According to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, as Boudicca prepared for battle around 60–61 CE, she invoked the goddess Andraste by conducting a ritual involving a hare:
“She let a hare escape from the folds of her dress and interpreted the direction in which it ran as a divine omen.” — Dio Cassius, Roman History
In ancient Britain and Celtic traditions, the hare symbolized liminality, transformation, and female power. In Boudicca’s narrative, the hare becomes more than a symbol. Hare is a ritual tool and a divine messenger. It bridges the natural world and the spiritual world, aligning her rebellion with the will of the Goddess. The hare’s release becomes an act of political magic, blending indigenous religion with warfare.
What political magic are you stirring up?
Legacy: The Hare, The Moon, and Life
Throughout history, the hare is regarded as connected to the moon, the liminal, and to life. This correspondence allows us to see associations to Divine Feminine power and that of fertility, rebirth, and the cycles of life.
Treading softly on the earth to nibble fresh green shoots and grasses, rabbits emerge from cover in the soft light of dawn and dusk, thresholds of transition.” Taschen, The Book of Symbols
The natural capacity of hare/rabbits to have up to five litters a year is proof positive of its fecundity and fertility. Its habit of coming out during liminal times or times of transition shows the powerful nature of cycles. In The Book of Symbols (Taschen), a Chinese embroidery featuring a rabbit on the full Moon (next to the Tree of Life no less!) making Mochi and a Mayan ceramic depicting a rabbit upon the full Moon. The fullness, the roundness, of the Full Moon, the circle it creates, can take us to other images and archetypes as well. Consider the fullness of human breasts and bellies during pregnancy, the Wheel of The Year, that of the Cauldron and its correspondence to the womb.
The Messenger
With the liminality and in between style of Hare, there is also a correspondence to Mercury, that androgynous walker between the worlds. In alchemical traditions, Mercury is what allows the connection to take place between the physical and spiritual realms. Within Jungian psychology, Hare relates to images that connect physical and spiritual aspects of self on our journey to individuation.
In Boudicca’s story, it is her connection to receiving the messages of Andraste as she knows a new cycle, a new journey is taking form.
Across cultures, we can find several compelling examples of Hare as messenger as well. In African Folklore (Khoisan and Bantu), Hare is sent by the Full Moon to deliver a message (although in this case there is a trickster messenger vibe). It is believed that Druids also observed the movement of Hare to extract the messages from the spirit world during Samhain and Beltane. We find Hare in a Buddhist story and in Native American Nanabozho or Michabo tales too.
Hare is for everyone. There are multiple Goddesses associated with Hare/Rabbit too, not just Boudicca. Our ability to find the connections and to shapeshift from a place of personal knowing of Hare allows us to continue with one foot in this realm and a foot in others. What could Hare teach you? I look forward to hearing the other ways in which you find Hare!
A Candle & A Key,
Kaycee
Resources
Jung et al. (1990). The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Princeton University Press.
Ronnberg, A., & Martin, K. (Eds.). (2010). The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images. Taschen America LLC.
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