Witchcraft: Animals: Bats

Familiar features of Halloween paraphernalia and old-style horror movies, virtually everywhere that bats are found they are identified with witchcraft, perceived as witches' familiars' mounts, and alter egos.

Bats are ancient creatures, having inhabited Earth for about 50 million years. There are nearly one thousand kinds of bats, who comprise nearly one quarter of all mammal species. They are unique as they are the only mammal who can truly fly.

Bats inspired are because their form was ambiguous: they resemble some kind of cross between an animal and a bird. In ancient Asian belief, bats were understood to be the most perfect bird because they nurse their young.

Most bats are nocturnal; they famously sleep through the day, hanging upside down in huge colonies, emerging at dusk from the caves they inhabit, sometimes in huge swarms. Animals that live in caves, grottoes or underground are metaphysically perceived as being especially close to Earth, and thus privy to her deepest secrets.

Medieval Europeans associated bats with dragons-magical winged creatures that live in caves and grottoes. At first glance this may seem very flattering for a little bat, however this association proved unfortunate, as by the Middle Ages, the only role European dragons were left to play was as a target for questing knights. And small bats are much easier to kill than fire-breathing dragons.

Dragons were also associated with Satan; this association rubbed off on bats and they became closely associated with devils, demons and the anti-Christ. Medieval artwork frequently depicts Satan with bat's wings; angels, on the other hand, were consistently painted with wings of white birds. That bat you see flying around might really be a demon.

Unfortunately for bats and women, in medieval Europe the sight of a flying bat was often interpreted as really being a transformed witch up to no good. Witches were believed to transform into bats, to ride bats like horses, and also to smear their broomsticks with bat's blood so as to achieve lift-off. In 1322, Lady Jacaume of Bayonne, France was publicly burned at the stake as a witch. The evidence? Swarms of bats had been observed flying about her house and garden.

Today the concept of a person and bat exchanging shapes automatically brings Dracula to mind, and indeed the most common bat in modern Halloween imagery is the vampire. However, the bats that thrilled and chilled medieval Europeans were not vampires but "ordinary" bats; the original major fear regarding bats is that they would become entangled in a woman's hair, not that they'd suck her blood.

Vampire bats are indigenous only to the Western Hemisphere. They are not and were never found in Central Europe, where the concept of an undead creature who survives by sapping the vitality of the living has existed since time immemorial. In certain areas of Central Europe and the Balkans, "vampire" and "werewolf" are synonymous; vampire is also used to indicate a "witch", so vampire bay may also be understood to mean "witch bat".

Vampire bats received that name from the mythic vampire, not vice versa. After blood-consuming bats were "discovered" by Europeans, the name was bestowed upon them. Bram Stoker was intrigued by the concept of blood-consuming bats and so incorporated them into his novel Dracula whose success forever changed perceptions of bat and mythical vampires, who were traditionally not always typecast as blood-suckers; many traditional vampires preferred consuming sexual fluids or more abstract life forces, such as the aura.

The concept of a mythic blood-consuming "vampiric" spirit was, however, well-known in Central and South America prior to European contact. Bats figure prominently in Central American myth. This is the area where blood-consuming bats do exist and so bats also have associations with death and blood sacrifice.

Not all associations with bats are negative, not even vampire bats. The Kogi people of northern Columbia associate the vampire with human fertility. Their euphemistic expression for a girl who begins to menstruate is that she has been "bitten by the bat". According to the Kogi, the bat was the very first animal to be created, emerging directly from the Creator's body.

Some tribes in New Guinea also perceive bats as fertility symbols, perhaps because of the prominent penis of some species located there.

In China, bats are regarded as especially auspicious, their very name a pun for luck. Bat images abound in art and ornamentation.

The Chinese five bat design represents the five blessings:
*Longevity
*Prosperity
*Health
*Righteousness
*A Natural Death

 

 

Bats figure prominently in African folklore . In East Africa, bats are witches' mounts. In the Ivory Coast, bats represent souls of the departed, while in Madagascar, bats aren't just any old souls but those of criminals, sorcerers, and the unburied dead. Bats have powerful associations with death and ghosts. A hoodoo charm to stop ghostly harassment displays African magical roots: Should you feel that ghost's unwanted presence, toss one single black cat hair, obtained without harming the cat, over your left shoulder saying, "Skit, scat! Become a bat!" Rather than inspiring avoidance, associations of bats with witches and magic inspired the use of whole bat corpses and various anatomical parts to be featured prominently in magic spells.

*References to bat's wings in magic spells may refer to holly leaves, which may always be substituted.

*Bat nuts (dried ling nuts), which if held from one angle resemble bats, may be substituted for bats in any spell.

*Similar to bat's wings as code for holly leaves, "bat's blood" may have been a euphemism for another magical ingredient, perhaps a resin. At some point, people did you real bat's blood as ink. However, since the 1920's commercially marketed Bat's Blood Ink is scented red ink.

 

Perhaps because bats were understood to be transformed witches they have also been used to protect from malevolent witchcraft. A particularly unpleasant English custom involved nailing a live bat above the doorway to ward off witches, perhaps akin to the American rancher's practice of posting dead coyotes or wolves to warn others away.

 

Negative associations have taken a deadly toll: many species of bats are extremely endangered due to loss of their habitat and because people have perceived them as vermin fit for extermination. This terribly upsets the balance of nature: bats are genuine fertility figures, responsible for the pollination of many plant species, particularly in the desert. Without the bat, these botanical species cannot multiply. Bats are also responsible for insect-control, one bat can gobble up as many as 600 mosquitoes in one hour.

 

Modern witchcraft practices suggest that maintaining a bat house on your property will bring joy and good luck.

 

 

*Credit to Judika Illes



Allies

In magical theory, it's generally acknowledged that every individual possesses allies in the various realms: botanical, mineral, spirit, and animal. They share your essence and possess a loyalty and affinity toward you, and so are reliable magical partners. As an example, the Egyptian goddess Isis is affiliated with myrrh, blood-stone, a constellation of compatible fellow spirits, cows, scorpions, snakes, and crocodiles., She also has alliances with certain people, whom she protects but who are expected to offer devotion in exchange. 

Alliances, as their name implies, are mutual relationships: obligations exist on both sides. These are not relationships to be exploited but are instead meant to be treasured and nurtured. It is a loving, caring, relationship and as such cannot be forced or compelled on either side. 

Because animals are closest in nature to humans, they are our most accessible allies. Different people possess different needs: some are fairly solitary, one or two allies may be sufficient, in the same manner that one or two human friends are sufficient. Social butterflies may require a crowd. Some alliances are life-long; others are transitory, ships passing in the night. It's believed that every individual is born with at least one ally from each realm. Other alliances may be forged as needed during a lifetime.

A familiar is an ally but an ally may not be a familiar. Familiars are generally understood to be exactly what their name implies: familiar. These are animals with whom one can share your home and daily life.: ferrets, cats, dogs, hedgehogs, birds, frogs, and snakes. Extended contact need not be difficult or dangerous. Depending upon circumstances, a wild or potentially dangerous creature may become your familiar but they must choose you as, for instance, wild dolphins, which will occasionally form a friendship with a specific swimmer. 

The possibility of familiars, then is relatively limited whereas the world of animal allies is vast. What if domestic animals don't fulfill your magical needs-your magic requires a komodo dragon or a snow leopard? What if your magic requires a velociraptor, a dragon, or a unicorn? 

Because these animals may be accessed on a spirit level, animals with whom one could not normally have true contact become possible allies. Whether one possesses a relationship with a specific spirit-animal or with the spirit presiding over that animal is subject to interpretation and may very.

How do you discover the identities of your allies? Various methods exist:

Consciously or subconsciously, their identities may already be know to you. Intense passionate emotions, whether positive or not, may indicate an existing alliance. If you just adore lynxes, well, there you are. Conversely, passionate fear may also indicate alliance. Arachnophobes,I hate to break the news, but they could be your familiar. 

Animals may reveal themselves to you. Magic scoffs at the concept of coincidence. If something reoccurs with frequency, pay attention: it might just be the clue you have been looking for.

Alliances my be revealed through dreams. Do certain animals consistently appear in your dreams? These may be your allies. Animals that feature in nightmares may also be allies; the nightmares may be due to miscommunication. A fierce wolf lies in wait for you in Dreamland, consistently appearing in your dreams. Terrified, you run or hide. The wolf, who longs to assist you or at least travel by your side, pursues, unable to communicate with you in a manner that would soothe your fears. This is a stalemate, the consistently reappearing nightmare that makes sleep something to dread and avoid. Next time some creature or person pursues you in a dream, don't run. Stop, turn, face them, and ask them what they want. Because it's a dream, anything can happen; you may be surprised. 

Allies are revealed through divination. Various divination systems, usually cards, are commercially available; many are wonderful and extremely effective. The one drawback to these systems is that they tend to emphasize animals from a specific locale and by nature are limited to a finite number of choices. Remember that you do not have to be limited to a set of number of allies and that one can incorporate various systems as well as other methods. 

Alliances are revealed through shamanic vision. Traditionally visions have been incubated through ascetic practices such a fasting or extended solitude in a place of power such as a cave or mountain, although with the exception of the extremely experienced, these practices tend to be mentored and supervised. 

Alliances are identified through visualization, of which various methods exists. 

Allow yourself to be surprised. Although you may be sure you know your allies' identities, hidden allies may shock you when they reveal themselves. Also, do not be disappointed. We long for alliances with dramatic, romantic, wild, powerful creatures that bolster our self-image and are dismayed when instead our allies are revealed as ants, slugs, and bees. Every creature has power and gifts to share. Ants teach important lessons about persistence; rats are the ultimate survival artists, and in many places are perceived as incredibly lucky allies to have. Negative perceptions are often cultural. If you have negative perceptions of an animal, explore and research differently perspectives and you may be pleasantly surprised. Spiders and bats for instance, while ominous in some cultures are incredibly auspicious in others. 

Alliances may also be earned. If you crave a relationship with a particular animal, earn it by showing yourself to be a true ally. If you long for a hippopotamus ally, for instance, work to protect the species and preserve its natural environment. Investigate and see what needs to be done. on the spiritual level, erect an altar in the creature's honor or devote one to its presiding spirit or affiliate deity. Should your good works draw attention, the desired ally will signal to you by using one of the previously discussed methods. 

*Credit to Judika Illes