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| Luna |
“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright.” ~ Curt Siodmak, The Wolf Man
The first full moon of 2024 will rise on Thursday, January 25th. Known as the Wolf Moon, its name is said to have Anglo-Celtic origins and is derived from, Faoilleach, the old Scottish Gaelic name for the dark and cold period between mid-January and February. Loosely translated to “wolf month” or “wolf ravaging time,” it got its name from the howling of hungry wolves during the bitter winter months. Fittingly, I was born in this period and the fiery Irpinian blood I inherited from my mother’s side always seems to get up this time of year.
For those who don’t know, Irpinia (Oscan: Hirpinia) is an appellation for the mountainous interior of eastern Campania (Appennino campano) located in the province of Avellino and its totemic emblem is the wolf. As you would expect, this is because the area was named after the Oscan-speaking Hirpini tribe. The name Hirpini, meaning "wolf-men," is derived from hirpus, the Oscan word for "wolf."
An offshoot of the Samnites, the wolven Hirpini are thought to have acquired their fearsome name from their spiritual guide animal during the ver sacrum or sacred spring rituals. An ancient Italic religious practice, the ver sacrum was a vow to Mars (Oscan: Māmers), the god of war and agriculture, under whose divine auspices young war bands were expelled from the tribe and required to found new settlements. The migratory rite led to Indo-European expansion in the Italian peninsular and subsequent assimilation with the indigenous Neolithic populations.
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| A few She-Wolf of Rome souvenir trinkets I acquired over the years |
“The Wild still lingered in him and the wolf in him merely slept.” ~ Jack London, White Fang
Even though I’ve never actually seen a wolf in the wild, the predatory beast remains a mystical presence, both negative and positive. This undoubtedly stems as much from my ancestry as my upbringing. While often a symbol of war (Mars), destruction and death, the wolf can sometimes represent loyalty (to its pack), vigor, strength, and fertility. Consider the contrast between the Capitoline Wolf of Rome (Lupa), who suckled and protected the Eternal City’s mythical founders Romulus and Remus, and Fenrir, an agent of Chaos in Norse mythology whose wolf sons Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson swallowed the sun and moon respectively during Ragnarök (or Götterdämmerung), the twilight of the gods.
The Hour of the Wolf
“From an encounter with the gods of the underworld, we must take care lest we return as madmen” ~ Nicolás Gómez Dávila, The Authentic Reactionary
According to a friend, the Norse also believe in vargtimmen or Wolf Hour, a supernatural time before the break of dawn when bugbears, lycanthropes and other creatures of the night prowl the world and the sleepless are haunted. As someone who often suffers from wakeful nights, I found this most fascinating.
Unfortunately, the time constraint to make our deadline has limited my inquiry to a cursory internet search. The most relevant and often cited reference I could find about this eldritch folk tale is from Swedish film director Ingemar Bergman, who is credited with coining the phrase for his 1968 horror film Vargtimmen. As per Bergman:
“The hour of the wolf is the hour between night and dawn. It is the hour when most people die, when sleep is the deepest and nightmares the most vivid. It is the hour when insomniacs are hunted by their worst anxieties, when ghosts and demons are at their most powerful. The hour of the wolf is also the hour when most babies are born.”
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| Fucarazzo di Sant'Antuono |
“Those who have none dream of fangs…” ~ E.M. Cioran, All Gall is Divided
Staring into the dancing flames at our recent fucarazzo di Sant'Antuono (St. Anthony’s Bonfire), I briefly slipped into reverie and hearkened back to the many hunting and camping trips of my youth. Stoking our wild imaginations, the menfolk would often tell us ghost stories about werewolves and feral children raised by wolves around the campfires. On one unforgettable night, my youngest uncle unexpectedly emerged from the murky forest dressed (to our delight and horror) as a wild wolf boy and sent our pack scattering for safety. A time-honored male bonding rite, we still laugh whenever we recall the story.
Wolf Age
Brother will fight brother and be his slayer,
brother and sister will violate the bond of kinship;
hard it is in the world, there is much adultery,
axe-age, sword-age, shields are cleft asunder,
wind-age, wolf-age, before the world plunges headlong;
no man will spare another. ~ The Poetic Edda
Call it what you will—Wolf Age, Kali Yuga or Dark Age—there can be no denying that the modern West is collapsing around us. However, all is not doom and gloom, there are still those who keep the old traditions and folkways alive and this gives us hope for the future. Even with my resolution to live a better life, replete with prayer, charity and the sacraments, I sometimes lose sight of this and need reminding that there are still a great many joys, beauty and good in the world to experience and carry out.
~ By Giovanni "Guiscard" di Napoli, January 22nd, Feasts of San Domenico di Sora, Sant'Irene di Roma, and San Vincenzo di Saragozza
Notes
[1] Holding a wolf by the ears
