Lessons from the Fox in Times of Darkness
The Art of Magical Living — Issue #39
First … something strange has been happening to me in the past year or so.
I’ve been seeing foxes everywhere.
I’m not just talking about about an occasional fox, either, or in the same place. All across Baltimore, often when I’m driving at night, foxes decide to dart across the road directly in front of my car.
And I mean dozens of times, sometimes multiple times a week. It has seemed quite … uncanny.
Just last night, in fact, after I had taken a break from writing this, a fox ran in front of my car on my way to picking up my daughter from work.
Now, I do my best to check claims of strange events with skepticism. Yes, there are lots of foxes in urban environments like Baltimore. Yes, I often drive late at night because I’m a night owl, and that’s when foxes are out having their fun and their dinner.
But nonetheless … the odds seem very much against the little critters constantly running directly in front of my car in geographically diverse places— so much so that I almost expect them now.
And two nights ago, I saw one run in front of my car, then, about 15 minutes later and several miles away, another darted into the road, eyes on me as I approached, before vanishing into someone’s bushes.
In other words, something strange seems to be going on.
I’m always wary of people who use the term “spirit animal.” I am loath to appropriate Native American customs or beliefs, especially when they’ve been hijacked and homogenized by the new age community.
But I do believe humans have real connections with animals, whether wild or domesticated, that can be described as spiritual. I have always believed animals have spirits, just like human animals, which is why I don’t eat them (not preaching here, but it’s part of my spiritual path, one that goes all the way back to Pythagoras — except unlike the old Greek teacher, I do eat and enjoy beans 😆).
And we can absolutely experience real spiritual links to animals and the myths surrounding them, and learn from those stories and experiences.
Of course there are fox tarot decks (because nowadays there’s a tarot deck for everything). And many years ago I owned Medicine Cards, which features an interesting writeup about the fox.
But the fox is also one of the cards of Lenormand divination decks — the one above is from La Santa Muerte Lenormand by my pal Dan Pelletier of The Tarot Garden. And the fox below is from one of my favorite vintage decks, Whitman Publishing’s Fortune Telling Cards from the mid-20th century (below).
The Medicine Cards fox writeup has a lot of nuanced meanings, but largely focuses on the ability to camouflage and remain unseen. It also says the Choctaw tradition associates Fox with protecting one’s family.
Lenormand meanings are much more straightforward and conventional, in many cases, and the fox can suggest one’s work/job, but also the need to be wary of disloyalty and subterfuge (as in someone who is “sly like a fox”).
So because I am human, and humans seek and create meaning when weird things happen, what possible meaning could I ascribe to this bizarre run of fox encounters?
Well, as most of you probably know, I gained some internet fame for creating a mass ritual to bind a certain odious and deeply dangerous political figure from doing harm (and even wrote a book, now out of print, about the experience).
Now he’s resurgent, with his cult followers feeling more emboldened and empowered than ever. (Of course, we all know right-wing media’s primary TV propaganda network bears the name of the sly, bushy-tailed critter).
After seeing the fox cross my path last night, I was waiting in my car for my daughter to finish work and listening to my local NPR station. They were running the Orange One’s political convention live.
I listened for about five minutes before I had to turn it off.
It was nothing but pure, seething hatred and vicious mockery. And that hatred and viciousness was pointedly scapegoating the most defenseless among us — immigrants, LGBTQ people, and people of color.
It was utterly chilling and revolting and—quite literally—left me sickened.
You could feel their absolute certainty that they were going to win. And that means succeeding at their goal of turning the United States into a Christofascist empire, ruled by a hate-fueled megalomaniacal tyrant.
It’s easy to feel despair in the face of such brutish arrogance and confidence. I see it among so many of us who have been fighting this rising fascist wave for nearly a decade now.
But as I sat in the silence of my car, I wondered if the foxes were giving me a lesson.
Foxes are eerily quiet. They blend into the shadows and disappear into the underbrush. But they survive — even thrive — in the darkness.
That is their power.
The far-right, which represents the worst of human nature, are basking in the light of day. They’ve stopped hiding their hatred and lust for absolute power, and instead feel emboldened to hold those beliefs up, proudly, for everyone to see.
I kept returning to the text from the Medicine Cards, and the wise words of Jamie Sams, the deck’s creator, spoke to me quite clearly.
And maybe those words — the words of our Fox, not their Fox — will speak to you, too.
“If Fox has chosen to share its medicine with you, it is a sign that you are to become like the wind, which is unseen yet is able to weave into and through any location or situation. You would be wise to observe the acts of others rather than their words at this time. Use your cunning nature in a positive way; keep silent about who and what and why you are observing.
Much like the clowns at the rodeo, Fox can keep the raging bull from stampeding a friend or family member. Fox can use silly tactics as a brilliant camouflage move. No one could guess the sly power behind such ingenious maneuvers.
We need to be much more observant of our surroundings from a place of stillness and detachment … willing to adapt to whatever Life presents to us, using our intelligence and cunning to make choices and once made, to not equivocate but take decisive action and do so as silently and inconspicuously as possible.
Taking care of family has and will become more important in the coming weeks and months, whether family is your blood relations or close friends.”
So while the hate-mongers and scapegoaters expose themselves in the bright light of the sun, let’s consider the example of the sly fox who operates in the darkness of the night, instinctively reacting to dangers and doing what is necessary to protect its family.
The hubris of the proponents of hate and fear, laid bare for all to see, and their likely overreach, may be their undoing. We, like the foxes, will continue to work, quietly and with cunning and intelligence and adaptability, to bring about a more peaceful, just, tolerant, and loving society. Our very own “fox network.”
Maybe this is how we beat them.
In the meantime, stay strong, stay committed, keep doing the necessary work, and take care of each other.
Michael
Michael M. Hughes is a writer, speaker, and magical thinker. He is the author of Magic for the Resistance: Rituals and Spells for Change, the Blackwater Lights Trilogy, as well as numerous other works of fiction and nonfiction, and he speaks and teaches classes on magic, tarot, pop culture, psychedelics, and more.
His comprehensive tarot course, The Art and Magic of the Tarot: Foundations, is available here, as well as his most recent course on Tarot Magic.
Michael’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, CNN, The L.A. Times, Rolling Stone, Comedy Central, Wired, Elle,Vox, Cosmopolitan,and even the ultraconservative The American Spectator,which wrote: “He may play footsie with the devil, but at least the man has a sense of humor.”
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