EDUCATION
Welcome to the "education" section of Pandorra's Box. In this section you will find lessons from my online community, The Witches' Web. These are topics which I have posted, and which have been discussed and shared since August of 1999. I hope that you are able to take something from them, and share what you have learned. New Topics will be added, about one every two-three months.
FamiliarsAs you all know, probably all of the old fairy tales you read linked witches with black cats and owls, yet today, we know that isn't the way it is. This isn't to say that cats usually aren't high on the list of chosen familiars, and for all intensive purposes, I'm going to use cats as my example on this site.
Familiars are NOT JUST ANY ANIMAL!! You must find one that compliments your spiritual self. Just because one owns a black cat doesn't imply that they are involved with the craft, just as ones being involved with the craft doesn't imply that they own a cat. Not all witches have a familiar simply because it isn't possible, especially for those who rent or have allergies!
Familiars do not have to be domesticated, lap pets! Those who are not are sometimes better at functioning on the astral plane then our potty trained pals. Small animals that we keep as pets don't
always carry the specific essence we need. Should we need the power of the wolf, what good is Fluffy the Persian going to do us?
Some witches choose one animal which represents them, their function in this life, or one who provides the energy needed to practice their particular type of magick. Some are able to work with a
large variety of animals, but only keep one or two. Those who can, I envy!
HOW do you find your familiar? Power Animals/familiars come to you through astral travel or through meditation. Just because you like an animal doesn't make it your familiar. Should that be so, my power animal would of been my dog Gus. While I love Gus, and can sometimes tell what he is thinking, I can also sit back and enjoy his just being a dog. However, I can look into the eyes of any wolf, wild or domesticated and go somewhere outside of myself that I can never do with Gus. There are cards called Medicine Cards which you can use to assist you in finding your power animal. These are also great divination tools. There are books, mostly of Native American influence, which can tell you how they felt about each animal and its power. You can find some of these at Amazon.com just look under spirit animals. As with anything, do not rely on the book alone! Study the animals first hand, read about them, go to the zoo, watch Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel :0) Find out how the function in the wild, relate to humans, etc.
Now that you've found your power animal....what do you do with it???? Power animals/familiars are great at so many things!!! Need some advice? Go into the meditative or dream state and ask your power animal. There are times when two animals can work together..but before you do this think, do these two animals get along in nature? You obviously aren't going to ask mouse and owl to help you! Power animals can assist you in your waking state as well. All you have to do is ask! Go back to all the old adages...Clever as a fox..Strong as a bear...Smart as an owl, etc.
Say you need protection, ask panther, but be aware that she's rather picky and laid back about who she chooses to help.
Silver RavenWolf has a few descriptions of power animals/familiars which I will put here. They can be found in her book "To Ride A Silver Broomstick", definitely recommended reading.
Teaching = Wolf
Camaflouge/Clever = Fox
Wisdom = Eagle
Secrets = Lynx
Dreams = Swan
Protection = Panther
Intelligence/Slyness = Coyote
Higher Aspiration = DragonFly
Silver RavenWolf goes into greater detail, then I on this subject, it's definitely worth looking into.
How did I choose my familiar? I really didn't, she chose me! Very often I invoke dreams for whatever purpose I might need them for. One night a pack came to me, she led me there. The next night (I was living in Central Oregon at the time) I saw a silver and black wolf in our back yard/field. For some odd reason I wasn't the least bit frightened or uneasy. She stood there staring at me through the pale moonlit night for well over ten minutes before she turned and walked off into the woods. Since then wolves have always been in my life and dreams. I could be analytical and tell you that there are no known wolf packs in all of Oregon, but why? I know what I saw and
it's a lot nicer to just let it be without having to find an explanation. :0)!Since I wrote this originally I came upon the cougar in several dreams, and he has become my main spirit companion.
Let me not finish without stating the importance of honoring your spirit animal This is simply done. You can do it during your ritual or you can hold a separate one specifically for this purpose. Light a little incense, think of your power animal, thanks them! You may also put a little stone/gem or other totem on your altar as a gift. The wolf shows up in all my rituals and she definitely has a place on my altar!
Cat TalesSome kitty tales..from Llewellyn's 1999 Magical Almanac
*In ancient Egypt, women wore amulets of cats so they would be fortunate in love and all things feminine. A woman who wanted children would wear one with a cat and kittens...the number of kittens indicated the number of kids she wanted.
*Women were once made to drink milk with a cat's eye in it to prevent them from having children while their husbands were away. (hmm...and I thought that was what being married was for.)
*If a black cat crosses your path and/or enters your home, it will bring you GOOD luck. This may have come from Egypt where cats (especially black ones) were said to bring blessings on any house that took care of them.
*You will be extremely rich or lucky in love if you pull a white hair from a black cat without getting scratched. (Lowlands of Brittany)
*If a cat crosses your path and does you no harm, you will be very lucky. This comes from medieval times, during the very era when the "devil-cat" was so hated. Because the church could not separate people form Goddess-worship and their appreciation of Her cats, they linked the cat with the devil.
*If a cat comes into your home, be kind to it, and the devil will not bother you. Another medieval twist...simply stating the cat and the devil are buddies..and if you have the devil on your side he won't bother you.
*Whenever the cat of the house is black, the lasses of lovers will have no lack.
*Keep an old cat collared and chained in a shop, and prosperity will be yours. If the cat escapes, the prosperity will go with him. (China)
*In parts of Yorkshire the wives of fisherman keep black cats with them at home to ensure their husband's safety at sea.
Witches and Dogs;There is no denying that dogs have been our companions from the beginning of life as we know it. They've been our great helpers in everything from hunting to protection. In fact our relationship with these furry friends is so important they have their own mythology...rivaling those other pesky beasts...the cats.
Dogs are sacred to many God/dess, for example, Hectate. The triple Goddess resided in a cave that was guarded by her three headed dog, Crebus. Artemis always traveled with a pack of dogs...which was unfortunate for Aceton, the young man, who (FOR SHAME!!!) saw the goddess in the buff. Artemis changed him into a deer and her pups went after him, having a rather nourishing meal. Anubis, the Egyptian god of the underworld had the head of a dog. This was thought to be since dogs..unlike cats, are just as happy to find their food already dead as they are to find it alive. Dogs are scavengers...bone pickers...hence animals of the underworld.
Dogs and witches have long been associates. During the burning times many dogs were killed because they were thought to be carriers of a witch's soul. The dog's most magickal aspect-unflagging love and loyalty was most likely the cause of this. This is when the word "bitch" became derogatory. Before then it was a title of respect...said much in the same way one might say.."He's a bear of a man." The admiration came from the thought that female dogs were more fierce and effective hunters, which comes from their desire to keep their pups safe and fed. I am honored to be called a bitch, no matter the context.
~interesting and worthless trivia~
cynic is Latin for dog-like, implying one who is suspicious and skeptical.
hair of the dog that bit you~this came from the idea that placing a hair from the dog that bit you would make it heal faster.
The dog star, Sirus, is said to bring the dog days of summer. He also accompanies the hunter constellation, Orion.
The Blood of the Moon |
The Blood of the Moon, simply put, refers to a woman's cycle. This time is said to be an especially powerful time for the female witch to practice magick, more so if this time happens to fall on the full moon. Why discuss it? Because we are enlightened and magickal beings, that's why!
The Blood of the Moon has been a factor in many cultures since the beginning of time. There were many different ways of handling this time depending on the culture. As many of us derive our beliefs and ideals from these cultures it is only right that we understand and learn about this important item too.
The Maoris believed that human souls are made from menstrual blood. Ancient Hindus believed that as the Great Mother created, she produced a clot and in this way gave birth to the cosmos. To the Indians of South America, all mankind was made of "moon blood." Greeks believed that wisdom was centered in a man's or god's blood, the soul matter given to him by his mother. Egyptian pharaohs acquired divinity by ingesting sa, an ambrosia referred to as the "blood of Isis." And Celtic kings became gods by drinking red mead given to them by Mab, the Fairy Queen.
In matriarchal religions, menstrual blood figures prominently. However, it's quite a different story in patriarchal theologies. In traditional Judaism, a menstruating woman is considered "unclean" and may not have sexual relations with her husband. Men who observe Orthodox Judaism will not shake hands with a woman so they will not run the risk of touching one who is menstruating. Persian patriarchs declared that menstruating women belonged to the devil and were forbidden to look at the sun, sit in water, or speak to a man. Christianity, too, has a history of rules equating menstruation with uncleanliness. St. Jerome wrote, "Nothing is so unclean as a woman in her periods; what she touches she causes to become unclean." (and that's a nice passage.) In the Middle Ages, menstruating women were forbidden to enter churches, and Christian women were commanded to despise the uncleanliness of their own bodies.
And yet, although we know there is nothing that we, as women, have to be ashamed of, we are more likely to go hide in our own "menstrual huts" then to embrace the fact that this was once a celebrated factor of us! As practitioners of ancient-based beliefs I say we go against the grain and celebrate our luck as women. Without this "friend" we could not bear children, and a million other not so important reasons. So I impress upon you girls out there to harness those energies and to use them in your magick. Instead of dwelling on the down side, remind yourself of those ancient and contemporary customs which celebrate this fact of life.