April 30th, 2022, is a magical night for several reasons. One reason is that it’s a rare Black Moon, which occurs when there are two New Moons in one month. The other is that this Black Moon coincides with the ancient festival of Walpurgisnacht, also known as Hexxennacht. Tradition holds that Walpurgisnacht is named after Saint Walpurga, who supposedly founded a monastery in Heidenheim and had the power to fight disease and witchcraft. However, like so many Christian saints, she was probably a myth. Her true origins rest in the Teutonic pagan Earth goddess by the same name.
According to Judika Illes in her book Encyclopedia of Spirits, Walburga is the goddess of beauty, warmth, fertility, the renewal of life, and grain. The Wild Hunt pursues the goddess Walburga for nine days before May Day. In the past, villagers would leave doors and windows open to give Her refuge. There’s a myth that the goddess was given shelter by a farmer who didn’t know who She was. In the morning, She was gone but had left grains of gold sprinkled in with his rye crop as gratitude for his kindness.
The wizard and author Oberon Zell-Ravenheart explains that on Walpurgisnacht, the veil between the worlds becomes thin and is traditionally a night of insanity. It was also known as the Festival of Hades in the classical world. This dark aspect is likely why Saint Walpurga and the Walpurgis Night festival are associated with witchcraft and dark magick. Goethe wrote that Faust was taken to Brocken in the Harz Mountains on Walpurgis Night to celebrate with demons and witches. This Faustian festival of demons is famously depicted in the Disney animated film Fantasia to the orchestral piece Night on Bald Mountain. Hence, the alternative name of Hexxennacht or Witches Night.
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