Dearest keeper of magic,
This is the time of the year when the birthday of the bear is celebrated. Estonians still have the 13th of July in their calendar as Karhusepäev, the day of the bear. So do the ones in Finland, who follow the bear.
Bear’s day can be celebrated by singing the origin of the bear spell. You can find quite a long version of the spell below. You can check my Instagram account for a shorter version. In that post I also sing the spell.
But before the spell… If you want to honour the bear spirit with a ritual, go to the mother of the bear: Hongotar. Hongotar is the lady of the pine-trees. Many bear spells name her as the mother of the bear, even if the bear is born in the high heavens.
The pine holds a special place in the bear lore. When a bear was hunted and celebrated, its skull was hung in a pine tree. From there the bear’s soul could rise back to the skies where it came from.
That is the lore, and my idea about a suitable ritual is based on it: take an offering, something organic, you can leave in nature, and hang it on a pine branch. Sing the bear's origin while you are at it. The mythical bear might hear you and grant you help when you next time need to connect with your inner strength or wisdom.
The following spell is collected by Lönnrot. It’s from the book Suomen kansan muinaisia loitsurunoja. The translation is by me (with the help of AI). In this translation I tried to keep the meaning (and did not focus on the rythm etc, that are usually big part of Finnic spells).
The spell in english:
My Otso, my only one,
My honey-paw, my beautiful one,
I know well your lineage,
Where you were born, Otso,
Given the blue-tipped tail,
The claw-footed one fashioned:
There you were born, Otso,
High up in the heavens,
On the crests of the moon, above the sun,
On the back of the seven stars,
Beside the maidens of the air,
Near the daughters of nature.
Fire flashed from the sky,
The air turned on its spindle,
As the Otso was being shaped,
As the honey-paw was being made.
From there it was lowered to the earth,
To the edge of the honey-stream,
To be tended by Hongatar,
To be rocked by Tuometar,
At the root of the low-branching spruce
Under the branching crown of the aspen,
At the hem of the forest's castle,
In the home of the golden wilderness.
There the Otso was crossed,
The grey-coated one was baptized,
On a honey-covered hummock,
At the mouth of the Sarajoki strait,
In the lap of the daughter of the North.
There it swore its oath
At the knee of the crone of the North,
Before the open face of god,
Under the blessed beard,
Not to bring harm to the innocent,
Not to wrong the blameless,
To move through summers beautifully,
To step with grace,
To live the joyful seasons
On the backs of the marshes, on the navels of the earth,
In the furthest reaches of the heathlands;
To go without shoes in summer,
Without coverings in autumn,
To dwell through the harder seasons,
To huddle through the winter cold,
Inside an oak-timbered dwelling,
At the hem of a spruce-branch castle,
At the foot of a stately spruce,
In the armpit of the juniper thicket.
The spell in Finnish:
Otsoseni, ainoiseni,
Mesikämmen kaunoiseni,
Kyllä mä sukusi tieän,
Miss' oot otso syntynynnä,
Saatuna sinisaparo,
Jalka kyntinen kyhätty:
Tuoll' oot otso syntynynnä
Ylähällä taivosessa,
Kuun kukuilla, päällä päivän,
Seitsentähtien selällä,
Ilman impien tykönä,
Luona luonnon tyttärien.
Tuli läikkyi taivahasta,
Ilma kääntyi kehrän päällä,
Otsoa suettaessa,
Mesikkiä luotaessa.
Sieltä maahan laskettihin
Vierehen metisen viian,
Hongattaren huolitella,
Tuomettaren tuu'itella,
Juurella nyrynärehen,
Alla haavan haaralatvan,
Metsän linnan liepehellä,
Korven kultaisen kotona.
Siitä otso ristittihin,
Karvahalli kastettihin,
Metisellä mättähällä,
Sarajoen salmen suulla,
Pohjan tyttären sylissä.
Siinä se valansa vannoi
Pohjan eukon polven päässä,
Eessä julkisen jumalan,
Alla parran autuahan,
Tehä ei syytä syyttömälle,
Vikoa viattomalle,
Käyä kesät kaunihisti,
Soreasti sorkutella,
Elellä ajat iloiset
Suon selillä, maan navoilla,
Kilokangasten perillä;
Käyä kengättä kesällä,
Sykysyllä syylingittä,
Asua ajat pahemmat,
Talvikylmät kyhmästellä,
Tammisen tuvan sisässä,
Havulinnan liepehellä,
Kengällä komean kuusen,
Katajikon kainalossa.
🐻
Now you know the origin of the bear. When you know the origin, you have some power over the thing. That way you can perhaps ask the bear to keep away from your path when you walk in the forest.
I have been hosting a Midsummer circle for the past 4 weeks. We have gotten to know Finnish nature spirits, including the bear. It has been an amazing journey, building connection to the nature and the self.
The next circles are already cooking. Look for signs, the north might be calling you to join.
With warmth,
Ninni, Witches' North