toad

The toad - also referred to as the Stelon or Borax - may not seem very mystical. In fact it has had many strong links to witchcraft and ancient lore.
Its first links to witches were probably during the middle ages, when the toad was seen by Christians as a symbol of the Devil (there are three in his coat of arms), and they believed it was linked to poison, and that it could be inhabited by the witches familiar spirit.
In Dorsetshire folklore, great care had to be taken when removing a frog from one's cellar, so as not to hurt it just in case it was inhabited by a witches familiar spirit - thus incuring the wrath of whom te spirit belonged to.
In Macbeth, by William Shakespear, 'sweltered venom' is mentioned. This is a referance to the saliva of a toad which was supposed to be particularly harmful.
Within the toads skull was a precious stone - a 'toadstone' - which detected the presence of poisons, becoming warm to the touch - or if it were set in a ring it would become paler in colour.
In superstition, it is unlucky to see a frog, and if were to jump over your foot, that is often interpreted as a sign of impending death.
However, a toad is also closely linked to a woman's womb, and a woman would often have a statuette in her home to promote fertility.
In Gypsy mythology, the Queen of Faeries is said to live in a palace shaped as a golden toad.
It is also said to hold the cure to a number of illnesses: in Devonshire, the dried leg of a toad was worn around a patient's neck to cure king's evil, and for rheumatism it would be burned to dust and worn around one's neck in a silk bag.
The Toadmen were men who had gained complete control of a horse by using a toad. This power was gained only after a very elaborate ritual. They had to skin a toad and allow ants to pick its bones clean. The bones were then taken and kept in the Toadman's pocket until they dried. On the night of a full moon he would take them to a stream, or another source of running water. He would place the bones in a stream, and one would float upstream and leave the rest. He would then capture the bone, and keep it with him in a graveyard or a stable for three nights. In this time, the Devil would try to tempt him to give up the bone, and after the three nights had expired, he would be granted his powers.