The Magic World!

Unsurprisingly, I have a fantastic book by JUDIKA ILLES entitled The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the entire magic world! (can be purcahsed on http://www.amazon.co.uk/ for around £12.00). This is the kind of book that you sit down with on a lazy Sunday afternoon and browse through because it is full of interesting and quirkly little nodules of information. One such piece I found only last night when I was busy 'browsing' my copy of the book. Under the heading of 'Animals' I found a rather interesting ditty regarding "... obtaining a fox familiar" anyone who knows anything about witchcraft knows about witches have animals as their familiars. This was actually written down in a text in the 17th Century according to Judika's research for the book and this is what it says...

Izuna Rite: to obtain a fox familiar:

1. Find a pregnant fox.

2. Feed her, care for her, form an alliance with her during her pregnancy but especially afterwards when she is needy and vulnerable.

3. YOU CANNOT TAKE A CUB, NO MATTER WHAT. When the cubs are sufficiently grown, the mother will bring you one and tell you to name it.

4. Name the fox but the name secret. Henceforth, if you cal lthe name, the fox will come to you in invisible form. No one else will be able to see the fox, only you. Nothing is ever hidden, however, so be prepared for others to attribute supernatural powers to you!

As I say, Judika's book is full of pieces such as this and is truly fascinating! For more information about her books and all about Judika check out her fantastic web site at http://www.judikailles.com