Ape

The ape is the mimic and the trickster, the creature that copies the gods. In Egypt the dog-faced baboon was sacred to Thoth, scribe of the gods, greeting the rising Sun each morning. The Golden Dawn places it on Mercury's path for that reason: cleverness, imitation, and the restless intellect.

Uses

• Learning by imitation and mastering a craft
• Wit, cunning, and quick thinking
• Honoring Thoth and Hermes
• Seeing through deception, including your own

Working with it

Call on the ape when you are studying something new or need to outthink a situation. Place an image of a baboon or of Thoth on a Wednesday altar with a yellow candle, and ask for a nimble mind. In meditation, watch how it copies and adapts, then ask what you are copying without knowing it.