The Wind Bride - die Windsbraut
Today we are entering the realm of mythical creatures and I am sure that you have certainly encountered this lady before. In the north of Europe this creature is known as the Wind Bride. The wind bride is the name for a sudden, very violent, swirling, howling storm wind on the coast or at sea. In her human form, she is a beautiful young bride dancing on the waves of the sea.
Sculpture Windsbraut by Hartmut Wiesner in Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Depending on the region and mythical interpretation, she can move inland. Where exactly she comes from is not entirely clear, but there is an assumption that she comes from Greek mythology. There is the harpy Aello, the daughter of Thaumas and Electra. She was sent by the gods to bring peace - even by force - and to carry out punishments for crimes. They were depicted as winged beauties, in later times also as ugly old women with sharp claws who abducted people into the underworld to torture them there.
However, it is more likely that the wind bride comes from Norse or Germanic mythology. There she is the wife of Njörd, the god of the wind, and if we go by the handbook of German superstition then she also repeatedly accompanies the Wild Hunt (I don't mean the one from The Witcher 3). This is a ghost train or a ghost army. It can chase across the sky or roam the land in the form of a procession of corpses. The sighting is usually a harbinger of catastrophe, illness and death. In their wake are the fallen of battles, the unbaptised, the executed and those who have died prematurely or violently. As a rule, the Wild Hunt or the Wild Army can be heard announcing itself by screaming, howling, wailing or music.
The Wind Bride is a cruel bride who casts a spell over unhappy souls and drags sailors on the high seas to their doom with her stormy, wild behaviour. So it's not a good omen when you see her and especially not when she's using her powers.
