Tatzelwurm
The keeper of the wild gorges
Nature of the Tatzelwurm
The Tatzelwurm is a legendary creature of the Alps – in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland, where it is also called Stollenwurm. It is described as a thick worm with short paws and a head like a cat’s. It is said to live in rock crevices, caves and damp gorges and to show itself only rarely. It stands for the primal and untameable nature of the mountains.
Inner attitude
The Tatzelwurm stays hidden. It needs no witnesses. It knows the cracks and caves that are strange to others.
The essential qualities
- primal
- shy
- earthbound
- wild
- tough
It belongs to the mountain like the rock.
Meaning
The Tatzelwurm appears when you have tamed the wild and wilful part of you too much. It invites you to look into your own gorges – and not to hide what is unusual in you.
Voice of the being
«I am rare, not lost. Something untamed lives in you too.»
Encounter & working together
You meet the Tatzelwurm in old mountain legends, in caves and gorges and on hikes in the fog. In the mountains, lay your hand on a cool rock and listen: what here is older than all paths?
Pay attention to
- where you hide your wilful side
- where you want to tame the wildness in you
- where you may withdraw into a cave
The Tatzelwurm works when you are ready to give room to what is primal in you.
Essence
I let the untamed in me live.
