Animal Lore

They slept until the black raven, the blithe hearted proclaimed the joy of heaven– Beowulf European Lore Since ravens can be taught to speak, and have such a complex vocabulary of their own, they are connected symbolically to both wisdom and prophecy. But in...

Owls are one of the oldest species of vertebrate animal in existence, fossils have been found dating back 60 million years, showing the bird to have changed very little in that time. Throughout the history of mankind, the owl has featured significantly in mythology...

As the only poisonous snake in the British Isles the adder has a reputation for wisdom, reincarnation, and cunning. The amulets said to have been carried by the  druids, ‘gloine nathair’ (the glass of the serpent), were really adder stones. If you see...

(or Gessa, plur. for Geis) Singular: Geas(gaysh), plural: Gease(gaysha).Caesar said the goose was sacred to Celtic tribes and was not considered edible, because of her connection with the Sun-Egg. For similar reasons, medieval superstition forbade the killing of a...

In Celtic tradition spirits have been associated with springs and wells from the earliest times. In ancient Gaul the tutelary spirit was occasionally a god, such as Grannos or Borvo: more often the custodian of the healing spring was a fertility goddess, always...

Famed for its tenacity and courage, the badger has entered folklore as the most unyelding animal; significantly, badgerhead sporrans keep a Highlander’s loose change safe. The story of Gwawl and Rhiannon shows how an ancient game ‘Badger in the Bag’...

Animal lore explains the saying that children can be ‘licked into shape’. It was once believed that bear cubs were born formless and were literally licked into shape by their mother. Shakespeare knew of the belief, for in Henry VI the crippled Duke of Gloucester is...

In early traditions bees were believed to have originated in paradise and were known as “little servants of Gods”. In Celtic lore bees have a secret wisdom derived from the Otherworld. It was considered bad luck to kill one. In Wales a bee buzzing around a...

‘Crow’ really means a family of closely related carrion-eating birds including the rook, raven, and carrion crow. One of the Goddess’s archaic forms, the crone Coronis, was a ‘crow’ who was transformed into the virgin mother of the...

Cuckoos were thought to bring fine weather, although in Yorkshire it was said to be a sign of rain if they called repeatedly. They also brought good luck or bad luck, depending on what the hearer was doing on hearing the first call of the season. In Wales, it was...