Good Morning!
I've been thinking about the mythology of shapeshifters. The ability to shapeshift was part of many cultures that depended upon hunting to survive. Hunters would take the form of prey animals imitating them around the fire before and after a hunt. This ability is still seen among the South African Bushmen who follow the tracks of animal prey by running like the animal they are chasing and also making cries similar to the chased animal. In Irish folklore, hunters practiced a form of invisibility which was the ability to blend into the landscape as an animal. Sometimes special shapeshifting spells of invocation called fith-fath were used by Gaelic hunters to start or enable a hunt.
Special attention today to Lycanthropes. Their mythology originated in Europe but many legends are found all over the ancient world. This is a human of folklore with the ability to shift into a wolf either purposely or by being placed under a curse, or a lycanthropic affliction by bite or scratch of a werewolf. A full moon usually triggered a transformation.
One of my works in process is a series about werewolves. It involves a heroine with unique abilities and a warrior hero fighting against a villian who uses whatever it takes, whether people or circumstances, to acquire the heroine's abilities for himself. Will the heroine give herself up to save her world? Will her warrior be able to overcome a guilty past to save her?
What are your thoughts on shapeshifters? Which type of animal shifters do you prefer?
I've been enamored of the werewolf legend since I was a kid, Werewolves are my favorite mythical creature and my favorite shifter. I do love reading about other shifters as well but werewolves are definitely at the top of the pack. :)
ReplyDeleteI too love the wolf shifter. The second story I wrote as a child had to do with people that became animals. Little did I know I was writing about shifters. Thanks for commenting, Mae, I look forward to the release of your book on Oct 8 (a wolf shifter story).
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