Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

258 Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard

He lowered his head and pawed the ground in chal-

lenge, so I did exactly the same back. We shook our

antlers at each other, and made a few feints; he totally

considered me to be another stag! But when I stood up,

that was too much for him, and he ran off. Later, he and

Kira did mate and had their own little fawn, which she

brought home to us, to meet its “grandparents.”

Borrowing

She Borrowed... You could ride the minds of

animals and birds,...steering them gently, seeing

through their eyes. Granny Weatherwax had many

times flicked through the channels of conscious-

ness around her. It was, to her, part of the heart

of witchcraft. To see through other eyes...

...through the eyes of gnats, seeing the slow

patterns of time in the fast pattern of one day,

their minds traveling rapidly as lightning...

...to listen with the body of a beetle, so that the

world is a three-dimensional pattern of vibrations...

...to see with the nose of a dog, all smells now

colors...

But there was a price. No one asked you to

pay it, but the very absence of demand was a moral

obligation. You tended not to swat. You dug lightly.

You fed the dog. You paid. You cared; not because

it was kind or good, but because it was right. You

left nothing but memories, you took nothing but

experience.

—Terry Pratchett (Lords and Ladies, p. 52)

Borrowing is the art of dreamwalking into the mind

of an animal, so you can feel what it feels and look out

through its eyes. This is the most powerful kind of

shapeshifting—a skill acquired only by a few, and only

with much practice. When you are borrowing, you go

into a deep meditative trance, leaving your body com-

pletely unconscious, allowing yourself to awaken

within your chosen host. Borrowing is the ultimate

experience you can have with a deeply bonded famil-

iar, riding in the back of their mind as they go out on

their forays. But there can be a danger in borrowing

too long and too often—you may forget how to return

to your human self! Never go deeply into this kind of

trance without magically guarding your physical body—

even arranging with someone for a “wake-up” call.

Calling

Before attempting borrowing, you should learn

calling—bringing an animal to you. An easy way to

start, of course, is with your own pets and familiars.

Learn to call them not just by your names for them,

but also by the kinds of sounds they make. The basic

calling sounds for most animals are those that moth-

ers and babies make to each other when they are sepa-

rated. Learn to imitate these so well that your animals

will respond back with the same sound. If you watch

enough animal documentaries on TV or spend enough

time out in the woods, you will hear such calls. You

can also check out animal sound recordings from your

library. And there are special calling devices available

for some birds, such as ducks, geese, and turkeys.

When calling animals, however, it is not enough

just to make the right sound. For many creatures, body

language is more important than sounds. This is the

secret of “horse whispering.” Animals with any psy-

chic sensitivity also respond to projected mental im-

ages and emotions. Envision their favorite food, or

others of their own kind—such as mates, babies, herds,

flocks, etc. Call butterflies, for instance, by envision-

ing flowers. And always think warm, loving, welcom-

ing, comforting thoughts to all animals.

Lesson 5: The Natural Bestiary

The medieval bestiaries treated all animals as allegories,

or moral lessons to be learned. Here I would like to offer

a modern bestiary of a few natural animals (mythical

beastes will be covered in 7.4).

Bear

Bear wants nothing more from oth-

ers than to be left alone. When Winter

brings cold snow to cover the ground, Bear

hibernates, her fat built up through the Sum-

mer, so she needn’t eat for four months. In

the womb of her cave, Bear dwells in the

Dreaming, while her babies are born and

nurse as she sleeps. In the Spring, she is reborn, bring-

ing new life out into the world with her awakening.

Bear is the best mother and protector, teaching us

strength and courage. Native Americans consid-

ered Bear to be like a human in a fur coat.

Coyote

Coyote is the great Trickster. His

greatest pleasure is in outsmarting

others, laughing at them as he pulls it

off. But he tricks himself as often as others and con-

tinually falls into his own traps, never learning the

lesson—unlike any of us! Coyote is one of the few wild

animals who, in spite of trapping, is increasing his range.

Flutterby (Butterfly)

Because Flutterby metamorphoses

(transforms) from caterpiggle through pupa

into an exquisite petalwinged flying flower,

people throughout the world have associated

her with the Soul, which springs forth from the

cocoon-like mummy or shrouded corpse. Indeed, the

Greek word psyche, meaning “soul,” is also their word

for Butterfly, and the name of a goddess who was be-

loved of Eros, the god of Love. In China the Butterfly is

the emblem of a happy marriage, and everywhere she

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