Familiars of Dark Fortune - Hare

Contact us at info@louisemcnaught.com for purchase details. Oil, acrylic, gesso, fluorescent paint and copper leaf on handmade icon board from the Ukraine, 25x30x4. Comes with dark palette used to create the piece, rune set features and a fortune gram!  (See fluorescent accents by black light in additional photos) 
Long associated with witchcraft, lunar magic and the supernatural, the hare is a creature believed to move between the physical and spiritual worlds. In European folklore, witches were said to shapeshift into hares, making them symbols of transformation, intuition and hidden knowledge. Here, the hare leaps beneath a darkened moon, its crescent of copper light suggesting the mysteries of the unseen and the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth. The fluorescent pink aura marks its otherworldly presence, while the Perthro rune, nestled amongst ancient stones, represents fate, divination, secrets and the unpredictable hand of fortune.
Growing beside the rune is deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), a beautiful but highly poisonous plant historically associated with witchcraft, magic and dangerous knowledge. Its name, belladonna, means ‘beautiful lady’, reflecting the unsettling duality of beauty and death. Traditionally linked to witches’ flying ointments and altered states of consciousness, it symbolises the thin veil between enlightenment and destruction, reminding us that not everything beautiful is benevolent. Lightning illuminates the gathering storm, representing sudden revelation and forces beyond our control, while a distant forest fire speaks of destruction, purification and renewal. Together, these symbols embody the essence of Dark Fortune — the understanding that fate is neither wholly good nor evil, and that even in darkness, transformation is possible.