Vampires in mythology, literature, and fiction can often shape-change into a bat, wolf, or mist. In reality, like the therions, some Vampyres are practitioners of the art of shapeshifting or simply “shifting,” with the wolf being the most common and favored form for practitioners of Lycanthropy. The etymology of Lycanthropy hails from the Greek words lykos (wolf) and anthropos (man), and in mythology is the shape shifting of a man into the form of a wolf. As a magickal practice, shifting and lycanthropy has many roots in legends and esoteric traditions, from myths of Slavs, Greek, and Norse tribes to coverage in Renaissance and Medieval literature. For example, some spells exist in Russian folklore with the "zagovori," and shamanistic skin-walkers of Native American lore.