Transcript
Speaker: Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost on where to start? Then welcome to Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey.
Speaker: Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we've learned about the craft. So get in witches for part three of our magical creatures series, where we're looking at leprechauns and basilisks.
Speaker: so mike and went to the movies last night and we saw the newest 28 years later part of that trilogy that they're doing
Speaker: mike and i went to the movies last night and we saw the newest twenty-eight years later part of that trilogy that they're doing It was so good. it was so good.
Speaker: We want to watch. Did you watch the 28 years later?
Speaker: you are frozen on my end. Okay. I think you're unfrozen now. Okay. I have no clue what you said because it was completely a garbled mess on my end. So I literally have no clue what you You said you went and watched that and I said that we – Like we want to rewatch the original ah movies in that before we watch the new ones because they didn't even come out here where we could go see them in theaters. so Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, that is dumb. But yeah, if I mean, I did really like the 28 years later as well. and this is not a spoiler. And you probably have seen stuff online about it already. yeah But like there is a zombie that he has like the biggest penis and he is just like running through the woods. And so the last movie that we saw, because we watched the last one in theaters when we were in Hawaii last summer.
Speaker: and Like, I was just like, what the fuck? Because it's just like seeing, like, they would do, like, close-ups of his meat just, like, flapping. Okay. Obviously, this is an explicit podcast, but, like, trigger warning, I guess. of Floppy penis. But just like, what the fuck? Yeah. Like, it was massive. And I'm just like, is is this – Is this necessary? like And then in this one, it was directed by a girl. And there was like, obviously, this character is just like naked. But like, it felt more like, okay, this makes more sense. As opposed to just like, flap, flap, flap, flap.
Speaker: but Because that's what it was, I feel like, in the last movie. And maybe I'm like, but even both me and Mike were like, yeah well, I'm glad there was less sausage slapping in this. But you did see penis, so. Oh, I feel like penis has been making its appearance in a lot of movies lately.
Speaker: like it really has. And I'm just like... Remember how everyone was talking about that? And I brought it up to you and because you had already seen the movie and I hadn't yet. and you were like, it's not even that big of a – like, everybody made it like, oh, my Like, I thought it was going to be bigger, honestly. Yeah.
Speaker: Oh my gosh. But also just a small disclaimer. yeah My husband is gone TDY for like a month. And so my dogs have been acting a fool and Nyx cannot help herself. i at least this time she's downstairs. So I'm sure it's not coming through or if it is, it's really faint. But she has been up here barking just while Sam and I have been like talking before recording. So I'm just going to apologize ah in advance just in case. She may make an appearance. It's okay. Yeah, she has lost her goddamn mind because her favorite human is gone right now.
Speaker: ah She's stuck with the spare human and she's very upset about it. Yeah, and she's like, if I bark a little bit more, you're just going to do it with it, mom.
Speaker: Yeah, basically. Maybe dad will come back sooner. She has been a nightmare. i adore her to pieces, but she has been showing her ass, man, since he left.
Speaker: It's been a special time. You know how they say like kids do that? I'm like, well, clearly so do dogs because I'm dealing with it without having children. Yes. Well, and even like Last night, I think Gizmo, because since I haven't been working since we've been here, it's just been me and Gizmo. And whenever Mike and I came back last night, because usually Q-Nicks in the background. Well, because she was barking downstairs and she's so nosy that when she does that, she'll run upstairs to the like landing and look out that window and continue barking.
Speaker: Oh, of course. Yeah. she I mean, as you, you have to, like you have to. um But usually like anytime we leave, like Gizmo will go and like hang out with the kids or something. You know what i mean? Like he wants to be with somebody.
Speaker: And when we came back, he was sitting at the door. he's, like put hit he was watching us from i guess the back of the couch in our sitting room area with his face out the window so next time we leave we're gonna have to raise the blinds because don't want him to fuck up the blinds that are brand new in this damn house but like there's like a noticeable indent like Mike had to fix it where his fucking face he was just like sitting there apparently for hours waiting for us to come home and then whenever we walked in the door he's like the most vocal
Speaker: yeah I have seen in a long time of him just like basically telling us off for leaving him. And I'm just like, you had two other humans here that you love. What the fuck? morning Moving on from dogs. Yeah. was like, we're not about.
Speaker: No, that's not what this episode is about. or yeah. Yeah. Or slinging sausage on the thighs. We are not talking about that. No. We are going to be talking about some magical creatures. But before we do that, we have to shout out to our newest subscriber on Patreon, Ruby. you Thank you for doing that because I completely forgot, even though I typed that in there.
Speaker: Yes. Thank you so much, Ruby, for subscribing to our podcast. we i hope that you appreciate all of the hard work that we've put into podcast. subscriber content. And um we look forward to having you as part of our witchy little community. So anywho, I guess I'll kick us off since it's purple. because i'm the one wears the oats um So I'm going to be talking about the leprechaun.
Speaker: So the word leprechaun comes from the old Irish word leucoupons. which I'm sure I'm saying that wrong, and I forgot to look up the pronunciation, so bear with me, meaning small body, or loberkin, which means small bodied fellow. In ancient Celtic mythology, the leprechaun was part of a supernatural race that is similar to elves and fairies. And the supernatural race included banshees and the pukas as well, and they were thought to have ah descended from the Tuatha Dé Danannes. Legend states that the leprechaun stands no more than two to three feet tall, usually described as a bearded man wearing a green coat and a hat. However, originally they were depicted wearing a red coat. They weren't associated with a traditional green coat until closer to the 20th century. Legend and folktales often depict leprechauns as tricksters, cunning, and untrustworthy cobblers who hid their treasure.
Speaker: They were known to be mean, often leading people astray, stealing from them, or playing harmful pranks. Looking into the lore, one of the earliest depictions of the leprechaun comes from the 7th or 8th century take of The Adventure of Fergus, Son of Letty, which you may know as the Ectra Fergusa Mach Letty.
Speaker: In this tale, the leprechaun is depicted as a dangerous water sprite that tried to drag the mythical King Fergus into the sea to drown him. However, the King captures the leprechaun and forces him to grant the King three wishes before the King releases him. Throughout the 19th century, the image of the leprechaun softened a bit and newer stories saw tales of the leprechauns who outsmarted greedy humans.
Speaker: In Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland from 1887, Jane Francesca Agnes, which is Lady Wilde or Oscar Wilde's mom, describes leprechauns as merry, industrious, tricksy little sprites, but she points out that they are bitterly malicious and vengeful should they be offended.
Speaker: In D.R. McAnally Jr.'s book, Irish Wonders from the Late 19th Century, They describe leprechauns as being descended from an evil spirit for a father and a degenerate fairy for a mother. The book also states that the leprechauns' pranks were generally minor, so things like household mishaps, like causing a pot to boil over, drinking all the milk, or eating all of the bacon, which I guess that means I also have a leprechaun in my house because there is a bacon fiend in here. So just saying. I thought their names were Emily and Avery, but it could be a leprechaun. Clearly they're leprechauns.
Speaker: Yeah. In the 1825 collection of fairy legends and traditions of the South of Ireland, Thomas Crofton Croker talks about the story of the little shoe. In this tale, a man encounters a little fellow, quote unquote, cobbling shoes. The little fellow turns out to be a leprechaun, but he doesn't know it at the time. And the man sneaks up on him as he's working and demands his purse, AKA his wallet for us American listeners.
Speaker: The leprechaun is not fazed by this and ends up tricking the man into letting him go leaving behind quote, the prettiest little shoe. Which to be honest, when I read this, I was not expecting the story to end this way, but it goes back to the depictions of leprechauns not being as dangerous as the ones once depicted in Irish folklore.
Speaker: And in William Butler Yeats' book from 1888, Tales of Ireland, Yates describes leprechauns as withered, old, and solitary cobblers known for their practical jokes and hidden gold.
Speaker: Yates writes that leprechauns can be spotted under a hedge, mending a shoe, and the one who captures a leprechaun can make them deliver, quote, crocks of gold. But if you take your eyes off the leprechaun, they vanish like smoke.
Speaker: And so we can't really talk about the leprechaun without discussing how the symbolism of the leprechaun has changed throughout history, especially with the large scale immigration of Irish people to America during and after the Great Famine, which was from 1845 about During and after the time that the Irish immigrants came to the United States, they faced an intensely hostile environment that included widespread anti-Irish and anti-Catholic prejudice.
Speaker: The Irish were portrayed in political cartoons as drunken, lazy, and animalistic, and their cultural practices were seen as weird, backward, and superstitious. Early Irish Americans over time softened the leprechaun's image, making it more palatable to the Protestant Anglo-American majority. His tricks and menace making were seen as comical and mischievous.
Speaker: By the late 19th through the 20th century, the leprechaun appeared in St. Patrick's Day parades. They were seen in theater shows, vaudeville acts, and in advertising.
Speaker: And they also became a symbol of Irish identity without the political threat allowing Irish Americans to claim their ethnic pride while distancing themselves from the stereotypes of Irish violence or insurrection.
Speaker: This adaptation caused, and in many ways still causes, tension between Irish Americans and Ireland. In Ireland, the American leprechaun is seen as infantilizing or inauthentic, while for Irish Americans, the leprechaun is seen as part of their heritage, nostalgia, and for those who know the past, as a symbol of resilience and cultural survival.
Speaker: So today, the leprechaun's depictions in media and advertising is much different than the Irish folklore where it originates. Modern media has almost completely rewritten the leprechaun.
Speaker: While still rooted in Irish folklore as a solitary fairy tied to craft, boundaries, and consequences, media portrayals have flattened the leprechaun into a symbol of luck, gold, and harmless mischief.
Speaker: American pop culture played a major role in the shift. Advertising, film, and television portrayed the leprechaun as a cheerful green-clad mascot most famously seen seen on Lucky Charms. And if you are a child of the 90s, then you know that jingle by heart because that's all I could think of whenever I was looking at this. Where the leprechaun exists only as a guard to a magical prize at the end of the rainbow without any real danger, lesson, or moral cost.
Speaker: Additional film and television portrayals lean into a very caricature or horror extreme when it comes to the leprechaun. On one end, the leprechaun appears as a comic figure with exaggerated accents and jokes. And on the other hand, horror films reclaim fragments of the original folklore by turning the leprechaun into a violent or a vengeful creature, but still lacking its original context and symbolism.
Speaker: And I honestly thought that I would find a lot more information on the leprechaun But every source that I went to, it was kind of like the same story we've written. Yeah. I basically a lepreun ran into the same thing. so yeah Yeah. But I mean, I thought it was very interesting learning about the leprechaun because when I think about the leprechaun outside of the Lucky Charms, all I thought about it was from the horror movies, the leprechauns. And so like having a little bit more background on that was so interesting to read about. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So now we're going to talk about the basilisk. And as I have already told Samantha before we started recording this, I have learned that the more i say this word out loud, the more i mess it up. so I don't know what it is about it, but we're going see. This going be fun one for me to edit. Yeah.
Speaker: I'm going to try my best not to. So the word basilisk comes from the Greek word basiliskos, which translates to mean little king or kinglet.
Speaker: And it's believed that it was given this name due to the creature's crown-like crest or its royal status among serpents because they're called the king of the serpents.
Speaker: The basilisk is one of those creatures that shapeshifted through history. So we first see it in ancient Greece as a serpent so deadly that its stare alone could kill. And then it later evolved into a bizarre hybrid that was part rooster, part serpent, and sometimes had bat-like features. And this version is also known as the basilcock or the cockatrice, which we are children.
Speaker: Because this is not the first time I have cracked up at these names. People were still blaming mysterious deaths on basilisks as late as the 1500s. And in modern times, we see it make a comeback in pop culture thanks to things like Harry Potter.
Speaker: Some scholars think the basilisk may have been inspired by cobras, which raise their heads, have venomous bites, and sometimes display pale markings that could resemble a crown.
Speaker: Cobras also spit venom, which may explain stories about the basilisk's deadly breath. So as I said, the basilisk first shows up as a minor creature in Greek mythology being mentioned by Nicander of Kolalfon, who was a Greek physician and poet.
Speaker: It later became widely known through Pliny the Elder's book, Natural History, written in 79 CE. So Pliny describes the basilisk as a small creature, only about 12 inches long, or as he notes, 12 fingers long.
Speaker: um And it has white markings on its head and that look like a crown. That's my favorite measurement. I know. 12 fingers. to use my fingers to measure everything. But whose fingers though? Because I have short fingers. But is it like lengthwise or widthwise? Which apparently it's widthwise. So it would be 12 fingers this way.
Speaker: Yeah. And you guys can't see. We're literally like stacking our fingers. Okay. So this eight fingers. This is a tiny... Is this worm? It's a tiny creature. Yeah. It's a worm.
Speaker: So like the original... deadliest creature in like the bestiaries back in the you know medieval times was literally like six to twelve inches long yeah yeah yeah no okay I looked it up and I was like so like finger links because everybody's fingers are different which I mean everybody's fingers are different widths too but yeah when you measure in fingers it's like this is two fingers this is three fingers like width wise Yeah. and Interesting, right? Yeah.
Speaker: So according to Pliny, the basilisk moved with the front part of its body lifted off the ground instead of slithering flat like most snakes do. He also notes that its breath was so toxic that it killed plants and it could even crack stones.
Speaker: Its strengths included that the basilisk's most famous power is its deadly gaze, making it able to kill or petrify with a single look, and its breath and touch are poisonous, able to kill plants, animals, and even humans just by being near it.
Speaker: Legendary ways to defeat a basilisk include using a mirror or a polished shield to reflect its deadly gaze back at it, exposing it to a rooster's crow, which, depending on, like,
Speaker: which version you're reading, it's either fatal to the basilisk or it just simply scares the basilisk away. Or you would rely on weasels. Said to be immune to its venom, or again, depending on the lore, the weasel also dies in the process. Oh, we don't want that. Right? I was like, God, get it together, people.
Speaker: Which each method highlights like cleverness, light, or smaller forces overcoming a powerful um and deadly creature. So when you dig into the lore, basilisk venom was described as incredibly powerful, so strong it could travel up a weapon and kill both the rider holding it and the horse that they were riding on, apparently.
Speaker: Pliny claimed the only way to kill a basilisk was to locate its lair by following the dead plants and damaged ground, then drop a weasel into it. And the weasel's bite was said to be fatal to the basilisk.
Speaker: And then again, according to like Pliny's version, the weasel also dies from the creature's venom and breath. So... There's that. A 5th century writer named Horopola even equated the basilisk with the ureus, or the sacred cobra symbol in Egyptian art, though real cobras grow much longer, obviously, than this tiny little basilisk that Pliny described.
Speaker: I think that part just makes the story even funnier because like I think in my head I always pictured the basilisk similar basilisk. I told you I was it's going to happen.
Speaker: Similar to like Harry Potter, though. Like it was like a yeah giant creature. And then the more I dug it's like, no, it's like. It's a worm. It's an inchworm. It's a tiny little worm. A caterpillar, if you will.
Speaker: So after Pliny, later writers kept escalating how dangerous the basilisk The Roman poet Lucan claimed it could kill birds just by the bird flying overhead. And Saint Isidore of Savelle later said that it could kill by smell or even by its hiss.
Speaker: And this is all despite being described as, like we said, six to 12 inches long, depending on the lore. So in the 13th century, the basilisk took a dramatic turn in Pierre de Beauvais' medieval bestiary. And this is where the rooster enters the chat.
Speaker: So he described it as being born when an old rooster laid an egg that was hatched by a toad, producing a creature with a rooster's head, a snake's tail, and bat-like wings that hid in the dark underground places waiting for victims.
Speaker: So kind of like a it's a wyvern, right? They don't have like, wyverns have legs? I think they have like two legs. Yeah. Okay. So similar to a wyvern, but without legs.
Speaker: Like a warm version of a wyvern, I guess. So during the Middle Ages, basilisks were frequently blamed for unexplained deaths and illnesses.
Speaker: They were accused of causing a plague outbreak in the 9th century Rome and a series of fainting spells in 13th century Vienna, both of which supposedly ended once the basilisk was dealt with.
Speaker: Fear of basilisk even led to roosters and eggs being destroyed if that rooster was suspected of laying the egg. So apparently this is a thing that happens with chickens. I don't know a lot about chickens, but apparently...
Speaker: Chickens can have a hormone imbalance that caused them to have more rooster-like features. And so it's not even likely that these were roosters laying eggs, but hormone-imbalanced chickens laying eggs.
Speaker: They just looked a little bit more masculine, okay? Yeah. Like, it's fine. well It's okay. Poor little chickens, though. They're like, I'm just trying to live my life and lay my eggs like I'm supposed to do.
Speaker: And they're like, nope, you are a boy chicken. And you don't lay eggs, so off you go.
Speaker: So one of the most famous later accounts is the Warsaw Basilisk of 1587. So basically, after several people were found dead in a basement, a basilisk was blamed.
Speaker: And to, like, remedy this issue, they took a condemned criminal, sent him down into this basement wearing, like, armor that was mirrored, since it was believed that the creature could be killed by seeing its own reflection.
Speaker: essentially. So they were like, sorry, criminal, you go deal with this basilisk. So the Warsaw basilisk was described as having a rooster's head with toad-like eyes, a crown-shaped growth, multicolored scales, and a long tail.
Speaker: And while it was reportedly captured and brought into sunlight, there was no clear record of how it was like ultimately killed. But they said that they killed it and they they fixed the problem. So...
Speaker: When we look at it from a cultural and media-like lens, in medieval symbolism, the basilisk wasn't just a monster, it was a warning. So its deadly gaze made it a symbol of overwhelming power and divine punishment, often used as a metaphor for sin, corruption, and unchecked authority.
Speaker: In Christian symbolism, it was sometimes linked to Satan. because Everything is, right? Everything. Everything is Satan, obviously.
Speaker: um With its lethal stare representing how easily sin could lead a soul astray. As a creature tied to death and unnatural creation, the basilisk served as a moral warning, cautioning against defying the natural order and highlighting the dangers of unchecked ambition and pride.
Speaker: Despite its many changes over the centuries, the basilisk has consistently symbolized power, death, and transformation. Its deadly gaze represents ultimate authority, capable of ending life with a single glance.
Speaker: Part of the basilisk's enduring appeal is its paradoxical nature. So it embodies chaos and destruction, yet is also seen as majestic and commanding and a ruler among beasts.
Speaker: This duality between danger and regality has made the basilisk a compelling figure from ancient text to modern fantasy, resonating across time and culture. As Europe moved into the Enlightenment, scientific inquiry, and more empirical understandings of biology, this led people to stop believing in creatures like the basilisk.
Speaker: While it was no longer seen as a real threat, its symbolic power didn't disappear. The basilisk continued to appear in literature, art, and culture as a symbol of danger, death, and the consequences of ambition.
Speaker: Many of us probably picture the basilisk through Harry Potter or even D&D first, but during the Renaissance, it showed up everywhere from art to literature.
Speaker: Artists featured it in tapestries, sculptures, and heraldry as a symbol of power and death, while writers used it to represent the dangers of forbidden knowledge and corrupt ambition.
Speaker: And Shakespeare even makes mention of the basilisk with Lady Anne's in Richard III, comparing Richard's deadly gaze to that of a basilisk. The basilisk has evolved from a small deadly serpent in Greco-Roman lore to a hybrid monster in medieval bestiary and finally into a modern fantasy icon, showing how myths adapt and thrive over time.
Speaker: It remains a symbol of death, chaos, and authority, but also of cleverness triumphing over brute force. From ancient bestiaries to modern video games, the basilisk's legend endures as a creature of awe and terror.
Speaker: um but that's the basilisk. That is a basilisk. The tiny little earthworm of scary creature. yeah and I feel like you did a great job saying the basilisk so many times.
Speaker: I know, I struggled everywhere else this time. When I was reading these notes yesterday, I was like, Bascalisk. Bascalisk. That's not right. It sound like it needs to be Bascalisk and not Bascalisk. You know what I mean? Like it flows better. Yeah. My brain was like, no, there is a K here and you're going to say it. Yeah.
Speaker: It might not look like it, but there's actually – the L actually makes the K sound. Yeah.
Speaker: That's a wrap on this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. We hope you had as much fun as we did. If you loved this episode, we'd be eternally grateful if you left us a five-star review wherever you listen to your podcasts. It helps more witches, seekers, and magical misfits find our show.
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Speaker: You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at getinwitches or email us at we'redoingwitchcraft at gmail.com. Join us next week for an updated list of our current favorite witchcraft sources. Until then, stay magical, stay curious, and as always, blessed be witches.
