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hekateanwitchcraft · 4 years

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Hekatean Home Protection

The Goddess Hekate’s most popular ancient role was likely that of a protector. She was called on as Hekate Apotropaia (or Apotropaios), an averter of evil, and Hekate Propylaia, Hekate before the gate, as a protector of thresholds. This post is a list of things a Hekate devotee or Hellenic polytheist can do to ask Hekate to protect their home.

The first is the most traditional method, which would be to set up a Hekataion, or a threshold shrine to Hekate. These were present throughout Ancient Greece and were thought to win the goddess’ favor and help protect the home. Constructing one of these can be simple or elaborate depending on preference and means. They can range from an image of Hekate placed outside the door or just inside the home by the door, or a full shrine to Hekate. It can be whatever suits your worship, but what’s important is to leave offerings to Her and give Her prayers there asking Her to protect the home. One thing to do is to always have a candle lit on the shrine (safely, of course) so a torch of sorts always defends your threshold.

Another thing one can do is craft a charm or talisman by asking Hekate to imbue an object with the power of protection. To do this, find a piece of jewelry, a key, or even an animal talisman made of bones of Her sacred animals, and anoint it with a Hekate oil. Leave an offering of incense for Hekate and then say:

“Goddess Hekate, She who guards the doorway, I call upon your aid. Averter of evil, bless this talisman so that it defends my threshold and shields me and mine from all harm. She who stands before, in between, and within, lend to this charm your powers of protection.”

A third method to call on Hekate to protect the home is to make a powder to sprinkle across thresholds. I mix poppy to confuse enemies, garlic for protection, and common sage (not the white kind) for health and good fortune. To this you could also add crossroad dirt or brick dust. Burn some of the powder as an offering to Hekate on a charcoal disk and ask Her to bless it:

“Goddess Hekate, I call upon you as I burn this offering for you. I ask you to bless these herbs from your sacred garden and lend to them your powers of protection. As I burn a portion of this powder for you, please grant to me your favor and imbue this it with the strength to shield my home.”

Lighting a candle dressed in an aromatic or Hekate oil before the threshold can also serve as a means to protect the home. Sprinkling some of Hekate’s sacred herbs onto the candle can add some extra power to it. Light the candle and say:

“Goddess Hekate, Bright One, I light this flame in your honor. Just as this candle burns bright, so may your torches never be extinguished and guide us eternally. Please look upon the home of your devoted follower with favor and protect it from all harm and misfortune”

Once the candle burns completely, save any wax remnants and place them in a small charm bag. This can either be buried on your property (preferably by its entrance) or hung above or by the door.

The final, simplest thing to do is to give Hekate offerings in coincidence with this prayer:

“Hekate Propylaia, She who stands before the threshold, I place these offerings before you and ask for your blessing. Please guard my home and all that reside in it. May all things dangerous and harmful be denied entry, and may your blessings take their place. May these doors be always protected by you, and may they never cease to shield us from all that is evil in the world. Great Hekate, averter of misfortune, look upon your devoted follower with favor and grant me safe shelter.”

Using one or all of these as a way to protect your home should put up a significant barrier between you and anything that might do you or your home any damage. These can be repeated as regularly as desired, and it’s probably wise to fortify them and redo them at least once a year, if not more often.

(Image source: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Relief_triplicate_Hekate_marble,_Hadrian_clasicism,_Prague_Kinsky,_NM-H10_4742,_140995.jpg#)

#Hekate #Hecate #Hellenic polytheism #Hellenic witchcraft #witchcraft #Hekatean witchcraft

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loretranscripts · 5 years

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Lore Episode 1: They Made a Tonic (Transcript) - 18th March 2015

tw: horror, bodily mutilation, blood, disease, death, vampires, pseudo-cannibalism

Disclaimer: This transcript is entirely non-profit and fan-made. All credit for this content goes to Aaron Mahnke, creator of Lore podcast. It is by a fan, for fans, and meant to make the content of the podcast more accessible to all. Also, there may be mistakes, despite rigorous re-reading on my part. Feel free to point them out, but please be nice!

Hollywood is… obsessed. Sure, we often think of obsessions like sex, violence, gigantic robots and of course, epic battles between good and evil. But another obsession of Hollywood is vampires. You have to admit though, that there’s a lot to love about vampires. Immortality, wealth, power, and superhuman abilities such as flight and strength. Yes, they come with trade-offs, such as incredibly bad sunburns, but every movie I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot, believe me, tends to show vampires that are fairly happy with their lot in life. My exposure to the world of vampires happened in the late 1990s, when I was in college. A friend of mine recommended the Anne Rice novel, Interview with a Vampire. I devoured that and many of the sequels. They’re fun reads! And they certainly set the tone for a decade or more of vampire-centred entertainment. I won’t touch on the vampires of the Twilight books, mostly because I haven’t read them. But I will say this: those books, however lambasted they have been by critics, have shown that popular culture’s love of all things vampire is as undying as the creatures themselves. I’m Aaron Mahnke, and this is Lore.

When most people think of vampires, they envision something that is a purely European creature: a foreign accent, Victorian Era dress, and dark manor homes and castles. It’s a common visual language for most of the western world, so I don’t blame bad movies and books for portraying that image, but it’s one small facet of a legend that has hundreds of expressions. The single most prominent historical figure attached to the modern notion of vampires is of course Vlad III of Wallachia, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler. Vlad was the ruler of a small Eastern European kingdom known as Wallachia. He ruled from 1456 to 1462. He was known as Vlad the Impaler, because he preferred to execute his enemies by impaling them on stakes. The Ottomons called him “Lord Impaler” after entering his kingdom to find forests of impaled victims. Vlad was a violent guy, you see, rather bloodthirsty, you might say. Now he, like his father before him, belonged to something known as the Order of the Dragon, a group established to protect Christian Europe from the invading Ottoman army. Vlad’s father, Vlad II, was known as Vlad Dracul, which meant Vlad the Dragon, from the Order of the Dragon. When Vlad III rose to power he took the hereditary title and was known as Vlad Dracula, the son of the dragon. That name might sound very similar to the most famous vampire story in the world, and that’s because Bram Stoker, when creating his famous creature of the night, used Vlad III as his inspiration. Well, part of it, but we’ll get to that more later.

The roots of most vampire stories can be traced back to superstitions rooted in ancient cultures all across the world. Western Europe played host to countless stories of reanimated dead known as “revenants”. These were animated corpses which climbed out of the grave to torment the living. The word “revenant” comes from Latin, which means “to come back”. And come back to do what, you might ask? Well, I’m glad you did. At first it was just to terrorise the living, but as the centuries passed the legend became more specific. Revenants were said to return from the grave to torment their living relatives and neighbours. What was key though, was that revenants were specific people, not anonymous zombies of our modern horror genre. These things had a past, and a purpose. Now, in Norse Mythology, we can find stories of creatures known as draugr, “again-walkers”, who would return from the grave and wreak havoc on the living. These creatures possessed superhuman strength, they smelled of decay, and they were reported to be pretty ugly in appearance. They could enter the dreams of the living and while they were doing that, it was said that they left tangible objects near the sleeping victims, so that when they woke up, they would know that their dreams were more real than they feared.

Let’s go back earlier than the Middles Ages though. The legends of some ancient cultures spoke of creatures that, while not immediately similar to the vampires we know today, nonetheless share many core characteristics. First we have the Greek myth of Empusa, who was the daughter of Hekate. Empusa was said to lure young men, at night, and then feast on their blood, before moving on to the main course, their flesh. Another Greek tale involves Lamia, a mistress of Zeus, who becomes cursed by Zeus’ wife Hera, and is doomed to hunt children, devouring them. Stories of undead creatures, or creatures that feed on the blood of the living, seem nearly as common as written language itself. I mean, even on the small, isolated island of Madagascar, there are legends of a creature known as the Ramanga, which was known to attack nobles, drinking their blood and eating their nail clippings. Yeah, I said nail clippings. Deal with it.

Are vampires real? I’ll let you make the final decision on that, but what is clear, is that most of these stories find their genesis in the human need to explain the unexplainable. For instance, early Europeans used the myth as a way of explaining why a corpse wasn’t decomposing at the normal rate that they expected. You can see evidence of this in Bulgaria, where graves dating back over 800 years, have been opened, to reveal iron rods that have been driven through the chest of the skeletons. And in a time when it was very common to bury someone that was thought to be dead, only to find out that they weren’t really dead, you can imagine that stories would quickly circulate that the dead were coming back to life. As a result, Taphophobia, the fear of being buried alive, swept Europe and the United States. Now, of course, when medical science caught up, people got more practical. They built alert systems into graves, just in case the person woke up and, you know, wanted out. Now, I realise that being buried alive sounds like a rare occurrence, but it happened frequently enough that many people were sufficiently paranoid about it to actually spend time looking for a solution.

One of these people happened to be a medical doctor, a man named Adolf Gutsmuth. Now, in 1822, and driven by the fear of being buried alive, he invented a “safety coffin” for his own interment, and then he tested it out himself. Tested it out? You bet! Doctor Gutsmuth allowed himself to be buried underground in his new “safety coffin” for several hours, during which he had meals delivered to him through a feeding tube. He enjoyed a wonderful meal of soup, sausages, and a lovely local beer. Sounds like a great date night destination, doesn’t it? Now, Doctor Timothy Smith of New Haven, Vermont, was another paranoid inventor. He created a grave that can be visited still to this day, if you happen to be passing by Evergreen Cemetery, in Vermont. It was a crypt, buried in the usual manner, but it had a cement tube positioned over the face of the body, and a glass plate was affixed to the top of the tube at ground level. Doctor Smith died a real, natural death, and was buried in his fancy coffin with a view. He never woke up, but early visitors to his grave reported that they had a clear view of his decomposing head, until condensation obscured the glass decades later. Side note: vampires no longer scare me. Waking up inside of a small box buried six feet under the surface of the earth is what true fright looks like to me.

Now, another culprit in humanity’s use of the vampire label, was porphyria. It was a rare blood disorder, but modern science has pretty much closed the case on that one, saying that it’s too far of a stretch to connect the two topics. Rabies, of all conditions, has also been used as an explanation for the rise of the vampire mythology. Surprisingly there are a lot of commonalities between them, such as a sensitivity to light and garlic, as well as altered sleep patterns. But the most recent medical condition with a strong connection to vampire mythology was actually Tuberculosis. Those who suffer from TB had no vampire-like symptoms though, and that’s what makes this one a harder connection to explain. It’s also, incidentally, where one of my favourite New England legends comes into the picture. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Mercy Brown.

Lena Mercy Brown was a young woman who lived in the latter half of the 19thcentury, in the rural town of Exeter, Rhode Island, and she was a major player in what is now known as the “Great New England Vampire Panic”. Stories like hers can be found repeated all across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, echoed in the lives of others in similar situations. And the results have surprising connections to both the modern idea of vampires, as well as the ancient stories, as we will see. The first person to die in Exeter was Mercy’s mother, Mary Eliza. That was December of 1882, and she fell victim to what was then called “consumption”. Consumption, because, as the disease of Tuberculosis ravaged the body, the person would appear to waste away; consumed, if you will, by the illness. She, of course, was buried, because, well, that’s what you do with a loved one who passes away. The next year though, Mercy’s sister Mary Olive died, at the young age of 20. Same illness, same symptoms, same process. I’m not sure when exactly the people of Exeter, Rhode Island started to wonder if the deaths were connected , but it might have been then, or it might have been a few years later when Mercy’ brother Edwin took ill. Edwin, though, was smart. He packed up and moved across the country to Colorado Springs, which had a great reputation for the healing properties of its dry climate. When he finally returned from the resorts out west, some years later, he was alive, but not doing so well, and in December of 1891, he took a turn for the worst. That was the month that Mercy herself became ill. Her Tuberculosis moved fast. They called it the galloping kind, and it moved through her body quickly, like wildfire. By January, 1892, she was dead, and the people of Exeter were more worried than ever. You see, they suspected something… supernatural.

Now, this was surprising, considering how close Exeter is to Newport. That’s the seaside city known for the summer cottages of the wealthy, folks like the Vanderbilts, the Asters, the Wideners, the Wetmores. It was the pinnacle of educated society, yet just a handful of miles away, one small town that should have known better, was about to do something very, very creepy.

Edwin was still alive, you see, and someone got it in their mind that one of the women who died before him, either his mother or one of his sisters, was somehow draining him of his life from beyond the grave. They were so convinced of this, you see, that they wanted to dig them all up. Yes, all of them. Once they received the father’s permission to do this horrible thing, a group of men gathered in the cemetery on the morning of March 17th, and began to dig up the bodies. Now, what they were looking for was any evidence at all of an unnatural state. So, blood in the heart, blood around the mouth, or other similar signs. The first body, of Mary Eliza, the mother, was satisfactorily decomposed so they ruled her out. But of course she was, you might say, I mean, she had been dead and buried for a decade. Mary Olive was also in a normal state of decomposition. Again, being dead for ten years usually helps convince people that you’re really dead. But when they examined Mercy’s body, a body that had not been buried because she died in the middle of winter, and so had been put inside of a stone building inside the cemetery that was essentially a walk-in freezer, they discovered a remarkable state of preservation. Shocking, I know. So what did they do? Well, these superstitious folk did what they learnt from their ancestors. They cut out Mercy’s heart and liver, within which they found red, clotted blood, they burned them on a nearby stone, which, by the way, is still there if you ever visit the cemetery, and then, mixed the ashes with a tonic. That tonic was then given to Edwin, to drink. Yeah, Edwin drank his own sister’s liver and heart. Did it work? No, of course it didn’t work. Edwin died less than two months later. What it did do, however, was set up Mercy Brown to be known as the first American vampire.

As unusual as an event like this must sound, you might be surprised to learn that it happened quite frequently. In 1817, almost a century before Mercy Brown’s exhumation, a Dartmouth college student named Frederick Ransom died of Tuberculosis. His father was so worried that the young man would leave the grave and attack the family, that he asked that he be dug up. Ransom’s heart was cut out, and burnt on a blacksmith’s forge. Even Henry David Thoreau heard tales of these types of events, and he mentioned one in his personal journal. In September 26th, 1859, he wrote: “The savage in man is never quite eradicated. I have just read of a family in Vermont who, several of its members having died of consumption, just burnt the lungs, heart and liver of the last deceased, in order to prevent any more from having it.” So of course, word spread about what happened to Mercy Brown, as it usually did when a body was dug up and carved into to pieces like that. Mercy’s case, though, actually made it into a newspaper called The New York World, and it made quite an impression on the people who read it. How do we know? Because a clipping from that article was found in the personal papers of a London stage manager after his death. You see, his theatre company had been touring America in 1892. He evidently read the story, found it inspiring, and saved it. Inspiring so much so, that he sat down a few years later, and wrote a book. Who was this man? His name was Bram Stoker. And the book? Oh, I’m sure you’ve already guessed it by now. It was Dracula, published in 1897.

Lore was produced by me, Aaron Mahnke. You can find a transcript of the show, as well as a bibliography of the source material, at our website, lorepodcast.com. If you enjoy scary stories, I happen to write them. You can find a full list of my supernatural thrillers, available in both paperback and ebook formats, at aaronmahnke.com/novels. Thanks for listening.

Transcriber’s Notes:

(These notes a purely from me, the transcriber, and have nothing to do with the official podcast or Aaron Mahnke).

1) The word draugr does not in fact mean “after-walker” as the podcast seems to state, and actually derives from a Proto-Indo European word meaning “deceive”. There is, however, a related term aptrgangr, which does mean “again-walker”, and is thought to be pretty much synonymous with draugr.

#lore podcast #podcasts #aaron mahnke #vampires #Interview With A Vampire #dracula #mercy brown #new england #taphophobia #folklore #1 #transcripts

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tipsycad147 · 5 years

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Animal Magic: 12 Animals That Can Strengthen Your Craft

SL Bear

Loving animals is easy for most people. When we look at animals, we see the natural order, perfect symmetry of form and function, beauty, strangeness, and the long-dormant wild part of ourselves that many long to reconnect to. We became separate from animals and the natural world at some point, moving down from the trees to the grass, and slowly along the evolutionary path to where we are today. Though modern science and luxuries keep human beings alive longer and give our lives comfort, most of us will never be as free or self-assured as, say, the little birds who visit our backyards.

Cultures around the world include animal symbolism in their religions and systems of belief. In Haitian Voudou, they practice snake worship. Damballa is a serpent and is seen as the creator of all life. Hindus worship the cow in recognition of all the animal offers society. The ancient Egyptians revered cats, and many gods took on the appearance of animals. The list goes on and on; however, most relevant to us are animals associated with witchcraft. These are animals such as cats, birds, bats, toads, and other creatures that get a bad rap. Today, I’d like to share with you some animal associations you can use in spells, divination, talismans, altar-making, and just simple invocations to bring the power of each of these animals into your practice. I’ve only focused on a few animals, so if you need something more specific for your intentions, believe me, all you have to do is do a little digging — there is a perfect animal symbol out there for any need you have!

Wild Witchcraft

1. Bat

To some, the bat is a symbol of evil and death and fear for this animal runs deep. To others, the bat is a symbol of the night and all the hidden mysteries one can learn if they open their eyes while everyone else is asleep. Thanks to echolocation, the bat finds its way through the night with ease. Invoke the bat’s power before a night out by drawing a small bat somewhere hidden on your body to keep your wits about you when the sun goes down. If you’re struggling during a time of confusion in your life, invest in a bat talisman — any little bat figurine you can carry with you — to help find your way in the darkness.

2. Bear

The bear is a warrior. The name Artemis, goddess of the hunt, comes from the root word “artos” which means bear. This animal fittingly represents earth, and in European cultures predating Christianity, where lions are absent, the bear takes its symbolic place as a powerful king of the land it roams. Interestingly, Artemis is sometimes shown with a bear and both have ties to the moon.

Ursa Major and Minor are the constellations associated with this goddess as well — the Great Bear and the Little Bear, respectively. The bear should be summoned when you need strength. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor can be seen year-round, so make a trip outside under the full moon and find these constellations. Draw a bear print on the sole of your right foot or on the palm of your right hand, and light a white candle. Ask for the strength to face obstacles or overcome overwhelming odds. And when the time comes, show no fear!

3. Bee

The symbolism surrounding the bee could fill a book. They are industrious, hard-workers and their symmetrical honeycombs are symbols of perfection and the harmony achieved when a group works as one. They also have mystical links to gods and spirits. Honeybees create honey, a sacred food of the gods, from sunlight and fruits of the earth, and therefore have ties to transmutation and the divine. In literature, you may recognise the name Dumbledore from J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. This word comes from the Old English form of the word bumblebee and unlike honeybees, these bees spend their time joyfully “bumbling” from flower to flower.

Though they look very soft and fuzzy, bees can sting if provoked and so they are a symbol of mothers protecting their families. Although there are several ways to invoke the bee in magic, I think their most admirable attribute is their singular focus and work ethic, and so if you’re having difficulty staying motivated on a project — especially involving others — use the symbol of the bee as a talisman to remind you hard work pays off. Wear yellow. Light yellow candles. Sweeten your tea or toast with honey. Keep the spirit of the bee close at hand when working on any project to stay “buzzed” about it!

4. Butterfly

Often quite beautiful and less driven than its fellow flower-lover the bee, the butterfly is a symbol of gentleness and innocence. The Greek word for butterfly is psyche, and so we therefore associate it with the soul in many cultures. To others, the butterfly is a communicator between us on earth and the spiritual realm.

The butterfly goes through a striking metamorphosis, changing from a squirming caterpillar to a breathtaking, jewel-bright creature that takes flight! Changing one’s life is no easy task, but the butterfly reminds us that just because something seems impossible doesn’t mean it is. Draw an image of a butterfly in black and white and hang it somewhere near your altar. Every time you actively make a change for the better, colour in a little part of the image and take a moment to reflect on your progress. Take in the whole image instead of just one small piece; see the big picture to stay motivated. Bit by bit and day by day, work at transforming the black-and-white image to one that’s brilliant and bold. It may not be a quick process, but you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish with perseverance and a state-of-mind metamorphosis.

5. Cat

In ancient Egypt, Bast was the cat goddess, and cats in general were revered. Other religions and beliefs look upon them less favourably, especially black cats, which are seen as unlucky despite their nine lives. Where the dog is man’s best friend, a loyal and obedient sidekick, the cat is picky and will leave a home that doesn’t live up to their lofty standards.

Despite being domesticated 4,000 years ago, cats maintain a feral wildness we’ve bred out of other pets and farm animals. They roam. They can live quite happily without us. Cats are inquisitive, sleek creatures that move where they want and choose who they want. And by all accounts, across many cultures, the cat has chosen the witch. The black cat is a staple of the traditional caricature of a witch, as much as the pointy hat or broom. Like the witch, the cat is mysterious, elusive, and seen as a threat by many a superstitious person. There are many ways you could call upon the cat in your magic, but I suggest channelling their ability to relax and make every space their own. When you are overwhelmed with life, call on the witch’s companion. Things always look better after a good night’s sleep.

6. Dragon

The dragon, like most animals on this list, will mean different things to different cultures. In the East, the dragon means royalty and the word “dragon” can be used instead of emperor. In the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is the fifth sign and aligns perfectly with Leo — the lion being another symbol for kings and queens. The dragon can be fearsome or something marvellous, depending on your point of view, and in stories will often guard over a great treasure or secret.

The dragon is versatile, but one thing is not up for debate: The dragon represents power. While the bear is a warrior, lashing out fiercely at foes, the dragon’s mere presence is enough to instil fear. Keep a dragon symbol over your bed for prophetic dreams and place the dragon’s image on jewellery boxes and other treasures to ward against thieves. Draw or print out an image of a dragon and wrap it around a red candle during protection spells or use in curses to strike fear into your enemies. If you have a secret, no animal will guard it like the dragon.

7. Fox

In stories, the fox is the trickster, the cunning one who uses charm and sly words to achieve goals. In mythology, the fox is a seducer, and in Christianity, the fox is linked to the Devil. So naturally, women described as “foxy” are not just attractive, but devious, ready to lure innocent men to their doom. Misogyny aside, the fox’s ability to outwit its foes with a smile on its face and bushy tail high, make it a symbol of guile and craftiness — the perfect creature to invoke when you need help solving a problem or getting out of a sticky situation. Use the fox’s image covertly — drawing it underneath altars, on the bottoms of candles, or on the reverse side of sigils — when performing spells to add an extra element of cunning.

8. Horse

It’s no surprise that an animal so closely linked to mankind’s success will be spiritually significant to us. Where would we be if we hadn’t had the horse to carry us? On one hand, the horse is tied to the sun, pulling the chariot of Apollo. On the other, the horse is a symbol of the moon and water — just ask Poseidon, the god of the sea and the horse. This animal can stand for gods and goddesses alike, good and evil, life and death. Perhaps this then is the true symbolism of the horse: Usefulness. No matter in which context you see this animal, you’ll see it being put to good use. After all, without the horse, humans wouldn’t have gotten very far. In your magic, invoke the horse when you’re travelling by coupling its image with Raido, the rune for travel, or the Chariot tarot card. Do this before a long trip to ensure safe passage.

9. Owl

It will delight you to learn that Strix is a genus of owls, and another word for witch. They share many symbolic attributes with witches, like working alone at night under the moon and having mystical knowledge. Hekate, the queen of witches, has an owl companion. Some say owls are bad omens foretelling death, while others claim owls are clairvoyant — and know when you’re about to die!

Owls are skilled hunters and unlike other birds, their large eyes are positioned on the front of their heads instead of on the side. They can also swivel their necks to see behind them. This gives them complete vision, and so it’s no wonder owls are associated with knowledge and prophecy — they literally see all. Like other nocturnal animals, they are linked with occult wisdom, having access to the secrets only available in the cover of night. Cultures across the globe believe the owl is a traveller between the realms of life and death. Invoke the owl during any kind of divination to help you “see.” Carry an owl talisman for wisdom, and whenever you hear a hooting owl, make sure you ask it to take any bad luck away from you on its flight.

10. Raven

Here is a shocking fact: The average human IQ is 100 and the raven, relatively compared, has an IQ of 138 [1]. They make tools and solve puzzles. They can recognise people by their faces, and they can learn and even understand different languages. For this reason, ravens are symbols of intelligence. Ravens enjoy a rich mythology and have a reputation for protecting mankind, whispering to shamans about what’s to come. However, ravens are also seen as death omens and their haunting calls feature in many horror films. This may be attributed to the fact they are often seen after battle, feasting on the dead. I choose to see ravens for what they are: incredibly intelligent. So, they are an obvious talisman for those seeking wisdom, like students. Keep an image of a raven near blue candles and light them every Monday to help you on tests, mental challenges, or to outwit a foe.

11. Snake

This much maligned animal strikes fear in the hearts of many. Perhaps this is a vestigial fear from our primate days when venturing down into the grass meant dealing with this poisonous threat. Maybe the “snake eyes” are what creeps people out. Maybe it’s their size (pythons can reach 25 feet!) or the way they shed skin or their “forked tongues” now synonymous with one who cannot be trusted. Ouroboros is the image of a snake eating its own tail, symbolising life and rebirth forever.

In the bible, a serpent convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit and learned of good and evil. The lore of snakes is closely associated with that of dragons, though snakes carry more sinister connotations. But ask any snake charmer or a person who keeps snakes as pets and they will tell you these animals are as gentle to hold as kittens. Invoke the snake when you’re being bullied or someone is actively working against you. Draw a snake on several pale stone and place them in a circle near your front door, then sprinkle black pepper and eggshells into this circle whenever you leave your home. You can also bring this circle inside and spread it so you can sit within it while working spells for protection or against your enemies to ensure no repercussions come your way.

12. Wolf

Who hasn’t heard the tale about men turning into a wolf under the full moon, only to turn back when dawn breaks? Or Little Red Riding Hood, who was nearly eaten by the wolf wearing her grandmother’s clothing? Or the boy who cried wolf? Or Peter and the Wolf? Though wild wolves try to avoid people, the image of a wolf as a danger is an old one. These stories are not really about dangerous animals; they are allegories for dangerous situations and people. The wolf is the animal in stories that represents the dangerous side of human nature, and acts as a warning.

[1] The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols Paperback – March 1, 2009, Adele Nozedar

https://thetravelingwitch.com/blog/animal-magic-12-animals-that-can-strengthen-your-craft

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