Le Sentier Traces

Lobito, Gabriela Herrera Ilustraciones 2012.

Brixton foxes having breakfast in some lucky one's backyard

The Feather Circle befriends the Furry Council

Animals and Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar)

Since time began animals have been revered and worshiped as spirits of nature, known to the ancients as power animals or the animal guides of the Gods.  The ancients believed animals were closer to nature than humans, and would perform rituals and make offerings to their spirits in attempts to communicate with them. Old shamans believed that all things and beings, particularly animals, were possessed of a spirit or soul, and that one could attract parts of their soul, thus their spirit and powers with mimicry.  To achieve this they dressed in appropriate animal furs and feathers or wore horns and fierce looking masks while performing dance and imitating their antics. The shaman would keep and use the same animal spirits until his death, upon which time they would disappear or be passed on to aid his apprentice.

Given the animal kingdoms intimate relationship with nature, its not surprising that witches as they evolved should adopt certain animals as their own link to nature, spirits and deities.  Wise men and women commonly used animals, while wizards, magicians and village healers used them to diagnose illnesses, sources of bewitchment, divination and to find lost property or treasure.

It was not until the Middle Ages and the rise of Christianity that the witches pets and animals became thought of as agents of evil.  As the persecution of witches began, so the church started teaching the concept that the Witches’ familiar was an associate of the Christian devil.  They became demons and evil spirits in animal form, sent out by the witch to do their nasty bidding.  They also believed witches possessed the power to transform themselves into animals, in which guise they committed any number of diabolical deeds. Later they were believed to use animal products in spells, making potions and concoctions to aid transformation, gain power over nature, or even to harm and kill. The most common animals associated with witchcraft were the:  Frog, Owl, Serpent, Pig, Raven, Stag, Goat, Wolf, Dog, Horse, Bat, Mouse and of course the Cat, though virtually any animal, reptile or insect would be suspect.  Obsession with the witches familiar was most prevalent in England and Scotland and was mentioned in numerous trial records of the period, particularly those related to “Matthew Hopkins”, the infamous Witch Finder General (see Matthew Hopkins).

According to the ancient Witchcraft Act of 1604, it was a felony to:  “consult, covenant with, entertain, employ, feed or reward any evil or wicked spirit to or for any intent or purpose”, an act that Hopkins used with zeal when extracting confessions.  He also used the “Malleus Malificarum” the so-called Inquisitor’s Handbook.  Though it offers no instruction concerning familiars in the interrogation and trial of witches, it does acknowledge that an animal familiar “always works with the witch in everything”.  As such it advises the inquisitor never to leave a witch prisoner alone, “or the devil will cause him or her to kill themselves, accomplished through a familiar”.  This in mind Hopkins would tie the witch up in a cell and leave them alone, while watching secretly for their arrival.  If so much of as a fly or beetle approached them, it was deemed proof enough that they were indeed witches.

Today in contemporary witchcraft any thoughts of animals as “demonic spirits of evil” has been left by the way side, though many modern witches still use animals when working with magick utilizing their primordial instincts and psychic abilities to attune with nature and deities.  Animals are sensitive to psychic power and vibrations, and are welcomed into the magick circle when power is being raised or spells are being cast.  They are also used to aid scrying, divination and spirit contact.  When working with magick animals act as a guard in psychic defence for they react visibly to negative forces and harmful energy.

The use of our domestic animals as familiars is merely a stepping-stone to the raw power and energy of wild animals that are much closer to nature; for instance, a domestic dog is a softened version of its wild counterpart the fox, wolf, coyote and other wild canine creatures.  Similarly a domestic cat can be linked to other wild felines such like lions, tigers and leopards.  Many witches and magicians start with a domesticated animal as a familiar in the hope that one day they will be able to handle and work more effectively with its true power form, the wild animals of nature.

Compiled by George Knowles, Animals and Witchcraft, and written by Samanta Vega

http://www.controverscial.com/Animals%20and%20Witchcraft_Intro.htm

The Coyote

COYOTE

Trickster, clown, jester, artist, friend, bringer of chaos and fun, teaching

us to let go and laugh and, like the Hopi clowns, teaching us how silly

we look to the gods when we take ourselves too seriously.

Coyote has been my guide for years. Our animal helpers choose

us more than we choose them. I’ve always been drawn to coyotes,

and they to me. I wanted a wolf, eagle, or bear as my muse,

but I got Coyote instead.

Coyote has taught me the wisdom of making people laugh,

of helping people to take themselves and their painful situations less

seriously as a precursor to healing. I work like Coyote. I give people

experiences that challenge their usual worldview. I introduce constructive

chaos, trusting the inner healer in all my patients to reorganize

perceptions and beliefs toward a state of greater healing. I teach people

to welcome the unexpected, learning flexibility and resiliency.

This is the essence of Coyote ---the only animal whose territory

and range have spread despite encroaching civilization. Coyote is

a survivor, as we all hope to be.

(Coyote Healing. Miracles in Native Medicine, Lewis Mehl-Madrona: 7)

(kî · ó · tee or kí · oht or koy · ó · tày ) , noun; pl. –tes. 

2. Slang. A contemptible person, especially a greedy or deceitful one. 

5. Coy-o-te, –tying, –ted, verb. To steal, pilfer, take, or acquire by devious or deceitful means. 

Coyote, one small musical word that has so many myriad meanings and entities —a wild dog, a clown, a despicable person, a thief, vermin to be eradicated, anything worthless, someone cunning, pirated works, a romantic twilight voice on the wind, a dangerous sorcerer.

In pre-Columbian timelessness, the coyote inhabited only the west-central portion of North and Central America. With the advancing tide of European settlement across the continent, the coyote and its cousin, the wolf, were seen as a threat to livestock, crops, and human life, and were summarily persecuted, with bullets, traps, clubs, poison, and bad press. The wolf declined, and eventually required “re-introduction” to his old haunts. But the coyote increased, spreading his joyful song beyond the old possibilities, right into the noise of the urban world. 

What is Coyote's trickery? What is his wisdom? How has he outwitted death? A keen adaptability isn't the only key to survival. Coyote has something more, much more. In many southwestern cultures Coyote is supreme over the wolf, some describing the wolf as a “big coyote,” instead of coyote as a little wolf. Coyote's adaptability, ingenuity, and intelligence are renowned and celebrated, not just among modern biologists, but throughout prehistory. His ability to endure is unparalleled. Yet this alone didn't make Coyote sacred. His engaging personality, comic playfulness, exuberant celebration, boundless joy, and extraordinary cunning marked him as something from the spirit world.

Many primordial tribal tales provide a glimpse of Coyote's mystical power. In most, Coyote isn't merely a wild dog, but divine, an immortal spirit that brought his universal magic and good medicine to the First People. The Crow tribe describes him as the Creator of the world and all it holds, the First Artist, the First Worker.

Coyote brought the gift of storytelling and music to some. He stole fire and gave it to the Apaches. He licked the wounds of dying Kiowa warriors and healed them. He lay beside beautiful women and made them pregnant. Called “God's Dog” by the Navaho, who see him as originator of death and bringer of dreams, Coyote is both trickster and wise counselor. When Fire God was placing stars in the sky, Coyote stole Fire God's pouch of stars, placed his own Coyote Star in the heavens and scattered all the rest. This Trickster can breathe sickness and dark sorcery into his victims, who then require the cleansing of the Coyote Way Ceremony. 

Coyote was a symbol or totem of the Hopi Coyote Clan and Water Coyote Clan.

The word coyote derives from the Nahuatl language of the Aztec: coyotl; and Mayan: koyotl. In the Aztec pantheon,Huehuecoyotl or Old Man Coyote (Huehue = old man), was an ancient and sacred shape. Perhaps scorn for him came from the influence of the first Spanish padres —a fear of his magic, of his ability to use darkness and windsong, and revulsion of his uninhibited sexual appetites. And howling at it all with unabashed delight. 

Such a god or spirit certainly would have rattled the piety of Spanish priests and given them reason to condemn the lusty Coyote to sulfur and brimstone.

Whatever started the censure, gradually the power and magic, the humor and wisdom, the music and unrestrained joy of Coyote was diminished. Today Coyote magic is spoken of as “evil,” perhaps due to centuries of European beliefs of “witchcraft.” The institutional Church of Rome painted anything “magic” with a demonized brush. There was to be no more healing of the sick or raising of the dead —that was “magic,” “evil,” the work of the dark spirits. If something seemed unnatural, it was condemned as witchery. Many tribal shamans were slain to stop their magic. In Europe, such healers and those who saw things before they happened or who communicated with the dead, were condemned as witches and tortured and burned and dismembered. For a very long time those in power have been destroying the shamans (witches, healers, magicians, whatever they label them) because their power is outside the realm of political control. The industrial revolution stuffed such creatures into the closet of fairytales or condemned them as madness and delusion. The churches made them a thing of sin. Yeshua, Jesus,The Christ, would have been burned at the stake for his powers had he come on the scene in 16th century Europe. Indeed, he was slain for the same reasons — he was a threat to those in power. Once condemned, he was reshaped into a buffoon, to be laughed at and mocked. His deep sorcery, inherited from the belly of the earth, became taboo, and Coyote staggered down the road as nothing more than a drunken reprobate. His supernatural power has been stripped away. He's just a bauble, or a pest, a poultry killer, a sheep eater, a creature despised. Eradication of his ilk has been a goal for more than a century. The going rate paid to bounty hunters for proof of death - a pair of coyote ears - has been $7.50, and sometimes as high as $20. Yet slaughter by air, by land, by poison; their bodies heaped up and photographed, their reviled carcasses hung to rot on fences, and their legs broken in traps, have all failed to silence the Song Dog. Years ago I saw a coyote without ears, resurrected, hunting, laughing at the one who robbed him. 

The more Coyote is persecuted, the more Coyote thrives. Once only a creature of the West, Coyote is now living coast to coast, in Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Alaska; from cities to wilderness, their dominion expanded because of something we failed to see: humans cannot destroy magic, cannot kill spirit. His song keeps him in communion with the Four Worlds - the earth, the sky, his mortal world, and the divine.

If we listen, he teaches us to do the same: not to lose touch with the Four Worlds. When we are in balance, then we can heal one another, trace our names in the stars, and teach peace to our children. Coyote has taught me how to keep a wild heart, whether in the darkness of a prison or the freedom of wilderness. He has taught me that at times I must walk in silence to stay alive, and other times I must celebrate with abandon. Wild is the unfettered landscape that is critical for human survival, but like Coyote, if I find myself surrounded by too much glass and steel, with hard pavement chafing my soul, I can rely on Earth to find me. 

 

Coyote has shown me that I can put myself in the presence of Being without fear. He has told me that Ancient Magic can't be destroyed. The stories can be silenced or made taboo. The creature can be recreated as something pious, or when that utterly fails, as in the case of Coyote, robbed of power by stripping it to the least dangerous elements — the laughter. But who's laughing?

Coyote has lost no power. He sings and laughs and celebrates Being every twilight. And my spirit is with him.

Coyote is restored to his ancient place among the stars. His image, with the Maasaw or a shaman, is traced on the kiva wall. He is honored for his magic, not feared; respected for his wisdom, not ridiculed. He is a symbol of expectation, of endurance, of a renewal and healing of Earth. He is a symbol of music, dance, exuberance and joy. Storytelling and poetry are his gifts. Coyote Kiva celebrates these gifts, celebrates life, and in celebration there is healing.

Coyote is a loyal and invinctible companion for those who dare to speak out against injustice, those who refuse to be silenced by lies, those who dare to heal, dare to dream a better world, those who are willing to call down lightning when it is needed. 

Written by Mossy Coyote and compiled by Samanta Vega

http://www.coyotekiva.org/coyote.html

Maternal lore

Igual como el astrónomo rezuma su pasión por las estrellas cuando habla, y su hijo sueña con construir su primer telescopio, que por cierto se afana con concienzuda y concentrada ilusión en construir en el garaje-taller de su casa; igual como el hijo de piloto planea desde bien chiquito subirse a su primer avión; así igual con la madre artista y su hija, y la alegría pura de ambas cuando la mujer regala a la niña su primer estuche de pinturas...

¿Me pregunto si acaso también el instinto maternal funciona así...?

Rumblewick quote

Two people must learn to deal with their differences before they can address their similarities.

Coyotes force dogs off some Golden Gate Park trails - Video

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=8617718
http://www.dogheirs.com/events/399

They're basically trying to preserve and protect their babies because it's pup season.  Mother coyotes are most likely defending a den of pups in the area. It's a natural behaviour.

The Return of Foxes to Golden Gate Park

The Return of The Furry Council hehe.. How is it possible so many good news all together? Auuuuh! It must be time for something... a change in the course of Life On Earth, I'm sure. And I do love that animals are taking the initiative (that's a lesson that human beings just cannot ignore) Hurra for them! Hope for all (you know that ones can teach if the others are willing to learn ;)

Source: http://sfcitizen.com/blog/2009/02/21/the-return-of-foxes-to-golden-gate-park/

and initially shared by Eva Vega Diaz. http://toughisnotenough.blogspot.com.es/

Coyotes in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Well... too touching! I'm moved to tears :') to see that people are getting tolerant of them... like they are of us! Have wild (and wise) animals decided to take a step forward and co-exist peacefully with humans...? <3

Source: http://richmondsfblog.com/2012/05/29/photos-coyote-pups-in-golden-gate-park/

            http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/coyote-sighting_n_1418908.html#s854414

and initially shared by Eva Vega Diaz. http://toughisnotenough.blogspot.com.es/

Germà Llop

Con mucho cariño, orgullo y honor, presento este poema... Awroooo! Aho, sister!

GERMÀ LLOP

Una barreja d’innocència i malícia enlluerna els teus ulls.

Camines indolent, com qui ja no té por als desenganys,

el silenci d’una existència confosa t’omple de recel.

T’ha fet fugisser de somnis la saviesa de tants anys?

Quin pecat vas cometre en un passat, vell amic?

Potser l’astúcia de la teva mirada fa mal...

potser la teva supèrbia innata amoïna la feblesa humana

Quina ha estat la causa, amic meu, de ta resignació fatal?

Sotmetent les ànimes més braves i el dimoni del silenci

un udol llastimós omple la foscor de la nit

i en la recerca de la Mare Natura que et desampara

amagues una nota de desconsol vers la fúria i el despit.

Tens la indòmita magnificiència de la llibertat,

et diuen llop i mai no t’han cridat amb tendresa,

perlen de tu però ni tan sols et coneixen,

diuen que véns de l’infern i ignoren ta noblesa

Amic meu, germà meu, pare meu,

mentre t’amagues en la immensitat del boscatge,

penses que el teu poble és víctima de la ira divina

que t’ha desterrat, per sempre, en un laberint salvatge.

Eva Vega Diaz, 16 anys