glimmer of scales. In the Lora Ley Fantasy Fiction Series, half-Nyx Lora has water lilies growing in her hair.
Belief in the Nyx leads to the tradition of the wishing well. People throw copper or silver coins in the water and ask a favor from the spirit of the well. A well can be built up, or any source of natural underground water.
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Copper and silver are naturally antibacterial. As a result the water remains fresh and clear, proof of benevolent water spirits in the area.
As water spirits, Nyx are related to Brook Horses, water entities in forms of beautiful white horses. The Brook Horse is usually a northern nature spirit, found in the north of Germany, in Scandinavia, and the UK, especially Scotland.
Other water spirits include elemental sprites and dragons like the water Lindwyrm, below.
Lindwyrm - Land & Water Dragon Serpent
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Other nature spirits include the Wyrm or Lindwyrm, a primal dragon. A massive serpent or snake-like creature, it has small or no legs. The Land form likes to blend with surroundings and languish among trees and trails. Its coils may be mistaken for stepping stones or roots.
This type of Lindwyrm might eat humans. By the time one finds out if the Lindwyrm is helpful or hungry, it's too late. The Lindwyrm can put its tail in its mouth as an ouroboros and roll like a wheel to chase a person down.
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The ouroboros is an ancient sign used in alchemy and nature religion. It represents the usual nature-based cycle of life, rebirth and death. The snake dragon figure includes all three, as well as continuous cycles in personal life.
The Water Wyrm is a reclusive type who favors sparkly treasures and underwater caverns. It may be found living on an underwater hoard. It could be ancient barbarian booty or a forgotten stash. Both Water and Land Wyrms increase treasure by lying on it.
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Living in fresh water like rivers and lakes, the Water Wyrm can cause floods and shoreline damage, create storms and wreck boats. Still, it's less aggressive than saltwater serpents.
Tree Spirits
Tree spirits commonly inhabit groves or single trees in forests or near homesteads, and contribute to their nurturing and growth. Elm, willow, ash, pine, linden, fruit and beech are some of the trees most likely to harbor spirits.
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Wood of these trees can have magical properties. A linden tree brings luck and protection to a household and should be planted near a main entrance or along a drive.
The fruit trees include plum, cherry, pear and apple. At Yule, Winter Soltice or Christmas, domestic animal harvest spirits are said to fertilize the trees. The Kornstier (Grain Bull) and the goat-shaped spirit Erntebock or Haferbock, (Harvest Buck) are among them.
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Donkeys such as the Bieresel might also wander through. The Grain Bull and Harvest Buck have female equivalents in the Cow and Nanny goat.
Fruit trees and orchards are valuable to homesteads and farms who depend on produce and preserves over the cold dark winter. Herbivore droppings make rich nutrient packed fertilizer to boost tree health.
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If the trees are well fertilized, pruned and cared for, the spirit of the tree is happy. The tree rewards the household with a copious crop. Germanic tree spirits can be similar to the dryads of Greek myth. They live in their trees and care for them.
Tree spirits are usually wary but amiable. Sometimes human-like features appear in the bark or wood of the tree, hinting at the spirit within. If seen outside their home, they may appear as a shadow or flash of light.
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Although tree spirits might make an appearance if a person is very quiet, they dislike being chased and will fling a spell to cause one to fall, maybe in a patch of burrs or nettles. Otherwise they live harmoniously with others in their environment.
Eschenfrau (Wicked Ash Tree Woman)
The Ash Woman or Eschenfrau is an exception. She's one spirit you don't want to meet. Residing in ash trees or thickets, she has a nasty temper and low moral standards. She does not like people and those who cross her, inadvertently or not, can end up with an illness, confusion curse or other unpleasant infliction.
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Eschenfrau has greedy gnarled hands. She's adept at picking pockets, stealing or hiding personal belongings of those who rest beneath her tree.
If harm comes to her tree or grove, even a broken twig, she causes serious illness to the malefactor. She is not helpful to humans in any way.
To appease her bad temper and curb her thieving ways, elders of the community spread wood ashes on her tree roots and make offerings in spring. The rituals might be done on Ash Wednesday.
In Christian tradition Ash Wednesday is a holy day created by the Roman Catholic Church. It's the first day of Lent, preceded by Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras aka Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day. During Lent most adults are expected to fast and eat only one full meal per day.
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For pagans and other non-Christians, anytime is a good time to honor the Eschenfrau. Wood ash contains potassium, phosphorus, lime and magnesium which benefit the soil and nurture the tree. Although Eschenfrau dislikes people she looks more kindly upon those who bring her this gift.
Buschgroßmutter (Bush Grandmother)
Buschgroßmutter or Bush Grandmother dwells deep in the forest. She avoids humans and communicates with them only once every century. She's gnarled and ugly, her clothes are filthy and her hair is a tangled louse-ridden mess.
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She may ask a passerby to comb her dirty mess of hair, a difficult feat as it's twisted and caked in grime and crawling with lice. In some traditions her face is metal, a demonic trait. She's also a thief who may steal milk from farm animals or frighten children picking berries so she can snatch their bounty.
If approached in the forest Buschgroßmutter will quickly disappear, unless she wants a favor from the person. This could be anything from an object like a new spindle, to a deed such as picking a basket of raspberries for her, or washing / combing her hair.
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Living deep in the forest, Buschgroßmutter is associated with Moss People and Moss Women. She may be kin to the Moss Mother, who travels once a year to harvest festivals. As nature spirits, Moss People are related to Fairies, Elves, and Dwarfs.
Moss People
These ancient mysterious creatures live on or in trees, near brooks and on rocks. They're usually indistinguishable from the environment unless they want to be seen, or if caught napping. They may appear hoary, old, youthful or beautiful, as tall as a human or small as a microcosm.
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Social within their own communities, they're less inclined to associate with humans. Moss Women have been known to come out of the forest to teach herbal medicine during times of plague.
Although they're rarely seen, a person will notice smoke from their chimneys rise up through the trees like fog when they do their baking. Sometimes one hears them laughing by a brook when they come to play.
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Harvest Spirits
Nature spirits associated with harvest can range from tiny imps, spirit animals, shape-shifters, hybrids such as Goat Man and Cat Man, to weather spirits and powerful demons like the Rye Wolf and Hafermann.
Imps aren't specifically associated with Harvest. They're associated with opportunity, as are mice and grain-eating birds. One reason to tolerate the malevolent Murrkater in the fields is his ability to keep such entities away.
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Every harvest spirit has a good and bad side and each contains a kernel of the other. Even the wrathful destruction of a harvest demon is risked, for to see the creature stride through the fields is a sure sign of crop prosperity.
Harvest Animal Spirits are often seen. They may be domestic, such as roosters, bulls and goats, or wild, such as bears and deer. In the Northern Hemisphere some of the herbivores come to fertilize the fruit trees at Winter Solstice.
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There's a depth of crossover in German and other mythology. The Celts populated a large part of what is now Germany during the Iron Age (1200 - 600 BC). The Anglo-Saxons were mainly Germanic tribes who settled Britain between 400 and 1066, after which the French took over for about three hundred years.
Common elements such as the Wild Hunt appear in German, Welsh and French myth. The Headless Horseman appears in Celtic and German folklore.
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These are only a few wild and wonderful entities and stories of European and German myth, folklore and culture. I'm currently working on a Bronze Age Quest Adventure novel, about a young Northern woman who journeys to fabled southern lands in search of her abducted sister.
Visit or join my blog for more. See my author page or read free samples of the Lora Ley series and other writing on Smashwords. Enjoy!
Sylvia
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