Witch: a Magickal Journey: A Guide to Modern Witchcraft. Fiona Horne

One of my favourites! I have one tattooed on my left arm. Dragons are seen to embody the four elements: Air, with its wings; Earth, with its serpent body; Fire, with its fire-breathing lungs; and Water, with its ability to swim and breathe underwater. Dragons in various forms appear in all cultures’ mythologies and have been feared and worshipped – the image of a Dragon guarding hordes of precious stones and treasures is a symbol of great wisdom.

      Unicorn: A favourite of the New Agers, unicorns are seen as benevolent creatures. With their long, phallic horns they are a symbol of male virility. The horn also represents spiritual enlightenment and purity. Unicorns are sometimes represented with wings and linked to the mythical stallion, Pegasus, who is seen as manifestation of the artistic and divinely-inspired nature of humans. He is considered a Lunar animal, white and moving across the sky (the constellation of Pegasus), and when he stamps his hoofs on the earth fountains of water appear, so he also embodies the emotional element of water.

      Phoenix: The myth of this amazing bird originated in Arabia. It would live for hundreds of years and then smear its wings with myrrh and dive into fire, only to rise from the ashes rejuvenated and empowered. It is an inspiring symbol of survival and the cycles of life, death and rebirth.

      Witchy Tip

      One of the best tips I can give for spellcasting is to keep your mouth shut! When a spell is done it is really important not to talk about it to anyone and also not to go over and over it in your own head. Just do the spell and forget about it – let the magick do its thing. The old proverb, ‘A watched pot never boils’ also applies here: the magick will manifest much faster if it is left alone. Only when your spell has come to fruition is it fine to talk about it with kindred folk if you so desire. Also, avoid worrying about whether a spell is working or not – it’s like letting a seed you planted grow by itself, rather than digging it up every day or two to see how it’s going.

Is It a Bird? Is It a Snake? No, It’s My Familiar!

       MAGICKAL ANIMAL PARTNERS

       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).