“Mielikki’s themes are change and providence. Her symbols are bears, grain and woodland plants. The Finnish Goddess of game, hunting and the forest, Mielikki protects our resources during the remaining cold season by keeping the pantry filled. As the Goddess of abundant grain, she also encourages the return of fertility to the earth.
Go into your kitchen and get a small handful of any grain-based cereal. Take this outside and release a pinch of it to the earth, saying something like:
‘Mielikki, see this grain and bless
return to earth in fruitfulness
Hear the prayer that fills my heart
to my home, providence impart.’
Take the remaining pinch back in the house and store it in an airtight container, symbolically preserving your resources.
Tyvendedagen means ‘twentieth day after Christmas’. In Norway, today marks off the official end of the Yule season. It’s celebrated with races, sleigh rides, and the storage of ornaments and by burning the Christmas tree to drive away winter. So, when you dismantle your Yule tree, keep a jar full of its needles handy. Burn these throughout the year to banish frosty feelings or to warm up a chilly relationship. The pine smoke, being from a woodland tree, also draws Mielikki’s attention to any pressing needs you may have.”
(Patricia Telesco, “365 Goddess: a daily guide to the magic and inspiration of the goddess”.)
In one legend, Mielikki plays the central role in creating the first bear. Click here to read the story.
Nice illustration of Mielikki. Couple of points, though; Mielikki derives from Finnish-Baltic folklore, not Norse mythology. She was unknown in Norway. It’s Finland or Estonia that you want to point to. As nice as the illustration is, she should probably be blond too. White-blond actually, again, like most Finnish women. There are references to the “fair-haired” Mielikki in some runos (poems).
David,
The first paragraph states that She derives from Finnish mythology; Patricia Telesco doesn’t mention Norway or any references to Norse mythology in Mielikki’s breif description in the first paragraph. She did mention Norway in the fourth paragraph because Telesco is describing Tyvendedagen, the traditional end of Christmas season in Norway, or St. Knut’s Day (Tjugondag Knut, or “The 20th Day of Knut”) in Sweden. Patricia Telesco includes celebrations and/or holidays in every daily Goddess devotion, whether that Goddess belongs to that culture or not because (I believe) that the essence of that particular Goddess is somehow involved with that celebration/holiday. In this way, you yourself can incorporate a particular Goddess into your own tradition or practice – make it your own.
This was the only illustration that I could find of Mielikki (though I did add the bear because I thought that was an important element in Her representation). I really liked it because it showed Her in Her hunting aspect.
Since I’ve started doing this little “journey”, I’ve included more research in my later entries. I plan on someday going back and editing these earlier entries to include more detailed research. Thanks for stopping by, reading and taking the time to comment! Bright Blessings!