The relationship between animals and humans is always an interesting one. This topic comes by way of two straight days of visiting New England Zoos and a crackpot I-just-woke-up-mind. But um, yeah--humans and animals, huh? Whether it's herding sheep, providing transportation--we've always had animals helping us in various ways.
This extends into the spiritual realm with the concept of familiars. A familiar is a spirit usually in animal form, that helps the magician in various tasks. It's kind of a servitor in that way. But mostly it's probably best to not confuse the issue.
Anyways. Wikipedia has one of my favorite familiar anecdotes:
"During the English Civil War, the Royalist general Prince Rupert was in the habit of taking his large poodle dog, named "Boye", into battle with him. Throughout the war the dog was greatly feared among the soldiers of Parliament and credited with supernatural powers, evidently considered a kind of familiar (see Prince Rupert). At the end of the war the dog was shot, allegedly with a silver bullet."
Were-poodle!
There's also a pocket fox that is a familiar of sorts in Japanese magics. The Kuda-Gitsune. Or Pocket fox. Which is a little fox that lives inside of a bamboo pipe that you ask questions to.
I can't even begin to guess how the familiar situation will change as these animals actually die out. Will they grow in mythology as they become extinct, or will we just lose the idea of these animals as effective metaphors for communicating with the hyper-conscious?
It seems a shame, no?
2 comments:
Haha, Lody is half poodle but he's just an asshole.
We certainly would not have made it very far as a civilization as a whole if it weren't for animals.
I also greatly enjoy the picture of the etching you posted with the dog named "Vinegar Tom". Fine name indeed. From a long lineage of champions that one.
When are you moving here anyway. Hurry. Summer is nice here.
Actually upon seond look its a bull!
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