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Description
Or "Vilkatis" in Latvian.
The Latvian werewolves are very unique and I have wanted for some time to write about them here.
First of all - Latvian werewolves are not evil. They retain their will while "running in wolf's skin" and could actually be seen as sort of ancient Latvian superheroes.
These chosen ones could turn into wolves at their free will - no full moon necessary, not even the night was needed although it was preferred. When transformed, they looked exactly like wolves - which is logical! They communicated with other wolves and no natural wolf in it's right mind would accept a strange half-human half-wolf in it's pack. Only their eyes remained human and they retained the human scent as well, so they had to keep upwind from the other wolves.
In order to turn into a wolf, you must find a tree forming an arch - it would be a root growing out of ground and then going back in again or a whole tree pressed to ground so that it's top has rooted in earth as well. This should be far away from any home where no passers-by would disturb you. You would have to get naked (this is also a reason why passers-by would not be welcomed) and crawl through the arch three times. Somewhere it is also said that if you want your tail to be thick and beautiful, you should stick a straw in your butt (apparently worth the effort).
Then you turn into a wolf. But there is a catch - while you run around, nobody can touch your clothes - if somebody touches or moves them, you are stuck in the form of the wolf forever. The only way out is to get someone to share his food with you - which frankly is a pretty slim chance.
There is also a possibility that your body was left somewhere while the mind took over an actual wolf (see the similarities with warging?) in this case same rule applies- the body should not be moved!
Also you can not do whatever you want as a werewolf - all werewolves are the servants of Dievs (the Latvian deity of sky) and must do his bidding. Apparently there were some renegade werewolves that went to the other side, but most werewolves were considered sacred and were revered.
Wolf was a sacred animal for Latvians especially men, because it is the embodiment of the perfect warrior - strong, agile, disciplined and works in team. There is a theory that the rituals describing the turning into a wolf are actually ancient rites of passage for young warriors when they become "wolves" symbolically.
Actually during all the witch hunting periods through 16th to 18th century a lot of people that were accused of being witches/wizards denied that but confessed being werewolves - because that was an honor. The Germans on the other hand did not share this belief and
only called them fools and sentenced them with some public spanking. That was not even considered witchcraft, only sheer dumbness that one could think of himself as of a wolf. Did those people actually consider themselves werewolves? Who knows, there have always been weirdos and maybe they just really wanted to be wolves - to run free from their masters and confused dreams with reality.

In the background is the sign of the moon - in addition to the apparent connection, Moon is also the guardian of warriors, which is quite unique as well - in the folklore of all the surrounding nations Moon is always the feminine deity, but for us it is the other way around.

Description
Or "Vilkatis" in Latvian.
The Latvian werewolves are very unique and I have wanted for some time to write about them here.
First of all - Latvian werewolves are not evil. They retain their will while "running in wolf's skin" and could actually be seen as sort of ancient Latvian superheroes.
These chosen ones could turn into wolves at their free will - no full moon necessary, not even the night was needed although it was preferred. When transformed, they looked exactly like wolves - which is logical! They communicated with other wolves and no natural wolf in it's right mind would accept a strange half-human half-wolf in it's pack. Only their eyes remained human and they retained the human scent as well, so they had to keep upwind from the other wolves.
In order to turn into a wolf, you must find a tree forming an arch - it would be a root growing out of ground and then going back in again or a whole tree pressed to ground so that it's top has rooted in earth as well. This should be far away from any home where no passers-by would disturb you. You would have to get naked (this is also a reason why passers-by would not be welcomed) and crawl through the arch three times. Somewhere it is also said that if you want your tail to be thick and beautiful, you should stick a straw in your butt (apparently worth the effort).
Then you turn into a wolf. But there is a catch - while you run around, nobody can touch your clothes - if somebody touches or moves them, you are stuck in the form of the wolf forever. The only way out is to get someone to share his food with you - which frankly is a pretty slim chance.
There is also a possibility that your body was left somewhere while the mind took over an actual wolf (see the similarities with warging?) in this case same rule applies- the body should not be moved!
Also you can not do whatever you want as a werewolf - all werewolves are the servants of Dievs (the Latvian deity of sky) and must do his bidding. Apparently there were some renegade werewolves that went to the other side, but most werewolves were considered sacred and were revered.
Wolf was a sacred animal for Latvians especially men, because it is the embodiment of the perfect warrior - strong, agile, disciplined and works in team. There is a theory that the rituals describing the turning into a wolf are actually ancient rites of passage for young warriors when they become "wolves" symbolically.
Actually during all the witch hunting periods through 16th to 18th century a lot of people that were accused of being witches/wizards denied that but confessed being werewolves - because that was an honor. The Germans on the other hand did not share this belief and
only called them fools and sentenced them with some public spanking. That was not even considered witchcraft, only sheer dumbness that one could think of himself as of a wolf. Did those people actually consider themselves werewolves? Who knows, there have always been weirdos and maybe they just really wanted to be wolves - to run free from their masters and confused dreams with reality.

In the background is the sign of the moon - in addition to the apparent connection, Moon is also the guardian of warriors, which is quite unique as well - in the folklore of all the surrounding nations Moon is always the feminine deity, but for us it is the other way around.