The Mouse, Snake & Mongoose Archetypes
I have often heard our good Christian friends refer to two types of people, The Sheep, and the Goat. It's funny as a few years ago I had a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses knock at my door to try and convert me ... I mean start a conversation with me ... about their religion. It was a fun little chat, I even invited them in and offered to make them a cup of tea (they said no) which was a shame as I have some, lets say very interesting teas that you just can't buy in the shops (well maybe under the counter in some lol.)
After talking for quite some time about all sorts of things, one of them told me that I was 'a Goat' rather than a sheep. Although I understood the term from many years of church, I decided to play dumb and ask just what that means.
You see sheep or 'sheeple' are easily lead, they are great for fattening up and taking to the slaughter. 'Sheeple' are useless in many ways, but very useful as slaves in a modern cult. (many of these religions like the Witnesses are cults after all.) Of course this wasn't exactly what the 'JH' man said, it was more along the lines of, some people apparently not being able to see past the end of their nose, so they can't see the awesomeness of God right in front of them, or something like that.
I suppose what the 'JH' man was saying is that, he can't convert me because I have to many well thought out answers to his rather shitty generic questions. I was hoping to run into these two again, but they never did come back ... shame ;(
Both the Sheep and Goat are archetypes I guess, and I'm sure we would apply them to many people we see within the Witchy / Occult community, however the archetypes I want to talk about today are the Mouse, Snake and Mongoose.
I think it goes without saying that in grand scheme of things ethics and morality doesn't mean anything. I mean on a wider scale a very dimensions up, we are all (at least parts of us) are responsible for all sorts of 'Good' and 'Bad' things (from a human perspective.)
I'm not saying people need to start or stop acting like a Snake or a Mouse, but there are of course pros and cons in regards to how we interact with people, and the vulnerabilities we might have due to our personalities.
The Mouse
You can probably see where I'm going with this and I didn't even need to mention New Agers once (oops I just did.) The mouse is usually seen as the prey, that is unless your watching an episode of Tom & Jerry, in which case that's a smart little mouse with an amusing attitude, or as I would probably put it, a Mongoose trapped in a Mouses body (more on that later.)
You really don't need to look all that fair in the Occult world in order to find a Mouse. They are the people who often attend public magical rituals, never having ever entertained the idea of trying to hold one for themselves. They are the types to gravitate to some idiot who has sent themselves up as some sort of Occult Teacher who wears a shit robe made out of old bed-sheets. They are the type of people who will pay literally Thousands for a crappy Goddess Worship Course in a place like Glastonbury, England, which wont get them anywhere in life, wont teach them anything of substance, and wont even introduce them to the Deity they are expected to become a Priest(ess) of.
The Mouse in the larger Occult Communtiy has ulitmalty one job to do, and that to be eaten alive. They are the people who are kept in the dark with regards to actual Occult Knowledge, despite being part of certain magical groups for years. They are ones who are sure expected to take part in a ritual, but only to raise energy (food), but are never trusted with any task of any importance.
The Mouse is someone who really needs to wake up! They may never have an interest in being the smartest, strongest, or most advanced magical practitioner, but they do need to learn some 'street smarts.' They say 'Common Sense cannot be learnt' and it really does seem to be the Mouse type who is going out of their way to prove that saying right.
All this being said there is hope for the Mouse. When meeting Mice I have often tried to workout just what makes them tick, as in, why are they so easy to take advantage of? Is it a personality quirk? Stupidy? or is it just some kind of Fetish to be used?
The only thing that I have noticed to tie all these mice together is often just a lack of spine. They seem to have no back-bone. Despite actually often having the ability to defend themselves and the smarts to often see exactly what the Snake is planning, they seem to just let it strike. Most of the time it seems to be fear. Not fear of the snake, but fear of something deep inside themselves.
I have often heard coaches talk about people they train being afraid if success, being scared of just what they themselves are capable of. I have met a number of little mice now, who are capable of so much, and yet don't on some level feel worth it.
I suppose it was for people like this that the phrase 'Are you a Man or a Mouse' was invented, but with all this snowflake shit we have these days, too many people would be either be offended that I choose the word 'Man' instead of some gender fluid word (Woman and all those in-between can also be Mice too), or they would dislike that the phrase is pushing some kind of 'Toxic Masculinity' in the form of getting them to be a little Stoic 'Suck it up Buttercup' and stand up for themselves.
If your a Mouse it doesn't matter to me, but don't be surprised if you end up getting eaten lol.
The Snake
Of course where there are Mice, then there are always a few Snakes to feed upon them. Just remember it takes a rather large amount of Mice to keep the Snake population going. That's why in a lot of these dodgy Cults, there is usually one or two Snakes and sometime hundreds of Mice.
I'm sure many people have seen Snake type people prey on the vulnerable, whether it's in the form of the 'Pig Butchering' Scams, or the village Priest who preys on the young choir boys (which can easily be substituted for the local Wiccan HP who preys on young woman, like BOB).
There are Snakes all around, and I mean everywhere, especially in the Occult World. One of the reasons we see them so much in the Occult Community is that, there are so many new people to the path who are willing to out absolute trust in a random person from the internet, just because they have a website, working group, or wear colour changing contact lenses which makes them look the part.
Many Occultists don't believe in looking out for the little mice scurrying around in the Occult World, as they tend to think 'it's just nature doing what nature does best' however if you ever wanted to get up on your high horse and become a 'white knight' for a day, it could be fun ... that is .. if you behave like a Mongoose lol.
The Dance of the Mongoose
As you can probably see in the video below the Mongoose, dances and toys with it's prey (the snake) and then strikes when it will have the most impact / be assured it will be a successful strike.
In my experience both watching and sometimes being, a magical Mongoose style practitioner, the thrill of the hunt is very much about allowing the target to attempt to strike first. It really is no fun if they don't try to fight back. I mean why the hell would you want to prey on a mouse anyway, so little, fluffy vulnerable and boring.
The snake on the other hand, well the fangs, venom and conniving nature just makes the fight so much more enjoyable, it's a game you see and like the Mongoose, I play to WIN.
Just what does it take to be a Mongoose?
Well a thick skin for one, I mean you wouldn't believe the amount of crap people talk about behind my back, just because I smite the odd Asshole from time to time and enjoy it, apparently we aren't supposed to relish the opportunity for a fight or to sharpen our knives and stick them in someone or something (in astral world only of course lol.)
I suppose in some ways the Mongoose practitioner would be the friendly neighborhood sociopath. Sure they have darker tendencies, but they also protect the weak by being a predator which preys on other predators. I can't say I waste a huge amount of time protecting mice, but every now and then I do fancy Snake for dinner.
Chameleon. But never underestimate a mouse. 😉