This came up in a question the other day. Yes, some do but it’s a good deal rarer than you would expect. I don’t personally and I can see no end I would ever want to achieve that I couldn’t manage without killing an animal. I know a few witches who use animal entrails for divination and blood sacrifice does have its uses, but I always tend to use my own blood for those type of workings and it’s a good deal more potent than a dead cat’s blood would be.
Sacrifice can be made because a witch needs the dead animal (in which case I’d question why they don’t just find an animal that’s already dead) or it can be incorporated into a necessity killing, for example witches who hunt for food. This is often seen as more morally justifiable, particularly if the whole of the animal is put to use and not wasted.
The key idea behind animal sacrifice is to raise energy and power. Some witches believe that the life force of the animal is channelled into their magic. Others align the act of killing to symbolise the power of the witch. There are in my opinion significantly more effective ways to raise energy and I actually see the whole animal sacrifice thing as posturing and a bit clichéd these days.
Image http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=1008596 (bugdog)
Sacrifice can be made because a witch needs the dead animal (in which case I’d question why they don’t just find an animal that’s already dead) or it can be incorporated into a necessity killing, for example witches who hunt for food. This is often seen as more morally justifiable, particularly if the whole of the animal is put to use and not wasted.
The key idea behind animal sacrifice is to raise energy and power. Some witches believe that the life force of the animal is channelled into their magic. Others align the act of killing to symbolise the power of the witch. There are in my opinion significantly more effective ways to raise energy and I actually see the whole animal sacrifice thing as posturing and a bit clichéd these days.
Image http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=1008596 (bugdog)
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