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reviewthatFolklore: The Fox
Location: Various
Classification: Trickster
While reading a book on fairy tales, I came across a reference to foxes being associated with witches, and the idea fascinated me. So, I got curious as to how foxes are seen in various cultures around the world.
It would seem that in the folklore in Japan, witches can be put into two categories: those who use snakes as familiars, and those who use foxes as familiars (with those who use foxes being the more representative). And those who use foxes as familiars, they can also be broken into two categories: those who are solitary witches and gain the fox's help after bribing it with its most favorite things to eat, and those who promise daily care and regular food for help with magic. In this country's folklore, foxes are typically seen as trickster figures who can change their shape (along with having powers of possession of humans and illusion), but they also can be either helpful or harmful to people at large. In the instances where they are considered to be harmful, they are often seen as trying to trap men by disguising themselves as beautiful women.
What is also interesting is that there are those whose power as witches comes from their family, as though it were somehow attached to their DNA. In these instances, families of witches would have several foxes helping them, and these animals would be passed down through the family (from mother to daughter). Like the foxes that help those who are solitary witches, these animals have much the same powers. In addition to that, if they are treated well, they will bring fortune and prosperity to the families that they are employed by.
But foxes also seem to be tricksters in other cultures as well. In Greece, the Teumessian fox was a giant fox who was one of the children of Echidna (who is the mother of all monsters), and it was said that he would never get caught. But his end came when he figured out how to catch the dog Laelaps, who was a magical dog that was supposed to be able to catch everything that he was sent after. When Zeus had these two creatures put before him with their contradicting abilities (where one could never get caught, and the other could catch everything he was sent after), Zeus decided that he would turn the two of them into stone and turn them into stars.
In various other cultures in Europe (like Holland, France, England and Germany), there are stories of an anthropomorphic red fox known as Reynard Fox. He is typically seen as a trickster figure, and it seems that in the stories that revolve around him within medieval Europe, he spends a lot of time trying to get revenge on enemies, or getting people back for perceived wrongs. But along the way, he seems to have been coopted by the Catholic Church and used as a vehicle for propaganda against the Lollardy.
In Native American traditions, he is often seen in the company of Coyote (who, like Fox and Raven are often considered to be tricksters). But while both Coyote and Fox are seen as tricksters, Coyote is at least seems to be seen as being the more honest of the two. In the Achomawi creation myth, Fox has such an important role, he helps Coyote create the world (which would seem to signify that the two are highly regarded).
So, it would seem that pretty much wherever you go, the fox has a standard role of overturning the applecart (as it were), and this is ok by me. As far as I see it, trickster figures are more important than most people seem to give them credit for. They help us question what we believe as human beings and as cultures, and possibly become better for it.
Location: Various
Classification: Trickster
While reading a book on fairy tales, I came across a reference to foxes being associated with witches, and the idea fascinated me. So, I got curious as to how foxes are seen in various cultures around the world.
It would seem that in the folklore in Japan, witches can be put into two categories: those who use snakes as familiars, and those who use foxes as familiars (with those who use foxes being the more representative). And those who use foxes as familiars, they can also be broken into two categories: those who are solitary witches and gain the fox's help after bribing it with its most favorite things to eat, and those who promise daily care and regular food for help with magic. In this country's folklore, foxes are typically seen as trickster figures who can change their shape (along with having powers of possession of humans and illusion), but they also can be either helpful or harmful to people at large. In the instances where they are considered to be harmful, they are often seen as trying to trap men by disguising themselves as beautiful women.
What is also interesting is that there are those whose power as witches comes from their family, as though it were somehow attached to their DNA. In these instances, families of witches would have several foxes helping them, and these animals would be passed down through the family (from mother to daughter). Like the foxes that help those who are solitary witches, these animals have much the same powers. In addition to that, if they are treated well, they will bring fortune and prosperity to the families that they are employed by.
But foxes also seem to be tricksters in other cultures as well. In Greece, the Teumessian fox was a giant fox who was one of the children of Echidna (who is the mother of all monsters), and it was said that he would never get caught. But his end came when he figured out how to catch the dog Laelaps, who was a magical dog that was supposed to be able to catch everything that he was sent after. When Zeus had these two creatures put before him with their contradicting abilities (where one could never get caught, and the other could catch everything he was sent after), Zeus decided that he would turn the two of them into stone and turn them into stars.
In various other cultures in Europe (like Holland, France, England and Germany), there are stories of an anthropomorphic red fox known as Reynard Fox. He is typically seen as a trickster figure, and it seems that in the stories that revolve around him within medieval Europe, he spends a lot of time trying to get revenge on enemies, or getting people back for perceived wrongs. But along the way, he seems to have been coopted by the Catholic Church and used as a vehicle for propaganda against the Lollardy.
In Native American traditions, he is often seen in the company of Coyote (who, like Fox and Raven are often considered to be tricksters). But while both Coyote and Fox are seen as tricksters, Coyote is at least seems to be seen as being the more honest of the two. In the Achomawi creation myth, Fox has such an important role, he helps Coyote create the world (which would seem to signify that the two are highly regarded).
So, it would seem that pretty much wherever you go, the fox has a standard role of overturning the applecart (as it were), and this is ok by me. As far as I see it, trickster figures are more important than most people seem to give them credit for. They help us question what we believe as human beings and as cultures, and possibly become better for it.
