Should a badger cross the path Which thou hast taken, then Good luck is thine, so it be said Beyond the luck of men. But if it cross in front of thee, Beyond where thou shalt tread, And if by chance doth turn the mould, Thou art numbered with the dead And owls plus badgers were even more portentious. Should one hear a badger call, And then an ullot (owl) cry, Make thy peace with God, good soul, For thou shall shortly die.
Badger Magic by Trudy Kawami We know that Dachshund means “Badger dog” (Dachs is German for badger) and that Dachshunds are also used to hunt or track deer (Reh), fox (Fuchs), hare and wild boar (Wildsau). So why is it a Dachshund rather than a “Rehhund”. or “Fuchshund”, or “Wildsauhund”? The answer may lie in European folklore where the badger has a special place. The European badger (Meles meles) is a member of the mustelid or weasel family. It is native across large swathes of Europe and parts of the Middle East. Although not terribly large, it is quite a powerfully built mammal.
The badger (Meles meles) is a magical animal. Badgers live in deep and complex burrows called setts which can be occupied by generations of badgers. Because they live so far into the earth and are often active at night, badgers were considered to know the secrets beneath the ground and hidden from the sun. As such they were powerful animals that could be active for good or for ill. The Celts had a number of superstitions when it came to badgers. Like cats, badgers were seen as symbols of both good luck and bad. For example, a badger crossing an area you just passed was considered good luck. However, if one passed in front of you, it was a sign of bad luck, and even possibly death.
The badger lore of the Celts of Scotland has been extensively documented. They were especially respectful of the badger as a symbol of power and tenacity as it tunneled through the earth. Its body parts eventually became part of Scottish formal dress. The sporran, the leather pouch worn at the front of a man’s full-dress or formal kilt, is made from badger hide and may even include the skinned head and forepaws – what is called a full-mask sporran. Badger teeth were used as buttons, and the male or penile bone, fashioned into a tie pin, was given to a groom on his wedding day. The supposed secret power of the Badger was used medicinally as well. The Native Americans, among other peoples, believed that badgers had special powers because they lived underground. Badgers were viewed as the protectors of medicinal roots. Badgers were also known to be continued on next page...
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