The Symposium of Pagan Thought & Practice
Werewolfery and Fetches in Ancient and Medieval Pagan Cults
Presented 7/17/2021
Denny Sargent, Presenter
Lecture Notes:
PREFACE
Evidence of werewolfery and lycanthropy is documented in medieval witchcraft trials. Shapeshifting was an ancient practice using the astral double to project into a wolf form, both as a vehicle for astral projection and also for the creation of fetches. This presentation reviews the history and the revived practical steps for werewolf Fetch creation as documented in Werewolf Magick.
INTRODUCTION
LECTURE BASED ON MY RESEARCH AND MY BOOK WEREWOLF MAGICK
‘Witchcraft’ here IS defined as Pagan survivals, folk magick, surviving Roman Paganism, indigenous animism and so on.
Why werewolves? More than a third of Witches tried in medieval Europe were also accused of being werewolves. Werewolf trials were held in tandem with witchcraft trials but are not mentioned as often, the two were deeply linked. While ‘Familiars’ or ‘Fetches Were often cited as being in the form of cats, often they were cited as being wolves or werewolves in form. Shapeshifting, of course, was a prime accusation against witches and conjuring Fetches and ‘wearing the wolf skin’ and shifting to Werewolves are deeply linked.
THE DOUBLE
Double is a separate spiritual entity from our soul recognized by ancient and current cultures.
Sometimes called the astral or etheric body.
It is an energetic part of each of us that can, with practice, do things like manipulate energy or even independently travel out of the body re astral or spiritual worlds.
The Double can be strengthened with magick and reformed into any aspect the person wills through focus and magick, in our case that of a wolf or werewolf.
The Double is the key to the shape-shifting as explained in WEREWOLF MAGICK
The Double can thus be evoked, empowered, shaped and projected outward
It can be a vehicle for our consciousness or as a separate linked entity.
The Double can be (and was) shaped by Will into a wolf or werewolf form. It is this energetic shapeshifters we evoke and “wear”to shape-shift
The theory of how this was seen to work as explained in WEREWOLF MAGICK is this:
By empowering the primal Double as the evoked Animalself they become a vehicle for astral work and can be used internally or externally, depending on your point of view
The Norse called this entity the Flygia, we will refer to this activated and empowered Double by one simple well-known term: Fetch and, sometimes, as a ‘Familiar.’.
The Church truly believed in such entities, calling them Imps or Demons gifted to the ‘Witch’ by Satan, of course.
Once a ‘witch’ evoked, externalized and empowered the Fetch, that Fetch was (to them) a separate spirit or entity.and could work with it in many ways.
IMAGE 4 NORSE WOLF FLYGIA
Invoking the Werewolf Fetch or Flygia
I reconstructed the process from years of research in medieval witchcraft documents embodied in my book Werewolf Magick revealed
Once a ‘Witch’ has empowered and evoked the Double he or she then ‘breathes life’ into it as a Fetch and ‘feeds it’ often with blood as well as energy. When it is perceived, fully accepted, and been bonded with, it can then be worked with. The Fetch is then seen by the ‘Witch’ as a spirit or daemon, though it is fashioned of their own Double.
There are many possibilities for use according to records.
The ‘Witch’ can communicate with the Fetch and ask for guidance and advice.
In my opinion, being the externalized ‘werewolf spirit’ of our deepest primal being, it has access to our unconscious mind and thus can offer information the conscious mind can’t.
RIDING THE FETCH
Witchcraft trial documents tell of witches “riding wolves or werewolves to the sabbat or go AS a werewolf”. Norse sorcerers referred to this as “wearing the wolf skin.’” This “wolf skin” as the Fetch is thus seen as flexible, to recap: It can be a ‘best friend’ and be ridden OR it can be inhabited or ‘worn’ so that the Witch and it are one.
This can be seen in the images of Witches riding a wolf spirit (fetch) or flying to the sabat AS such a spirit.
Again, it is mentioned in the same documents that the Witches conjured (or were given by Satan) the Fetch as a Familiar and as such had to be fed.
This Fetch, Flygia or Familiar could be sent out to do things (curse cows etc) or used as a helper or vehicle to go to the Witches sabat.
By the way, in my studies of Lycanthropy, witches went into a coma-like trance when attending the sabat, exactly the same as werewolves. Injury done to the werewolf always reflected on the human when their double returned to their body. (Petronius)
FETCH CREATION
Through ‘animistic’ exercises, likely left over from indigenous shamanic practices as well as classical pagan magick survivals, the Witch called upon ‘the lord of the forest’ and ‘primal goddesses, often the Moon’ for an ‘helper’
Craft was employed to raise energy and fall forth the Double by means of psychoactive substances, intense invocation, and a variety of altered states practices ie: the Witches Cradle and intense visualization and willpower.
The more intention, will, and energy poured into the Fetch, the more useful it was- this is “feeding” the Fetch. Once conjured and bonded with it is seen as a separate entity that evolves.
Periodically, through generating energy and will (magick) the Witch would feed the energy being generated directly into the Fetch and so the Fetch would become more ‘real’ and in focus as a definite being. At this point a NAME was either given by ‘The Lord of the Forest’ (Horned God/Satan) or the fetch would communicate its name to the Witch. Sometimes the ‘master’ of the coven, who was coaching the witches, would assign a name to the witch’s fetch.
THE FETCH’S HOME
According to trial documents, the Fetch appeared as a spirit or as a Familiar, ie: a cat or dog or rabbit and so on. It is possible that an actual pet like a cat could hold the double and function as such, but it was said that such cats were demons who just appeared as cats, so it get’s a bit fuzzy here.
A Fetch could also inhabit a physical item; A talisman, a simple normal item like a broom or could live in a small shrine, this last is conjecture but is indicated and falls in line with animistic and pagan magickal practices.
Feeding the Fetch Regularly
Once the Fetch was conjured, bonded with and given a ‘home’ it needed to be feed regularly often with blood (thus the infamous ‘witch marks’) though other forms are documented: such as milk (often from a neighbor’s cow), magickal power (from Satan of course) and other evil things.
FETCH FUN
Once up and running, the Fetch could be called upon for any astral work such as distance viewing, protection, and to aid in shape-shifting. A Witch could ‘wear the wolf skin’ of the Double and become a werewolf or they could “ride it” in dreams or on astral adventures to the sabat or request deeper spells and magick teachings from it (from Satan, of course) or ask it to do things for you, such as “fetching” items needed or cursing cows (a favorite it seems) or neighbors. It could also help guard and protect the Witch.
TAKEAWAYS
In Werewolf Magick I used my research to construct rituals and procedures for actually crafting, feeding and working with the Flygia or Fetch in the form of a wolf or Werewolf in many of the ways I have mentioned.
FOR REFERENCES, SEE THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, WEBSITES AND CITATIONS IN
WEREWOLF MAGICK, LLEWELLYN WORLDWIDE, 2020
Copyright Denny Sargent