Waldgeist

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The term Waldgeist or Waldgeister is the German word for ‘forest spirit’, believed by ancient pagans to be the custodians of the forest. The Waldgeist spirit was believed to live in the forest and be the protector of those with 'pure spirit' who entered the forest. If you are able to spot a Waldgeist in the trees it is said to be good luck.

A Waldgeist was often depicted in carved wooden form with leaves or twigs for hair and beard. They have a variety of forms the most common being an old man. It was believed that Waldgeists could foretell the future and were sought for this purpose. The term 'knock on wood' was believed to have originated with hunters and woodsmen who would upon entering the forest knock on a large old tree to awaken the Waldgeist to ensure no evil came to them. Waldgeist were known for their playfulness and mischievousness. They were known to like to play tricks on people but could also be good and would grant wishes if a person was felt to have a kind heart.

Wood carvings of the Waldgeist were often seen over doorways leading into homes to ensure no evil entered. Many variations of the name of these carvings are; woodwose, wood spirit, wild man, savage man, tree spirits, green men and forest spirit.

In North America indigenous peoples, particularily Sioux, the belief of the Waldgeist is also found in folklore tales as the Wakâtcûna. This is attested in Jasper Blowsnake's version of the Twin Cycle, where the Twins in this tale mistake a Wood Spirit as squirrel and fight with it. The closely related term for Wood Spirit is Tree Spirit or 'Wakaitcu'. In Lakota mythology the name of Canotila is given to the forest creatures. However the Wood Spirits are said to be small and have feline properties which inhabit specific trees and would be separate from the spirit of the tree itself.

Many nature-connected religions assign names to their forest spirits. European forest names of Elf, Fawn, Satyr, Dryad, Nymph, and Sprite appear with this belief lexicon.

In Japanese folklore the name of the forest spirits are kodamas. In a recent cartoon called “Princess Mononoke” a Kodama is portrayed as tiny whitish-green translucent creature who assists the character Ashitaka to find an important place.