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Common Animal Associations in Witchcraft

Ants - Patience, stamina, planning, perseverance, organization, self-discipline, teamwork, energy, and patience.

Bats - Rebirth, accessing past lives, new ideas, transition, initiation, changes for the better, moon magic, understanding grief, and the ability to observe unseen.

Bears - Introspection, healing and inner knowledge, wisdom, defense, revenge, change, death and rebirth, communication with spirit, solitude, power, mother cunning, healer, gentle strength, transformation, astral travel, strength, unconscious mind, grounding, inner energy of the soul, earth magic, and facing fears.

Beavers - Building, gathering, persistence, shaping, and structure. Bees - Female warrior energy, reincarnation, communication with the dead, service, gathering, community, connection to the Goddess Diana, helping earth-bound spirits move on to their proper place, concentration, and prosperity.

Birds - Associated with death and transitions, unity, freedom, and individuality.

Butterflies/Caterpillars - Transformation, reincarnation, balance, grace.

Cats - Wholeness, guardians, independence, seeing the unseen, cleverness, a balancing of energies, moon magic, mystic powers, grace, understanding mystery, cleansing, and purification.

Chickens - Power of voice, language, seeking answers, sunrise magick, Protection of family and community, Hearing your inner voice.

Chipmunks - Gathering, mobility, frugal living, and the ability to see both light and shadow.

Cows - Economy, connection to the earth, wealth and prosperity, and patience.

Deer - Gentleness, body awareness, kindness, gracefulness, sensitivity, peace, unconditional love, alertness, recognition of outside influences, innocence and earth magic.

Dogs - Family, wisdom, loyalty, protection, companionship, faithfulness, warnings, and earth and moon magic.

Donkeys - Stubbornness, ability to make decisions, intuition.

Ducks - Water energy and logic.

Elks - Stamina, strength, pride, power, majesty, agility, freedom, and nobility.

Ferrets - Information, seeing truth behind the facade.

Fish - Abundance, fertility, children, harmony, regeneration, love, and mind/emotion balance.

Foxes - Elusiveness, cleverness, feminine courage, subtlety, discretion, agility, cunning, slyness, fire magic, and intelligence.

Frogs - Healing, transformation, cleansing, understanding emotions, and connection with water element.

Goats - Independence, confidence, tenacity, diligence, flexibility, healing and sun magic, abundance, and agility.

Horses - Power, stability and courage, Astral travel, protection, freedom, power, travel, and earth and moon magic.

Mice - Scrutiny, innocence, faith, trust, shyness, quietness, details, and earth magic.

Owls - Deception, wisdom, truth, patience, insight, darkness, and air magic.

Pigs - Truth, earth magick, past life knowledge, intelligence, and cunning.

Rabbits - Fear, faith, alertness, nurturing, conquering fear, safety, innocence, fertility, movement, sensitivity, luck, and moon magic.

Rats - Abundant reproduction, shrewdness, adaptability, success, social, restlessness, earth magic, stealth, and defense.

Sheep - Balance, confidence, fertility, courage, new beginnings, abundance, and assurance.

Snails - Perseverance and Determination.

Snakes - Transmutation, primitive or elemental energy, power, sexual potency. sensuality, shrewdness, and transformation.

Spiders - Shape-shifting, wisdom, creativity, divine inspiration, fate, illusion, feminine energy, and industry.

Squirrels - Discovery, change, trust, resourcefulness, balance in giving and receiving, awareness, sociability, playfulness, preparation, activity, energy, and earth magic.

Wolves - Wisdom, protection, shadow work, guidance, instinct, intelligence, success, perseverance, stability, loyalty, independence, spirit, freedom, guardianship, and earth and moon magic.

afaerytalelife

Medieval Candle-Making Most early Western cultures relied primarily on candles rendered from the animal fat (tallow) of sheep and cows, which produced a particularly foul odour and smoky flame when burned. However, a major improvement came in the Medieval era when beeswax candles were introduced by the monks of monasteries all over Europe. Tending to their honeybees in orchards, they had the resourceful idea to turn all of that beeswax into sweet-smelling, cleanly-burning candles. As a result, they became widely used for church ceremonies, but because they were expensive, few individuals other than the wealthy could afford to burn them in the home. Thus, by the 13th century, candle-making had become a guild craft all over England and France. Candle-makers, known as chandlers, would travel door-to-door and make candles from fats saved from the kitchen or else sell their own candles from within their shops. The trade of the chandler is also recorded by the more picturesque name of “smeremongere,” since they oversaw the manufacture of sauces, vinegar, soap, and cheese. Candle-making could be a painstaking, messy process so many chandlers plied their craft outdoors. To create a candle they would cut the wick, a length of wool string, to the length they wished the candle to be plus four inches. They would then tie the wick to a stick and balance it across two surfaces so it could hang down over a wax pot. Using a ladle, a chandler would dip melted beeswax (or animal fat) out of a melting pot and pour the wax down the sides of the wick, coating it entirely. Then, they would allow the wax to cool slightly before repeating the process until the candle was the desired diameter. While still warm, the candle could be manipulated with the hands to create a pleasing tapered shape. Once satisfied, the candles were hung by the wick and left to harden in the sun where it faded naturally in colour.