Rabbits & Hares in Magick

Posted on by A Solitary Pagan

“In the black furrow of a field
I saw an old witch-hare this night;
And she cocked her lissome ear,
And she eyed the moon so bright,
And she nibbled o’ the green;
And I whispered ‘Whsst! witch-hare,’
Away like a ghostie o’er the field
She fled, and left the moonlight there.

~Walter de la Mare, 1873-1958

“Rabbits and Hares have long been associated with magick and the ability to walk between the worlds and commune with the faeries. This is because both are most often seen at those magickal ‘tween times of dusk and dawn when it is safer for them to be out and about. During the day they stick close to home, which is usually a hidden burrow or, as with the North American Cottontail, in thickets or dense brush. Their ability to dart quickly amidst the shadows as they walk between the earthly realm and the spirit realm, often disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye, makes them privy to hidden knowledge and wisdom. It is no wonder rabbits and hares have often been witches’ familiars.”

The Ancient Midwinter Deer-Mother Goddess.

Posted on by A Solitary Pagan

Female reindeer are unique with regard to other deer species in that they grow and shed antlers. This attribute is part of the mythology and spirituality of the shamanistic Sámi people who tell a story of how at the winter solstice the Deer Mother Goddess flew through the sky in order to help the dying midwinter sun find its way back and begin the process of the returning light.

Male reindeer shed their antlers before midwinter so the association between rebirth and antlers is very much a feminine trait in these traditions.
While some stories remind us of the connection between the world tree, Yggdrasil, and the branched horns of the deer, an often overlooked symbolic connection is the shape of the antlered head of the female deer and the uterus.
Another place we see this depicted in ancient goddess cultures is in the relief’s of the Goddess Hathor and the horned cow.
Incidentally, within Nepalese shamanism, the world tree of immortality is called Kalpa Vriksha, and it looks even more like antlers because the roots of the tree face upwards.
The reason for the roots touching the sky is to show how growth comes from, and returns to, the upper realms.
Many ancient standing stones and carvings depict the deer goddess holding the moon and stars within her antlers.

Although Cernunnos might be a more familiar horned figure, there is much less evidence for his historical worship than there is for the various horned Goddesses of ancient Europe and Asia.
The anthropologist, Karl Schleiser, noted that the deer shaman was one who could traverse all three worlds associated with ancestors and spirits.
So, not only did the reindeer fly to the upper and lower worlds, but it was also seen as a spirit animal which might help those in the middle world. Perhaps,(and this is a personal observation), this is why the deer goddess was so important to people at the time of the year when life was so full of hardship?

The ability of the Deer Mother Goddess to both nurture and sustain life, and the weakened sun until it regained its strength, is a motif which recurs in all of the animistic doctrines, if we can call them that.
This instinctual knowledge was also notice by James George Frazer when he studied ancient native traditions and beliefs.
Although his work, The Golden Bough, certainly shows its age, (and Frazer’s colonialist mindset!), he understood the connection between ancient totemism and inner wisdom very well when he wrote that indigenous peoples, “…conceive of life as an indestructible kind of energy, which when it disappears in one form must necessarily reappear in another, though in the new form it need not be immediately perceptible by us; in other words, he infers that death does not destroy the vital principle nor even the conscious personality, but that it merely transforms them into other shapes, which are not the less real because they commonly elude the evidence of our senses.”

The reason why this is important is because, in her many incarnations, the Deer Mother Goddess was a symbol of much more than the hope of a new spring and the rescue of the winter sun; she was a reminder of the belief that the soul itself was eternal and that even after death there awaited a new rebirth.
When the Scythians moved into Northern Europe and mixed and traded with those already living there, they brought with them their knowledge and practices related to Asian shamanism, as well as the Gods and Goddesses associated with the land, sky and constellations, including the Deer Mother Goddess who incarnated in various forms, depending upon the people who recognised her eternal aspects and nature.
Professor Richard Seaford also reminds us that following Alexander the Great’s conquest of Western Asia, there followed a further syncretism of shamanistic beliefs within the various philosophical and spiritual traditions already existing in Europe.
This resulted in the incorporation of shamanistic ideas within the mystery schools, of which the greatest was the secret knowledge of the invincibility of the soul and the life that awaits following the trials of the afterlife.

The main sun goddess of the indigenous Sámi people is Beaivi, a deity strongly associated with a white female reindeer. At midwinter, a white deer is sacrificed to her in order to ensure the health of the land and herds.
She is also associated with healing mental illnesses which were believed to occur when the sun disappeared from the sky during the winter. For the Sámi, this might be as long as 40 days, so this is interesting in terms of our own knowledge regarding daylight, mental health and vitamin D.

Beaivi shares other characteristics with horned goddesses associated with midwinter in that she flew through the sky as a deer, but also pulled a sleigh, sometimes made of antlers and bone. The goddess Saule of the indigenous Lithuanian people was also said to traverse the sky in this same manner and leave gifts by dropping amber down into homes as she passed overhead.
We have come across other ancient goddesses with similar attributes in previous posts, such as La Befana, for example.

So, we have various ancient Goddesses who flew through the sky at midwinter leaving gifts for households and bringing new light and life.
We know today that the earliest evidence for shaman indicates that they were female, and that the practices and iconography moved into Northern Europe and the Mediterranean regions following the various migrations of the Scythians, and the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Although it might seem as though these beliefs and traditions have been forgotten, in fact they have survived in ways not always apparent.
But, also in ways very familiar, as we shall see in the next post in this short series.

Cockerels

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Symbols of light and goodness, cocks have been favored birds of sacrifice to the gods.

The cock is sacred and is associated with sun deities; it has the power to banish evil.

The cock is a bird of omen, both of luck (in Wales) and death and evil (in Hungary).

It is also a symbol of fertility and has been used in divination for centuries around the world.

The cock is an embodiment of the corn-spirit, who guards the corn crop until it can be harvested.

The last sheaf of corn is variously called the cock-sheaf, cock, harvest-cock, autumn-hen and harvest-hen.

Traditionally, a cock is sacrificially killed at the end of harvest, in order to ensure a bountiful crop the following season.

According to some customs, the cock is bound up in the cock-sheaf and then run through with a spit.

Sometimes it is buried in the fields up to its neck and then beheaded.

Or, it is whipped, beaten or stoned to death.

It is either cooked, or the flesh is thrown out and the skin and feathers saved tobe sprinkled on the new fields in the spring.

During the witch hunts, witches were said to sacrifice cocks as an offense to God.

The cock represented God, light and goodness, the very things that the Devil’s legions hated.

Accused Irish witch Dame Alice Kyteler in the 14th century supposedly sacrificed cocks to her familiar at a crossroads.

Witches also were said to sacrifice cocks over their cauldrons as part of their spells to raise rain and storms (see storm raising).

The witches’ sabbats allegedly went on all night until cock-crow, at which point the revelers scattered.

Montague Summers observed in The History of Witchcraft and Demonology (1926):

That the crowing of a cock dissolves enchantments is a tradition of extremest antiquity.

The Jews believed that the clapping of a cock’s wing will make the power of demons ineffectual and break magic spells. . . .

The rites of Satan ceased [at dawn] because the Holy Office of the Church began.

In the time of S. Benedict Matins and Lauds were recited at dawn and were actually often known as Gallicinium, Cock-crow.

Nicholas Rémy, 16th-century French demonologist and witch prosecutor, said that a witch confessed to him that cocks were hated by all witches and sorcerers

. The cock heralds the dawn, which brings light to the sins of the night and rouses men to the worship of God.

Cocks were said to crow at the birth of Christ and at his death.

During the Middle Ages, the cock became an important Christian symbol of vigilance and resurrection, and earned a place at the top of church steeples, domes and buildings.

Cats

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Cats have been associated with the supernatural since ancient times.

Cats are associated with either good or bad luck, healing or harm.

In folklore, the cat is one of the favored animal companions of witches, sorcerers  and fortune-tellers.

Superstitions about cats abound.

The cat was sacred to the ancient Egyptians, who associated it with the Moon and Bast, the goddess of marriage.

It also was associated with the Mother Goddess, Isis.

In Egyptian art, the sun god, Ra, was personified as a cat slaying the Serpent of Darkness.

Black cats were associated with darkness and death. According to lore, virtually every sorcerer, witch and Gypsy fortune-teller was supposed to have a cat—and sometimes an owl and a toad as well.

During the witch hunts, cats were familiars; they embodied demons who performed the witches’ tasks of maleficia against their neighbors.

Elizabeth Francis of Chelmsford, England, convicted as a witch in 1556, said she kept a white spotted cat named Sathan, which, whenever it performed a job for her, demanded a reward of a drop of her blood Witches were said to be able to assume the shape of a cat nine times, presumably because a cat has nine lives.

Black cats were said to be the Devil himself.

Throughout medieval Europe, black cats were routinely hunted down and burned, especially on Shrove Tuesday and Easter.

A cat accused of being a witch’s familiar usually was killed by being burned alive.

Cats were also used in witches’ spells. In the trial of John Fian, Scotland’s most famous witch, in 1590–91, Fian and his coven were accused of trying to drown James VI (James I) and Queen Anne on their voyage to Denmark.

The witches allegedly christened a cat, tied it to a dismembered human corpse and threw the bundle into the sea while they recited incantations.

A great storm arose and forced the royal ship to return to Scotland, but the king and queen were unharmed.

In the lore of the Scottish Highlands, a large breed of wild cats, called Elfin Cats, are said to be witches in disguise.

The Elfin Cats are about the size of dogs and are black with a white spot on the breast.

They have arched backs and erect bristles—the stereotypical Halloween cat.

Though the black cat is associated with witchcraft, it is nevertheless considered good luck to own one in parts of Europe, England and the United States.

But having one’s path crossed by a black cat is always bad luck. In other folklore, if a cat jumps over a corpse, the corpse will become a vampire.

To prevent this, the cat must be killed. Cats are fertility charms—a cat buried in a field will ensure a bountiful crop.

The cat plays a role in Vodun in the southern United States.

Cat charms, particularly those made with cats’ whiskers, can bring bad luck, disease and death to the victim.

Conversely, in folklore cats have many healing properties. A broth made from a black cat is said to cure consumption.

In the 17th century, a whole cat boiled in oil was held to be good for dressing wounds.

Illnesses could be transferred to cats, who were then driven from homes. Cats’ eyes are supposed to be able to see ghosts.

In western Asia, a stone called the Cat’s Eye—dull red with a white mark—is associated with trouble and evil.

In Witchcraft, the cat is a favoured companion or familiar, valued for its psychic sensitivity and assistance in magic and ritual.

Riding the Dragon

Posted on by A Solitary Pagan

Many Traditional Crafters have an interesting relationship with dragons.

Some see them as archetypes, some as being similar to the Gods, and some see them as living mythical beasts, in a very literal way.

It is certainly true that myths and legends involving dragons are central to many of the traditional cultures from which British Witchcraft derives.

In Sumerian and Babylonian mythology we have Tiamet,

the Mother of Dragons, and even in the Ancient Egyptian Mysteries we can find the dragon tucked away,

take a good look at the figure of Ptah found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, and you will see the markings of feathered wings wrapped around His mummiform body.

Ptah, the Great Architect, and one of the oldest gods in the Egyptian pantheon, is a dragon.

But for us in Briar Rose, the dragon is a very personal thing, because we see drakes to a certain extent as “all of the above”, but most importantly, we see the drake as part of our own make-up.

Just as Orion Foxwood teaches that we have three selves, the Dream Walker, Surface Walker and Star Walker, so in our kind of crafting we work with three aspects of self, the Drake, the Initiate and the Crown.

In other Traditions these also appear,  though they may have different names, such as the Fetch-Beast, the Magician and the Star-Body, or ShadowSelf, Self and Star-Self.

For us, the Drake is the Underworld component of our being, the Shadow form from which we gain our power.

So awakening the Dragon is an important part of our development, and a key part of our rite of initiation.

However, there is a caveat, because the Drake needs to be reined in by the Crown or Higher Self, otherwise it is out of control, and will ride roughshod over the Initiate self.

It is much like the relationship between Set and Nephthys in the Egyptian Mysteries — Set is, among other things, the chaotic yet potent power of the desert storm, wild and destructive.

But Nephthys provides the control and contact for his chaos,

giving form to his force so that the power is tamed and becomes her power of dissolution,

the side of nature that involves breaking down things to their basic building blocks through erosion, decay, and rotting,

so that those components can be recycled and incorporated in new growth, new life.

So the key when working with drakes is to find the balance point,

much like finding the fulcrum point of the Compass in order to work magic…

only the Drake is the engine that powers the magic, and the Compass is the tool we use, guided by our Higher Self or Crown, to direct it.

We use the term “riding the dragon” both for the process of balancing this relationship, and also for the exercise we use to learn and practice it.

The exercise of riding the dragon is similar in some aspects to a martial arts exercise, as it involves directing energy through posture. Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.

Bend your knees to lower your center of gravity, and curve your spine, so it is a little like sitting in an imaginary chair or saddle.

You should lift your heels off the ground slightly, and allow your ankles and knees to flex slightly.

This results in a gentle bobbing motion, which should be matched to your breathing.

Try to curve your back a little more, so the upper part is also curved.

Let your head drop forward and down, and then look up, curving the neck.

Finally, hold your arms and hands out before you, though they should be curved as well, as if you are holding a large invisible beach ball in front of you.

This is the basic rider position.

Now reach down with your senses, feeling for the dark pulsing energy that “bobs” in time to your own motion.

This is your Drake.

Draw it up until you feel almost as if your feet will leave the floor, and be aware of the Drake flexing in time with you between your thighs.

At this point things will start to get warm, and you will feel spontaneous movements ripple through your spine and neck.

This is where you need to find the balance point, which allows the energy to move where you want it, without it getting away from you.

It is a bit like riding a unicycle.

As long as there is balance, you will find that gentler controlled movement is easy and flows well, and the whole thing feels like an extension of yourself —

but lose that point of balance and it will quickly get away from you, and suddenly you are being forced to move, dragged in the direction it wants to go, because you have lost control.

Animal Kinship

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It has long been believed that humans have a kinship with animals, and that this kinship allows us to draw on their special qualities.

When choosing an animal as a totem (a hereditary badge or emblem for a tribe or clan that serves as a personal sacred talisman), you call upon the power of the animal and are drawn into harmony with its strength and power.

Totems appear in dreams and bring healing, abundance, strength and power, and protection.

Native American Indians believe that when you align your consciousness with that of an animal, that animal will speak to you in a special way, the way of power.

This way of power is considered to be very potent.

The totem animal then becomes your spiritual ally and safely guides you through life’s trials and tribulations.

For example, if you feel the need for more independence, you might want to work with the cat.

If you are faced with a problem which calls for swift action, then the horse would be a good choice.

The best way to make contact with your power animal is during meditation.

Choose a place where you can be alone for at least 15 minutes.

Dim the lights and turn off all outside distractions, including the television, radio, and stereo.

Seat yourself in a comfortable chair and relax your body. Begin at the top of the head and work downward.

Tilt your head forwards, backwards, and then from side to side, breathing deeply three times each.

Relax.

Continue down through the neck, chest, back, arms and abdomen, breathing deeply three times for each body section.

Relax.

Then continue on down through the thighs, knees, ankles, feet, and toes.

Check all muscles you can feel and be sure that they are relaxed.

If your breathing is even and calm, relaxation will come quickly and easily.

As you direct your breathing, exclude all thoughts and sensations and fix your consciousness totally on the breathing process.

Let your mind slip into a semiconscious state and ask for your power animal to appear.

When the animal comes into focus, relax and allow yourself to connect with the animal on a mental level.

Invite the animal to work with you and give you a measure of its power.

When you feel you have absorbed the qualities or power needed, thank your power animal, and return to a full conscious state of mind.

The Magick of Animals

Posted on by A Solitary Pagan

The following animals all have magickal qualities that can be harnessed in times of need.

Choose an animal to work with that best represents a personality characteristic you would like to develop or improve.

Bear (introspection, stability, wisdom)

The strength of the bear lies in its ability to enter into a state of hibernation.

In this state it is able to digest the year’s experience.

The bear gains wisdom through sleep in dream time.

When warmth and sunlight return, the bear emerges strong, stable, and with renewed vitality.

Bear is strongly protective of home and family.

Bear Associations.

Direction: North Element: Earth Deities: Artemis, Diana, Thor, Cernunnos.

The bear will teach you great wisdom.

He will also teach you the value of stillness and introspection.

When you feel the need for stability, call on the bear during meditation.

Ask the bear to bring you wisdom.

Buffalo (abundance, prayer, thanksgiving)

The buffalo was the major source of food for the Plains Indians.

The buffalo provided meat, hide for clothing, and hooves for glue.

The buffalo was considered sacred in many traditions because it represented the ideal that when all was in balance there was great abundance.

When there was abundance, prayer and thanksgiving were offered in gratitude.

Buffalo Associations.

Direction: North and South Elements: Earth and Fire Deities: Apis, Cernunnos, Jupiter, Thor, Zeus.

When you feel out of synch with those around you or your environment, ask the buffalo for help.

Work with the buffalo during meditation.

When you feel the need to pray or give thanks for blessings received, ask the buffalo to help you express your emotions in a proper manner.

Cat (independence, secrets)

The cat is very independent, a mighty hunter, and has many secrets.

The cat was worshiped by the Egyptians because of its cunning and ability to purge the house of undesirable elements.

Bast, the cat-headed goddess, was considered to be a great protector of women. In ancient Rome, the cat was a symbol of freedom.

The cat is known for hiding and being secretive.

Cat Associations

Direction: North and South Elements: Earth and Fire Deities: Bast, Brighid, Hathor, Isis, Maat, Osiris, Ra

If there is something you need to find out about yourself or others, ask the cat for help during meditation.

If you feel overburdened and feel the need for more for independence, invite the cat into your dreams.

Dog (friendship, loyalty)

Dogs have long been considered man’s best friend.

The dog is loyal to a fault, content with the bare necessities of life, and, like the wolf, protective of home and family.

For thousands of years, dogs have been honored for their loyalty. Hermes (Mercury) was frequently accompanied by his faithful dog.

Argos, Odysseus’s dog, was the only one to recognize him when he returned from the Trojan War.

Dogs have a keen sense of smell, hearing, and sight. It is said they can sense evil and death approaching.

Dog Associations Direction: North Elements: Earth Deities: Odin, Lugh, Demeter, Mercury/Hermes, Ishtar

Use the dog when you feel the need for support from your friends, or when you feel loyalties are divided.

During meditation ask the dog to protect you from the negative thoughts and vibrations others send your way.

Eagle (spirit, connection to the Divine)

The eagle is believed to be the messenger or connection between humans and the divine.

The eagle has the ability to live in the realm of the spirit and yet remain connected to the Earth and its inhabitants.

The eagle represents the grace that is achieved through hard work.

The eagle teaches humans how to have the courage and learn from the lows in life as well as the highs.

Eagle Associations Direction: East Element: Air Deities: Zeus, Indra, Jupiter, Mithras, Apollo

When you need help with spiritual development ask the eagle for help.

In meditation merge with the eagle for help with rising above material desires. Ask the eagle to enter your dreams and impart knowledge of about the Ancient Ones.

Elephant (wisdom, stability)

The elephant has always been revered for its size, intelligence, and devotion to family.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle admired the elephant for its great wisdom and intelligence.

In Hinduism, the elephant-headed god Ganesha is invoked before any undertaking for his wisdom.

Ganesha is said to bring stability and abundance to shop owners.

Elephant Associations Direction: North Element: Earth Deities: Ganesh, Indra, Siva

If you’re having problems making decisions, work with the elephant for wisdom and stability.

If you’re considering starting a business or need to attract more customers to your present business, ask the elephant-headed god Ganesha for help.

Horse (swift action, power)

The horse has long been a symbol of swiftness and power.

In ancient mythology it is the horse that bears the heroes and the gods across the earth, and even across the sky, at great speed.

The horse is physical power and unearthly power. In shamanic practices, the horse enables the shaman to fly through the air to reach the heavens or spirit realm.

The horse is able to carry great burdens for long distances with ease.

Horse Associations Direction: North, East, South, West Element: Earth, Air, Fire, Water Deities: Epona, Helios, Brighid, Apollo, Godiva, Mars, Artemis

When you need to respond swiftly to a situation, call on the horse.

If you need more personal power, or are overburdened by too much work, ask the horse to give you strength.

Owl (clairvoyance, magick, astral projection)

The owl has been called the night eagle because of its connection to the world of spirit.

The owl hunts at night.

The owl can see in the dark and pinpoint prey by sound.

Humans may be afraid of the dark, but night is owl’s friend.

The owl is silent; you can’t hear it when it flies.

The owl has often been associated with the Witch because of its connection to the night.

Owl Associations Direction: East Element: Air Deities: Athena, Lilith, Hecate, Bloeuweed, Isis, Minerva

During meditation, ask the owl to help you unveil the truth and see things clearly.

The owl can also help you learn to interpret omens and intuit dreams. Before doing any kind of divination, ask the owl to be present and help you interpret things correctly.

Wolf (power, protection, psychic development)

Wolves howl at the moon, they mate openly, and walk silently through the woods.

The wolf lives by instinct.

The wolf is the pathfinder, the discoverer of new ideas who returns to his family to teach them the ways of the world.

The Wolf has keen senses, works with the power of the moon, and is a symbol of psychic energy

Wolf Associations Direction: North Element: Earth Deities: Loki, Odin, Diana, Artemis, Brighid, the Morrigan

When you are in need of more personal power or psychic energy call on the wolf.

The wolf will take you to his private den and teach you how to walk silently and work with the power of the moon to build psychic skills.

Black Cat Protection Spell

Posted on by A Solitary Pagan

A good spell to ward off the evil intentions of another, block a psychic attack, or turn your luck around.

Items needed:

One black cat candle,

Black cat oil (composed of patchouli and frankincense),

A mirror.

On the night of the waxing moon, as close to midnight as possible, begin the spell.

On your altar or a small table, place the mirror reflecting side up.

Dress the black cat candle with the black cat oil.

As you do this, visualize your luck changing and good things coming to you.

Next, place the cat candle on the mirror and light it as you chant the following:

Black cat power From this hour Reflect the light Make things right.

Allow the black cat candle to burn for one hour.

Repeat this spell every night, at the same time, until the full moon.

On the night of the full moon, place the mirror with the black cat on it in the moonlight.

Repeat the chant, and allow the candle to burn out.

When the candle has been consumed, discard any wax left and put the mirror away.

The Dragon in Magick

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The dragon is a fantastic beast that appears in almost every mythological tradition throughout the world.

Often depicted as a mix of several different creatures, it represents the four elements of life: air, fire, water, and earth.

The dragon has the wings of a bird and is covered with the scales of a fish or snake.

It is capable of breathing fire, and usually guards a horde of treasure deep within the earth.

In pre-Christian Europe and the Far East, the dragon was seen as a symbol of power, virility, and superhuman strength, and was considered to be a friend of mankind.

In magick, the dragon is wholly beneficent and is seen as the manifestation of life-giving waters (the serpent), and the breath of life (the bird).

Generally, it is considered to be a celestial power and has the attributes of both the sun and moon, masculine and feminine, good and evil sides of nature.

The dragon and serpent are usually interchangeable as representations of the unmanifest and the creation of form and matter.

The dragon represents the highest spiritual power, the supernatural, and the spirit of change.

When you align your forces with those of the dragon, you gain strength and power.

Its magick can help you overcome negative thoughts and it can teach you how to live abundantly

Cats as Witches Familiars

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The cat, especially the black cat, is a creature of witchcraft, in all popular belief.

No artist’s conception of a witch’s cottage of the olden time could possibly be complete without Baudrons or Grimalkin, sleek and purring by the fire, watching with glowing eyes over all that takes place.

The witch’s cat, however, did not have to be black in color.

In Macbeth, it is a brindled cat that mews significantly, and the name ‘Grimalkin’ means a grey cat.

Indeed, the whole royal feline race of cats have something about them which is magical and uncanny.

They probably inherit this quality from Ancient Egypt, where they were sacred beasts.

The Egyptian cat goddess Bast seems to have been a feline form of Isis.

Bubastis was her sacred city; and there and at other places in Egypt thousands of carefully mummified and reverently interred bodies of cats have been found.

The British Museum possesses a number of beautiful relics of the cat cult of Ancient Egypt; notably the hollow sarcophagi, or statues in the life-like forms of cats, inside which the mummified bodies of deceased pets were placed.

Cats have been known in Britain from early times.

The domesticated cat was brought from Ancient Egypt and introduced to Britain by the Romans.

A certain Welsh prince, Hywel, passed special laws for the protection of cats.

He was evidently a cat lover, but the cats depicted in old churches are usually of sinister aspect.

Feline demons carved in stone glare grotesquely at the worshipper, especially in some of our churches which date from the Norman period.

This is another instance of the gods of the old religion becoming the devils of the new.

A famous weird carving connected with witchcraft is the one in Lyons Cathedral, which depicts a naked witch holding up a cat by its back legs, as she rides upon a goat, which has formidable horns but a human face.

Her only garment, a cloak, streams behind her in the wind ; with one hand she clings to the goat’s horns, while she grasps the cat in the other.

Witches were often accused of changing themselves into cats for the purpose of molesting people, or for running swift-footed by night upon some uncanny errand.

The eat’s nocturnal habits, its moon-like eyes, and horrid midnight caterwauling, all contributed to its sinister reputation.

So also did the electric nature of its fur, from which visible sparks of static electricity can sometimes be stroked in a dark room.

The Devil was sometimes said to appear at the Sabbat in the form of a huge black cat.

One wonders whether this was a far-off reminiscence of ancient cat worship.

The pagan gods were sometimes believed to appear as animals.

Diana took the form of a cat, and Pan of a goat.

The deities of the witches were in fact aspects of Pan and Diana, the Horned God and the Moon Goddess; and the cat and the goat are the animals most associated with witchcraft, in popular legend and belief.

To this day, there are people who fear to have a black cat cross their path; though they probably do not realize the origin of this belief, namely that the animal might be a witch in cat form.

Others, however, regard the black cat as a symbol of good luck.

The old folk rhyme tells us : Whenever the cat of the house is black, The lasses of lovers will have no lack.

People wear black cat charms and brooches, and in the nineteen twenties and thirties there was quite a vogue for teapots in the form of black cats, as there is today for table-lamps in the same shape.

There are innumerable stories of cats being able to see things that are invisible to human eyes. Indeed, there is hardly a confirmed cat lover to be found, who cannot tell some anecdote of their pet having psychic or telepathic powers.

The writer has heard of two cases (one observed by her own mother) of cats which were capable of astral projection; that is, their forms were seen in one place when it was proved that their sleeping bodies were in another.

It has also been a matter of some observation, that cats definitely enjoy Spiritualist seances.

A Spiritualist once tried her best to exclude her cat from the room where seances were held because she believed that the cat ‘took the power’.

It is not quite clear what she meant by this, but the cat refused to accept this exclusion and would try every trick he knew (and cats know plenty) to slip into the room and take part in the sitting.

Alot of Spiritualists, however, accepted their eat’s desire to be present at seances; and this particular cat, a huge black neutered tom, would stalk majestically into the seance room and preside over the meeting.

Either of these cats, had they lived a few centuries ago, would have been highly valued as witches’ familiars. The belief in occult powers associated with the cat is one of the strongest survivals of the old witch lore.

Hare

Posted on by A Solitary Pagan

In folklore, a witch’s familiar or a witch metamorphosed in disguise.

It is still bad luck in the British Isles for one’s path to be crossed by a hare.

Witches were said to be able to change themselves into hares and other animals with magical charms such as the following from the British Isles:

I shall go into a hare,

With sorrow and such and muckle care,

And I shall go in the Devil’s name.

Ay, ’till I come home again.

The hare supposedly was the favorite disguise of Isobel Gowdie, a Scottish woman who voluntarily confessed to witchcraft in 1662, astonishing her staid community of Auldearne with her wild tales.

Once while in the shape of a hare, she said, she had a close call with some dogs.

The Devil had sent her, as a hare, to carry a message to neighbors.

Along the way, she encountered a man and a pack of hounds, which sprang upon her.

“I run a very long time,” said Gowdie,

“but being hard pressed, was forced to take to my house, the door being open, and there took refuge behind a chest.”

The dogs pursued her into the house, and Gowdie escaped only by running into another room and uttering a “disenchanting” charm:

Hare, hare,

God send thee care!

I am in a hare’s likeness now;

But I shall be a woman even now-—

Hare, hare,

God send thee care!

Many stories exist in folklore of hunters shooting hares, only to discover they had killed old hag witches, who resumed their human forms upon death much like the werewolf in disguise.

The following Irish folktale, from W. B. Yeats’ collection of Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (1892), tells of the wounding of a witch hare:

I was out thracking hares meeself,

and I seen a fine puss of a thing hopping hopping in the moonlight, and whacking her ears about,

now up, now down, and winking her great eyes, and—”

Here goes,” says I,

and the thing was so close to me that she turned round and looked at me, and then bounced back, as well to say, do your worst!

So I had the least grain of life of blessed powder left, and I put it in the gun—and bang at her!

My jewel, the scritch she gave would frighten a rigment, and a mist, like, came betwixt me and her,

and I seen her no more; but when the mist wint off I saw blood on the spot where she had been, and I followed its track, and at last it led me—whists, whisper—right up to Katey MacShane’s door;

and when I was at the threshold, I heerd a murnin’ within, a great murnin’, and a groanin’,

and I opened the door, and there she was herself, sittin’ quite content in the shape of a woman, and the black cat that was sittin’ by her rose up its back and spit at me;

but I went on never heedin’, and asked the ould——how she was and what ailed her. “Nothing,” sis she.

“What’s that on the floor?” sis I. “Oh,” she say, “I was cuttin’ a billet of wood,” she says, “wid the reaping hook,” she says, “an’ I’ve wounded meself in the leg,” she says,

“and that’s drops of my precious blood,” she says. In Norse mythology, the hare is the companion of Freya, goddess of fecundity.