Animal Superstitions in Relation to Witches
From the book: The Enchanted World of Witches
A Soft-footed servant:
In ways both physical and behavioral, the hare was a natural ally of witches: Hares are swift and agile, able to stand on their hind legs like a person, prone to gathering in parliament-like groups, orgiastically mad in the spring, wantonly destructive of crops and possessed of a most unbeastlike cry. Some witches traveled in the shapes of hares; others had hare familiars-demonic servants in disguise.
Given the association of hares with witchcraft and magic, it is not surprising that superstition surrounded them. It was said, for example, that the sight of a hare running down a village street presaged fire and that the appearance of a white hare in a mine would be followed by a fatal accident. A hare who crossed a persons path would bring bad luck. And the very word "hare" could not be mentioned at sea, so great was the fear of the animals power.
Curiosity enough, possession of a hares-foot brought luck. This belief arose not from the hares traffic with witches but from the much more ancient associations: The hare is a notably prolific creature, and it's foot was long a sexual symbol.
A Silent Spy:
Spinner of webs, an archtrickster, and a silent and murderous trapper, the spider was tiny enough to hide in the hood of a witches cloak as a familiar and whisper instruction in her ear.
Ordinary folk said that to dream of a spider ment betrayal. To see one in the morning brought bad luck, and to kill one summoned rain. The sight of spiders terrified wedding parties because the creatures were omens of unhappy marriage. And in Switzerland it was said that the plague, with it's black sores, was spread by malevolent spiders traveling in secret from house to house.
A raucous-voiced herald:
Sooty-feathered and harsh of voice, the crow was a fit familiar to witches, prized for it's ability to fly and spy. Villagers feared this carrion eater, for it was a messenger of mortality. A fluttering crow around the window or one that flew thrice over the roof, meant Death was on it's way. Simply to see the bird flying alone could bring bad luck, and crows rising in a flock from a wood sometimes presaged famine.
A pair of sinuous helpers:
Anciently inimical to each other, the serpent and the cat were favorites of witches. The serpent seems to have played a familiar role: While it could serve as a familiar, it was chiefly valued for it's fearful aspect and it's link to Satan-useful in repelling the curious, who might interfere with a witch's business. To dream of a serpent signified that someone has a grudge against the dreamer.
The cat, on the other hand, was surrounded by speculation. It's pupils-narrow slits in the daytime and luminous black globes at night-linked it to the moon and emphasized it's power to see into the future. Cats were said to suck the breath from infants at night. And cats forecast the weather: When they scampered and cavorted, wind was on it's way; when they washed their ears; rain was coming; when they sat with their backs to the fire, they awaited frost and storms.
Except in northern England, where it was thought lucky to own a black cat, (but unlucky to meet a strange one), black cats were the most common embodiments of Satan. As for cats that served as familiars-rather than as transformations of the witches themselves-they were usually brindled.
Belled and beribboned dancers:
Ugly and venemous though it was, the toad seems to have been among the most cherished of witch familiars: The creatures were dressed in velvet by their mistresses, ornamented with bells and encouraged to dance.
Common folk both feared and valued them. Toads were burned because the horns on their foreheads marked them as agents of Satan and because witches used toad spittle to concoct ointments that conferred invisibility. On the other hand, toads were admired for their ability to hear distant thunder long before the human ear could catch it, the sight of the little creatures making their way to safe water provided a reliable indicator of approaching storms. And very elderly toads-rarely glimpsed-carried precious jewels in their heads, effective antidotes to poison
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