by Maria Ede-Weaving

There is a moment of being that exists between the letting go and the emergence of something new. It is a magical and mysterious space. We are each touched by it many times in our lives, from the psychological deaths that bring significant change to self and circumstance, to the painful challenge of bereavement or separation. It is a place of intense uncertainty where the path ahead might appear impassable and our efforts to move on ineffectual but it is also the seed bed of all our beginnings. Change fraught with struggle impacts upon us deeply. The fragility of our outmoded identities, roles and relationships are brought into sharp focus. It is as if our newly emerging shape can no longer endure the pain of containment, our worlds seem to fracture under the pressure; the familiar structures that support who we believe ourselves to be unravel. As painful as this process might feel, it is at this point of melt down that the potential for our greatest transformation dwells. We pupate.
All creatures of metamorphosis fascinate me, both those that transform themselves – butterfly and dragonfly being particular favourites – and those that enable transformation in other substances, such as the wonderful worms in my compost bins. Each teaches us something about the nature and purpose of change in our own lives and they have given me great comfort and inspiration at those times when my trust in this process has wavered.

One remarkable creature that articulates so powerfully something of the mystery and meaning of irresistible change is the sexton beetle. My first and only encounter with one came in the weeks leading up to my sister’s death. I was walking in the woods near my father’s home and had decided to take an unfamiliar route back. I came upon a shrew, positioned unavoidably in the centre of the path. It was laid out upon its side but was still moving. Concerned that it might be injured, I knelt down. It soon became apparent that the shrew was in fact dead. From under its body crawled a tiny black beetle with two bright orange bands across its back, furry orange tipped antennae, alert and quivering, upon its head. It burrowed back under the small corpse and, with a startling strength, started to move it once again, as impressive as a human lifting an elephant. Fascinated, but not entirely sure what I was witnessing, I watched the beetle re-emerge, only to disappear once again beneath the shrew, the lifeless body gently rocking and shaking from the beetle’s insistent labouring.

I later discovered that I had witnessed a male sexton beetle in the process of preparing his love nest. Their name is apt for they are nature’s grave-diggers. Upon discovering the corpse of a small mammal or bird, the male beetle examines the surrounding soil to see if it is right for burial. If not it will lie down on its back beneath the body, its feet pushing the load along, until it finds a suitable resting place. It then waits for a mate. The female’s antennae will detect rotting flesh and be irresistibly drawn. Once she has chosen, the pair will start the long process of burial, digging a channel under the body, eventually pulling it down into its burial chamber below the surface. They shovel with their spade shaped antennae, their powerful jaws cutting through any obstructive roots. In this process the carcass is skinned and formed into a neat ball with a hard, dry surface. During this arduous and macabre dance of love – in the very act of burying the dead – the sexton beetles mate.

The female is left to lay her eggs in the soil around the burial chamber, initially feeding the larvae herself until they tunnel into the decomposing carcass to eat the carrion. The larvae, whilst transforming rotting flesh into new life, experience their own series of transformations, moving through three completely different stages until they are ready to burrow into the surrounding soil, leaving their grizzly nursery to pupate in small chambers. They emerge from the soil as adult beetles, creatures literally risen from the grave.
The Divine speaks to us in so many curious ways, articulating its wisdom through all the myriad forms of life around us, bringing moments of synchronicity that take us to a point of realisation; to a deeper understanding. My path crossed that of the sexton beetle just as my sister was slowly moving into the last stages of her own life, edging painfully but surely into that uncertain place. The sexton beetle, in its heroic effort to continue its own species, spoke to me of nature’s extraordinary power to produce life from death, the link between womb and tomb as literal as any I could imagine. The thought of those young beetles erupting through the soil like spring shoots, emerging into the sunlight after numerous transformations in the darkness, moved me greatly. Such a tiny creature – one seemingly insignificant and obscure – revealed to me something of the hope at the heart of the struggle, strengthening my ability to surrender and trust, opening me to the possibility of renewal that would ultimately come for my sister and for those of us she was leaving behind.

Death and rebirth share the same ground, their territories merging and cross fertilising, and yet we have been taught to view them as separate continents, perpetually at war. The lesson of the sexton beetle is poignant and powerful for all of us. It reminds us that pain ends and sorrow passes; that death serves life and the place where the one touches and mingles with the other births new worlds and new beings; new relationships and new ways to be. We can find ourselves distorted by the pressure of a life that no longer fits; if we can learn to trust the process of dying – whether psychological or actual – we might come to realise not only the compassion in death but also its gift to reshape us authentically. We become like those newly transformed beetles, nurtured and prepared for new life by the forces of decay and release, the soil erupting before us, the darkness birthing us.

Order: Passeriformes
Species: tibicen
Genus: Gymnorhina
Family: Artamidae
Sub-family: Cracticidae

Early European settlers named the Australian Magpie after the totally unrelated northern hemisphere birds, presumably because of their black and white plumage. Unlike their namesakes, Australian Magpies are not of the Corvidae (crow) family but are more closely related to Butcherbirds and Currawongs.

The Australian Magpie is glossy black and white but the plumage pattern varies across its range. The female often has a greyish or mottled grey back and immature birds are also a generally duller bird with grey rather than black feathers. In size, they are about 36 to 44 cm from head to tail and have an average wing span of 76 cm. As Passeriformes (perching birds) they have three toes facing forward and one back. Australian Magpies have robust beaks, usually greyish-white with black edging, and alert, reddish-brown eyes.

The Australian Magpie is a very common and well known bird. It is found throughout Australia except in the most arid and densely forested areas. The Australian Magpie preferred habitats are areas where there is a combination of trees and open land, including open forest, woodland, agricultural and urban land. Our backyards, parks and playing fields, are therefore ideal Australian Magpie territory, bringing humans into close contact.

Australian Magpies live in groups, apparently of up to 24 birds, but more usually lesser numbers. They live year round in territories that are actively defended by all group members. The group depends on this territory for its feeding, roosting and nesting requirements. They are very brave and can drive off much larger birds, including birds of prey such as hawks.

This territorial behaviour can cause problems in the breeding season when some individual birds (usually males) can become aggressive towards any intruders, including people, who come too close to their nest sites. People can be subjected to “swooping” attacks and injuries have occurred. New research has shown that this territorial behaviour is subject to whether the bird believes you are friend or foe.

University of New England (New South Wales, Australia) animal behaviour expert, Dr. Gisela Kaplan, said that Australian Magpies use facial recognition to distinguish different people. The study showed that Australian Magpies could recognise that certain people near their nesting grounds were not a threat and would leave them alone. One of my friends, who usually peacefully co-exists with a group of local magpies, relates how he was attacked when riding his bicycle. When he removed his helmet and asked the bird what it thought it was doing – the magpie recognised him and ceased to be aggressive. The magpie was apparently slightly huffy and probably wondered why his human friend was wearing a disguise in the first place.

The Australian Magpie walks, rather than hops or waddles, along the ground searching for food. They can make jabbing movements with their beaks into the ground to extract insects and their larvae. Their diet can include small lizards and frogs and they often “train” people to give them food. Magpies can be quite tame and bold and will often venture into houses for a visit and perhaps a snack.

Australian Magpies expel small, dense pellets of indigestible materials through their beaks. These pellets consist of insect exoskeletons and other materials that the birds cannot digest and it can be quite interesting to see what they have been eating.

The peak breeding season is usually from August through to November (from the end of Winter through Spring in the southern hemisphere). They nest high in the outer branches of trees, up to 15 m above the ground, and their nests consist of a platform of sticks and twigs with a small interior bowl-shape lined with softer materials such as grass, shredded bark, feathers, hair, and wool. As many Magpies live in close contact with humans, their nests can include artificial man-made materials including wire and plastic.
The Australian Magpie has one of the world’s most complex bird songs. Pitch may vary over up to four octaves. They have a loud, musical, flute-like song often performed as a duet or by a group. Their carolling is particularly noticeable at dawn and dusk. Some aboriginal tribes associate the Magpie as the bird who calls the new day. When alone, an Australian Magpie may quietly and musically warble to itself. Their communication skills are very advanced and distinct calls have been recorded especially alarm or rallying calls for particular dangers. Juvenile birds have a very annoying and persistent begging-for-food call.

Another endearing trait of the Australian Magpie is their playfulness. They can quite often be seen indulging in what we humans would describe as play activities – such as swinging on thin, drooping branches (or the washing on the clothesline) by their beaks, throwing and catching leaves, twigs or other objects, again with their beaks, wrestling each other, annoying domestic pets (obviously just because it’s fun) and playing with the water sprinkler in the garden. Adult birds are active participants and often instigate the play.

The Australian Magpie is well loved by most Australians. In 2013 it was voted second in an Australian wide completion held by BirdLife Australia to find our most popular bird. The carolling of the Australian Magpie is the sound that many Australians wake up to every morning – a truly wonderful, uplifting sound and a truly wonderful, engaging bird.

by Chris Parks
A bee skep, as a symbol, speaks to one’s soul. Its charm may inspire thoughts of happiness, health and home. The sight of a simple skep surrounded by an abundance of flora humming in the midday sun conjures notions of a thriving community, a bustling economy and a diligent harmony. The image is ancient, used by heraldry, brotherhoods and sisterhoods and suchlike. A well-warded college divulging mysteries to initiates. A story of labours, treasures and trust. Proudly displayed by Innkeepers,
Beekeepers of course, mead makers, and in more recent times, by banks and businesses.

By nature it is indeed a sentient symbol for any society or social enterprise. Today we understand that a colony of bees functions as an ‘autonomous collective’: they are a self-governing, interdependent group in which individuals have the ability to make autonomous decisions according to ever-changing external stimulus. There is no one in charge. No ruler, no manager. Personal occupational decisions can be made in the moment by single bees, and big decisions can be made democratically. The queen serves the populous, honours the democracy, and all enjoy the vote, as you or I may...to read the entire article click here..

by Nimue Brown
Cranes became extinct in the UK about 400 years ago. However, there has been a recent project to reintroduce them. Normally when cranes breed, they lay two eggs. When the first egg hatches, they leave the nest, and that’s it for the second egg. The Wildfowl and Wetland Trust were able to capitalise on this, sending a team to Germany to collect up some of the second eggs. There’s no impact on the German crane population in doing this. Eggs were brought to Slimbridge, Gloucestershire and carefully reared.
Chicks bond with whatever they see as parents, so this process involved crane suits and pretend beaks for the humans in the project. Mature cranes were taken down to the Somerset levels (that’s the Glastonbury area for people further afield) and released at a secret location.

Then things got interesting. Eight of the cranes came back. It’s a fair journey, and they travelled it in boxes the first time. How did they return? We don’t know. They started appearing in the fields around the Wetlands Centre, to great surprise. Then, this spring, a pair started nest building at Slimbridge. It’s a historic moment, because if they manage it, this will be the first truly wild born crane for 400 years.
Living on the canal near the Wetlands centre, I have been fortunate enough to see cranes in flight on a number of occasions now. Larger than herons, their great, dipping wings are a dramatic sight. They tend to fly in groups of two or more, and the sight of four together in the air is breath-taking. Between the captive population and the wild eight, in the evenings I often hear the musical, haunting call of the cranes. Once, this part of the wold was marshland, inhabited by my Stone Age ancestors. The cry of the cranes seems to me like an echo of their world.

There’s a grace to cranes, an elegance of form combined with economy of movement. They stalk through the rushes, and when still are almost impossible to spot. Once we had a lot more wetland in this country. We’ve drained the marshes, tried to control the rivers. All our water management efforts have actually made us more vulnerable to flooding. We humans need those wetlands back to soak up the heavy rains. The cranes need them even more.

We’re so prone, as a species, to valuing other life forms in terms of their utility. We forget all too easily that nature isn’t here to serve us. That said, the cranes have come to give us a second chance, to try and put right something we got badly wrong. They come with beauty, and mystery. I only hope we can listen to them and get things right this time.
For fascinating information for the crane-lover, click here.

by Susa Morgan Black
Part One – Cordivology
If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows.
Rev.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

If you are fascinated with ravens, read incessantly about them, observe them in nature, can recognize their unique voice, collect their feathers, collect raven art and artifacts, and know their literature and folklore from around the world, you are probably an amateur CORVIDOLOGIST, which is the branch of Ornithology specializing in RAVENS and their family. And magically speaking, Raven is your totem.

Genus
Raven (Corvus corax), also known as the Common Raven or the Northern Raven, is the largest bird in the family CORVIDAE or CORVINI. Raven’s closest relatives in the subspecies CORVUS include the crows, jackdaws, and rooks. More distant Corvid cousins are Choughs, Treepies, Nutcrackers, Magpies and Jays.

There are many species of ravens around the world – Australian Raven (Corvus coronoides), Little Raven (Corvus mellori), Forest Raven (Corvus tasmanicus), New England Raven (Corvus (t). boreus), Chihuahuan Raven (Corvus cryptoleucus), Dwarf Raven (Corvus (r). edithae), Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis), White-necked Raven (Corvus albicollis), and Thick-billed Raven (Corvus crassirostris)

Habitat
Most of us are familiar with the Common, or Northern Raven. It is the most widespread of all corvids, ranging throughout Europe, North Africa, Western Siberia, North America and Greenland. The bird prefers wild upland and mountainous regions, but also inhabits forests, inshore islands, coastal areas, steppes, semi-deserts, and plains. I have observed these expert foragers in cities and suburban areas as well.

Appearance
Raven is a striking all black bird, 58 – 69 cm from beak to tail. Orthinologists believe that the all black plumage helps them absorb and retain heat in high altitudes and northern latitudes.

Distinctive features (to help you distinguish them from crows) are their large size, heavy bill, shaggy throat hackles, long fingered wing tips and long wedge shaped tail. In aerial silhouette their longer features (bill, tail and fingered wings) easily distinguish them from crows.

On closer observation (and they are often displayed in zoos) you will notice the strongly decurved distal part of the culmen, with prominent nasal bristles. The throat feathers are long and pointed, the tail is long and graduated. The entire body is glossy black, as are the bills, legs and feet. The black glossy feathers go slightly greenish on the head, under parts, tail and primaries, and bluish-purple on upper parts, secondaries and wing coverts. Their irides are dark brown.

Females measure smaller, but are not easily distinguishable from males. Juniors are a duller blackish brown until their second year.

Voice
The voice is normally a distinctive deep, harsh croak, or hollow croaking honk. Ravens have a large, complex vocabulary of sounds in their repertoire including a high knocking “toc toc toc”, a dry, grating “Kraa”, low guttural rattles, and some more musical calls. Captive birds have even been taught to speak.

Breeding
They are solitary nesters, creating bulky nests out of twigs and branches lined with roots, moss, wool, and rags daubed with mud and dung. They build frequently on cliff faces or high in large trees, but have been known to nest in old buildings, or even in low bushes or on the ground in undisturbed open country.
Their clutch consists of three to seven (averaging five) eggs in various shades from light blue to greenish blue or blotched olive, gray and brown. Ravens usually lay in February, but it varies depending on the climate (as late as April in Greenland, or as early as December in Pakistan). Incubation is 18 – 21 days, with a sitting female, and the male will bring food to the nest. The young ravens fledge at 35 – 42 days, are fed by both parents, and stay with the pair for six months afterwards.

Habits
We usually observe ravens in pairs or family parties, but non-breeders gather in large groups at feeding sites or communal roosting. Their territories are large (between 17 and 44 sq. km), but with few disputes as they are tolerant of other birds. Flocks usually number in the tens, but flocks of more than 100 have been seen at feeding sites in harsher environments such as Iran or the Shetlands, or in winter.
Ravens enjoy playful flight patterns, such as soaring, tumbling and rolling. Their longer wings make them quite agile aerial acrobats.

Lifespan
A wild raven can live more than thirty years.

Diet
They are omnivorous eaters, preferring to scavenge, but able to kill when necessary. They prefer carrion – dead sheep, cattle, rabbits and fish, but will also eat nestling birds and eggs, rodents, shellfish, insects, seeds, berries and grain. They have been known, in Greenland, to hunt and kill ptarmigan in flight, and to kill puffins emerging from their burrows. Ravens will also hide and store food for later use. Near human habitations, they boldly scavenge in garbage dumps and for slaughter house scraps.
In northern regions they have been observed to hunt cooperatively with wolves. Ravens will alert wolves to prey, wait for the kill, then feed. Wolves and ravens have also been seen to engage in playful behavior with each other, ravens swooping down at the wolves, who will chase them playfully.

Enemies
Ravens have been heavily persecuted by man, especially in farmlands where they will eat the seed and grain. In some regions the species have disappeared completely.

Corvophobia is the unnatural fear of corvids, especially ravens and crows. This fear has been promulgated throughout literature, such as the words of Edgar Alan Poe, who described them as “. . . grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous creatures.” This is unfortunate, because they, in fact, are more helpful than harmful. only one percent of their omnivorous diet consists of corn, while actually they prefer to devour agricultural pests such as grubs, caterpillars and worms. A study in New York found a single family of crows to devour about forty thousand pests in one nesting season.

In the animal world, ravens natural enemies are the great horned owl and red tail hawk. Ravens will cooperate together and mob these bigger birds to drive them off.

Intelligence
In spite of these obstacles, ravens (as well as the other corvids) are a highly successful species due to their high level of intelligence, flexibility, and adaptability.

In The Audobon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds, ornithologist John Terres writes, “Corvids have probably achieved the highest degree of intelligence to be found in any birds.” Animal behaviorist Konrad Lorenz agrees, writing that raven has the “highest mental development” among the avian species. Naturalist Tony Angell has proven in controlled laboratory experiments that ravens are “superior in intelligence to all other avian species tested.” Irene Pepperberg, of the University of Arizona, has gone even further, stating that corvids share “the cognitive capacities of many primates.”

A tale told by Aesop informs us that the intelligence of corvids has long been known. A thirsty crow found a pitcher of water, but the water was too far below the rim for his beak to reach. The clever crow began dropping pebbles into the pitcher, raising the water level until it reached the brim, where she could quench her thirst.

At Oxford University in England, ornithologists conducted an unusual experiment with two New Caledonian Crows named Betty and Abel, reported in the August 9, 2002 issue of the journal Science. They placed a tiny bucket of meat inside a pipe, and left two pieces of wire in their cage, one hooked and one straight, to see if the birds would choose the hooked wire to retrieve the bucket of meat, proving that birds were “tool users” on a par with higher levels of animal intelligence. “We were delighted and extremely surprised” reported Alex Kacelnik, one of the bird experts studying the crows, when Abel stole the hooked wire from Betty, and rather than giving up, Betty “modified” the straight wire into a hooked wire, and was thus able to hook the bucket, pull it up, and retrieve her snack. This elevates ravens from “tool users” to “tool makers”, which places them on a par with primates.

According to neurologist Stanley Cobb, birds do not have a complex cerebral cortex, such as mammals do, but rather, they have developed their hyperstraiatum, a part of their forebrain, that can carry out complex functions. Corvids, especially Ravens, Crows, and Magpies, have the largest brain size (i.e. the largest number of brain cells) among birds, including the largest hyperstriatum.

Sources
Crows and Jays, A Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World, by Steve Madge and Hilary Burn, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, New York, 1994;
Bird Brains by Candace Savage, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1995

Part Two – Folklore

They slept until the black raven, the blithe hearted proclaimed the joy of heaven
~ Beowulf

Native American
According to Jamie Sams and David Carson, in their excellent book Medicine Cards (which accompanies a beautiful deck of animal cards), Raven’s medicine is magic. She is the Great Mystery of the Void.
Black, to Native Americans, is a color of magical power, and only to be feared if misused. Raven symbolizes the void – the mystery of that which is not yet formed. Ravens are symbolic of the Black Hole in Space, which draws in all energy toward itself and releases it in new forms. The iridescent blue and green that can be seen in the glossy black feathers of the raven represents the constant change of forms and shapes that emerge from the vast blackness of the void. In Native American tradition, Raven is the guardian of both ceremonial magic and healing circles. She is also the patron of smoke signals.
Raven’s element is air, and she is a messenger spirit, which Native American shamans use to project their magic over great distances.

In many northwestern American Indian traditions, Raven is the Trickster, much like the Norse Loki. Observing ravens in nature, we find that they often steal food from under the noses of other animals, often working in pairs to distract the unfortunate beasts. Anne Cameron has written several northwestern Indian tales (Raven and Snipe, Raven Goes Berrypicking, Raven Returns the Water, and others) with the Raven as Trickster theme.

China
Ravens are considered a solar symbol in Chinese mythology. The three legged raven lives in the sun, representing the sun’s three phases – rising, noon and setting. When the sunlight hits their glossy black feathers just right, they seem to turn to silver.

Japan
The Shinto Goddess, Amaterasu is sometimes represented as a giant raven, Yata-Garasu.

India
Brahma appears as a raven in one of his incarnations. Ravens are also sacred to Shiva and Kali.

Australia
In Aborigine mythology, Raven tried to steal fire from seven sisters (the Pleides), and was charred black in the unsuccessful attempt.

Middle East
To Egyptians, ravens represented destruction and malevolence. However, Arabs call raven Abu Aajir – the Father of Omens.

Hebrew/Christian
In the Hebrew/Christian tradition ravens were considered unclean, representing impurity, mortification, destruction, deceit, and desolation. Ravens were cursed by Noah for not returning to the ark with news of the receding the flood.

Yet, conversely, the Bible also says that ravens were the protectors of the prophets; they fed Elijah and Paul the Hermit in the wilderness. Also, ravens helped St. Cuthbert and St. Bernard.
In contradictory Christian traditions, ravens represent the solitude of the holy hermits, yet also the souls of wicked priests and witches.

European
Since ravens can be taught to speak, and have such a complex vocabulary of their own, they are connected symbolically to both wisdom and prophecy. But in Europe, at least from Christian times, ravens have several strikes against them: black is considered a negative color; ravens are carrion eaters; and they have a symbiotic relationship with man’s oldest enemy, the wolf. In many western traditions raven represents darkness, destructiveness and evil. They are sometimes associated with deities of evil and of death. Both witches and the Devil were said to be able to take the shape of a raven.

Greece
Raven is the messenger of the Sun Gods, both Helios and Apollo. She is also associated with Athene, Hera, Cronos and Aesculapius.

Northern Europe
The pagan Danes and Vikings used the raven banner on their ships, in Odin’s honor. These flags, usually sewn by the daughters of great warriors and kings, were tokens of luck on their voyages. Houses where ravens nested were also thought to be lucky.

Odin had two ravens – Huginn (thought) and Muninn (memory) who flew about the world, delivering messages, gathering knowledge and reporting back to him. one of Odin’s many titles is Hrafna-Gud, the God of the Ravens. Odin’s daughters, the warlike Valkyres, were sometimes said to take the shape of ravens.

In the Elder Edda’s cryptic poem, the Grimnismal, a verse refers to Odin’s ravens:
Huginn and Muninn, every day
They fly over earthground.
I fear for Huginn,
that he may not return.
But even more, I fear
for the loss of Muninn.

In the Norse shamanic tradition, Odin’s ravens represent the powers of necromancy, clairvoyance and telepathy, and they were guides for the dead. This poem expresses a shaman’s fear of his loss of magical powers. (Source: The Well of Remembrance by Ralph Metzner, Shambala, Boston, 1994
Central Europeon Walpurgisnacht, April 30th, German witches fly to Brocken Mountain in the Harz Mountains for the great witches’ Sabbath in the shape of their familiars – ravens and crows.

Western Europe
In Beowulf, an Anglo Saxon poem, is written ” . . . craving for carrion, the dark raven shall have its say, and tell the eagle how it fared at the feast, when, competing with the wolf, it laid bare the bones of corpses.”

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth sees the raven as a herald of misfortune as it “croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan.”

In England, tombstones are sometimes called “ravenstones”.

Among the Irish Celts, Raven was associated with the Triple Goddess, the Morrigan, who took the shape of Raven over battlefields as Chooser of the Slain. She was a protector of warriors, such as Chuhulian and Fionn MacCual.

Raven is also the totem of the pan-Celtic Sorceress/Goddess Morgan le Fay, who was also called the Queen of Faeries. In some tales, she is Queen of the Dubh Sidhe, or Dark Faeries, who were a race of tricksters who often took the form of ravens.

Irish and Scots Bean Sidhes (Banshees) could take the shape of ravens as they cried above a roof, an omen of death in the household below.

Tha gliocas an ceann an fhitich or Fice ceann na fhitich are Scots Gaelic proverbs meaning “There is wisdom in a raven’s head.”

“To have a raven’s knowledge” is an Irish proverb meaning to have a seer’s supernatural powers. Raven is considered one of the oldest and wisest of animals.

Also a bird of wisdom and prophecy, Raven was the totem of the Welsh God, Bran the Blessed, the giant protector of the Britain, the Isle of the Mighty. After the battle with Ireland, Bran was decapitated, and his head became an oracle. Eventually Bran asked to have his head buried in what is now Tower Hill in London to protect Britain from invasion. Bran’s Ravens are kept there to this day, as protection against invasion. During World War II, Tower Hill was bombed, and the ravens were lost. Winston Churchill, knowing full well the ancient legends, ordered the immediate replacement of ravens, and they were brought to Tower Hill from Celtic lands – the Welsh hills and Scottish Highlands.

Raven was the favorite bird of the solar deity, Lugh (Irish/Scots), or Lludd (Welsh) the Celtic God of Arts and Crafts. Lugh was said to have two ravens to attend on all the His needs (similar to Odin and his ravens).

Many Celtic tribes and clans descend from animals. An ancient clan called the Brannovices, the Raven Folk, once existed in Britain. To this day, the Glengarry MacDonalds of Scotland have a raven on their heraldic arms, and their war cry is Creagan-an Fhithich – Raven’s Rock, a landmark on their ancestral lands.

The Scottish Goddess of winter, The Cailleach, sometimes appears as a raven. A touch from her brings death.

Giving a child his first drink from the skull of a raven will give the child powers of prophecy and wisdom in the Hebrides.

Scottish Highlanders associate ravens with the second sight. An excellent book on the subject is Ravens and Black Rain: The Story of Highland Second Sight by Elizabeth Sutherland (Corgi Books, Great Britain, 1985)

In Cornwall, as in England, King Arthur is said to live on in the form of a raven, and it is unlucky to shoot one.
“Have not your worships read the annals and histories of England, in which are recorded the famous deeds of King Arthur, whom we in our popular Castilian invariably call King Artus, with regard to whom it is an ancient tradition, and commonly received all over that kingdom of Great Britain, that this king did not die, but was changed by magic art into a raven, and that in process of time he is to return to reign and recover his kingdom and scepter; for which reason it cannot be proved that from that time to this any Englishman ever killed a raven?”
~ Don Quixote by Cervantes

The Welsh Owein had a magical army of ravens. In Welsh folklore, the raven is also an omen of death. If the raven makes a choking sound, it is a portent of the death rattle. A crying raven on a church steeple will “overlook” the next house where death will occur. A raven could smell death and would hover over the area where the next victim dwelt, including animals. Ravens were heard to “laugh” when someone was about to die. Welsh witches, and the Devil, would transform themselves into ravens.

Part three – Raven Magic

Swift, swift, you dragons of the night, that dawning
May bear the raven’s eye
Cymberline, by William Shakespeare

Symbolism
Raven is a contrary spirit. on the negative side, Raven represents the profane, the devil, evil spirits, the trickster and thief, war and destruction, death and doom, the void.

Yet in many cultures Raven also represents deep magic, the mystery of the unknown, death and transformation, creation, healing, wisdom, protection, and prophecy.

Raven is both the symbol of the sun, and the symbol of a moonless night. She is the birth giving light in the center of our galaxy, and the black hole in the center of the universe, to which we are all traveling to our eventual extinction.

Raven is the fatal touch of the Calleach in winter, the wisdom of Odin, the vessel of prophecy given to a seer, the mighty protector of the Western Isles, and the healing message of an Indian shaman.

Raven is a complex bird, both in nature and in mythology.

Naming
You might want to choose a Ravenish magical name. There are many names associated with Raven from the differing traditions. Below is a list of European names:

Corvin, Corwin, Corwun, Korwin and Korun
Raven’s Friend
Anglo Saxon
Corvinna, Corwinna
Raven’s Friend (fem.)
Anglo Saxon
Jay
a Corvid name
Anglo Saxon
Raaf
Raven
Dutch
Fiach Dubh
Raven
Irish
Hrabin
Raven
German
Korakas, Korax
Raven
Greek
Corvus, Corvi and Corvinus
Raven
Latin
Hraefn
Raven
Old English
Hrafn
Raven
Old Norse
Ravn
Raven
Norwegian
Corbie
Raven
Broad Scots
Fhithich
Raven
Scots Gaelic
Bertrand
Bright Raven
Teutonic
Brainard
Fierce Raven
Teutonic
Ingram
Ing’s Raven
Teutonic
Bran
Raven
Welsh
Brandon
Raven
Welsh
Branwen, Branda, Brenda
Bran’s sister
Welsh
Cigfran
Raven
Welsh

Tokens and Artwork
When choosing a totem, find a symbol to represent that totem and keep it on you, or in a sacred place in your home. (For instance, I always wear a silver raven ring). This token will help you to communicate with your totem, and it will protect and guide you both in magical and mundane affairs.

It is illegal to hunt and kill ravens and crows in the United States, they are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Keeping ravens and crows as pets is also illegal.

Raven artwork is all around us. In the northwest Indian and Alaskan cultures, Raven is the Creator Deity. Native American artists have created artifacts, T-shirts, emblems, and all sorts of sacred raven art.
Raven and Crow are favorite subjects in traditional Chinese and Japanese art. I have found raven paintings by local Japanese and Chinese artists in San Francisco.

Raven art is catching on in Western Culture, especially among Celtic and Norse style artists. I now find ravens in jewelry, decals, T-shirts, and altar cloths, available from vendors in local craft fairs, Scottish and Celtic Games, Scandanavian festivals, Renaissance fairs and other historical re-enactment fairs. You’d be surprised where you can find ravens. I have found wooden and metal ravens in antique stores. Halloween is an especially good season to find raven designs sold as decorations. Many artists and craftspeople are open to suggestion, and available for commissions. The more people that ask for raven designs, the more they will show up in the marketplace! If you have a favorite local artist – commission him/her to do a raven design!

Raven art can also be found in several tarot card decks – including The Medicine Cards and The Druid Animal Oracle. Pull these cards out and use them in meditation, trance work, spirit guide work.

Sacred Times
Raven represents winter, because of their ability to endure the cold. My husband, who was stationed in Greenland with the Army in the 1960’s, saw only two animals the year he was there – arctic foxes and ravens!

Raven also represents night, their ebony plumage reminding us of the Dark Moon. Raven magic is very potent at this time of month when the majesty of the starry universe unfolds above us. Raven is an ideal guide on the path of the deepest mysteries.

And in Eastern traditions, Raven represents the sun – rising, noon and setting.

The intelligence and adaptability of Raven really makes Her an appropriate totem for any time or season.

Astral Travel
There are many chants and songs that can be used to invoke Raven.
A traditional Scottish chant to shapeshift into a crow (for astral traveling), while holding a crow or raven’s feather: (From the witch trial of Isobel Gowdie)
I shall go into a crow
with sorrow and such and a black thraw
And I shall to in the Devil’s name
Until I come home again!
To change back:
Crow, crow, crow God,
Send Thee a black thraw
I was a crow just now
But I shall be
in a woman’s likeness even now
Crow, crow, crow God,
Send Thee a black thraw!
Prophecy and Divination
I have fled in the shape of a raven of prophetic speech.
~ Taliesin

To invoke Raven as bird of prophecy, you can use the old English rhyme used to interpret omens by the number of ravens, crows, or rooks seen in a flock:
One for bad news,
Two for mirth.
Three is a wedding,
Four is a birth.
Five is for riches,
Six is a thief.
Seven, a journey,
Eight is for grief.
Nine is a secret,
Ten is for sorrow.
Eleven is for love,
Twelve – joy for tomorrow.

Keep a raven feather or artifact with your divination tools. Ravens especially preside over dark tools such as dark mirrors and onyx scrying balls, but can be used with any tool.

Dreamwork
Raven is an excellent dream guide. Most Native American craft stores will sell dream wheels (or you can make your own). Attach a raven feather or artifact to the wheel and hang it over your bed. Powerful and prophetic dreams will come your way.

Magic Circles
When drawing a circle using Raven imagery, clothe yourself in dark flowing robes. In the Morganian tradition of Wicca, the Raven priestess circles the perimeter nine times in honor of the nine priestesses of Avalon.

Adding raven feathers to your tools (for instance attaching the black feathers to your wand, staff, athame, shield, drum, pentacle) or crafting your tools in the shape of ravens is a powerful way to use Raven Magic. I have also worn a raven mask when drawing down the Raven Goddess, Morgan.

Trance
Use Raven to guide you into trance. There are many poems and songs dedicated to Raven that you can use to guide you.
Invocation of Raven
by Susa Morgan Black
Morgana of the Dark Moon Night
Onyx bird, bold in flight
Raven, come to us now!
Keeper of the sacred well
Where the faerie spirits dwell
Raven, come to us now!
Guardian of the Blackthorn Tree
Home of the feared Banshee
Raven, come to us now!
Teacher of warriors, and of sex,
spells that heal and spells that hex
Raven, come to us now!
Bean Sidhe by the river bed
Washing shrouds of the newly dead
Raven, come to us now!
Twin birds of memory and thought
Who brought the knowledge Odin sought
Raven, come to us now!
Raven with his bag of tricks
Always getting in a fix
Raven, come to us now!
Stalwart guardian of the Land
The sacred bird of mighty Bran
Raven, come to us now!
Wise one of the Second Sight
Who foretells our human plight
Raven, come to us now!
Raven, Oldest of us All
Watch over us and hear our call
Raven, come to us now!

Healing
Bird whose magic is revealing
The hallowed mystery of healing
~ Susa Morgan Black

Both Celtic and Druid Slànaighear (Healer) and Native American shamans use Raven’s spirit for healing, especially long distance healing. When doing a healing circle for an absent friend, the energy can be sent in the form of a raven.

If you are working directly with someone who is ill, you can use raven feathers to stroke their body, collecting and drawing out the negative energy, to be shaken out and cleansed later. Raven is powerful
medicine.

Protection

The dead are lying in the field,
Oh, hear Her Kraaak and cry!
The gaping wounds, a raven’s yield,
She comes hungry from the sky.
~ The Morrigan by Susa Morgan Black

In nature, Ravens will mob their enemies if they come too near their nest. Ward your home or business against malefactors with the spirits of warrior ravens, like Owein’s Raven Army, the Morrigan, or the Valkyres. When you invoke their fearless spirits, nothing can prevail against you.

Part Four – Bird of Smoke, Bird of Fire

Who reveals to us our Deep Desire
~ Susa Morgan Black

Annotated Bibliography
I have an ever growing Corvid library. Here are some of my favorites!

American Crow and Common Raven by Lawrence Kilham, Texas A and M University Press, 1989
A very good book, going into great detail about every aspect of crows and ravens in the wild. Very thorough.
Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies and Jays, by Candace Savage, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1995
An excellent, informative, coffee-table book with some of the best photos of the Corvidae family I’ve seen in print. An absolute MUST for raven lovers.
Crows and Jays: A Guide to the Crows, Jays and Magpies of the World, by Steve Madge and Hilary Burn, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1994
An encyclopedia of Corvidae with over one hundred entries, color drawings, details of their identification, habitats, voice, breeding, diet, distinctive habits, etc. This book is for the serious corvidologist.
Crows: An Old Rhyme, by Heidi Holder, Farrar-Straus-Giroux, New York, 1987
A well illustrated version of a traditional English folk rhyme. A wonderful gift for a child.
Jackdaw and the Witch, A True Fable, by Sybil Leek, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1966
A wonderful tale by a famous British Witch about their family’s pet jackdaw.
Mind of the Raven, Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds, by Bernd Heinrich, Cliff Street Books, New York, 1999
Incredible book by world’s foremost authority on ravens. The sequel to Ravens in Winter.
Rainbow Crow, by Nancy Van Laan, Dragonfly Books, New York, 1989
A nicely illustrated and colorful children’s story about a young crow who wanted to be different.
Raven and Snipe, by Anne Cameron, Harbor Publishing Co., B.C., Canada, 1991
Part of a series of traditional Native American folk tales about Raven.
Raven Goes Berrypicking, by Anne Cameron, Harbor Publishing Co., B.C., Canada, 1991
Part of a series of traditional Native American folk tales about Raven.
Raven Returns the Water, by Anne Cameron, Harbor Publishing Co., B.C., Canada, 1987
Part of a series of traditional Native American folk tales about Raven.
Ravens in Winter by Bernd Heinrich, Summit Books, New York, 1989
Ornithologist Heinrich spent four winters in the Northeastern woodlands in an intense study of raven behavior. Very thorough and readable.
Raven Tales, Traditional Stories of Native Peoples, edited by Peter Goodchild, Chicago Review Press, 1991
A very good collection of Native American tales.
Ravensong, A Natural and Fabulous History of Ravens and Crows, by Catherine Feher, Northland Publishing, Arizona, 1991
An excellent collection of raven myths from around the world.
I also recommend the following books that have useful sections about ravens.
The Druid Animal Oracle, Working with the Sacred Animals of the Druid Tradition, by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, Fireside Books, Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York, 1994
An interesting books on the Celtic/Druid traditions regarding sacred animal totems.
Symbolic and Mythological Animals, by J. C. Cooper, Aquarian/Thorsons, Harper Collins Publishing, London, 1992
A sourcebook of animal mythologies from around the world.
Animal Speak, The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small, by Ted Andrews, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1994
A manual on how to work with animal totems and spirits.
Medicine Cards, The Discovery of Power through the Ways of Animals, by Jamie Sams and David Carson, Bear & Company, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1988
An excellent deck and accompanying book on the Native American tradition.
Folklore of the Scottish Highland, by Anne Ross, Batsford Ltd., London, 1976
Wonderful book of Highland traditional folklore with many references to ravens and crows.

by David Legg

NATURAL HISTORY

The bear has been worshipped, probably as a brother, for many thousands of years. In this it can probably be said to be the oldest human-animal relationship. It can be seen why the bear is regarded as a Brother – they can walk on two legs, are omnivorous and like the same food as humans – honey, salmon, fruit, nuts and meat. There are several species of bear – Asiatic Black, American Black, Spectacled, Polar, Sun, Sloth and the Panda. Here I shall concentrate on the Brown bear and its sub-species.

Genus

Brown Bear: Ursus Arctos (sub-species are the Grizzly, Kodiak, European, American, Asiatic, Kamchatka, Syrian and Mexican)

Habitat

The brown bear is the most widespread bear species. They can be found over most of Europe, North America, and Northern Asia. The most stable populations of brown bear are found in North America and Russia. In North America, they are found mainly in the north-western regions of Alaska, Canada and a few scattered populations in the north-western United States. Only four populations of brown bear remain in central and western Europe: in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain, the Pyrenees Mountain Range, the Alps, and the Abruzzo Mountains of Italy. Some populations exist in Scandanavia and in the Caparthian and Balkan mountains. In Asia, the bear population is declining rapidly to extensive hunting for their body parts. However, there is still a large population in the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Brown Bear Appearance

Weight: 130 – 700 Kg (300 -1500 lbs.)
Brown Bears have coats in shades of blond, brown, black, or a combination of those colours; the long outer guard hairs are often tipped with white or silver, giving a ‘grizzled’ appearance. Brown Bears have a large hump of muscle over their shoulders which give strength to the forelimbs for digging. Their heads are large and round with a concave facial profile. In spite of their size, they can run at speeds of up to 56 km/h (35 mph).

Voice

Since bears are usually not found in social groups, their vocalizations are rare. The obvious exception would be a mother bear with cubs. Cubs need to communicate, often quite loudly, through cries, whines, and whimpers when distressed, hissing when frightened and a loud humming sound when contentedly nursing or drowsing. Mother bears also have a range of sounds from snorts that call her cubs to follow, scolding growls to correct youthful behaviour and loud woofs that send cubs scrambling up the nearest tree to safety.

Breeding

Mating season takes place from May to July and the young are born in January and February while hibernation is taking place. Sexual maturity isn’t reached until 4 to 6 years of age. Females produce a litter every 2 to 4 years.

Habits

The Brown Bear is primarily nocturnal and in the summer puts on up to 180kg (400 pounds) of fat, on which it relies to make it through winter, when it becomes very lethargic. Although they are not true hibernators and can be woken easily, they like to den up in a protected spot such as a cave, crevice or hollow log during the winter months.
Normally a solitary animal, the Brown Bear congregates alongside streams and rivers during the salmon spawn.

Lifespan

They live for 20 to 30 years (wild), 50 years (captivity) .

Diet

Brown Bears are omnivores; they feed on a variety of plant parts, including berries, roots, and sprouts; fungi; and fish, insects and small mammals. Brown Bears are largely vegetarian, deriving up to 75% of their dietary calories from vegetable matter. Interestingly, bears eat an enormous number of moths during the summer—sometimes as many as 20-40,000 in a day—and may derive up to one third of their calories from moths.

Enemies

Man.

Intelligence

Can count to ten – many tribes regard them as our brothers.

FOLKLORE

Worshipping a bear may have been a religion among the ancient hunter tribes in Eurasia and even of Neanderthal man. Drawings of bear worship have been found in caves in Southern Europe dating back tens of thousands of years. Finnish bear tradition reflects the religious and ideological system of different eras starting from shamanism and ending in the belief of evolution in the Western societies. During the Catholic era St. Birgitta became guardian of the bear. Hunters turned to her so that she would keep her bears under control.There is a cycle (see the Stag / Deer) where by the famous Bear (or Human-Bear) Hunter chases the Stag that steals the sun in order to return it. This would relate the Bear in astronomy to Bootes the Hunter / Herdsman or Arcturus and the returning sun. However there is confusion around whether the legends relate to Bootes or Ursa Minor.

Finland

In Finland a bear is thought to be an intelligent and soulful creature. It is no ordinary animal but some sort of human being living in a forest. It can count at least to nine and it can understand the language of man. Even though a bear has the strength of nine men it will not attack a human being without a good reason.
In Finnish tradition women had a special relationship with bears. It was imagined that bears were looking for a chance to reincarnate through women. Because of this belief women were supposed to stay far away from a dead bear during a bear’s funeral feast. It was commonly believed that bears would not attack a person they recognised as a female.
Certain beasts, birds, and trees, are held sacred in Finland. In the Kalevala are evident traces of arctolatry, bear-worship, once very common among the tribes of the north, Otso, the bear, according to Finnish mythology, was born on the shoulders of Otava, in the regions of the sun and moon, and ‘nursed by a goddess of the woodlands in a cradle swung by bands of gold between the bending branches of budding fir-trees.’ His nurse would not give him teeth and claws until he had promised never to engage in bloody strife, or deeds of violence. Otso, however, does not always keep his pledge, and accordingly the hunters of Finland find it comparatively easy to reconcile their consciences to his destruction. Otso is called in the runes by many endearing titles as ‘The Honey-Eater’, ‘Golden Light-Foot’, ‘The Forest-Apple’, ‘Honey-Paw of the Mountains’, ‘The Pride of the Thicket’, and ‘The Fur-robed Forest-Friend’.
Our word karhu (bear: describes a hairy fur of the bear, a shaggy creature) was not allowed to be said out loud. That is why there are many euphemisms in Finnish language, which were used when one wanted to weaken or hide the fear towards the bear. Kontio (bruin) describes the way the bear walks. A certain stress was used when Se (it), Itse (self), Hän (he) was said. Metän elukka (beauty of the forest), Otso (the apple of the forest) etc. are usually appropriate code names. When one wanted to flatter one might say Jumalan mies (the man of God), Suuriherra (mighty master), Mesikämmen (lazy honey-pawed one), Mesikkäinen (honey-eater). Words like Kouki, Kouvo, Metsän- vaari (grandpa of forest), Tätinipoika (the son of my aunt) are reminders of the belief that a man and a bear are related to each other. When adults intimidated children by a bear it was called Pöppö, Mörkö (bugbear), Mönninkäinen or Kurko.
Original text in Finnish by Kaija Halme
Translated by Päivi Taavila

Scandinavia / Russia

Many Northern tribes believed that a bear was their forefather. For example, in Russian Karelia as late as in the early 20th century people didn’t eat bear because of the common belief that bears were relatives of man.
Oct 7th in Telemark is Britemesse, in memory of St. Birgitta of Sweden. It is supposedly the day the bear collects heather and moss and goes to his winter den. St Birgitta in English would become Bridget or Bride.
In many countries there are stories about a bear’s and a woman’s relationships and their offspring together. As an adult this offspring usually became a hero. Knuut II the Great, the king of Denmark is said to be a descendant of a bear. Skolts in Lappland call themselves brothers of the bear. Also hunter Indians in North America believe that the most skilled hunter families are a result of such a union.

Germany

The Beauty and the Beast cycle of legends come from here. This is an earlier form and is probably related to the Norse Berserks (Bear shirts) who used the Bearskins they wore to increase their savagery in battle.
A soldier, having deserted his regiment in the thick of battle, took refuge in the woods. However, the foes of war were soon replaced by other enemies: cold, thirst, and hunger. With nowhere to turn for help, he was about to surrender to the powers of despair, when without warning an awful spirit appeared before him. He offered the poor soldier great wealth, if he would but serve this uncanny master for seven years. Seeing no other escape from his misery, the soldier agreed.
The terms of the pact were quickly stated: for seven years the soldier was to wear only a bearskin robe, both day and night. He was to say no prayers. Neither comb nor shears were to touch his hair and beard. He was not to wash, nor cut his nails, nor blow his nose, nor even wipe his behind. In return, the spirit would provide him with tobacco, food, drink, and an endless supply of money.
The soldier, who by his very nature was not especially fond of either prayers or of cleanliness, entered into the agreement. He took lodgings in a village inn, and discovered soon enough that his great wealth was ample compensation for his strange looks and ill smell.
A nobleman frequented this inn. Impressed by Bearskin’s lavish and generous expenditures, he presented him with a proposal. ‘I have three beautiful daughters,’ he said. ‘If the terms are right, you may choose any one of them for a bride.’
Bearskin named a sum that was acceptable to the nobleman, and the two set forth to the palace to make the selection. The two older daughters made no attempt to hide their repugnance of the strange suitor, but the youngest unhesitatingly accepted her father’s will. Bearskin formalised the betrothal by removing a ring from his own finger and twisting it into two pieces. One piece he gave to his future bride; the other he kept. Saying that soon he would return, he departed.
The seven years were nearly finished, so a short time later Bearskin did indeed come back for his bride. Now freshly bathed, neatly shorn, elegantly dressed, and riding in a luxurious carriage, he was a suitor worthy of a princess. Identifying himself with his half of the twisted ring, he claimed his bride.
Beside themselves with envy, and furious that they had squandered their rights to this handsome nobleman, one of the bride’s older sisters hanged herself from a tree and the other one drowned herself in a well. Thus the devil gained two souls for the one that he had lost.

France / Switzerland

Artaius or Artio was the bear god in Gaul (France), particularly in present-day Switzerland. The Romans had identified Artaius with Mercury. Bern, the capital of Switzerland is named after the Bear.
According to one legend, Berthold V of Zähringen named Bern after the first animal killed during a hunt when the city was founded in 1191.
Some scholars believed that King Arthur (Arth is Welsh for Bear) may have originally been a god, and was derived from the Gallic god Artaius. Though, Artaius had also been identified with another Welsh figure, named Gwydion.
The female form of this deity was Artio or Dea Artio, the bear-goddess. There’s a Roman statue of Artio, now housed in the Historisches Museum, in Bern. The statue depicts the goddess seated, facing a bear – unless of course the bear is the goddess and the woman a supplicant.

Italy

In Greek myth Boötes is said to be Arcas, whose mother Callisto was transformed into a bear by the jealous Juno/Hera. Arcas, whilst out hunting one day, discovered his mother in her bear form and pursued her into the temple of Jupiter/Zeus. Jupiter, to prevent Arcas from unwittingly killing his mother, took them both into the skies where Boötes is now seen following the bear – in fact the two bears, around the heavens. In this we see an interesting reversal in his role as he passes from the land to the heavens. Upon the land he was as Arcas the huntsman pursuing the bear into the forest, or the Land, and on into sacred space, the temple. At the point where he would have killed his Mother who gave him life, he is rescued by the Father God, and in a spectacular exchange of energies his role as hunter is changed into that of Guardian or Keeper as he enters the realm of stars. In another version of this story Jupiter also transforms Arcas into a bear, and places them both in the heavens as the Great and Little Bear. So the Great Bear of the Northern skies may be regarded as a she-bear, the Earth-Bear Mother.

Greece

Callisto, meaning ‘most beautiful’, was a charming nymph and handmaiden to Artemis. In honour of the goddess, Callisto took a vow to be a maiden. However, this vow was abruptly violated when Zeus fell in love with her. Zeus disguises himself and seduces Callisto.
From this point, there are several different versions of the story. Some tales claim that it was Artemis who, in retribution for this transgression, changed Callisto into a bear. Other stories attribute the transformation to Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife or Zeus himself trying to protect Callisto from Artemis/Hera.
Regardless of the details, the result is the same – Callisto lived the rest of her life as a bear. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that Callisto and Arcas, her son by Zeus, were together turned into the constellations known as the Great Bear and the Little Bear. And so together this pair shines from the night sky.

Eire

There was in Ireland in the 2nd Century a high king named Art Oenfer ‘Art the Lonely’, or Lonely Bear. In 825 according to one chronicle, and 827 according to another, Art, son of the Irish king Diarmait, was beheaded. From the name of this man Art comes the name Ua hAirt, who we encounter in the Chronicon Scotorum under the dates 1012, 1083, and 1095. Today one says O’Hart, which means ‘grandson of the bear’. One finds also Mac Airt, ‘son of the bear’, that is to say, son of the bear god.

England / Wales

The Anglo-Saxon epic hero Beowulf may be named after the Bear. His name is often translated as meaning ‘Bee Wolf’; as a Bear attacks bees for their honey. That fact that he is a huge man and strong as a bear would tie in with this. He was the inspiration for Tolkien’s character Beorn, the man who shape changes into a bear, in the Hobbit.
The bear was regarded as the king of all animals. Arthur is described as the mighty bear, and as a god and hero. Among the rural population about eighty years ago it was customary to call the Great Bear ‘Arthur’s Plough’. People said that in the dead of the night, if anybody cared to listen, the plough and waggon of the Great and Lesser Bear could be heard turning. The little, almost invisible star just above the middle one in the tail of the plough was called the ‘plough-man’, or ‘driver’. The Morris dancers never went forth in former times without a man wrapped in a bear-skin. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear, contains Polaris the North Star. This is the pillar around which the night sky turns, although with precession in 14,000 years time it will be another star, Vega. However if the Great Bear is ‘Arthur’s Plough’ this could make the Little Bear Arthur.

Japan

The Ainu, a distinctly different people, to the north of Japan practised an elaborate bear cult into the 1920s that immediately calls to mind the Palaeolithic bear cult. The Ainu captured a bear cub, nurtured it for months and then sacrificed it during an elaborate ritual. They are the only people to have retained a full fledged bear cult into the twentieth century and the Palaeolithic elements are unmistakable; the Ainu are truly amazing from a Western anthropologist’s viewpoint.

Native American

The Evenk have a Bear Myth. A girl went to the woods, got lost and wintered in a bear’s den. In the spring she came back to the village and in due time gave birth to a bear cub. Later when she married a man from her village, she had a son. The two brothers—one a bear-boy and the other a man-boy—grew and one day, playing and fighting, the man-boy wounds his bear brother. Dying, the bear explains to his boy-brother the rituals that should be followed when hunting bears and burying them. Since then the Evenks hold a big ritual to honor the bear. Inuit Bear Myth tells of a woman who has a human husband and a lover who is a bear.

MAGIC

Arcturus Rising
When from the Tropic, or the winter’s sun,
Thrice twenty days and nights their course have run;
And when Arcturus leaves the main, to rise
A star bright shining in the evening skies;
Then prune the vine.
– Hesiod

Symbolism

The Bear being the keeper of Great Medicine
The Bear is one of our oldest role models. It can be seen from the cave paintings at Chauvet in France through to the Ainu Bear ceremony in the 20th century. Even today, with the Bear relatively scarce and threatened with extinction in many places, it is one of the most dominant creatures for people across the world. Our childhoods are littered with Teddy Bears, Pooh Bears and many others. To our children the Bear represents a strong, stabilising and comforting force to the darkness and chaos (factors outside their control) within their world. In the Tao of Pooh he is recognised as our natural way of being. In Russia, California, Bern in Switzerland and many other places they are proud of their symbolic relationship with the Bear. In the night sky the Great Bear and the Little Bear point us to Polaris – the pillar of the night sky.
Often the Bear is associated with danger and aggression. Yet they are usually only dangerous when provoked, other than that Bears are the archetypal gentle giant. How many large, gentle men are likened to a Bear? The Great Mother is often symbolised as a Bear, this could be shown through the Norse gods where one of Thor’s associations is the Bear and his mother was Mother Earth. In this Bears are often symbolised as the violence that can be tamed. The Bear is also a determined and protective mother, when pushed very aggressive, but her calm strength allows diplomacy. Many peoples regard her as the mother of all animals.
In psychological terms seeing Bears in dreams may represent introspection or depression. This may also represent the Healing power of the bear where the person has retreated in order to regenerate and grow. This is much like the Chipewyan story of the Bear who stole the sun, causing winter, and it took the other creatures to break into his cave and bring the spring sun back. The cave can be like a womb. However Native Americans say that dreaming of bears is a sign of receiving the wisdom of the ancient ones. They revere the Bear for helping man find herbal help as the Bear is the only creature not afraid of man and the only one who shows man kindness.
Perhaps it is that their behaviour is so like ours that they are regarded as Brother Bear. It has often been the case of Bears nurtured by Humans and in past times it has been the other way round. Symbolically the Great Bear is Mother to us all.

Naming

Name/ Meaning/ Language
Arthur/ Bear-man /Bear-son Welsh
Bjorn, Beorn, Bruno/ Bear/ Norse, German
Bernard/ Bold as a Bear/ Old English
Nita/ Bear/ Choctaw
Avonaco/Lean Bear/ Cheyenne
Honaw/ Bear/ Hopi
Orsen, Orson, Orsini/ Little Bear/ Italian, Old French
Ursula/ Little Bear /Latin

Tokens and Artwork:

One only needs to see the ancient cave paintings and sculptures of the bear.
Many children had a favourite Teddy Bear or were influenced by childhood bears such as Pooh, Little Bear, Paddington or the many others that are special across the world.
The Bear Paw is another great symbol of those who seek Bear Medicine.

Sacred Times
The most sacred time will be the time of the Alban Arthuan, the Light of Arthur. This is the Winter Solstice, Yule or the Wheel of the Year. Arthur is the great leader, the Beowulf, with the strength of ten men and the wisdom of how to use it. In the ancient tales this would be when the Bear-man travels into the dark places, that we are scared to go, and retrieves the sun from the Stag, son of the Heavenly Doe.

Astral Travel
Where was Bruin given birth
the bear’s cub brought up?
In a little woollen box
in a little iron box.
Where was Bruin given birth
the bear’s cub brought up?
On the peg of a small cloud.
How was he let down to earth?
On a nameless, quite untouchable string.
(A Finnish folk poem)

A way is to find a great, shaggy coat (I can’t condone Bear skin) to don. This is what the Bear Sark (Bear Shirts) Viking warriors did before battle. They would then invoke the spirit of the Bear and become incredibly strong and so hungry for battle that they would bite their shields. Going ‘Hamr out’, spiritually shape shifting, like this is not to be done lightly. It can tear the physical body with its strength. Boðvar Bjarki fought in the form of a bear while his body lay in trance (HrolfKrakisaga), his story is similar to Beowulf’s.

Prophecy and Divination

Ogham
Ailim is actually the Old Irish word meaning, ‘to rear, educate, train, nurture’. This would tie in with the Bear symbolism. Although Airt/Art is not described in the Ogham texts Ailm is also named ‘ardam iactadh’ or ‘the loudest groaning’ which seems appropriate to the bear.

Dreamwork
The bear could mean any of the following depending upon the context:
Being bearish, pessimistic, negative or under performing.
A strong and potentially aggressive force, maybe a paternal one.
It may represent a need to withdraw or go within, to hibernate or be introspective.
Something that represents a heavy load, too much to bear.
Or maybe something cuddly, loveable, childlike.

Magic Circles
The Bear Posture, in shamanic works by Felicitas Goodman, is a great healing and visionary posture, which asks for the wisdom of Grandparent Bear to lead us to healing.
In Whittelsey, Cambs UK, on Twelfth Night, they have resurrected the custom of the Straw Bear. A ploughing custom (note the time and plough reference) ‘the `straw-bear’ was a man completely swathed in straw, led by a string by another, and made to dance in front of people’s houses…’

Trance
The Bear can often appear as the guardian in trance work. The bear is the gatekeeper that only allows the traveller through when they are ready to go. In this it is a symbolism of strength and protection. When discovered, at first, we can fear the bear, rather than the darkness behind the gate. When the person is ready they will be able to proceed through the gate, the bear may not even be there anymore.

Healing
The hibernation of Bears in caves is also a powerful route to healing and a rebirth from pain. Retreating to a cave to sleep and heal is an instinct that is often not followed. A Taoist saying is ‘the sage sleeps when he is tired’.
However the greatest healing the Bear has led us to is honey. It is not known when people became aware of the healing power of honey but it has great anti-septic wound healing powers. It can be used on open wounds to promote healing, reduce swelling and provide an anti-bacterial agent plus promoting new skin growth. For sore throats and stomach ulcers, Manuka honey in particular, has been proven an effective remedy.

Protection
The Bear Paw: this is a sign of direction and power. It is a Good Omen and to follow it is to walk a safe path.
Thor’s Rune / Thurisaz: the thorn that protects and stings. Use it to attack, or to actively defend from known enemies. Just like the thorn bush, or a Bear’s claw, it would protect and guard those within it, and attack those attempting to pass through it. It makes people afraid, it makes people sicken and it drives people insane. It is good for tests, or to represent a test.

Natural History

Genus

White Tailed Deer: Odocoileus virginianus
Roe Deer: Capreolus capreolus
Reindeer: Rangifers tarandus

Habitat

White Tailed Deer: Open deciduous, coniferous or mixed woodland and Agricultural land.
Roe Deer: Open deciduous, coniferous or mixed woodland. Open moorland in Scotland Agricultural land if sufficient cover available.
Reindeer: Arctic tundra and adjacent boreal forest

Appearance

White Tailed Deer:

• Body Length: 100-220 cm/ 3 – 7 ft.
• Shoulder Height: 60-100 cm/ 3-3.5ft.
• Tail Length: 7-21 cm / 2.8-8.4 in.
• Weight: 40-125 kg / 70-400 lb

The fur of the white-tailed deer is a greyish colour in the winter then more red comes out during the summer. It has a band of white fur behind its nose, in circles around the eyes, and inside the ears. More white fur goes down the throat, on the upper insides of the legs and under the tail.Only the males have antlers, which they shed in January to March, and grow out again in April or May.

Roe Deer:

• Body Length: 120-220 cm / 3.34 – 6 ft.
• Shoulder Height: 60-90 cm / 2-3ft
• Tail Length: 7-21 cm / 2.8-8.4 in.
• Weight: 60-318 kg / 132-700 lb.

In Summer they can appear:

• Dorsal reddish brown. Rump patch cream to buff – although their colouring can be cream.
• Ventral paler.
• Head – black nose often has white rim above, sometimes extending onto muzzle. White chin. Characteristic ‘moustache stripe’

Winter:

• Pale/olive grey, grey-brown or blackish. Rump patch white, inverted heart shape, with ‘tush’ of anal hair.
• Throat may have one or two paler areas.
• Antlers short, usually less than 30cm long, approximately vertical, forming lyre shape, almost round in cross section. Commonly three tines on each antler in adults. Pedicles by about 3-4 months old, first antlers (button or simple spike) at 8-9 months. Full antlers usually by two years old. Antlers cast late October to January, fully formed by March. Adults shed velvet in April, young and poor condition animals shed later. Rarely, antlers present in females.

Reindeer:

• Body Length: 120-220 cm / 4-7.3 ft.
• Shoulder Height: 87-140 cm / 2.9-4.6 ft.
• Tail Length: 7-21 cm / 2.8-8.4 in.
• Weight: 60-318 kg / 132-700 lb.

The double-layered coat is made of two layers: a guard coat made of straight, tubular hairs and a woolly undercoat. Coloration is quite variable, ranging from pure white through tan to dark brownish grey, with the undersides and rump lighter. The legs are generally dark, as is a band which runs along the lower torso. There is a small dewlap covered with long white hair along the throat, while the face is generally darker. Unlike many deer species, caribou calves are born without spots. The hoofs are very large and form a nearly circular print – functioning as snowshoes to keep the animal from sinking in the snow. The complex antler are found in both sexes, with a long, sweeping rear beams and forward projecting brow tines which may be palmated, forming a shovel-like projection. Antler length in females is 23-50 cm / 9-20 inches, while in males they can grow to be 130 cm / 52 inches long, weighing up to 15 kg / 33 lb.

Voice

White Tailed Deer: an alarmed snort. Fawns and Does may bleat whilst Does and Bucks can also grunt.

Roe Deer: an alarmed, often repeated, bark. During the rut Does make a high-pitched piping call to attract a buck who makes a rasping call when they meet.

Reindeer: an alarmed snort, a bawl, and a grunting roar (made by rutting males).

Breeding

White Tailed Deer:

• Gestation Period: 7 months.
• Young per Birth: 1 or 2
• Weaning: At about 6 weeks.
• Sexual Maturity: 1.5 years.
• After mating, which lasts from October to December, the doe will give birth about 7 months later to one or two fawns. The fawns are spotted with white, which they lose by their first winter. Fawns can walk at birth and nibble on grasses a few days later.

Roe Deer:

• Gestation Period: 9 months (of which 4 months of no embryonic growth followed by 5 months of foetal growth).
• Young per Birth: Up to 3 but usually 1 or 2 kids
• Weaning: At about 3 months.
• Sexual Maturity: 14 months.
• Although mating occurs in August, with the births occurring through May to June, the fertilised egg does not implant until January. This is thought to be an adaptation to avoid giving birth after a harsh winter.

Reindeer:

• Gestation Period: 228 days.
• Young per Birth: 1
• Weaning: At about 6 months.
• Sexual Maturity: 2.5 years.
• Most mating occurs in October, with the births occurring in late May and early June. Born for speed, a caribou calf can follow its mother within one hour of birth, and can outrun a human after only one day!

Habits

White Tailed Deer:

They are mostly active at night but they can be active at any time. They will feed mostly just before dawn for several hours and again from late afternoon until dusk. A deer’s home range is usually less than a square mile. Deer collect in family groups of a mother and her fawns. When a doe has no fawns, she is usually solitary. Male bucks may live in groups consisting of three or four except in the mating season. During the winter white-tailed deer will form herds to keep warm. When they are disturbed they make a snorting sound and stamp their hooves to alert other deer to danger. When they run away they will raise their tail, which will stick up like a white flag. This alerts other deer to danger and gives the fawns something to follow. They have very good eyesight and hearing, but depend mainly on their sense of smell to detect danger.

Roe Deer:

Small-medium sized deer, relatively short body and long legs, no obvious tail. Black nose and white chin distinctive. Characteristic flaring of rump patch (white) and ‘bounding’ when disturbed. Roe deer are active throughout the 24 hour period but more likely to inhabit open spaces during darkness hours. Solitary or in small groups – mixed or single sex. May see groups e.g. up to 8 or 12 individuals, sometimes to 60, in agricultural fields. Large groups seen in fields in winter may reach 25 individuals per square kilometre where food and cover abundant in young plantations (stands 5-15 years old). Males territorial April to August, usually exclusive. Territory and range size vary with habitat Male range size usually slightly greater than female range size. Winter range of males may be same as summer territory. Non-territorial males have larger ranges overlapping with those of several territorial males. Territory size 10-200 acres / 4-80 hectares; maximum territory about 50-60 hectares; generally may maintain for up to three years; rarely longer. Often tolerate and aggregate while feeding outside territories. Females: maintain range from one year to next, but not defended. Overlap with one another and with those of one or more males. Young females (second and third year) may share range of mother or emigrate.

Reindeer / Caribou:

A highly nomadic species, caribou may travel 5,000 km / 3,000 miles in a year, the longest documented movements of any terrestrial mammal. In addition, most populations undertake extensive migrations in the spring and fall. During these migrations, herds move at a rate of 19-55 kilometres / 11-33 miles per day. The caribou’s maximum running speed is 60-80 kph / 36-48 mph. When walking, a tendon in the foot slips over a bone producing a clicking sound. Amplified due to numbers, a migrating herd of caribou sounds like a bunch of castanets gone crazy! Caribou are excellent swimmers, and will readily cross large rivers or lakes. When swimming, adults can maintain a speed of 6.5 kph / 4 mph, and when pressed can swim at 10 kph / 6 mph. The sense of smell is the most heavily relied upon to find food and located danger, as the senses of sight and hearing are not well developed. During winter, caribou paw through the snow to reach the vegetation hidden beneath. Population densities are very sparse – generally 0.5 animals per square kilometre of suitable habitat. However, during the migration period, concentrations may exceed 19,000 animals per square kilometre!

Lifespan

White Tailed Deer: Up to 20 years but usually around 10.

Roe Deer: Maximum of 16 years. Bucks usually only survive 5 years whilst Does survive for 6 or 7 years.

Reindeer: Up to 20 years.

Diet

White Tailed Deer: They commonly eat green plants in the summer, corn, acorns and other nuts in the fall, and the buds and twigs of woody plants in the winter

Roe Deer: Leaves, buds and shoots of deciduous trees and shrubs, plus forbs; fruits and seeds. Brambles all year; deciduous browse and forbs in summer; heather, blaeberry, other woody browse in winter; grass in small quantities, more in spring.

Reindeer: Leaves, herbs, lichens, sedges, fungi.

Enemies

White Tailed Deer: Large predators such as lynx, wolves and mountain lions

Roe Deer: None in the UK otherwise large predators.

Reindeer: Large predators, mainly bears and wolves.

Folklore

Hungary / Mongolia / Russian Steppes / China

A new deity to gain major status in the Neo-Hittite era was Karhuhas (or Kurhunta), the ‘Stag God’. He was probably a fertility and/ or protector god of nature. His identification with the stag is significant. The stag was not a particularly important animal to very many deities and religions in the other historic IE pantheons. Bears, boars, raven, and many other animals are well represented as the totemic animals of gods and goddesses across the IE spectrum. However, in Classical times the stag was of paramount importance to the Scythians and other peoples across the Eurasian steppes. The subject of the most striking Scythian gold jewellery, the stag has even been found as tattoos on the so-called ‘ice princess’ in the Altai Mountains. Here at the eastern extremity of the IE steppe culture zone, her frozen body was recovered with Scythian style stags still plainly visible on her skin.
We can only guess how ubiquitous this iconography was expressed in the patterns on clothes and other perishable material or for how long it lasted. The stag was one of the favourite motifs of the so-called Kurgan peoples in previous millennia, and so its pedigree as an object of veneration amongst the IE peoples is very ancient. As a wild and majestic animal, we should not doubt that the genesis of this deity’s veneration began before the Neolithic period. It is thought that the ‘Stag God’ originated in the steppes. He was brought to Anatolia by the early Indo-Iranian peoples who left their Kurgan burials at Trialeti and elsewhere in the region and mixed with the Hurrian and other peoples as far as northern Anatolia.

The symbol of the cosmos and the mother of the sun was symbolised as a large horned female doe. The great horned doe often was shown carrying the sun in her horns, in some cases the sun itself was symbolised as a stag the son of the doe of the legend. The Hungarian regos (bards) tell a story that illustrates the stag as the carrier of the sun.The hind represents not the sun, but it’s mother, the heavenly firmament, the cosmos, which carries the stars, the sun and the moon in its ‘horns’. For these reasons the Scythian stags often represented the horns of the stag like flames.

Hungary

The Legend (which can be traced over many parts of the world)
A long time ago, thousands of years ago, in a distant land in Asia there was once a great and powerful kingdom. It was bordered by tall mountains in the north and a great southern sea in the south. From the mountains, two mighty rivers flowed southwards to the sea watering the flat lowlands. The people who lived there were famous for their arts, sciences and wisdom. They lived in abundance and plenty.

It was following the great flood that the people from the northern mountains settled here and founded a new land. The king of the land was the giant hunter Nimrod, the descendant of the great king Etana (Tana in Hungarian, Kus-Tana in Kushan-Scythian, or Etana in Sumerian, the king who lived in the 3rd millennium B.C. and according to the legend of Gilgamesh he established the city of Kish and the first Mesopotamian empire, following the flood). Nimrod founded great buildings and cities and founded the great pyramid of the city of Babylon 201 years after the flood as a haven against future flooding (Simon Kezai, Gesta Hungarorum, ca 1282) and as a temple to god.

Here he married his first wife Eneth and she later bore him two twin sons called Hunor and Magor. He later had other wives and from them were born other sons and daughters who became the ancestors of the Parthians/Persians (In the medieval version it was the Persians, the inheritors of the land of Iran, that are mentioned instead of the aboriginal Scythic Parthians; in other medieval references though it is the Parthians which are mentioned as being related). The language of these people was similar to the Hungarians but not quite the same.
His first born sons were his pride and they spent much time with their father, growing up in the palace and later they accompanied him on his many hunts. Nimrod was a famous and great hunter who loved the sport (c.f. Bible, ‘like Nimrod, mighty hunter before the lord’). During one of his hunting expeditions he took his sons with him. During the hunt he spotted some game and separated from his sons to pursue it. The two young men continued their own search and came across a wondrous beast, a great horned doe, which shone in multicolour lights and its antlers glittering from light (Mahmud Terdjuman, Tarihi Ungurus The History of the Hungarians, 1456; Translated by Joseph Blaskovich, Prauge, 1982).
Enchanted by the heavenly beast they gave chase to it. The animal led them across glades and meadows onward toward the west. At dusk the beast vanished so the two princes and their men camped for the night. At dawn the hind reappeared and the chase continued afresh. It lead them through foreign lands and across the mountains of Adjem (western Iran), through wild and dangerous swamps of Meotis (The Sea of Azov, an inlet of the Black Sea, associated with Meotis because of the common ancient name of this sea and because the Magyars and Huns lived there before their settling in Hungary. It is unlikely however that this was the original sea of the ancient legend) until they entered a beautiful bountiful country. Here the hind led them to a lake and jumped into it and disappeared. This swampy land, called Meotis, was surrounded by the sea on all sides except one where a shallow swampy land connected it to the mainland making it difficult to enter. It was rich in birds, fish and game and was situated on the borders of Persia.

The two young men were filled with sadness and remorse because of the loss of the hind. They returned to their father and asked him to build for them a temple at the sight where they could retreat and contemplate and prepare themselves. They then lived in the temple for five years, and on the sixth year they were longing to return to the world when a great teacher came to them and taught them the ways of being a great king (Terdjuman Mahmud, Tarihi Ungurus, 1456).

They and their men then left the temple and scouted the nearby territories. In the evening they camped and in the morning they awoke to the sound of music. They followed the source of the music to a clearing in the forest where they spied the dancing and singing of young maidens who were celebrating the festival of the horn. The name of a hind is ‘horned’ in Hungarian and this celebration was of the hind. The maidens in the clearing were the daughters of the Bulars and amongst them were the two beautiful daughters of the king, Dula. (Simon Kezai, Gesta Hungarorum, ca1282 – The Persian version only has one prince, who similarly marries the queen of the women, who called herself a doe with the name ‘sar-istani’ Sraw=horned in Avesta).

The two young men were so enchanted by the two princesses that they resolved to marry them, so they and their men kidnapped all the women and married them according to their custom. They settled on a great island in the lake, which was well protected. Their descendants multiplied and populated the nearby lands, founding the 108 clans of the Scythian nation (108 was a ‘holy number’ related to the astronomical rate of precession of the equinoxes. It’s also a holy number among Buddhists and the Buddha himself was allegedly of the Scythian Sakia tribe! Of course this was the Scythian view). The descendants of Hunor and one of the princesses became the nation of the Huns, while the descendants of Magor and the other princess became the nation of the Magyars.

Siberia

In northern Siberia, the heavenly reindeer, symbolised by the big dipper, steals the sun, and that is why there is no sun for half a year in the arctic. When the mythical hunter, who is often symbolised by a bear, kills the female reindeer, it starts the new days.This is an important key to the stories, for the chase after the stag is a hunt for the return of the sun, which during winter is taken away by the stag. The hunters are searching for its light and heat. The recapturing of Stag then brings back summer. The girls of the legend are the does, the daughters of light (Leukepius in Greek), who return the light and fertility of the sun. For that reason they have names which indicate ‘light, white, burning..’:  Dula=Gyula,Gyul…, Sar=gold,light, stag. Bular or Bugur=stag in Turkic.
FinlandSaamiAccording to the Saami legend, their nation will die when the god Groma, son of the devil, fires a third arrow into Meandash, the man-reindeer he is pursuing. For Nadezhda Bolshakova, decades of Soviet rule, which effectively banned the culture and language of her people – also known as Lapps, although they consider the name derogatory – brought their extinction perilously close.
‘But now I have hope that the third arrow will never be fired,’ she said, speaking in the village of Lovozero, a two-hour drive south-east of the Arctic port of Murmansk through vast tracts of birch forest dotted with the dark spikes of conifers.’ From Reuters – Oliver Bullough
This shows the symbiotic relationship the Saami’s have with the Reindeer which unsurprisingly figures heavily in their mythology. There are many tales and versions of tales with Reindeer in them.
The Santa Claus myth is irrevocably tied into Saami legend as Reindeer regularly get high on Fly Agaric (Amanita Muscaria – they are the archetypal Toadstools and have a red cap with white spots) and are seen to leap around, giving rise to the story of Santa’s flying reindeer. Saami shamans have a custom of deliberately feeding the mushrooms to their deer, and then collecting and drinking the urine because most of the toxins are filtered out by the reindeer’s digestive system.
An ancient legend of the Saami tells of a cursed woman who is transformed into a white reindeer who wanders the snowfields of the Midnight Sun luring all hunters who cross her path to their deaths. She cannot be stopped by bullets, but the spell is finally broken when her husband attacks and kills the White Reindeer with cold steel!

Scandinavia

Ancient Norse mythology tells how four stags browse the foliage of the world-tree Yggdrasil, in this manner eating away the buds (hours), blossoms (days) and branches (seasons):
…There is an eagle sits in the branches of the ash, and it has knowledge of many things, and between its eyes sits a hawk called Verdfolnir. A squirrel called Ratatosk runs up and down through the ash and carries malicious messages between the eagle and Nidhogg (the Dragon/Snake that eats the roots).
Four stags run in the branches of the ash and feed on the foliage. Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, Durathor. These four stags have been thought to represent the four winds. As it says here:
Yggdrasil suffers hardships more than people realise. Stag bites above, and at the sides it rots, Nidhogg eats away at it below.

Germany & Celtic Europe

‘The Horned One’, Cernunnos is depicted with ram horns or antlers. His most famous depiction is on the Gundestrap cauldron, where he is the main figure and has exaggerated antlers that recall the Scythian stag art. As a god of fertility and wild animals, his nature and name suggest a link to the Hittite Karhuhas. The development of Cernunnos in Celtic religion may have been early or he may have been adopted after the eighth century BCE when Scytho-Cimmerian elements invaded central Europe. Cernunnos seems to have been the origin for the later Celtic Underworld god who, with his hell-hounds, periodically road through the night skies on his Wild Hunt. While steppe culture influenced Celtic art at this time, the ‘Horned One’ may be at least one legacy of steppe religion in Celtic history. There also appears to be links with this Celtic God and the ancient Green Man symbolism. There is also a link through Neolithic Cave art where there is the depiction of people, either for hunting or for shamanistic practice, dressing in Deer hide and wearing antlers.

Greece

In Greek myth, meanwhile, this animal is most prominently found as the Keryneian stag, a fantastic beast with golden horns and brass hooves. It was sacred to the huntress-goddess Artemis.

Another Greek myth tells of how Actaeon, a great hunter, followed a stag during the hunt and came upon a valley where the goddess Artemis happened to be bathing. Artemis was furious when she discovered the mortal Actaeon watching her naked and turned him into a stag. Then, she set his own hounds upon him and they tore him apart.

Another tale recounts how Artemis killed two giants who had tried to violate her. She turned herself into a white hind and walked between the giants; when they tried to strike her with their javelins, they killed each other instead.

Eire

The deer was said to be a fairy creature that could pass between the worlds. This was especially true for a white deer. Fionn’s wife Sabha became a deer when she went to the Otherworld. Beautiful women frequently became deer in many tales while fleeing from hunters. The Druid Tuan mac Carill is the sole survivor of a group of early Partholanian Irish settlers. He lives at first as a wildman of the woods eventually becoming a stag, an eagle, a salmon and eventually is reincarnated as himself at a much later date to give the ancient history of Ireland to the more recent settlers.

England

The symbol and reverence of the stag amongst the Anglo-Saxons is a tradition that is very likely to be rooted in the most ancient of Germanic culture and religion. In England we know such reverence of stags was already a strong custom even in the days of Saint Augustine, for he is quoted as condemning the ‘filthy practice of dressing up like a horse or stag’ , a tradition that seems to resemble closely the English custom of hoodening. Like so many of the other animal symbols connected to the Anglo-Saxons, we only have to look at the Sutton Hoo ship burial for evidence. Within the burial was found a spectacular sceptre that was topped off with a beautiful stag figure. The sceptre to the King who carried it symbolised his power and high status. And it could be that amongst the Heathens the stag was regarded as the most noble and proud of animals, and would therefore be a most appropriate symbol of a King and his leadership. Extremely strong evidence pointing to the use of stag images, but not only their images, but the worship of stags too, is found in a quote from Saint Aldhelm who wrote to a friend the following:
…where once the crude pillars (ermula) of the same foul snake and the stag were worshipped with coarse stupidity in profane shrines.
A later, medieval, English addition to the Stag legend is that of Herne the Hunter. The name Herne maybe a linguistic cognate with the Celtic Cernunnos. In modern times his shamanic-style appearance in the TV series ‘Robin Hood’ has increased his popularity.

Wales/Cornwall/Brittany

In Celtic mythology, the deer is a magical creature, able to move between the worlds. As in Eire many tales have humans transformed into deer. For example, St. Patrick was said to have transformed himself and his companions into deer in order to escape a trap laid by a pagan king. In the Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen, the stag is one of the oldest animals in the world, along with the blackbird, the owl, the eagle and the salmon.
The antlers of the stag are compared to tree-branches and thus may represent fertility. Since they are shed and re-grown every year, they may also symbolise rejuvenation and rebirth. Cernunnos, the Celtic Horned God, was depicted with the antlers of a stag; he is said to be a god of fertility and plenty, and to be the Lord of the Beasts. According to some, his antlers symbolise a radiation of heavenly light. Images of stags were supposedly used to symbolise Cernunnos in non-human form.

Native American

Many Native Americans believed deer and other animals with forked horns and antlers represented forked or double nature. The white-tailed deer was thought to be an animal helper, but the dark-tailed deer meant danger. The Hopi deer dance was to bring the rain, the California Yurok White deer dance was for a bountiful wild crop and the Zuni deer dance was to bring a cure for illness. When the Cherokee travelled during harsh winter weather, they rubbed their feet in warm ashes and sang a song to acquire powers for the four animals whose feet never were frost bitten — opossum, wolf, fox and deer.
To the Pawnee, the deer is a guide to the light of the Sun. The Panche Indians of Colombia believe that human souls pass into the bodies of deer after death and therefore eating the flesh of deer is forbidden to them. In ancient Mexico, deer were sometimes depicted carrying the Sun (which is curiously similar to the ancient Steppe myth).

Magic

In the Celtic tradition the hunting of a Stag was symbolic for the pursuit of wisdom.

Symbolism

The hunt for wisdom motive is also found in Greek mythology, where one of the tasks of Hercules is to capture the hind of Mount Ceryneia and obviously also in the many Karhuhas myths. The range of that myth suggests the age of the Stag, or Deer, as a worshipped, totemic animal. In Celtic tradition the Stag is one of the five oldest creatures in the world. We have Palaeolithic cave paintings of Stags and their antlers were an essential tool during the Stone Age and were a tool involved in making the Megalithic structures, including Stonehenge. From the Saami, and other tribes, whose lives are reliant upon Deer we can understand how central their knowledge was. When you, your family and tribes clothing, diet, tools and thus survival are reliant on a single animal then they become symbolic of life. The knowledge required to hunt them becomes irrevocably tied up with the knowledge required for life. Thus the Hart and Hind have become an ingrained mythic symbol in western society and still are via Santa Claus.The antlers of the stag are compared to tree-branches and thus may represent fertility. Since they are shed and re-grown every year, they may also symbolise rejuvenation and rebirth. Cernunnos, the Celtic Horned God, was depicted with the antlers of a stag; he is said to be a god of fertility and plenty, and to be the Lord of the Beasts. Cernunnos, Herne and Ingvi-Freyr have all been linked with the Green Man, Lord of the Beasts and the Wild Hunt imagery.

According to some, his antlers symbolise a radiation of heavenly light. Images of stags were supposedly used to symbolise Cernunnos in non-human form. This also ties up with Ugric legends of the Stag, son of the Heavenly Doe, who steals the Sun between his antlers. This ties up with the Yule/Alban Arthuan/Mid-winter solstice when it is a famous hunter, often a Bear or man-bear, who chases down the Stag and brings back the Sun.
The Stag stands for solitary nobility, honour and a strong commitment to the protection of their herd. The Stag is a symbol of protection and sexuality. They are extremely devoted to the care, and creation, of children. Stags focus on the balance of law and are rigid in their thinking on the issues of justice.The Deer is associated with gentleness, caring love, sensitivity, graceful beauty, innocence and keen observation. Because of their well-developed senses, it is said deer can see through illusions and guide through chaotic situations. People with deer medicine can also learn to detect subtle movements, hear things unspoken and to use their intuition to avoid dangers.

Naming

Name – Meaning – Language:

Arasse – Stag – Elven

Ajalon – Chain/Strength/Stag – Biblical

Damh – Stag – Irish

Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, Durathor – Names of the Stags – Norse

Dyani- Deer – Native American

Dymphna – Stag or poet – Irish/Gaelic

Hart /Heort – Stag – Old English

Hartley from the deer pasture – English

Hirsh/Hiruz – Stag – Old High German

Tokens and Artwork

The Scythian tattoo image from the Ice Princess can be used. Look for images of the Sutton Hoo Sceptre which has a Stag on the top, there is also the Gundestrop Cauldron and many other ancient items. Edwin Landseer painted many Stags, most famously ‘The Monarch of the Glen’ and the Stag or Deer have been a popular subject for artists from cave paintings, for example at Lascaux, to the modern photographer. Many houses and lodges over the world sport a pair of Deer antlers as adornment.

Sacred Times

The times associated with both the Hoodening and Horn Dance appear at the beginning of September which is when, for many Deer, the rutting season begins. This is also the traditional time of year for the start of Deer hunting. This would time it with Alban Elfed/autumnal equinox.
In the role of the White Hart/Hind, where the deer is a messenger from the Otherworld, then the time of year is associated with Samhuin/Halloween when the bridge between the Otherworld and ours is thin and messages find it easier to arrive. Ingvi-Freyr the Norse God, who has been thought a Stag-God largely because at Ragnarök (the end of this world’s cycle) he uses an Antler as a weapon, has his festival at Yule/Alban Arthuan/Midwinter. This time would tie up with the myths of a Stag God, son of the Celestial Doe, who steals the Sun between his antlers and has to be hunted and caught before the Sun can return. Often it is a Bear, or Bear-Man, who has to hunt the Stag and return the Sun.

Astral Travel

Hunter’s Song

The toils are pitched, and the stakes are set, Ever sing merrily, merrily;The bows they bend, and the knives they whet,Hunters live so cheerily.It was a stag, a stag of ten,Bearing its branches sturdily;He came silently down the glen,Ever sing hardily, hardily.It was there he met with a wounded doe,She was bleeding deathfully;She warned him of the toils below,O so faithfully, faithfully!He had an eye, and he could heed,Ever sing so warily, warily;He had a foot, and he could speed —Hunters watch so narrowly.

— Sir Walter Scott

It is necessary to develop your own feeling and relationship with the Hart or Hind. Why are you drawn to the deer? How you will travel, feel or experience the deer is unique to your journey.

Prophecy and Divination

Ogham

Beith is associated with the White Stag which symbolizes high ideals and aspirations. Beith is associated with beginnings, perhaps a fresh start where old ideas and unhelpful influences need to be cast aside.

Dreamwork

Dear in dreams may represent gentleness, healing and connection to the forest, which is said to symbolise the unconscious of the dreamer or they may lead the dreamer on a journey. An antlered stag, because of its cycle of growing and shedding antlers, represents fecundity, rejuvenation or rebirth. Some people interpret the stag as a sexual symbol, since the antlers are used in fighting for the chance to mate. According to Jungians, the hind (female deer) in the dream of a man signifies his feminine side, the Anima, leading him into the wilderness. In the dreams of women it represents their own femininity, in a primal, instinctive state.

Magic Circles

Hoodening is an ancient custom that involves people or practitioners to dress up in animal skins or to carry the heads of animals in a ritual or some form of dance or parade.This custom was recorded and condemned in England over a thousand years ago, which indicates that the origins of hoodening more than likely stretch back into the mists of time.
Saint Augustine in the 4th Century condemned the ‘filthy practice of dressing up like a horse or stag’. Archbishop Theodore in the late 6th Century is said to have condemned the practice of those ‘whom on the calends of January clothe themselves in the skins of cattle and carry heads of animals’. The Abbots Bromley Horn (i.e. Stag Horn) Dance has certainly been going since 1226, this occurs in September. Whilst today there are, in some form, surviving examples of such hoodening customs, the most well known and popular is that of Abbots Bromley Horn Dance and the Kentish Hop Hoodening.

Trance

Deer can show us to be kind, gentle and patient with other people. Furthermore, deer can teach people how to love unconditionally; meaning to love not what you wish to be, even in another person or in yourself, but what is.
Just like they lead heroes to other worlds in many myths, deer can lure a person to new adventures, which are often an opportunity to gain more wisdom. When this happens, a person should not be too afraid to follow; however, one should stay alert, keep eyes and ears open, for adventurous journeys are not always without danger.

Healing

Known active ingredients in Antler Velvet include minerals, proteins, collagens, fatty acids, and glycosaminoglycans – all vital components linked to human metabolic function. Western medicine (or health supplement companies) have just recently begun to expound the benefits of taking Deer Antler Velvet Powder. Glucosamine in it slowly decreases the pain of arthritis by rebuilding cartilage and significantly reducing joint swelling thus increasing mobility. It is a natural source of anti-inflammatory agents with the added effects of collagen, which lubricates and helps repair joints. Deer Antler Velvet is also a safe and natural treatment for boosting the immune system by increasing the production of white blood cells.
Of course in addition to this are the claims of a significantly improved libido which tie in to the fecundity aspects of the Stag and Deer.

Protection

Algiz: This rune represents the horns of an Elk, which the Elk uses to protect itself. This rune has the meaning of protection. This is not a protection by way of physical means. This is a holy protection. Algiz is a holy aura that simply repels harm. This rune also represents a sanctuary, a holy enclosure or grove where all are safe.

Spiders in Druidry

As we all know, Druidry is a spiritual path based in Nature. The knowledge we have can be found everywhere. In Druidry, the Spider represents The Bard, the Ovate and the Druid. As a Bard it produces works of art as depicted in the many kinds of webs it can produce; as an Ovate seer, to determine the best spot for the web or hide-out for the hunt, and the lessons the animal teaches us shows us the Druid side of Spider lore, or as some call it, Spider Medicine.

The Spider is the guardian of the ancient languages and alphabets. Every society has had myths about how the different languages and alphabets were formed. One example is the Ogham. The Ogham can be found in the web of a Spider. This is why the Spider is considered the teacher of language and the magic of writing. Those who weave magic with the written word probably have a Spider as a guide.

I have found that we can learn much more from the webs and their makers, the Spider. According to Scottish Legend, King Robert the Bruce of Scotland, hid in a cave where he saw a persistent Spider weaving her web.The story about Robert the Bruce, the cave and the Spider is well known to all English or Scottish school pupils. However, outside the Isles it may not be this well known, so here is the story:  

King Robert the Bruce I was born at Lochmaben Castle in 1274. He was Knight and Overlord of Annandale. In 1306 he was crowned King of Scotland and henceforth tried to free Scotland from the English enemy.
After being defeated at a battle, Bruce escaped and found a hideout in a cave. Hiding in a cave for three months, Bruce was at the lowest point of his life. He thought about leaving the country and never coming back. While waiting, he watched a Spider building a web in the cave’s entrance. The Spider fell down time after time, but finally he succeeded with his web. So Bruce decided also to retry his fight and told his men: ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again’.
Old legend as told here.

The lesson the spider is teaching here is persistence. King Robert the Bruce of Scotland and his army had this strong persistence and determination until they finally beat the English at the Battle of Bannockburn. And this is an important yet simple thing a Spider can teach us.

The Spider as an animal is a spiritual teacher in its own right. For example the Spider’s web is a constant reminder of the eight festivals. This is easily seen in the wheel webs some Spiders weave. The strands of the web, like the spokes of a wheel are straight from the edge to the middle and do form the eight fold wheel. That same web also shows the pentagram and the levels of spirituality known in Druidry as: Annwn, Abred, Gwynvyd and Keugant.

The Spider is The Bard, the Ovate and the Druid rolled into one. Let’s take a look at the lessons from the Druid Spider by contemplating its web.
Seeing the Spider weaving a web, it signals to us that we must weave our own lives. The Spider as a guide (or totem, familiar, etc…) serves as a reminder that our choices construct our lives. When the Spider appears to us, it is a message to be mindful of the choices we are making. Then ask yourself:

• How are my choices affecting my life?
• How can my choices improve my life?
• How are my choices affecting others in my life?

Spiders and their webs draw attention to our life choices, but that is not all. They also show us how we can manipulate our thinking, so we can construct the life we want to live.

Spiders make us aware of the amazing construction of their webs. They are fully functional, practical, and perfect in design. Spider webs serve as homes, food storage, egg incubators and are almost limitless in their functionality. When we take a good look at this diversity, we can also look at the web-like construct of our own lives. How do we get the most effective life?

We can derive even more Spider symbol meaning when we consider certain subtle characteristics that represent ancient symbols of infinity. When we take a look at the Spider itself and consider most Spiders have eight eyes and all have eight legs, we can see that the Spider also shows the meaning of the number eight, which involves cycles, passage of time, evolution and, as mentioned before, the eight fold path of the year.
Spiders are also found to be connected to Halloween or Samhain. This is because Spiders are related to death because of the venom they carry. This venom is of course also used as basis for the antidote, connecting the Spider both to death and rebirth and thus she stands for the completion of the circle.

The Spider teaches us to maintain a balance – between past and future, physical and spiritual, male and female. The Spider also teaches us that everything we now do is weaving what we will encounter in the future. In the tarot deck is a card – The Wheel of Fortune. This is a card that has to do with rhythms – the rise and fall, the flow and flux. It is linked to the energies of honour and fame, and the sensitivities necessary to place ourselves within the rhythm of Nature. Meditation upon this card would be beneficial for anyone with the Spider as a guide.

The Spider, because of its characteristics, has come to be associated with magic and the energy of creation. It is a symbol of creative power, reflected in its ability to spin a silken web. It is also associated with keeping the feminine energies of creation alive and strong. This has ties to the characteristics of some Spiders, i.e. the female black widow, which will kill and eat the male after mating has exhausted it.
The Spider is also associated with its spiral energy, the links with the past and the future. The spiral of the web, converging at a central point, is something to be meditated upon by those with Spiders as a guide:

• Are you moving toward a central goal or are you scattered and going in multiple directions? Is everything staying focused?
• Are you becoming too involved and/or self-absorbed?
• Are you focusing on others’ accomplishments and not on your own?
• Are you developing resentment because of it – for yourself or them?

If a Spider is a guide in your life, ask yourself some important questions:

• Are you weaving your dreams and imaginings into reality?
• Are you using your creative opportunities?
• Are you feeling closed in or stuck, as if in a web?
• Do you need to pay attention to your balance and where you are walking in life?
• Are others out of balance around you?
• Do you need to write?
• Are you inspired to write or draw and not following through?

Remember that the Spider is the keeper of knowledge and of the primordial alphabet. The Spider can teach how to use the written language with power and creativity so that your words weave a web around those who would read them.

Spiders in Druidry are linked with the Goddess, some Gods, the wheel of the year, spinning, weaving, each individual human, the world, creations and creation.

Spiders in other cultures

Spiders are very delicate creatures that play an important role in the myths and lore of many peoples as the teacher of balance between the past and future, the physical and spiritual.

Native America

To the Native Americans, Spider is Grandmother, the link to the past and future. In India, its associated with Maya, the weaver of illusions. With its gentle strength, Spider spins together the threads of life with intricate webs. Spider knows the past affects the future and visa versa. It calls us to make use of our creativity and weave our dreams into our destiny. If you want to make a deeper connection with your Animal Totem, fill your environment with images of the animal to let the animal know it is welcome in your space. Among the various Native American traditions, spider medicine has been known to represent creativity. Her eight legs represent the four winds of change and the four directions on the medicine wheel, while her body is in the shape of the infinity symbol, which represents infinite possibilities. Spider was said to have woven the alphabet, creating the means for people to communicate and record their history through language.

Greece

Just like the Greek myth of the Fates, three women who weave the tapestry of life, spiders are said to weave the creative forces that bring forth the intricately symmetrical patterns of our lives. Of course I must not forget the Greek myth of the maiden Arachne and the Goddess Athena. In the myth, Arachne claimed that she was a better weaver than the Goddess Athena. After winning from Athena, she was turned into a Spider and she and her offspring became the best weavers in existence.

West Africa and the Caribbean

Nor must I forget to mention the West African and Caribbean trickster spirit Anansi, also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy whose story is like the tricksters Coyote, Raven or Iktomi found in many Native American cultures and Loki found in Norse mythology. Anansi literally means spider. These tales show spider teaching skill and wisdom in speech, slave resistance and survival as well as teaching mankind the techniques of agriculture and so we see again a kinship in spider’s lessons reaching many cultures in a profound way.

Practicum

This practicum is designed to get to know the  spider a little better.

Preform this while in your Sacred Grove after preforming your Light Body exercise or in a state of meditation or visualisation.

In your mind, you see an open place with one exit. From that exit, you see a small garden Spider approaching. You follow the Spider and you see that she walks to a tree. In that tree she starts to weave a web blocking the exit. The spider weaves her web so steadily that is fascinates you and soon you realise that the weaving itself is a meditation. With that weaving you imagine her as a creator weaving the whole universe and you also imagine her as a dream catcher weaving the net to manifest our deepest desires. When the Spider is finished weaving, she sits in the middle of the web and she starts her teaching to you. She ends her teachings by telling you that she weaves a new web every day. She tells you that she takes down the web when it is ruined and begins again everyday and she never has to think about it, she just spins her web with great care.

After giving her lessons to you, she takes down her web blocking the exit and leaves. By doing so she is signalling that it is time to end your meditation or visualisation.

Grandmother Spider Steals the Fire. A Mississippi Choctaw Legend

The Choctaw People say that when the People first came up out of the ground, People were encased in cocoons, their eyes closed, their limbs folded tightly to their bodies. And this was true of all People, the Bird People, the Animal People, the Insect People, and the Human People. The Great Spirit took pity on them and sent down someone to unfold their limbs, dry them off, and open their eyes. But the opened eyes saw nothing, because the world was dark, no sun, no moon, not even any stars. All the People moved around by touch, and if they found something that didn’t eat them first, they ate it raw, for they had no fire to cook it.

All the People met in a great powwow, with the Animal and Bird People taking the lead, and the Human People hanging back. The Animal and Bird People decided that lief was not good, but cold and miserable. A solution must be found! Someone spoke from the dark,

‘I have heard that the people in the East have fire.’ This caused a stir of wonder, ‘What could fire be?’ There was a general discussion, and it was decided that if, as rumour had it, fire was warm and gave light, they should have it too. Another voice said, ‘But the people of the East are too greedy to share with us.’ So it was decided that the Bird and Animal People should steal what they needed, the fire!

But, who should have the honour? Grandmother Spider volunteered, ‘I can do it! Let me try!’ But at the same time, Opossum began to speak. ‘I, Opossum, am a great chief of the animals. I will go to the East and since I am a great hunter, I will take the fire and hide it in the bushy hair on my tail.’ It was well know that Opossum had the furriest tail of all the animals, so he was selected.

When Opossum came to the East, he soon found the beautiful, red fire, jealously guarded by the people of the East. But Opossum got closer and closer until he picked up a small piece of burning wood, and stuck it in the hair of his tail, which promptly began to smoke, then flame. The people of the East said, ‘Look, that Opossum has stolen our fire!’ They took it and put it back where it came from and drove Opossum away. Poor Opossum! Every bit of hair had burned from his tail, and to this day, opossums have no hair at all on their tails.

Once again, the powwow had to find a volunteer chief. Grandmother Spider again said, ‘Let em go! I can do it!’ But this time a bird was elected, Buzzard. Buzzard was very proud. ‘I can succeed where Opossum has failed. I will fly to the East on my great wings, then hide the stolen fire in the beautiful long feathers on my head.’ The birds and animals still did not understand the nature of fire. So Buzzard flew to the East on his powerful wings, swooped past those defending the fire, picked up a small piece of burning ember, and hid it in his head feathers. Buzzard’s head began to smoke and flame even faster! The people of the East said, ‘Look! Buzzard has stolen the fire!’ And they took it and put it back where it came from.
Poor Buzzard! His head was now bare of feathers, red and blistered looking. And to this day, buzzards have naked heads that are bright red and blistered.

The powwow now sent Crow to look the situation over, for Crow was very clever. Crow at that time was pure white, and had the sweetest singing voice of all the birds. But he took so long standing over the fire, trying to find the perfect piece to steal that his white feathers were smoked black. And he breathed so much smoke that when he tried to sing, out came a harsh, ‘Caw! Caw!’

The Council said, ‘Opossum has failed. Buzzard and Crow have failed. Who shall we send?’

Tiny Grandmother Spider shouted with all her might, ‘LET ME TRY IT PLEASE!’ Though the council members thought Grandmother Spider had little chance of success, it was agreed that she should have her turn. Grandmother Spider looked then like she looks now, she had a small torso suspended by two sets of legs that turned the other way. She walked on all of her wonderful legs toward a stream where she had found clay. With those legs, she made a tiny clay container and a lid that fit perfectly with a tiny notch for air in the corner of the lid. Then she put the container on her back, spun a web all the way to the East, and walked tiptoe until she came to the fire. She was so small, the people from the East took no notice. She took a tiny piece of fire, put it in the container, and covered it with the lid. Then she walked back on tiptoe along the web until she came to the People. Since they couldn’t see any fire, they said, ‘Grandmother Spider has failed.’
‘Oh no,’ she said, ‘I have the fire!’ She lifted the pot from her back, and the lid from the pot, and the fire flamed up into its friend, the air. All the Birds and Animal People began to decide who would get this wonderful warmth. Bear said, ‘I’ll take it!’ but then he burned his paws on it and decided fire was not for animals, for look what happened to Opossum!

The Birds wanted no part of it, as Buzzard and Crow were still nursing their wounds. The insects thought it was pretty, but they, too, stayed far away from the fire.

Then a small voice said, ‘We will take it, if Grandmother Spider will help.’

The timid humans, whom none of the animals or birds thought much of, were volunteering!

So Grandmother Spider taught the Human People how to feed the fire sticks and wood to keep it from dying, how to keep the fire safe in a circle of stone so it couldn’t escape and hurt them or their homes. While she was at it, she taught the humans about pottery made of clay and fire, and about weaving and spinning, at which Grandmother Spider was an expert.

The Choctaw remember. They made a beautiful design to decorate their homes, a picture of Grandmother Spider, two sets of legs up, two down, with a fire symbol on her back. This is so their children never forget to honour Grandmother Spider, Fire bringer!
– Author unknown.

Once again there aren’t many traditional songs or chants that can be used to invoke Magpie. I often use the trance method (as mentioned below) to fly across the otherworld.
Prophecy and Divination
You can use the traditional nursery rhyme:
One for sorrow, Two for joy,
Three for a girl, Four for a boy,
Five for Silver, Six for Gold
Seven for a secret never to be told
Or
One for sorrow, Two for mirth,
Three for a wedding, Four for a birth.
Five for rich, Six for poor,
Seven for a witch — I can tell you no more.
For other tools things like mirrors that contain both dark and light, or other shiny objects would attract the Magpie spirit.
Dreamwork
In dreams the Magpie will signify opportunities coming into your life. The number seen will help signify what you should expect.
Magic Circles
When drawing the circle dress yourself in black and white and try alternate leg hopping (or visualisations as mentioned in trance below). You can dress in formal wear, a black bowler hat and tailcoat, with your thumbs in your waistcoat (just like in the old films), then bend yourself double, spread your arms out, spread your fingers wide and swoop round the circle to get that magpie feeling.
Trance
I find that visualising the Magpie’s movement, the way it hops, flexes its tail and flies is the key to trance work. The brightness of its beady eye will draw you in…If you have a magpie spirit guide, once you get used to the visualisation, it becomes a hop, hop, fly to shift into the magpie.
Healing
Fairy of the Magpie Bridge
Poem by Qin Guan ~ Translation by Kylie Hsu
Among the beautiful clouds,
Over the heavenly river,
Crosses the weaving maiden.
A night of rendezvous,
Across the autumn sky,
Surpasses joy on earth.
Moments of tender love and dream,
So sad to leave the magpie bridge.
Eternal love between us two,
Shall withstand the time apart.

The Magpie is a strong healer for relationships, particularly those emotional hurts. In Chinese legend a bridge of Magpie’s is used for two star-crossed lovers to meet. It is the magpie’s faithfulness to their partners and families which you can invoke to send a message to the Gods. Try burning this poem or a drawing of the magpie with incense to speed the message on its way.
Protection
Magpie meal awaits:
Fast car – country lane – danger,
Fawn dead on roadside.
~ Haiku  by DaRC
Magpie’s are excellent protectors and will call out their ‘Caw, caw, caw’ warning. So in that way forewarned is forearmed. They are also masters of evasion – often using the two of them to do the old ‘one-two’ on any opponent.
Invoke the Australian magpie for the fearless, aggressive aspect especially when protecting friends or family.