Death Omens 4

Cwn Annwn (Hounds of the Deep or Hounds of Hell) Cwn Mamau (Hounds of the Mothers) Sluagh (Host) Unseelie Court (Unblessed Court) Marcaigh Móra Géala (Great Bright Moon Riders) Cú Taidhbhse (Ghost Hounds) Teufelhunden (German: Devil & His Dandy Dogs) Harlequin (France: Harlequin Family) (Yeth Hounds: Isle of Man) (Yule Host: Ireland) Oskoreia (Wild Hunt) Åsgårdsreia (Furious Host) (Gabriel Hounds) Gabriel’s Ratchets (Death Rattle) Heath, Heathen (Heather)

(pron. koon anoon, slooa, coo thigh-bh-shee, heeth) Welsh pack of soul-hunting ghost dogs who are snow white with red ears and eyes like silver mirrors. They are the hounds of the Underworld Annwyn: The Great Deep whose baying is identified with the crying of wild geese as they migrate. The Cwn Annwyn ride the skies in autumn, winter, and early spring with the god Arawn: Slow Sun on a grey horse. Brân: Black Raven of Rebirth (pron. brawn) is Arawn’s companion in the form of a gray dog with yellow feet, two black sides, white stomach, and two red small ears. The Crone Mallt-y-Nos: Matilda of the Night, rides with Arawn and the hounds, chasing lost souls to Annwn with her shrieks and wails. The Cwn Annwn also serve as the escorts of souls on their journey to the Otherworld. They hunt on the eves of St. John, St. Martin, Saint Michael the Archangel, All Saints, Christmas, New Year, Saint Agnes, Saint David, & Good Friday

The English Wild Hunt are black dogs with red eyes who haunt the moors: treeless areas filled with an evergreen shrub called heather that has tiny blossoms shaped like bells. Both sets of dogs snort fire and hunt human beings. Running among them is a shadowy figure of a man with antlers carrying a long hunting-pole. You can put them at bay by praying. Wisht Hounds are headless. Their opposite is the Seelie: Blessed Court. In Germany the leader of the hunt called the Erlkönig: Erl King and the Hag is Berchta.

The Scandinavian Wild Hunt is lead by Odin, father of the gods who wears a long blue hooded cloak, accompanied by a raven and 8 legged horse. His month is Jultid a.k.a Yuletide. During the 13 nights of Yule all the worlds meet in the Middle-Garth, the dead walk freely and people may leave their human selves to become the riders of the oskorei, werewolves, or wights. The Wild Hunt sometimes appear in daylight, but most often they ride during the evenings and nights. They ride on tall horses with rattling bridles on land and water and even through the air. From the back they look hollow as trees. Gudrún Asgard: High Goddess/Guro Rysserova: Horse Tail rides, and her black horse is called Skokse. Her consort Bileygr (Weak-Eyed), Herblindi (Host-Blind), Tvíblindi (Double-Blind), and Helblindi (Death-Blind) whose eyes need to be opened with a hook lead the Yule host. (13, 10, 20, 21: 2, 23:2, 133)

World Book Encyclopedia: The ratchet rattle is a wooden toothed wheel fixed to a handle at one end of a frame. At the opposite end of the frame is a flexible blade. When swung or twirled, the frame swings around the handle and each tooth on the turning wheel plucks the blade. It is a musical instrument in symphony orchestras. In Switzerland, Spain, & other Roman Catholic countries, enormous mechanically operated ratchet rattles are set up in church towers. They call the faithful to prayer during the week before Easter because no bells may be rung from Maundy Thursday until the following Saturday. Des Moines Register, January 15, 1941: Remarked the ABC computer weighed 700 pounds, was the size of a desk built with 280 dual triode vacuum tubes, 1 mile of wire & 31 thyratrons. It performed all calculations in binary digits using electronics rather than wheels, ratchets, or switches.