Did your toast land butter-side down this morning? For many, today’s ominous date invokes a sense of unease, throwing superstitious folks into a state of cautious awareness as they navigate their daily tasks. Every inconvenience is because of Friday the 13th (even if it was totally your own fault for leaving the light on in your car and killing your battery).
Luck comes in many forms: dates, talismans, animals, clothing, you name it. Insects make regular appearances in folktales across the globe, often as symbols of good fortune. But luck manifests in different ways depending on where you are; a common insect that features in folk legends is the dragonfly, appearing in Chinese, Japanese, Hopi, Mimbreño Apache, and many other cultures across the globe as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity as well as an agent of change. However, in early European cultures, the opposite was true. Germanic and Scandinavian peoples considered the dragonfly an ill omen, with colorful colloquial names like Devil’s Horse, Water Witch, Devil’s Darning Needle, and Horse Stinger. One prominent European legend claims that lying children will have their eyes and mouths sewn shut by this so-called Devil’s Darning Needle, and the myth’s persistence even lends to the common name of an entire family of dragonflies: Aeshnidae, or the darners.
In Romania, a dragonfly personifies the devil himself. Legend claims he took the form of a dragonfly to cross a vast lake after a fisherman refused to shepherd him across. Another folktale explaining the origin of dragonflies comes from Germany and tells the story of a cruel young princess who, after tormenting a stranger, is cursed to spend eternity as a dragonfly. The following short tale is translated from the book Folk Legends from Pomerania and Rügen, collected and edited by Dr. Ulrich Jahn.
Das Hatzpferd (Libelle)
The Hunting Horse (Dragonfly)
From Volkssagen aus Pommern und Rügen. Gesammelt und herausgegeben von Dr. Ulrich Jahn. 1889
Once upon a time, there was a princess who led a wild life. All day long, she romped about on her fiery horse, roaming through fields and meadows. One day, she rode through a dark forest. A little man came up to her and begged her for a small gift. But the hard-hearted maiden did not want to let her pleasure be disturbed and ordered the man to step out of the way. When he did not obey, she spurred her horse on and rode him over. No sooner had the crime been committed than the little man cried out in a very loud voice: “Because you have been so cruel, you and your horse shall ride around the heath for all eternity.” Immediately, the princess and her horse were transformed into a winged animal, which to this day is called the Hunting Horse (Hatzpferd) in memory of the event. Only when the Last Judgement comes will the curse be lifted, and she will become a rider again.