Post by bran_sinnach on Jan 5, 2007 19:40:56 GMT -5
Here is an excerpt from John Michael Greer's book "Monsters," in which he explains from a magicians point of view just what the shapeshifters we know as "werewolves" are and goes on to explain the relevance of some of the various myths surrounding them.
With werewolves and all other shapeshifters, as with many of the other important monsters of traditional lore, it’s clear that we’re considering a specific and consistent phenomenon. In the case of shapeshifting, the key to that phenomenon is to be found in the etheric level of being, and specifically what many magicians call the body of transformation.
Along with the material body, magical philosophy teaches that there are a series of other, subtler bodies: the etheric body, the astral body, the mental body, and the spiritual body. Under some conditions, the three higher bodies of a human being can either leave behind the two lower ones, traveling out of the body, or split the etheric body, leaving part in the physical body and using part as a vehicle for out of body travel. The first and more well known of these is called astral projection, the second is etheric projection.
In most cases of etheric projection, the etheric vehicle still retains the shape of the human body, just as it does after death. By certain techniques, though, the etheric vehicle can be reshaped into an animal form, and charged with etheric substance drawn from sources outside the body. If this is done in the right way, much of the animal’s power and perceptions will infuse the etheric vehicle as well.
The result is an animal body of transformation, an almost physical animal shape in which the shapeshifter can travel about at will. The lore of animal bodies of transformation can be found in many of the world’s surviving magical systems, since these etheric structures are a very useful part of the magician’s toolkit, for two main reasons.
First of all, because the animal body of transformation will have many of the characteristics of the animal on which it is modeled, those who take on such a body will have abilities and senses possessed by animals but not, under normal conditions, by human beings. A hawk’s exceptional sight, a wolf’s tireless pace, or a bear’s over-whelming strength can thus be drawn on by the shapeshifter who takes on the form of these animals.
Second, a properly constructed body of transformation is far more robust than the “body of light” used in astral projection and similar forms of out of body experience. Since it draws on etheric material from outside the shapeshifter’s own etheric body, it isn’t limited to the amount of etheric substance the shapeshifter can afford to divert from the work of keeping his or her physical body alive. The result is a far more intense (and far more useful) body of transformation, one that can accomplish many tasks that ordinary etheric or astral projection cannot.
To judge by the old lore, there are two different ways in which an animal body of transformation can be used. The first is a variant of etheric projection, used for a more robust variety of out of body experience. Using this method, the shapeshifter leaves his or her physical body in a state of deep trance, and formulates the animal body of transformation as a vehicle for the astral, mental, and spiritual parts of himself or herself. This is the easier and more common of the two methods.
In the second method, the shapeshifter formulates an animal body of transformation while remaining awake and active in his or her physical body. The body of transformation becomes a shell of etheric substance around the shapeshifter’s human form, adding many of its animal powers to the human capabilities of the shapeshifter. This is the method that was apparently used by most of the werewolves of the Middle Ages, and most of the Norse berserkers; it seems to be the only method that allows shapeshifters to cause direct physical injuries to people and animals, although some stories indicate this might have once been different.
Once the etheric basis of shapeshifting is understood, most of the puzzling features of the old lore make sense at once. For example, since the moon governs the etheric tides on Earth, and the full moon marks the peak of those tides, it’s not surprising that in many areas shapeshifters carry out their art when the moon is full. Etheric energies in the spiritus mundi or subtle body of the Earth are at their peak when the moon is full, and the task of formulating a body of transformation is much easier.
Magical teachings about the etheric body also make sense about the lore surround methods of wounding or killing werewolves. Dense etheric patterns are more or less invulnerable to most ordinary physical objects, but can be damaged by metals, especially highly conductive ones like silver. Since the shapeshifter’s own etheric body provides at least some of the substance of the body of transformation, and since the etheric body forms the framework on which the dense matter of the physical body is arranged, any damage to the animal form will be mirrored in the shapeshifter’s human body as well. This is known as repercussion among magicians, and forms one of the potential hazards of any sort of out of body experience.
More drastic results are caused by a conductive metal object that passes through the core of the body of transformation. If the shapeshifter is projecting the animal body at some distance from his or her physical body, the result is usually sudden death. The body of transformation implodes, and the shapeshifter-with no way to reconnect to the physical body- passes through the Second Death instantly.
If the shapeshifter is physically present with the body of transformation, on the other hand, the results are less immediately fatal, but the shapeshifter is likely to be pretty dazed from the etheric rebound, and is likely to slip into a life-threatening state of shock. Either way, the werewolf’s traditional dead of silver makes a great deal more sense in magical terms.
The classic European werewolf is not a common monster in the present age, and unless you spend time in isolated corners of Eastern Europe or in areas heavily settled by immigrants from Slavic countries, your chances of encountering one is fairly low. Matters are far different with the shapeshifting traditions that were here long before Columbus blundered his way to American shores. All through the western half of the continent, especially the southwest, shapeshifters of various kinds (typically referred to as skinwalkers) remain an active presence. If you live in the right part of the country, it’s not impossible that you may someday come across a shapeshifter.
Werewolves
With werewolves and all other shapeshifters, as with many of the other important monsters of traditional lore, it’s clear that we’re considering a specific and consistent phenomenon. In the case of shapeshifting, the key to that phenomenon is to be found in the etheric level of being, and specifically what many magicians call the body of transformation.
Along with the material body, magical philosophy teaches that there are a series of other, subtler bodies: the etheric body, the astral body, the mental body, and the spiritual body. Under some conditions, the three higher bodies of a human being can either leave behind the two lower ones, traveling out of the body, or split the etheric body, leaving part in the physical body and using part as a vehicle for out of body travel. The first and more well known of these is called astral projection, the second is etheric projection.
In most cases of etheric projection, the etheric vehicle still retains the shape of the human body, just as it does after death. By certain techniques, though, the etheric vehicle can be reshaped into an animal form, and charged with etheric substance drawn from sources outside the body. If this is done in the right way, much of the animal’s power and perceptions will infuse the etheric vehicle as well.
The result is an animal body of transformation, an almost physical animal shape in which the shapeshifter can travel about at will. The lore of animal bodies of transformation can be found in many of the world’s surviving magical systems, since these etheric structures are a very useful part of the magician’s toolkit, for two main reasons.
First of all, because the animal body of transformation will have many of the characteristics of the animal on which it is modeled, those who take on such a body will have abilities and senses possessed by animals but not, under normal conditions, by human beings. A hawk’s exceptional sight, a wolf’s tireless pace, or a bear’s over-whelming strength can thus be drawn on by the shapeshifter who takes on the form of these animals.
Second, a properly constructed body of transformation is far more robust than the “body of light” used in astral projection and similar forms of out of body experience. Since it draws on etheric material from outside the shapeshifter’s own etheric body, it isn’t limited to the amount of etheric substance the shapeshifter can afford to divert from the work of keeping his or her physical body alive. The result is a far more intense (and far more useful) body of transformation, one that can accomplish many tasks that ordinary etheric or astral projection cannot.
To judge by the old lore, there are two different ways in which an animal body of transformation can be used. The first is a variant of etheric projection, used for a more robust variety of out of body experience. Using this method, the shapeshifter leaves his or her physical body in a state of deep trance, and formulates the animal body of transformation as a vehicle for the astral, mental, and spiritual parts of himself or herself. This is the easier and more common of the two methods.
In the second method, the shapeshifter formulates an animal body of transformation while remaining awake and active in his or her physical body. The body of transformation becomes a shell of etheric substance around the shapeshifter’s human form, adding many of its animal powers to the human capabilities of the shapeshifter. This is the method that was apparently used by most of the werewolves of the Middle Ages, and most of the Norse berserkers; it seems to be the only method that allows shapeshifters to cause direct physical injuries to people and animals, although some stories indicate this might have once been different.
Once the etheric basis of shapeshifting is understood, most of the puzzling features of the old lore make sense at once. For example, since the moon governs the etheric tides on Earth, and the full moon marks the peak of those tides, it’s not surprising that in many areas shapeshifters carry out their art when the moon is full. Etheric energies in the spiritus mundi or subtle body of the Earth are at their peak when the moon is full, and the task of formulating a body of transformation is much easier.
Magical teachings about the etheric body also make sense about the lore surround methods of wounding or killing werewolves. Dense etheric patterns are more or less invulnerable to most ordinary physical objects, but can be damaged by metals, especially highly conductive ones like silver. Since the shapeshifter’s own etheric body provides at least some of the substance of the body of transformation, and since the etheric body forms the framework on which the dense matter of the physical body is arranged, any damage to the animal form will be mirrored in the shapeshifter’s human body as well. This is known as repercussion among magicians, and forms one of the potential hazards of any sort of out of body experience.
More drastic results are caused by a conductive metal object that passes through the core of the body of transformation. If the shapeshifter is projecting the animal body at some distance from his or her physical body, the result is usually sudden death. The body of transformation implodes, and the shapeshifter-with no way to reconnect to the physical body- passes through the Second Death instantly.
If the shapeshifter is physically present with the body of transformation, on the other hand, the results are less immediately fatal, but the shapeshifter is likely to be pretty dazed from the etheric rebound, and is likely to slip into a life-threatening state of shock. Either way, the werewolf’s traditional dead of silver makes a great deal more sense in magical terms.
The classic European werewolf is not a common monster in the present age, and unless you spend time in isolated corners of Eastern Europe or in areas heavily settled by immigrants from Slavic countries, your chances of encountering one is fairly low. Matters are far different with the shapeshifting traditions that were here long before Columbus blundered his way to American shores. All through the western half of the continent, especially the southwest, shapeshifters of various kinds (typically referred to as skinwalkers) remain an active presence. If you live in the right part of the country, it’s not impossible that you may someday come across a shapeshifter.