Zephyros
In the Book of Thoth, in the passage on the Moon, Crowley speaks of someone called Tabu who guards the path and that she is "uncleanliness and sorcery." Who is she? Is she a Hekate-like figure? I couldn't find anything about her online.
Crowley said:But the really primitive superstitions cannot be explained so simply. It seems more probable that they arose from the unscientific habit (extremely common among men of science) of generalising from too few facts. It might happen by chance that on half a dozen occasions within a short period, a hunter, setting out at Full Moon, was killed. The old fallacy of Post hoc propter hoc would come in; and the village would say, "It is unlucky to go out hunting at Full Moon". This would gather force, as it was repeated through the generations, by virtue of mental indolence; and it would not be disturbed, because Tabu would render the original coincidence unlikely to recur. If, however, something similar came off at the New Moon, there would be a new superstition; and presently there would be a complete nexus of Tabu about the Moon.
Cultural Beliefs & Tabu
In pre-Christian times each Tongan clan had a spirit animal, and a clan member brought bad luck upon himself by killing and eating his clan animal. This was called "tabu" among Tongans. It was once so ingrained in the culture that missionaries used the phrase in reference to social transgression and it became the etymological root for the English "taboo." Some Tongans still observe taboos on their clan animals.
This is a point I was looking for! I knew it was an indigenous belief somewhere (from having learned it in an anthropology class once) but I couldn't remember exactly. I remember it being based on spirituality on some level, mistakenly having something to do with a god or goddess. Thank you for this...