Mythology – Turning into a Werewolf
I like myths and legends, and sometimes I like to write them up and provide them as fodder for creators looking for historical/mythological resources. Its also something I just like. So for your enjoyment, here is a segment on werewolves. Specifically, how to become one. Various methods and rituals said to turn one into a beast.
Transformation Rituals
The rituals listed here were gathered from various sources around the net, credited as they have been found. I do not make any claims to the effectivness of these rituals or validation in their claims to bestow the abilities of the werewolf.
The following rituals were found on the Werewolf Page.
Ritual #1
Drawing a circle from seven to nine feet in radius, in the center of which a wood fire is kindled- The wood selected being black poplar, pine or larch never ash. A fumigation in an iron vessel, heated over the fire, is then made out of a mixture of any four or five of the following substances:
Note: The substances involved in this ritual have been withheld by The Werewolf Page because of the harm that may caused by obtaining and/or ingesting them.
As soon as the vessel is placed over the fire so that it can heat, the person ho would invoke the spirit that can bestow upon him the property of metamorphosing into a wolf kneels within the circle, and prays a preliminary impromptu prayer. He then resorts to an incantation.
“Hail, Hail, Hail, great wolf spirit, Hail!
A boon I ask thee, mighty shade.
Within this circle I have made.
Make me a werewolf strong and bold.
The terror alike of young and old.
Grant me a figure tall and spare;
The speed of the elk, the claws of the bear;
The poison of snakes, the wit of the fox;
The stealth of the wolf, the strength of the ox;
The jaws of the tiger, the teeth of the shark;
The eyes of a cat that sees in the dark;
Make me climb like a monkey, scent like a dog;
Swim like a fish, and eat like a hog.
Haste, Haste, Haste, lonely spirit, Haste!
Here, wan and drear, magic spell making,
Findest thou me – shaking, quaking.
Softly fan me as I lie.
And thy mystic touch apply.
Touch apply, and I swear that when I die,
When I die, I will serve thee evermore,
Evermore, in grey wolf land, cold and raw.”
The incantation concluded, the supplicant then kisses the ground three times, and advances to the fire, takes off the iron vessel, and whirling it smoking round his head, cries out;
“Make me a werewolf! Make me a xxx-eater!
Make me a werewolf! Make me a xxxxx-eater!
Make me a werewolf! Make me a xxxxx-eater!
I pine for blood! xxxxx blood!
Give it to me! Give it to me tonight!
Great Wolf Spirit! Give it to me, and heart, body, and soul, I am yours!”
The trees begin to rustle, and the wind begins to moan, and out of the sudden darkness that envelops everything glows the tall, cylindrical, pillar-like phantom of the Unknown, seven or eight feet in height. It sometimes develops further, and assumes the form of a tall, thin monstrosity, half human and half animal, grey and nude, with very long legs and arms, and the feet and claws of a wolf, but surrounded with the hair of a women, that falls about its bare shoulders in yellow ringlets. It has wolf’s ears and a wolf’s mouth. Its aquiline nose and pale eyes are fashioned like those of a human being, but animated with an expression too diabolically malignant to proceed from anything but the super-physical. It seldom ever speaks, but either utters some extraordinary noise-a prolonged howl that seems to proceed from the bowels of the earth, a piercing, harrowing whine, or a low laugh of hellish glee, any of which sounds may be taken for its assent to the favour asked. It only remains visible for a minute at the most, and then disappears with startling abruptness. The supplicant is now a werewolf. He undergoes his first metamorphoses into wolf form the following evening at sunset, reassuming his human shape at dawn; and so on, day after day, till his death, when he may once more metamorphose either from man form or wolf form, or vice versa, his corpse retaining which ever form assumed at the moment of death. As far as I know from this process once a werewolf always a werewolf is an inviolable rule.
Ritual #2
Make a magic circle on the ground, at twelve o’clock, on a night on a night when the moon is full (one of about seven feet in diameter is most appropriate) in the center of the circle, a wood fire, heating thereon an iron vessel containing one pint of clear spring water, and any seven of the following substances;
Note: The substances involved in this ritual have been withheld by The Werewolf Page because of the harm that may caused by obtaining and/or ingesting them.
Whilst the mixture is heating, the experimenter prostrates himself in front of the fire and prays to the Great Spirit of the Unknown to confer on him the property of metamorphosing, nocturnally, into a werewolf. His prayers take no one particular form, but are quite extempore; though he usually adds to them some such recognized incantation as:
“Come, spirit so powerful! come, spirit so dread.
From the home of the werewolf, the home of the dead.
Come, Give me thy blessing! come, lend me thine ear!
Oh spirit of darkness! oh spirit so drear!
Come, mighty phantom! come, great Unknown!
Come from thy dwelling so gloomy and lone.
Come, I beseech thee; depart from thy lair.
And body and soul shall be thine, I declare.
Haste, Haste, Haste, horrid spirit, Haste!
Speed, Speed, Speed, scaring spirit, speed!
Fast, Fast, Fast, fateful spirit, fast!”
He then makes the following formal declaration:
“I (insert name) offer to thee, Great spirit of the Unknown, this night of (insert date) my body and soul, on condition that thou grantest me, from this night to the hour of my death, the power of metamorphosing, nocturnally, into a wolf. I beg, I pray, I implore thee-Thee, unparalleled Phantom of Darkness, to make me a werewolf, a werewolf”!
And striking the ground three times with his forehead, he gets up. As soon as the concoction in the vessel is boiling, he dips a cup into it, and sprinkles the contents on the ground, repeating the action until he has sprinkled the whole interior of the circle. Then he kneels on the ground close to the fire, and in a loud voice cries out:
“Come, oh Come!”
And, if he is fortunate, a phantom manifests itself over the fire. Sometimes the phantom is indefinite – a cylindrical, luminous, pillar-like thing, about seven feet in height, having no discernible features: sometimes it assumes a definite shape, and appears either as a monstrous hooded figure with a death’s hood, or as a sub-human, sub-animal type of elemental. Whatever form the Unknown adopts, it is invariably terrifying. It never speaks, but indicates its assent by stretching out an arm, or what serves as an arm, and then disappears. It never remains visible for more than half a minute. As soon as it vanishes, the supplicant, who is always half mad with terror, springs from the ground and rushes home, or anywhere to get again within the reach of human beings. By the morning, however, all his fears have departed; and at sunset he creeps off into the forest, or into some equally secluded spot, to experience, for the first time, the extraordinary sensations of metamorphosing into a wolf, or, perhaps, a semi-wolf, i.e., a creature half man and half wolf; for the degree of metamorphosis varies according to locality. Though it is at sunset that the change most usually takes place the transmutation back to man generally occurring at dawn.
Ritual#3
There are conditions of mind essential to those who would successfully practice these rites. It is necessary that the person desirous of acquiring the property of lycanthropy should be in earnest and a believer in those super-physical powers whose favor he is about to ask. Such an individual must betake himself to a spot remote from the haunts of men. The powers to be petitioned are not to be found promiscuously anywhere. They favour only such waste and solitary places as the deserts, woods, and mountain tops. The locality chosen, the candidate must next select a night when the moon is new and strong. He must then choose a perfectly level piece of ground, and on it at midnight, he must mark, either with chalk or string, a circle of not less than seven feet in radius, and within this, and from the same center, another circle of three feet in radius. Then in the center of this inner circle he must kindle a fire, and over the fire place an iron tripod containing an iron vessel of water. As soon as the water begins to boil the would be lycanthropist must throw into it handfuls of any three of the following substances:
Note: The substances involved in this ritual have been withheld by The Werewolf Page because of the harm that may caused by obtaining and/or ingesting them.
While repeating the following incantation:
“Spirits from the deep, who never sleep, be kind to me.
Spirits from the grave, without a soul to save , be kind to me.
Spirits of the trees, that grow upon the leas, be kind to me.
Spirits of the air, foul and black, not fair, be kind to me.
Spirits of the dead, that glide with noiseless tread, be kind to me
Spirits of heat and fire, destruction in your ire, be kind to me.
Spirits of cold and ice, phantoms of crime and vice, be kind to me.
Wolves, Vampires, Satyrs, Ghosts!
Elect of all the devilish hosts!
I pray you send hither, send hither, send hither
The great grey shape that makes men shiver!
Shiver, shiver, shiver!
Come, come, come!”
The supplicant then takes off his vest and shirt and smears his body with the magic salve. Then he binds round his loins a girdle made of wolf’s skin, and kneeling down within the circumference of the first circle, waits for the advent of the Unknown. When the fire burns blue and quickly dies out. The Unknown is about to manifest itself; if it does not actually appear it will make its presence felt. The spirit advent may be; a deep unnatural silence immediately proceeding it sometimes, sometimes crashes and bangs, groaning and shrieking, herald its approach. When it remains invisible its presence is indicated and accompanied by a sensation of abnormal cold and the most acute terror. It is sometimes visible in the guise of a huntsman sometimes in the form of a monstrosity, partly man and partly beast, and sometimes it is ill defined and only partially materialized. To what order of spirits it belongs is, of course purely a matter of conjecture. It is some malevolent, super-physical, creative power, such as, participated largely in the creation of theirs and other planets. It is not the Devil. It is difficult to say to what extent. The Unknown is believed to be powerful by those who approach it for the purpose of acquiring the gift of lycanthropy; it is not ascribed to be any supreme power, but is regarded as merely a local spirit, the spirit of some particular wilderness or forest.
Regarding the New Moon, psychic influences are demonstrated by the position of the planets. For instance, at new moon, cusp of seventh house, and conjoined with Saturn in opposition to Jupiter, sinister super-physical presence’s are much in evidence on the earth.
Lycanthropous Water Ceremony
A Norwegian or Swedish peasant when he wishes to become a werewolf, kneels by the side of a lycanthropous stream at midnight, having chosen a night when the moon is in the full, incants these words:
“Tis night! Tis night! and the moon shines white over pine and snow capped hill. The shadows stray through burn and brae and dance in the sparkling rill.”
Tis night! Tis night! and the devils light casts glimmering beams around. The maras dance, the nisses prance on the flower enameled ground.”
Tis night! Tis night! and the the werewolf’s might makes man and nature shiver.
Yet its fierce grey head and stealthy tread are nought to thee, oh river!
River, River, River
Oh water strong, that swirls along I prithee a werewolf make me.
Of all things dear, my soul, I swear, In death shall not forsake thee.”
The supplicant then strikes the banks of the river three times with his forehead; then dips his head into the river thrice, at each dip gulping down a mouthful of the water.
Concludes ceremony, he has become a werewolf, and twenty-four hours later will undergo the first metamorphosis.
Lycanthropous water is said, by those who dwell near to it, to differ from other water in subtle details only, detail that would, in all probability, escape the notice of all who were not connoisseurs of the superphysical. A strange, faint odour, comparable with nothing, distinguishes lycanthropous water; there is a lurid sparkle in it, stongly suggestive of some peculiar, individual life; the noise it makes, as it rushes along, so closely resembles the muttering and whispering of human voices as to be often mistaken for them; whilst at night it sometimes utters piercing screams, and howls, and groans in such a manner as to terrify all who pass near it. Dogs and horses, in particular, are susceptible to its influence and they exhibit the greatest signs of terror of the mere sound of it.
(Thanks to Wolfgang)
Lycanthropous Flowers
Pluck and wear after sunset, and on a night when the moon is full. Lycanthropous flowers, no less than lycanthropous water, possess properties peculiar to themselves; properties which are, probably, only discernible to those who are well acquainted with them. Their scent is described as faint and subtly suggestive of death, whilst their sap is rather offensively white and sticky. In appearance they are much the same as other flowers, and are usually white and yellow.
(Thanks to Wolfgang)
This ritual was found in this Dark Corner. I believe it actually is pertaining to vampires becoming werewolves…but it might be of interest..
The Rite of the Werewolf
-Mental Lycanthropy and the summoning of Shadows –
The altar can be either within a home or in the woods. Upon the altar should rest bones of the dead and two black candles and two red candles, above the Wamphyri – Varcolaci Pentagram (A Sigil of the Black Order of the Dragon). With your mind draw one circle anti-clockwise that it might fit a man within.
“From the will of that which is Satan I call the Demonic powers of the Wolf
Shadows demons I call to thee! One spirit shall rise through this circle –
One chosen of the Demonic hordes I evocate thee to bring forth the Gray Beast which makes all tremble, by my will and will to power I will become WEREWOLF! Phantoms of Darkness I now invocate thee –
they likeness is to be within and through my Vampyric Will I implement the power of Satan.”
With your mind focus upon the transformation. Feel each muscle as it stretches, grows stronger, more beastlike. Rough gray hair grows through the skin as the flesh itself turns ghost white and the face blackens. The bones stretch and begin to form a beast between a man and wolf. The face warps into a long snout which holds many razor sharp fangs. The fingers stretch and fold into Talons, cruel to the flesh they Shred.. Feel now the pleasure of the Werewolf, go out into the night and taste the pleasures of the Will.
SO IT IS DONE
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From ‘Strange Monsters and Madmen’ by Warren Smith. 1969,
Ritual for a Werewolf
“A werewolf is the legendary man-beast with the alleged ability to instantly transform itself into a killer animal. This murderous metamorphosis is supposed to occur at midnight, preferably in the deepest reaches of some dark forest. Legends claim the transformed wolfman is then driven by a lusting, carniverous appetite. Medieval manuscripts have disclosed the rituals used by the ancients to call the dark powers of werewolfdom.
The supplicant must select a level piece of ground and wait until the light of a new moon burns brightly. At midnight, a seven foot circle is chalked on the earth with a three-foot circle inscribed inside. At the exact center of the two circles, at a spot marked with a white “X” , The candidate lights a black candle. Arrangements completed, the supplicant who seeks the evil powers of werewolfery must chant:
‘Spirits of the dead, with souls of lead, hear me.
‘Spirits of the grave, you Devil’s slaves, hear me.
‘Spirits of the air, from the wolves’ lair, hear me.
‘Spirits of the Devil, with deeds so evil, hear me.
‘Spirits of hell’s fire, angry with ire, hear me.
‘Wolves, vampires, ghosts and ghouls,
‘Make me one of your evil tools.
‘Send me yon, send me hither,
‘In a shape to make men quiver!
‘Shiver, shiver, shiver!
‘Come, Werewolves, come!
Chant completed, the applicant must crouch inside the circle to undergo the terrible transformation. The change should start when the candle flame burns blue. The old manuscripts usually ended their descriptions of the ritual by stating, ‘the reader must beware calling up the powers of darkness because the werewolf is always killed by a silver stake, or a silver bullet!.'”
Other things that could make you a werewolf in mythology includes:
- Being bitten by a werewolf
- Eating a wolf’s brain
- Eating the meat of a sheep that has been killed by a wolf
- Drinking from the paw print of a wolf; or drink out of a pool of water that a wolf frequents.
- Tasting human flesh
- Eating roasted wolf flesh
- Wearing or smelling of wolfbane
- Wearing a garment made of a wolf pelt
- Wearing a belt made of the skin of an executed criminal.
