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Animal
Worship
Also known as
Zoolatry.
The veneration of an animal, usually because of its connection
with a particular deity. It was found in
many ancient (nature) religions. In these cults animals were regarded as
representatives or appearances of the deity, or were attributed divine
characteristics.
Legends and mythologies of every culture in
the world are full of accounts of animals closely related to specific deities.
The ancients strongly believed in the connection between animals, humans and
deities. This connection was often expressed by statues or pictures showing a
god or goddess with an animal head, wearing an animal mask, accompanied by
animals, or in animal form. This form duality visually expressed the specific
powers of the deity and made easier for the less-educated common people to
understand and relate to their gods.
At first, the people knew that the deities in
reality did not have animal heads and consequently did not worship them as
animals. Later, loss of spiritual knowledge and the propensity of some spiritual
leaders to hold back information brought about a change in belief. Ordinary
people gradually shifted from understanding the symbolism to actually believing
that the deity dwelt in a specific creature. For example, later Egyptians kept
and worshiped particular bulls, cats, and crocodiles.
One legend about Egyptian zoolatry records
that the various deities under Seth's persecution transformed themselves into
their animals counterparts. In this account the gods from
Greece flee to Egypt,
leaving only Athena and Zeus behind. Apollo (Egyptian Horus) becomes a falcon,
Hermes (Thoth) an
ibis, and Artemis (Bastet, Bast) a
cat.
See
Animism,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1) Witt, R. E.,
Isis in the Ancient World,
The Johns Hopkins University Press;
(2)
Conway, D. J.,
Animal Magick: The Art of
Recognizing and Working with Familiars, Llewellyn Publications.
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