![Picture](/uploads/2/8/7/0/28705449/fox.jpg?250)
So the symbolism in this card include the holly in the bottom right hand corner, reed in the bottom left corner, snow, the stone circle with the sunrise and the fox is standing on a frozen pond.
Fox is associated with cunning, diplomacy and wildness. The Gaelic name for fox is Sionnach and the old English word for fox is Tod. Beatrix Potter wrote the Tale of Mr Tod and he has featured in other books and stories.
In Scotland, there is a folk saying "when the feast of Brighid (Imbolc) is past, the fox won't trust his tail to the ice". You can take that as meaning the ice is not strong enough to stand on and you should not walk on frozen ponds. Certainly, in recent years it has been unseasonably warm in late spring. This year it was warm enough to not need a coat.
Lindow Man, a bog body found in 1984 at Lindow Moss is associated with the fox. He as a man, killed during the 1st century AD and his body was placed in the bog. He was not a working man and this has lead people to believe he was a druid prince. He hands were clean with manicured and shaped nails. He had no calluses on his hands, showing he was not a hunter or worker. His beard was neatly clipped and his hair tied back. He was killed by the triple death, a possible sacrifice, and placed into the bog. Recent findings have discovered that Iron Age Celts practised mummification. Important people, either when they died or were sacrificed, were placed into the bog to preserve them, then some time later, they were removed and placed into burial chambers. Lindow Man was found naked, apart from a strip of fox fur around one arm. Unfortunately, due to the acidity of peat bogs, it destroys DNA so this cannot be decoded in Lindow Man. The two photos are Lindow Man as he is now and an artists impression of what he may have looked like. |
In England, fox is admired for his cleverness and courage, but disliked for his raids on poultry farms. In Wales, it is considered lucky to see a single fox but the opposite to see several. Certainly in the case of a fox at a poultry farm, it is easier to manage one fox, rather than several of them. Foxes don't go in to a poultry farm and kill all the chickens for the hell of it. They will kill a chicken to eat, but also kill a few more to take away and eat later.
As late as the 1890's, there was a story in Kirtlington in Oxfordshire of a woman who could turn herself into a fox. A beautiful fox who was often seen near her house. The fox was hunted frequently but never caught. On one occasion, the hounds nearly caught the fox but he ran into the woman's house. Minutes later, the huntsmen went into the house but found no fox, just the woman sitting by her fire.
In Lincolnshire, a belief recorded in 'Folklore concerning Lincolnshire' in 1908,is that if anyone is bitten by a fox, they are marked for death within 7 years.
Families in Ireland were said to be descended from foxes and these families were warned of coming death by the appearance of many foxes around the home.
There was an old method of removing a stubborn thorn was to tie a piece of fox tongue to the wound before going to bed. In the morning, the thorn would be drawn out and easily removed. I don't see how that would work or how hygienic it was. It sounds kind of gross to me. There was also a supposed cure for whooping cough associated with fox. You were meant to put out a bowl of milk where a fox could drink from it, then the sufferer would rink what was left. This also sounds gross. Foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, slugs and snails and all sorts of night time creepy crawlies would have been in that bowl!.
In many parts of England, it was believed that foxes knew how to get rid of their own fleas. They would take a piece of sheep wool in their mouth, then wade into a pond or stream until just their noses and the wool protruded. The fleas, in their bid to stay dry were meant to get onto the wool. The fox would then drop the wool and leave the water.
In Victorian heraldry, fox was said to be full of wiles and subtleties. It repesented those who have done signal service for their prince and country in embassies, where there is more use for wit and dexterity rather than strength or valour.
Everything I have read today, concerning the myths and legends about the fox points to their being cunning and clever, sly and manipulative. If you draw this card in a reading, it is drawing your attention to the time period of January as well as someone who may not have your best interests at heart. They may be manipulating you, but letting you believe the things you are doing are your idea, not theirs. It can mean that you need to use your brain, to remain silent and to keep your own counsel. You will know when to say what you need at the right time. while being diplomatic, to get your point across.