There are individual exceptions either way; but for an animal to be magical or not, doesn't correlate with whether that beast is good or not.
While magic (as such) is A Good Thing in the sense of being better than life lived at a mundane, everyday, non-experiential and alienated fashion - there is plenty of magic in the world that is malign in intent and/or effect.
Nonetheless, some kinds of animal are magical, while others are not - and this helps explain people's attitudes to them.
It can work positively or negatively, for some people like and seek magical experience; while others hate, fear, and avoid it.
So we can start by stating that cats are magical creatures, but dogs are not - and this has much to do with the well-known pattern of human types that are often divided between cat or dog lovers.
Sheep and especially goats are magical; but cows are not - and neither are pigs (despite that oracular pigs feature in The Mabinogion!).
Owls are magical - and so are corvids (especially ravens and magpies), swallows and swifts; but pigeons are not, neither are most songbirds, nor are ducks.
Bears are magical, and so are hares, badgers, red squirrels, and moles; but shrews, mice and rates are not magical.
And so on. Discuss among yourselves.
16 comments:
Just before my father's funeral, my mother and I were waiting outside the church (St Mary & St Andrew, Whittlesford): the rest of the mourners were inside and we were waiting for the hearse to arrive. We heard a crashing noise coming from one corner of the churchyard, very quickly followed by a roe deer at full speed, running straight towards us. Had I been quick enough, I could have touched it as it passed.
We both saw it, so it was real. And from the start we talked about it being my father making an appearance for us. It was only when I read your (fairly) recent post about apparently-material things/experiences not necessarily being what they seem that I began to wonder whether the deer itself was real, or 'real'.
i think you're wrong about pigeons. they are just doves (highly spiritual and magical birds) that bear the stains of humanity. their magical nature was known before, which is why they were chosen to carry messages. and then their magic traded for the lower magic of machines. they are also probably the only reason major cities (and the rest of the civilized world with them) have not collapsed.
Bruce, can you please expand on the part of "well known pattern of human types", in relation to cat and dog lovers? I have heard of your thoughts on animals, but haven't read or heard to much on "human types".
For dogs, Irish wolfhounds are magical.
And for pigeons, the racing pigeons of the old urban working class were magical.
And for cows, the Swiss mountain cows that the Swiss deck with flowers in their festivals are holy/sacred but yes not magical.
I agree, especially about magpies. Dogs seem sensitive to a great deal, including magic, but are a little too stolid to be themselves magical; whereas cats, as night prowlers, cross all kinds of boundaries. Interesting about cows: they are of course resolutely unmagical but skinwalker style phenomena often take place close to cattle, friend of mine in Wales lives close to a field of cows, he has seen an unnaturally large doglike creature jump weirdly high over his wall, also at night he and his atheist materialist father heard what sounded like a really large dog pacing outside their house, making loud sniffing sounds. Reminded me of the Skinwalker Ranch tales, cattle often in proximity.
Chickens - roosters are, but I don't think hens are. Turkeys? Maybe wild ones.
Opossums are magical. Skunks and porcupines are not. Grey squirrels, probably not.
Foxes and coyotes are magical, wolves are not. Although I think coyotes are becoming less magical.
Among invertebrates: snails, octopuses, jumping spiders, mantises, scarab beetles, honeybees.
To Wm Jas T's list, I add bumblebees - hasn't it always been a bit inexplicable as to 'how' exactly they are able to fly? And for birds, I add Swallowtail Kites...
Carol
I always assumed sturgeon are magical bc they’re so freaky to be around.
also vultures, foxes, raccoons, frogs and toads.
I am not sure if elephants are magical or not, but geese are somewhat magical and swans are as well. For instance, in the story about the brothers turned into birds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Swans).
The donkey is one of the least magical of animals. Not in a bad way, but as being resolutely normal.
All Amphibia are magical, perhaps because of the "between worlds" aspect of their lives. Dragonflies, too, for the same reason.
I agree that opossums are highly magical, probably more so than any other American mammal.
that's true William. adding more, from the sea: most types of whale (definitely orcas) some sharks (definitely hammerheads), squid, jellyfish, starfish. and the fish from the really deep depths are all obviously magical. they are too alien and remnants of old ages, when magic was just a given in everything.
Glad to see swifts included. Hummingbirds and golden pheasants are magical birds too. I agree that ducks generally aren't, but the male mandarin duck maybe is. On a much smaller scale: waterfleas, hydras, rotifers and some others. I'd also mention slime-moulds and volvox (a spherical alga that spins). They're not animals, but they are animate, which is why they're magical.
this post, and then reading shortly a news story from england, inspired this short story about an animal not yet mentioned but which is magical too, the capybara: https://treesandtriads.substack.com/p/cappy
I love magpies. They seem to me a positive omen, at least when compared with ravens which tend to have more negative connotations.
Anyway, an interesting list. Even if there is no clear definition, and they can be either wild or domestic, it is easy to see that some animals are more magical than others. I would add deer and foxes to the list of magical. Wild boars to the list of not magical.
Among insects and arthropods, I would say ladybugs and spiders are magical, but cockroaches and ants probably not...
Post a Comment