It has been a while that I have written something Outlander related. Recently, I finished reading “Lord John and the Succubus.” I suggest reviewing the links to some posts that I have written in the past for a better understanding of what I will be explaining. They are at the end of this post.
In Chapter One, there is the request from Herr Blomberg to use Lord John’s white horse to find the succubus who has taken possession of a recently dead person.
The notion, as it had been explained to him, was that a white stallion had the power to detect the presence of the supernatural. The horse would stop at the grave of the succubus, which could then be opened and steps taken to destroy the creature (Lord John and the Succubus, ch. 1).
What comes to the reader’s mind is the Cherokee belief that white animals carry messages from the spirit world (The Fiery Cross, ch. 82). Of course, the reader is aware that there is a cultural and lifestyle resemblance between the Scottish Highlands and the Amerindians. Therefore, it is interesting to find a similar belief regarding white animals in continental Europe (in this case, the Kingdom of Prussia).
Related to this white animal similarity is the fact that Claire is associated with the white color everywhere she goes. Among the Europeans, she is known as a White Lady. For the Amerindians, she is White Raven. The only difference is that her Amerindian name reflects her spirit animal, probably something related to the fact that Amerindians practiced zootheism (and some still do so today).
The beliefs associated with the Cherokee shamanistic system and the notion of the “four airts,” may also be found in other European locations. In the Outlander series, Master Raymond mentions the use of what seems to be shamanistic practices in eighteenth-century France. When Claire meets him for the first time, the Vicomtesse de Rambeau wanted to get what she believed to be poison. Instead, she was getting bitter cascara. Of note is the explanation that Raymond gives Claire.
. . . “Yes, that’s right, cascara. The rival will fall sick tomorrow, suffer visibly in order to satisfy the Vicomtesse’s desire for revenge and convince her that her purchase was a good one, and then she will recover, with no permanent harm done, and the Vicomtesse will attribute the recovery to the intervention of the priest or a counterspell done by a sorcerer employed by the victim.” (Dragonfly in Amber, ch. 8)
This account resembles how Shamans in traditional societies heal people. It is likely that Europeans had something similar in place centuries back, and what readers witness in book 2 in regards to the beliefs of the Vicomtesse of Rambeau are remnants of an old, ancient practice. The following fragment is from one of my most popular posts about this subject, “Symbolism of Jamie’s Color,” which is linked at the bottom of this page.
To understand the meaning of the red color, one must comprehend how the shamanistic system works. Here is a simplified version of the Cherokee shamanistic system (Mooney, 342).
Cardinal Point Color Meaning East Red Success; triumph North Blue Defeat; trouble West Black Death South White Peace; happiness Mooney states that a shaman “invokes the Red Man to the assistance of his client and consigns his enemy to the fatal influences of the Black Man” (342). According to Peter Bewlie, shamans call the Red Man to help a client. They also invoke the Blue Man to bring defeat and trouble to the enemy (The Fiery Cross, ch. 81). Both the Red Man and the Blue Man are not only invoked to be successful in a battle. They are also called when somebody needs to be cured of illness. In his ethnological research, Mooney explains the formula the Cherokee used to treat rheumatism.
. . .The white or red spirits are generally invoked for peace, health, and other blessings, the red alone for the success of an undertaking, the blue spirits to defeat the schemes of an enemy or bring down troubles upon him, and the black to compress his death. The white and red spirits are regarded as the most powerful, and one of these two is generally called upon to accomplish the final result (347).
Of note is how Master Raymond saves Claire from dying after miscarrying Faith. First, he efficiently heals her by touching various parts of the body, including her breasts and womb. This process resembles the method that Hector McEwan uses in treating his patients, by touching and by transmitting healing energy, represented by a blue glow (I will be discussing more this in my next post). It seems that Raymond is the first character in the series to be associated with this healing energy. I think the author is using a form of alternative medicine in the series known as energy medicine or energy healing. Furthermore, Master Raymond asks Claire to call the red man. This process resembles how Amerindian shamans invoke different spirits for healing purposes: “Now,” he said softly. Call him. Call the red man. Call him” (Dragonfly in Amber, ch. 25). In this particular case, the red man is Jamie. Therefore, Jamie has the spirit of the warrior, of victory in him.
Overall, one can say that there are similarities, especially in the belief systems, among different cultures. Of course, it is hard to visualize the way people thought about the world around them centuries back. They did not have today’s science and technology. Thanks for reading!
Sources
Gabaldon, Diana. Dragonfly in Amber. New York: Bantam Dell, 1993. Print.
– – – . “Lord John and the Succubus.” Lord John and the Hand of Devils. New York: Bantam Dell, 2007. Print.
– – -. The Fiery Cross. 2001. New York: Bantam Dell. 2005. Print.
Mooney, James. Cherokee History, Myths and Sacred Formulas. Cherokee: Cherokee Publications. 2006. Print.
Outlander: The Post that I Wrote for Outlander Central About Raymond and Claire (Link)