Die rauhnächte/The twelve nights (english)

Photo: Tamalynne Grant 2025

Text by Tamalynne Grant December 2025

There are two widely discussed interpretations of the origin of the word Rauhnacht — Die Rauhnächte. One suggests that it derives from the German word Rauch, meaning “smoke,” referring to the custom of saining homes and stables with herbs, often frankincense, during this time. Another interpretation traces it back to the Middle High German word rûch, meaning “furry,” “wild,” or “hairy.” From this perspective, the Rauhnächte are also known as the “Wild Nights” or “Furry Nights,” symbolically connected to the Wild Hunt, and sometimes referred to as the “Wolf Nights,” as wolves were said to roam closer to farms in search of food during the harsh winter nights. In English, this period is often known as The Twelve Nights.

The Twelve Nights, or Rauhnächte, are deeply rooted in pre-Christian German and Austrian Alpine traditions. This time was also known as Niemandzeit — “the time that belongs to no one.”

Why?

Early Germanic cultures measured time through a lunisolar rhythm, allowing the Moon to shape the passing of the months. The word month itself still carries this origin, rooted in the lunar cycle and preserved in modern English. Through Proto-Germanic and related languages, this shared ancestry reveals how deeply the Moon once guided the human experience of time.

A lunar cycle lasts approximately 29½ days, resulting in a lunar year of 354 days. A solar year, however, consists of 365 days. This creates a difference of eleven days and twelve nights, a liminal gap between lunar and solar time, which ultimately gave rise to the concept of the Twelve Nights, or Rauhnächte. These days were believed to exist outside of time, following neither the laws of the Sun nor the Moon.

This is why I choose to begin my Rauhnächte observance on the 20th of December this year, aligning with the final New Moon of 2025, and to complete the twelve nights on the 31st of December.

During this liminal period, it was believed that the veil between this world and the Otherworld would thin. Spirits, witches, werewolves, demons, black dogs, elves, and nature beings were said to roam freely through the skies, causing chaos and unrest.

In Alpine traditions, the goddess Perchta was believed to hunt these beings down, driving them from the land , a mythic image closely tied to what later became known as the Wild Hunt.

Among Germanic peoples, the Wild Hunt was often led by Wuotan (Old High German) or Wotan (Old Saxon), both names referring to the same deity known in Norse tradition as Odin. As a god of death, wisdom, magic, and the liminal realms, he presided over thresholds: between worlds, seasons, and states of being.

As fearsome as these beings were believed to be, they also represented transformation and the renewal of nature.

The Rauhnächte remind us to sharpen our subtle senses in the darkness, allowing insight into worlds beyond the visible. They are a potent time for reflection, divination, and preparation for the coming year.

This is a time of contrasts: past and future, light and dark, not as opposites, but as forces that coexist and depend on one another. The Twelve Nights can be dark, unsettling, and even dangerous, yet they are also rich with possibility. They invite us to turn inward, find stillness, and reconnect with the deeper currents of existence. In honouring both light and shadow, birth and death, outward celebration and inward silence, we remember that wholeness arises only when we learn to accept both poles of our being.

What to avoid during the Twelve Nights / Rauhnächte

Avoid hanging washing outdoors!

It was believed that the beings of the Wild Hunt could become entangled in hanging laundry. This was said to anger them, bringing mischief, unrest, or misfortune into the household.

Avoid arguments and conflict!

Disputes were thought to invite restless spirits into the home, feeding on heightened emotions and disturbing inner clarity. Harmony was considered essential for spiritual protection and growth during this time.

Avoid loud noises and strenuous work!

Hard labour and unnecessary noise were believed to disrupt the sacred stillness of the Rauhnächte, breaking the tranquillity that allowed insight, rest, and renewal to unfold.

What to do during the Twelve Nights / Rauhnächte

Saining/Smoke Rituals

Burning herbs traditionally used by Germanic and Celtic peoples during the Rauhnächte such as: frankincense, juniper, mugwort, or sage, was believed to cleanse the home, ward off harmful spirits, energies and protect against curses. Smoke served as both offering and boundary, guiding what may enter and what must remain outside.

Divination & Journaling

Each of the Twelve Nights is traditionally associated with one month of the coming year. Through daily divination practices, insight may be gained into the energies, challenges, and themes that will shape the year ahead.

For Example:

December 20th = Rauhnacht 1 = January 2026

December 21st = Rauhnacht 2 = February 2026

and so on.

During the Rauhnächte, I work exclusively with runes and ogham for divination. These systems reflect the ways our ancestors would have sought guidance, rooted in land, lineage, and oral tradition. Rather than blending modern tools, this practice honours the ancestral context in which the Twelve Nights were originally understood.

Leave out offerings

Father Christmas can be traced back to the Norse god Odin. 

During the Rauhnächte, it was custom in certain parts of Bavaria to leave out beer, bread and milk to not only appease Odin but to also get onto the good side of the wild hunt (hence why it’s traditional to leave out milk and cookies for Santa Claus).

Odin was known to be a fierce god, however, he was also known for his benelovence and he would enjoy giving gifts to those he favoured.

Thirteen Wishes

This was inspired by a dear Austrian friend of mine Katharina Gerlich who mentioned this was custom during the Rauhnächte and I have integrated it into my practice ever since.

On thirteen pieces/bits of paper, write down everything you wish to happen/achieve the following year.

Fold them up and throw them in a bowl.

Over the course of the “Twelve Nights”/”Rauhnächte”, without looking, you’ll take a wish and burn it. By burning it, you’re placing your trust in the universe.

On the thirteenth day (January 1st 2026) you should have one wish left. That is for you to see and whatever wish shows itself to you, that’s the one wish you’ll have to actively work towards in the following year whilst your other wishes will be taken care of by the universe.

Sources & Acknowledgements

This post draws on a combination of historical research, folk tradition, and lineage-based spiritual practice. Sources include German-language materials on Alpine Rauhnächte customs, academic and modern heathen scholarship on Germanic calendrical systems, and personal study of mythological texts.

Selected sources:

• Aldsidu — The Historical Heathen Holidays and Calendar https://www.aldsidu.com/post/the-historical-heathen-holidays-and-calendar

• Academic and mythological texts on Germanic and Norse traditions (personal library)

Book:

Kirschgruber, Valentin. Das Wunder der Rauhnächte.

Kailash, 2013.

Practice & Lineage:

My approach to Seiðr, divination, and ancestral practice has been shaped through my training with Xiomara Crystal, with whom I completed Seiðr training and am currently undertaking Northern Priestess training. This lineage-based learning is central to my commitment to authenticity and to avoiding modern, Christianised, or trend-driven reinterpretations of ancestral traditions.

Instagram: @xiomaracrystal