Animals are used in magic as scavengers of astral fluid. Many sorceries were based on the animation obtained from an astral body of a frog. They used parts of animals and birds in their potions. In antiquity, ancient prophets offered animal sacrifices to God, in Candomblé, in some African cults this form of animal energy is still used. In New Age rituals and ceremonies, the energy of animals is accessed through meditation, visualization, totemic image, with no need for sacrifice.
Animal symbology is strongly present in the oracles. In astrology, the word Zodiac itself means The Wheel or Path of Animals. Aries, or ram, is the impulse, the beginning, corresponds to activity, the search for individual identity Taurus stability and the search for value and meaning Gemini, although he is not an animal figure, is also represented by Rômulo and Remo, fed by a she-wolf. Mercury, which carries the caduceus on which two Winged Serpents rise and also wings on the ankles, versatility and the search for variety. Cancer, the crab, devotion and emotion, the source of feeling, of the Primordial Mother. Leo the magnetism, vitality, the search for the Virgin being and wholeness, associated with the Unicorn, and also a Mermaid, an Angel or Demeter, Diana, the goddess of animals, practicality, the search for analysis. Libra, also associated, in esoteric astrology with the goddess Hathor, lived in the form of a lioness (or cow), harmony, the search for a soul mate. Scorpio, also associated with the eagle and the snake, the Intensity, the search for transformation. Sagittarius, the centaur, the integration of animal and human nature, visualization and the search for wisdom. Capricorn, the kid, the ambition, the pursuit of goals. Aquarius, its double sign glyph, represents, two horizontal snakes, or ouroborus, the snake that bites its own tail, the imagination and the search of the community. Pisces, understanding and the search for peace.
Some mystics believe that Moses lived in the Age of Aries, with its set of symbols, of which the ram was one, and before that the Age of Taurus, whose greatest symbol was the animal itself. Which would explain the descent of Moses furious with the people who worshiped a calf. Moses was represented with two burning brambles on his forehead (the ram?). This passage, according to some mystics, archetypically marks the transition from the Age of Taurus to the Age of Aries.
In Chinese astrology, all signs are animals, the rat, the ox, the tiger, the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, the boar. The sign is determined by the year of birth. It is said that in a certain Chinese New Year, Buddha invited all the animals of Creation to participate in a race. The winner would have a reward. The rat won all over, because it came mounted on the head of a buffalo, reaching first at the feet of Buddha. To thank all the animals, Buddha offered each one a year.
In Vedic astrology Mesha (goat), Vrishabha (bull), Mithuna (twins), Kataka (crab), Simha (lion, Kanya (virgin), Tula (libra), Vrischka (scorpion), Dhanus (sagittarius), Makara (head) deer and crocodile body), Kumbha (aquarium), Meena (fish)
The Aztec calendar has the Vulture, Eagle, Rabbit, Dog, Crocodile, Jaguar, Deer, Snake, Monkey, Lizard. * In * runes * animal symbols appear with Feoh, cattle; Ur, bison; Hey, moose, Eoh, horse.
In Kabbalah there are the Paths that go to Heaven (Tree of Life). Each path is symbolized by an animal. The first group of paths are called Personality Paths and the animal symbols are: the crocodile, the dolphin, the lion, the hawk, the peacock, the bear and the wolf. On the Path of Individuality or Higher Self there are: the horse and the dog, the goat and the donkey, the scorpion and the wolf. On the Adept's Path: the elephant, rhino, lion, eagle and scorpion. In the Paths of the Spirit: the dog, beaver, sheep and owl, the crab and the turtle, the bull. In the Paths of Divinity: the sparrow, the pigeon and the swan, the swallow and the monkey, the eagle and the man. These are the twenty-two roads that correspond to the major arcana.
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n the classic Tarot cards, a shield with an eagle, symbol of his authority, and also spirituality can be found in the Empress. The emperor also has a shield with an eagle with open wings. In the cart the two horses pulling in different directions, represent the union of the positive and the negative. The Wheel of Fortune has a monkey going down the left side, and a creature going up the right (there are chains that claim to be Typhon or Griffin, a monster from Greek mythology), representing the everlasting movement of the ever-changing universe and the flow of human life. ; above a sphinx perched on top of the wheel with lion's claws holding a sword, seeks to maintain balance. The Force card shows a woman holding a lion by the mouth, suggesting the victory of softness over strength, control over temptations. The bird in the Star card is the sacred Ibis of thought, evidencing a new life, a new promise. In the Moon card dogs attract man's attention, while the treacherous crayfish is ready to deceive. In the world, in the four corners of the letter, the four angelic animals of the apocalypse, a man or angel, an eagle, a bull and a lion, suggesting the four elements water, air, earth and fire, which balance to form the basis of life on earth and the formation of each day.
In the Egyptian tarot the symbology remains very similar, differentiating with richer symbology in the minor arcana.
In the part of the Book According to the Material, from the translation of * Richard Wilhelm * to the I Ching, the Book of Changes, he refers to the eight trigrams and the symbolic animals: The Creative (Heaven) acts on the horse, which runs fast and tirelessly ; the Receptive (Earth) in the cow, in its meekness; o To incite (Thunder) to the dragon, that bursting from the depths ascends to the sky in storms; the Softness (Wind) in the cock, guardian of time, whose song cuts the silence and spreads like the wind; the Abysmal (Water) in the pig, which lives in mud and water; o Adhere (Fire) to the phoenix, Clarity, originally had the image of a fire bird; the Quietude (Mountain) in the dog, the faithful guardian, and the Joy (Lake) in the sheep, considered as the animal of the west (I did not find any major references), located in the sequence of the Posterior Sky. It also brings the comment in the History of Civilization: When in the most remote Antiquity Fu Hsi ruled the world, he looked up and contemplated the phenomena in Heaven and Earth and understood the laws of the Universe. On earth, he observed the signs of birds and animals, and their adaptation to the regions. He proceeded directly from himself, and indirectly from things. He represented everything he observed and understood in the eight trigrams, to get in touch with the virtues of the luminous gods and to organize the conditions of all beings. My I Ching teacher, Maria Olga Nogueira, (I consider her my I Ching Mother), is a Jungian psychologist who has studied the oracle for over thirty years, who has taught me to understand hexagrams and make many decisions. She does not usually use animal symbolism in the interpretation, not least because hexagrams are not related to just one animal. Looking at the additional symbolisms, there are new descriptions of animals for the trigrams, as well as different aspects of the same animal for several hexagrams. It uses animal symbolism when it is part of the hexagram text. Ichinologist Ion de Freitas prefers to talk about the animals mentioned in the lines. The attribution of animals (and why) is much clearer on the lines than on the trigrams. In addition to being less controversial. For example, the case of the dragon associated with the Thunder, but it is actually the Thunder that is being associated with the dragon. The dragon is actually associated with Heaven and Yang (see hexagram 1, especially the line texts), and is only related to thunder because the Thunder trigram represents “Yang in motion” - because for the Chinese, thunder - as the dragon - is born underground and rises towards the heavens. Ion concludes that presenting the animals of the lines is much easier, because the reason and the sense of the associations is much more visible in the texts. Hexagram 10 The Conduct / Judgment: The Conduct Tracking the cause of the tiger. It does not bite the man ... Success. In antiquity, the method of oracular consultation was done with turtle shells, until it was replaced by rods.
Léo Artese mysteries, the god is Corniferous, the god of the forest, presented with the horns of a moose, representing the untamed nature of all that is free. In the agricultural community, he was represented with goat horns, like the God Pan. In ancient times it was known as the Horned. He was also associated with the cults of Dionysus and as a bull-horned god. The use of bull horns and the presence of snakes are associated with Dionysus and his connection with lunar rites. Druids were also associated with the Celtic Cornish god Cernunnos. The importance of the Corniferous god was his power over the animal kingdom, as well as wildlife. He was also called The Master of Animals. The Great Wiccan Mother Goddess, who is the strongest of the variations of the goddess (associated with the phases of the moon) that is when the Moon is full, has in one of its titles the Lady of the Beasts. In many tales of witchcraft and fairy tales, the power of transformation in animals, such as the wolf or crow, is described. The truth is that there has always been an affinity between animals and practitioners of magical arts. In the Middle Ages wizards personified the wolf on the Sabbath, and witches adorned themselves with strips of wolf skin.
In a part of Europe it was believed that the wolf was the wizards' mount, and that the witches were transformed into wolves.
Some legends say that wolf leather has healing power and protection against disease. Wolf fur placed on a boat for protection against fire. Possibly the werewolf originated in the Egyptian and Greek cults to the wolf gods.
Siberian hunters used bear paws and claws as protection against evil spirits and for healing. They were also used behind the door, near cribs. Witches looked deeply into the cobwebs, like a meditation mandala. Magicians say that when we have animals at home, we create psychic links with them. Their movements can portend events, the keen sense, for example, perceives the approach of strangers.
In magic the cat is associated with sacred rites, superstition. It was a sacred animal in India. In Egypt the cat was considered to have oracle powers. The goddess Bast was represented with the body of a woman and the head of a cat. Black cats play an important role in witchcraft. According to the belief he was endowed with nine lives.
The black hen, like the black dog, were animals associated with witchcraft. In candomblé traditions, it is customary to use them in many rituals, as well as goats and sheep. The cock was linked to occult ceremonies, it was a bird consecrated to Asclepius. According to the magician Eliphas Levi, the bull, the dog and the goat are the three animals symbolic of hermetic magic.
In Alaska, whale bones were used to protect sacred spaces. Tibetans placed a ram's skull on the door of their homes to keep out evil spirits, who vented their wrath on him, freeing residents. In Scotland the black sheep's shoulder blade was shaved for divinatory purposes and magical rituals. Many enchantments are attributed to the horseshoe, from protection for houses, to enchantments for impotence. The horseshoe, beliefs say, brings luck when it is turned up and bad luck when turned down. Its crescent moon shape, combines with the protection of lunar goddesses, against spells and witchcraft, in addition to absorbing the evil eye.
In shamanism, the drum is considered the horse that leads us to ecstatic journeys. For some people, horses have clairvoyant powers, as they stop and resist the rider's command when they feel negative energies. The elephant was given the power to grant wishes and bring peace and prosperity, a belief that is still preserved today through ivory amulets, images of elephants, tails, etc. In Thailand, to be lucky in childbirth, a woman must pass under an elephant three times.
In India the god Ganesha, when invoked brings good luck, opens the way and overcomes obstacles. Some Ganesha mantras:Om Ganadhipataye NamahOm Sri Ganeshaya Namah (to get out of difficulties)
Om Sri Gam (bija) The Ganesha Mantra is a prosperity mantra, which must be chanted daily in the morning, before doing anything.
Removing obstacles from ordinary life and profession: Om ganadhipataye namahGhana nayakaya namahVakratndaya namahMohodaraya namah Gaja vakraya namahLambodaraya namahVikataya namahDhumra varnaya namahCanakridaya namah
Samael Aun Weor, from Gnosis, in his Basic Course in White Magic, translates the Conjuration of the Four, which are partially done in Latin:
Head of the dead, the Lord reigns over you by the living and devout serpent. Cherub rule the Lord over you by Adam and Eve. Wandering eagle rule the Lord over you by the wings of the bull. Serpent reigns over you Lord Tetragrammaton by the Angel and the lion. Perfume flow through the spirit of the Elohim. Let the earth remain for Adam and Eve. Let the firmament be made by Jeovah Sabaot. Judgment by fire is made on the virtue of Mikael. Samael mentions that among the symbols of High Science are the lion and the serpent. The Science of Fire was, and still is, the Great Arcanum of the Magi. Old illustrations show men dominating lions and holding snakes. The lion always represents the celestial fire, while the snakes represent the electric and magnetic currents of the Earth (and of man).