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Werewolf Night
“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
And the autumn moon is bright.”
~ The Wolf Man (1941)
October's full moon of the 17th has already passed, but that is no reason to not take all the necessary precautions. This tartan, with its colors contrasting the dark fur of the wolf and its piercing yellow eyes, was inspired by the designer's real encounter with a Grey Wolf! Grey wolves are found from Alaska and the upper Mackenzie River Valley, south through western Canada (excluding prairie areas) and into the Northwestern United States. Wolves have a long, complex relationship with humans. They were often feared and hunted by pastoral communities for attacking livestock, yet admired in agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. Their haunting howl and keen intelligence have made them legendary figures in myth and folklore. Many cultures tell stories of "werewolves" - humans cursed to transform into wolves, often under the light of the full moon. Remedies for lycanthropy (werewolfism) varied across regions, ranging from exorcisms and physical exhaustion to using wolfsbane, a toxic herb. However, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, it was believed that addressing a werewolf by its Christian name three times could break the curse, while a Danish belief claimed that merely scolding the werewolf could do the trick! Bad werewolf, bad! Howwwwwwwl! 🐺 🌑 🌙 🌓 🌖 🌕
A werewolf is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or a wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse or affliction (e.g. by a bite or scratch from another werewolf).
The magical ability to assume the form and characteristics of a wolf is known as lycanthropism, or lycanthropy.
A common belief throughout all folklore and myth is that all werewolves are forced to shift during the cycle of the full moon, to some this is a gift, others a curse.
There was no widespread belief in werewolves in medieval Europe before the 14th century, though the belief in the ability to transform into a wolf goes back much further.
Werewolves were said to bear tell-tale physical traits even in their human form. These included the meeting of both eyebrows at the bridge of the nose, curved fingernails, low-set ears and a swinging stride. One method of identifying a werewolf in its human form was to cut the flesh of the accused, to see if fur would be seen within the wound. A Russian superstition maintains that werewolves in human form can be recognised by bristles under the tongue!
Traditionally, there were three medieval preferred methods to cure a victim of lycanthropism: medicinally (usually via the use of the herb wolfsbane), surgically, or by exorcism. Unsurprisingly, many of these cures proved fatal to the patients. However, In the German lowlands of Schleswig-Holstein, a werewolf could be cured if one simply addressed it three times by its Christian name, while a Danish belief held that simply scolding a werewolf would cure it!
Along with a vulnerability to the silver objects (usually a silver bullet), the association of the full moon as a cause of transformation from human to werewolf became part of the canon of werewolf lore only fairly recently in the twentieth century, mostly reinforced by 20th century movies.
The Dark Grey Wolf tartan, by designer Carol A.L. Martin, was created after an encounter with a wolf somewhere between Calgary and Banff, Canada.
For more on the very extensive werewolf lore, click the yellow eyes!