If you’re looking for a different way to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day this year, why not indulge in a little light lycanthropy?

The spirit of the wolf can help us all connect with our inner power and stamina.

The festival of St Valentine took over from the previous Roman wolf-themed festival of Lupercalia, which had a lot fewer heart-shaped chocolates than we are used to in our celebrations today – instead a dog and two goats were sacrificed, after which the young male adepts or Luperci were anointed with blood and milk, dressed in the animal skins, and armed with leather thongs.

They would then run around the town whipping women with these makeshift whips, the lashes of which were supposed to ensure fertility and drive out evil spirits.

So why not go the old-fashioned route this year, and invest in some leather gear and a whip? Or continue with the wolf theme, which is quite an appropriate romantic one, as wolves are monogamous and mate for life.

Lycanthropy doesn’t have to involve howling at the moon or waking up naked in the street with a fuzzy head, smeared with blood.

A wolf makes a powerful spirit guide or totem animal, and you can awaken your inner wolf by drinking a Werewolf Potion to connect with Wolf spirits in the light of the full moon.

Remember, our potential connection with animal spirits is always a part of us. You can awaken that connection through your intent and a ritual where you drink the idea in, and make it a part of yourself.

The effect will be a development of your more predatory instincts and increased energy and libido, so you see it all comes back to romance in the end.

There is a waning full moon this Valentine’s Day, so prepare by infusing some moon water on Saturday night in the full moonlight and freezing it into cubes on Sunday.

Werewolf Potion

1 shot Zubrowka Bisongrass vodka

1 shot Vilmos pear brandy

3 drops of honey

Juice of 10 black sable grapes

Moon water ice

Bisongrass, or holy grass – is considered one of the Four Sacred Medicines by the Plains Indians, and traditionally used in their rituals for inducing spirit travel.

This vodka is from an obscure corner of Poland and is one of the best ways to gain the properties of coumarin, the active ingredient of bisongrass. This can also be found in tonka beans, although these are not widely available.

Vilmos pear brandy is made exclusively in Hungary, where werewolves were just as feared as witches in the Early Times.

In the 17th and 18th centuries as many werewolf trials were carried out as witch trials, with werewolves, witches and vampires often being treated as interchangeable. Pear trees were often considered to be a home for beneficial spirits, with strong rules against felling them.

Drink alone, or with your mate for a Lupine Valentine under the full moon. Clink glasses “to the wolf!”

Make sure you have an image of the wolf present, and keep it in view at all times.

Do bear in mind that if you go out for dinner afterwards, a wolf can eat up to 20% of its own bodyweight, so you may not want to pick too expensive a restaurant.

Happy Valentine’s Day!