Читать книгу Witch: a Magickal Journey: A Guide to Modern Witchcraft - Fiona Horne - Страница 11
ОглавлениеIs It a Bird? Is It a Snake? No, It’s My Familiar!
One of the most enduring (and endearing) images in magickal lore is the Witch in the company of their familiar: their animal magickal partner, whether it be a cat, a dog, a crow, frog, toad or, in my case, a snake.
Animals can bring something to ritual that can be lacking in the Witch alone, a different perspective, a different way of experiencing the energies conjured.
Unfortunately, during times of anti-Witchcraft hysteria there were probably a lot of ordinary women hanged or burnt at the stake as Witches simply because they enjoyed the company of cats, not because they worked magick with them. During the Burning Times there were dozens of bizarre stories conjured up by sexually repressed clergymen such as Witches having an extra nipple or ‘teat’ that they used to suckle their familiars; or that they fed them milk from their breasts as a reward for evil work done. Familiars were also supposedly fed blood by their Witch owners to encourage the demons and imps that ‘inhabited’ these animals to do naughty things. It sounds almost funny but it was no joke at the time.
Animals as symbols are firmly entrenched in occult philosophy. The signs of the zodiac are represented by animals, and the qualities of these animals are attributed to human experience; for example, a person born under the sun sign of Cancer is represented by the Crab, and a common description of Cancerians is that they hide their soft, vulnerable nature under a hard exterior like the crab and its shell. Animals are also very closely connected to the elemental energies of Earth, Air, Fire and Water and can help strengthen these in magickal work.
In ritual an animal can be also be used to facilitate the forging of links to supernatural forces. Cats in particular are thought to be able to detect the presence of ghosts and spirits and it is their recognition of these entities that can help them manifest more discernibly for the Witch in ritual or spellcasting.
Part of the correlation between Witches and their familiars can be traced back to early primitive myths which still endure in many societies to this day. Certain South American Witchdoctors, for example, are thought to have jaguar familiars and are able to transform themselves into the big cats as well. When I travelled in the Pacific island of Vanuatu there were stories of powerful Witchdoctors from the island of Ambrym who could turn themselves into sharks and swim to other islands. As part of being a Witch involves being connected to and able to commune with nature, it makes sense that a kinship with animals would be part of magickal practice and that a Witch would find it empowering to explore elements of animal consciousness in ritual. This can be done by mimicking animal movements and sounds, by the Witch decorating themselves to resemble an animal, and by meditations. All these methods can help to isolate and absorb animal magickal qualities.
My Third Nipple
OK, there were some rumours perpetrated in the Dark Ages that Witches, i.e. strong-willed, powerful and slightly scary females, were so perverted as to have a third nipple. Two wasn’t enough for the fantasizing and self-flagellating clergymen! I actually do – and a few other Witches I know do as well. Occasionally magazines like Cosmopolitan run a story about the interesting ‘deformity’ of a third nipple, usually for freak value, but there is something empowering about women having three nips. Mine isn’t pink and fleshy, it’s a large, dark mole that sits under my right breast and in the last five years it has reshaped itself clearly to resemble a nipple (funnily enough as my Witchy powers have started to peak).
