When it is not hereditary it may be acquired through the performance of certain of the rites ordained by Black Magic. For the present I can only deal with the more general features of these rites (which vary according to locality) and the conditions of mind essential to those who would successfully practise these rites. In the first place, it is necessary that the person desirous of acquiring the property of lycanthropy should be in earnest and a believer in those superphysical powers whose favour he is about to ask.
Assuming we have such an individual he must, first of all, betake himself to a spot remote from the haunts of men. The powers to be petitioned are not to be found promiscuously- anywhere. They favour only such waste and solitary places as the deserts, woods, and mountaintops.
The locality chosen, our candidate must next select a night when the moon is new and strong (Physic influences are demonstrated by the position of the planets. For instance, at a new moon, cusp of Seventh House, and cojoined with Saturn in opposition to Jupiter, sinister superphysical presences are much in evidence on the Earth.) He must then choose a perfectly level piece of ground, and on it, at midnight, he must mark, either with chalk or string- it really does not matter which- a circle of not less than seven feet in radius, and within this, and from the same centre, another circle of three feet in radius. Then, in the centre of this inner circle he must kindle a fire, and over the fire place an iron tripod containing and iron vessel of water. As soon as the water begins to boil the would-be lycanthropist must throw into it handfuls of any three of the following substances: Asafoetida, parsley, opium, hemlock, henbane, saffron, aloe, poppy-seed and solanum; repeating as he does so these words:-
?rits from the deep,
Who never sleep,
Be kind to me.
?rits from the grave,
Without a soul to save,
Be kind to me.
?rits of the trees,
That grow upon the leas,
Be kind to me.
?rits of the air,
Foul and black, not fair,
Be kind to me.
?er spirits of earthbound dead,
That glide with noiseless tread,
Be kind to me.
?rits of cold and ice,
Patrons of crime and vice,
Be kind to me.
?ves, vampires, satyrs, ghosts!
Elect of all the devilish hosts!
I pray you send hither,
Send hither, send hither,
The great grey shape that makes men shiver!
Shiver, shiver, shiver!
Come! Come! Come!??t;br>
The supplicant then takes off his vest and shirt and smears his body with the fat of some newly killed animal (preferably a cat), mixed with aniseed. Camphor, and opium. Then he binds round his loins a girdle made of wolf?kin, and kneeling down within the circumference of the first circle, waits for the advent of the Unknown. When the fire burns blue and quickly dies out, the Unknown is about to manifest itself; if it does not then actually appear it will make its presence felt.
There is little consistency in the various methods of the spirit?dvent: sometimes a deep unnatural silence immediately precedes it; sometimes crashes and bangs, groaning and shriekings, herald its approach. When it remains invisible its presence is indicated and accompanied by a sensation of abnormal cold and the most acute terror. It is sometimes visible in the guise of a huntsmen- which is, perhaps, its most popular shape- sometimes in the form of a monstrosity, partly man and partly beast- and sometimes it is seen ill defined and only partly materialized. To what order of spirits it belongs is, of course, purely a matter of conjecture. It is difficult to say to what extent the Unknown is believed to be powerful by those who approach it for the purpose of acquiring the gift of lycanthropy; but I am inclined to think that the majority of these, at all events, do not ascribe to it any supreme power, but regard it merely as a local spirit- the spirit of some particular wilderness or forest.
Of course, it is quite possible that the property of werewolfery might be acquired by other than a direct personal communication with the Unknown, as, for example, by eating a wolf?rains, by drinking water out of a wolf?ootprints, or by drinking out of a stream from which three or more wolves have been seen to drink; but as most of the stories I have heard of werewolfery acquired in this way are of a wild and improbable nature, I think there is little to be learned from the modus operandi they advocate.
Belief in the Evil Eye is everywhere prevalent in the East, and it is undoubtedly true that people who have certain peculiarities in their eyes, both with regard to expression, colour, and formation, are people to be avoided. If malevolently inclined, they invariably bring ill-luck on all who become acquainted with them. I have followed the careers of several people in whom I have noticed this baneful feature, and their histories have been one long tale of sin or sorrow- often both.
But through the Evil Eye denotes an evil superphysical influence, the werewolf is not necessarily possessed of it. Sometimes a werewolf may be told by the long, straight, slanting eyebrows, which meet in an angle over the nose; sometimes by the hands, the third finger of which is a trifle the longest; or by the finger-nails, which are red, almond shaped, and curved; sometimes by the ears, which are set rather low, and far back on their heads; and sometimes by a noticeably long, swinging stride, which is strongly suggestive of some animal. Either one or the other of these features is always present in hereditary werewolves, and is also frequently developed in those people who become werewolves, either at the same time as or soon after they acquire the property.