Mielikki- Finnish GodDeity"Honey-Rich Mother of the Woods"

The Honey-Rich Mother of the Woods

Mielikki was the wife of Tapio, the forest king, and mistress of all woodland creatures. The elk and the grouse answered to her. She could lead them into a hunter's path or hide them behind a wall of birch and shadow. Her golden keys opened the storehouses of Metsola, the forest realm, and nothing left that realm without her consent.

The Hunter's Prayer

Hunters prayed to Mielikki before setting out, praising her golden ornaments and her forest kingdom, asking that she release game from her keeping and guide it into their paths. They promised to honor what she gave and waste nothing. A hunter who praised her well and kept faith with her gifts would find the elk standing in the clearing. A hunter who boasted or wasted meat would find the forest empty, the trails cold, the animals hidden where no dog could scent them.

The bear was the greatest of her gifts, Metsolan omena, the apple of Metsola. When hunters killed a bear, they held a feast in its honor, praising the animal and returning its bones to the forest as though sending an honored guest back to Mielikki's keeping.

Healer of the Forest

Mielikki knew the uses of every plant in her realm, which bark stopped bleeding and which root eased pain. Those injured by forest creatures or hurt while hunting appealed to her for cure. The tietäjä invoked her name when the wound came from the woods, asking that she withdraw the harm her domain had caused and bless the remedies laid upon it.