The Earth
THE SPIRITUAL EARTH
- Chapter 36 -
Notorious names of bewitched mountains
There is enough evidence to prove that, in earlier times, clairvoyant people who lived in the mountains associated with spirits, as shown by some peculiar names of mountains which still exist to this day.
In Styria (a province of Austria) there are many such mountains, which indicate by their names what took place there in earlier times. This applies also to Carinthia, Tyrol (also provinces in Austria), Switzerland, and the Savoy (located in the French Alps), as well as the mountains of Germany; there are many such places where you may find out what took place there by examining their names. There is a mountain in Styria by the name of Schöckl; in the local dialect this means, more or less, "making weather." In earlier days, the people that lived in the valley thought that if they saw several people gather on the mountain and, at the same time, saw a cloud above them, then the people must be making weather by means of sorcery. In times past such attempts were frequently made on this mountain called Schöckl.
But you can be sure that bad weather never originated in this weather hole, and that a "witch" never lived on the Schöckl. You may, however, depend upon it that this mountain was once inhabited by many mountain spirits with whom the people in the area had an absolutely natural relationship. This mountain was also a volcano, and its weather holes are nothing but craters that have remained open.
There are many such mountains in Styria with mysterious names like the Schöckl, but to mention all of them would be to go too far. The name Raxalpe is of similar origin; the word "Rax" is derived from "Raca," which means a half-devil. The Hohe Schwab (High Swabian) is also notorious as a sorcerer's mountain. The name comes from a Swabian who immigrated to this area and pursued his sinister activities there as a most infamous sorcerer.
In Carinthia, not far from the river Drau, you will find the "Hochstaff." This mountain was once, according to tradition, notorious as the main gathering place for witches and their masters. The designations for parts of this mountain are Hexensprung (Witch's Leap), Teufelsritt (Devil's Ride), and Wehrwolfsnest (Werewolf's Den), and they depict sufficiently the reputation of this mountain. The word "Staff' was an expression among the earlier mountain folk that meant something extraordinary.
Certainly this is nothing but mere folklore, perpetuated mainly by the people who lived in the lowest area of the valleys. The wiser people of the mountains knew nothing about witches, and many times they had to endure shameful criminal proceedings because of the stupidity of these valley dwellers. But they did know about the spirits that everywhere inhabited the mountains.
But why these mountains in particular?
There are various reasons why such beings prefer one mountain to another. It depends partly on the location and height of the mountain, and partly upon its interior. But the main reason that spirits take possession of a mountain is because the mountain allows them to have an unobstructed view on all sides.
These spirits have the ability to see the world of Nature. Because of the weather formations, they have to keep a watchful eye on the neighboring mountain spirits. That is why the spirits prefer such mountains, as they permit an unobstructed view. Such spirits are assigned to higher spirits, and these higher spirits rule and guide them. In spite of this, no one's rightful freedom is taken away, nor is the bliss which is connected with it.
These names clearly tell us about the notoriety that certain mountains have attained. You will now understand how there is nothing behind this folklore except what I have explained to you.
Since we have now sufficiently discussed the presence of mountain spirits, and have seen the state of things in the second region, we shall now turn to the first region and its spiritual background.