The book describes it as a four-legged cockerel with a little crown and a snake’s tail. In legends it is among the most dangerous creatures: it could kill a person with its gaze or hot breath, while a cockerel’s crow or a mirror was supposed to counter it. In Hermetic symbolism it is associated with fierce fire and Mercury.
Where it appears
Older European demonological and Hermetic tradition.
What the old legends say
According to old bestiaries, the main protection was to avoid looking directly at it. A mirror, which turned its deadly gaze back upon itself, was considered a traditional counter to the basilisk, as was a cockerel’s crow, which was supposed to drive it away or kill it.
SOURCES OF THE STORY
Sources of the original atlas Tajemná místa · page 17
This legend preserves a folk tale. Its motifs do not constitute evidence of supernatural events.
