Newfangled November & My Love for Foxes
At the last possible minute in October, I had the idea to do “Newfangled November”— a set of prompts for the month of November, designed to encourage American witches and pagans in our relationships with our own backyards and our own stories, instead of thinking that we must constantly be playacting as another culture to be “mystical”— and what I mean is the whole pretending to be Vikings thing. I’ve written before and will write again on why I empathize with (but ultimately think we need to move past) the phenomena; in short, I empathize because modern pagans in America are trying to create a sense of the sacred when we have the sense that we have no real reference point for one. In our desire to not be disrespectful to indigenous traditions, we resort to LARPing and playacting as if we’re going to Renaissance Faire. If you genuinely feel called to do so, by all means— I’m privileged to know some truly heartfelt and knowledgeable practitioners with more of a reconstructionist bent, and gods bless them. But my point is just that nobody really needs to do all that- there’s plenty of magic in the here and now, and I would say that’s where a lot of the potency is: in addressing the present head-on. With that idea in mind, I’ve still missed a few days of my own prompt ideas myself— I don’t plan & schedule posts ahead of time as much as I should, and I typically end up writing the bulk of my posts the day they’re shared, often finished seconds before posting. I’ve been doing schoolwork and planning future rituals mainly, but primarily I’ve been doing exactly what I set out to: engaging with the magic of my own life, in my own “neighborhood” in a slightly larger sense. I’ve been speaking to my parents about family stories more, remembering what brings me peace and joy, what strengthens me against hard times. That’s where the magic is.
But for this day, day 14 which is nearly over— I couldn’t contain my thoughts to a brief Instagram post.
The prompt for day 14: what animal/symbol do you identify with & why.
The Fox and the Crow
I fucking love foxes.
I adore everything to do with them. My love for foxes sprang up through story, since they’re not remotely native to where I live. The lore around them mythically, the facts themselves, their appearances- I love it all. I love foxes as wise, sly tricksters— stylishly giving the distracted, conniving or just plain dull around them enough rope to hang themselves, and benefit the fox themself, all at once. If you can think on at least equal footing as the mythic fox, you’re at no risk— but if you let your impulses get the better of your mind, you’re fucked. Best case you lose your lunch for the day; worst case, you lose your life.
In real life, foxes are as social as they are solitary, enjoying both time with community and time alone. I’d be hard pressed to relate to any animal more, as I require both my solitude and community equally, but at different times. Foxes are smart, agile, athletic predators when they want to be… and also more than capable of friendliness and love when it’s earned.
I actually came across the legend of Reynard the Fox in particular while watching the briefly-mighty Magicians series on SyFy (brilliant for two seasons- tragic dogshit after that), in which Reynard is depicted as less trickster and moreso as pure evil. Still, he captivated me. In many of the tales, Reynard is not especially nice— but the beauty of myths is less in dogmatic literality, and more in what they point towards. The legend of the cunning fox reminds you to keep your wits about you, to know what you value, lest you fall prey to an animal who should be obvious in its nature. Don’t hate the fox for feeding and amusing itself and its own family, for they’re loyal to those they love: get smarter, and learn to laugh at life a bit more. Foxes are physically much smaller than most of their opposition, but they’re wise, scrappy and resilient enough to keep going until things work out for them. That’s the lesson.
Un/fortunately for me, as I mentioned, foxes are not remotely native to Los Angeles. Fortunate for the foxes, and I suppose somewhat fortunate for me in a way— it’ll inspire me to travel to where the foxes are. So far, the only fox I’ve met in the flesh was a result of maybe the most thoughtful birthday gift I’ve ever received during a journey to very dear friends in New York, who surprised me with a visit to a fox sanctuary to see the beautiful, sleepy gentleman pictured below. It’s one of my favorite memories.
I love the myriad ways in which foxes are depicted across time and medium. From the evil villain of The Magicians to the tender, preciously loving companion of The Little Prince (a timeless treasure of a book)… I love the classic fables and legends, and I love the modern storybooks I’ve collected over these last few years as well. Foxes are not local to my land, but they’re local to my heart… and that’s the beauty of magic.
As a treat, please enjoy this webpage I found with a little sound effected & illustrated version of Aesop’s fable,
The Fox and the Crow.