The Owlet Mall and more : The Owl and the Witch

Saturday, October 11, 2014

The Owl and the Witch

Since Halloween is just around the corner, this is an good time to talk about the connection between owls and witches. Much superstition has long surrounded the owl; some good, some bad (unfortunately, mostly bad), and one of the most popular is that owls were familiars to the witches.

Vintage Halloween Owl and Witch Poster by gidget26

Animals as familiars stems from Medieval European folklore where it was believed that, not only witches truly existed, but that there were supernatural entities in forms of animals that protected and assisted them with their magic. It was believed that familiars were not owned by the witches; that they held total free will and intellect, and even had their own magical powers.

In ancient Rome and Greece, it was also believed that a witch could transform herself into an owl and that when the hoot of an owl was heard, it meant that a witch was coming.

We all now know better, yet, legends of the familiars, including the owl, still lives on in our modern day holiday, O' Halloween.