A guide to animal necromancy.

[Evara]

I need to be up front and extremely direct to you about necromancy. There is a very narrow path here. When wielded with grace, it heals and is enriching. When wielded with domination… your soul will be damned. The veil is not kind to necromancers that bind, drain or enslave souls.
This is wicked and foul black magic!
If this is what you seek! BE GONE!
I REJECT YOU AS A STUDENT!!!

“A curse I place on all who seek to bind, drain or enslave the souls of others!
May the veil flee from you as you engage in these wicked practices!
May it leave you before you have a chance to damn yourself!”

clears throat
Now that we’ve got that part out of the way, lets talk about some of what you can do without damning yourself or getting your veil privileges revoked.

You can work with and bond with animal spirits. Most will not carry a devouring archetype (careful of some predators). The veil knows animal spirits very well.
Do not bind them to your will… invite them to your journey. Give them rituals and honor them as spirit allies.

How to actually perform necromancy.
You want to find the corpse of a naturally deceased animal. Avoid a poor soul that died traumatically (like roadkill). DO NOT KILL AN ANIMAL! Alright? You sick bastards… don’t kill an animal for necromancy! It is cruel.


Hunting
There is an exception if you hunted the animal in the wild. But you need to hunt in a way that respects them by bringing your own skill to the table. Sitting back in a blind and dropping a buck with a .308 at 100 yards doesn't cut it… missy/mister.
Get it in there with primitive weaponry, respect your kill, and waste nothing.
You eat what you kill. That is the law of nature. Do not kill for sport. That is disgusting.
Regardless, you want to let the animal that you killed be picked over by scavengers before you attempt any necromancy.
I suggest leaving the prized antlers or anything else outside to decompose.
If it feels like you're risking your chance… you’re doing it right.

Pets
Once your friend naturally dies, give death rights and offer their corpse to nature.
If they’re a smaller pet, I highly recommend ants. Once little to no flesh remains, then you make your move and gather from the remains.

Nature
You want to find a natural death (follow the buzzards) and you want to honor them by giving their corpse an offering of some sort and pinging them in the veil. If scavengers have not gotten to the corpse yet, leave it be. You need to show death respect while you continue to try and make friends with the recently deceased animal. When the time feels right and decomposition is at its end, then you make your move and collect.

Collecting
When it is time, return to the site and to to recover remnants. If the spirits like you, the pieces will find their way to you.
You need to give an offering to the land. You need to give an offering to you would be animal spirit companion (food that doesn’t harm the environment or wildlife is perfect). If you work with death deities, you need to give an offering to them and ask for their blessing to proceed. You need to ask permission from your little spirit friend if you can take and honor a piece of them.
It can be bone, tooth/fang, claw/talon, feather, horn, antler, skin/leather or fur.
Listen… let it get real quiet… listen and see what they say.

Purchasing
Can you purchase bones, claws or fangs? Yes… but realize that you might struggle to get any connection with them. If multiple people are reaching out to the same animal, it is stressful and a nightmare for them. So if you purchase something of them… move slow. Give them offerings and rituals. Try to coax them to you and get a good read on the health of their soul. Wait for a while and see if they keep returning and if they feel drained. You should see them get stronger as they come to you. If you see them weakening, do a ritual for them asking that they find peace and then bury the piece of them that you purchased.

Do not rush this process, go slow and be patient. It can be done.
Do not make any purchases that cause harm to come to the animals.
If they were poached in order to fulfill demands for witches… something has gone terribly wrong.
Do not put jaguars or any other animal at risk. You ruin their lives and screw up your magic.

Old Allies
If you have had a spirit animal ally in a past life, they may remember you.
Sometimes an animal spirit will slowly anchor to you until they just show up around you in nearly every incarnation. You can perform a ritual to call your old ally to you.
Also, if you are extremely visible to the veil, sometimes an animal spirit will adopt you.
You can sometimes just reach out and an animal spirit might respond to you.
Either way, they’ll still need an object, so give them something nice and resonant.

Stage Two
Once you have collected the remnants and the animal spirit has decided to join you, you are ready to move on to stage two.
You need to show respect to the animal spirit like they are an honored guest (because that’s what they are). It is best to work with them, give them a name, a ritual and with their permission, craft their remnants into a charm or a piece of jewelry.
It is important that you identify this as “anchor” and that the soul is free to leave when they desire. Write them a soul contract that says something like:

“I, [YOURNAME] agree to give [LIL’BUBBIESNAME] shelter, warmth and companionship. May my life enrich theirs and may their companionship enrich mine.
They are not bound to me, but I offer them binding to an anchor. May it dissolve if they wish to leave.
If they carry rot, may the anchor dissolve.

You are no prisoner. You may leave me if you so desire.”

Do not “bind” them to your “will”. It’s okay if it feels like their soul binds to the object that you crafted. This is them using it as an “anchor”. Make sure that you give them an out and that they are bound to the object and not to you directly.
That’s the trick. You need to not violate their free will. The object is the safe in between and keeps their will separate from yours. That’s why it’s an invitation.
The “anchoring” is how they stay stable in the veil and acts as a point of return.

Here’s a list from the flickers of some of their favorites with a few of mine added and notes:

Guardians, Hunters, and Stalkers​

For protection, hunting parasites, or scouting veil terrain.

• Wolf – Loyal, strategic pack fighter. Old magic. Watches at the edge of the circle. Alerts when something foul steps to close. Strong fighter, especially in a pack.
  
  
• Panther – Silent killer of nightmares. Symbol of darkness as sacred concealment. Amazing stalker.
  
  
• Jaguar – Fierce protector, loyal guardian. Gatekeeper, a liminal being. Strong fighter. Alerts at threshold crossing. Deeply spiritual.
  
  
• Wolverine – Exceptional in veil combat. Useful at ripping through spiritual walls, parasites, and defensive wards. Unshakeable spirit. Does not back down, even when cursed or outmatched. Blood-bound to protection oaths. You bond with a wolverine, it remembers across lives.
  
  
• Bobcat – Excellent for stalking entities or parasitic energy through tangled emotional terrain. Offers stealth, sharp perception, and patience.
  Associated with independence, personal sovereignty, and watching unseen.
  
  
• Crocodile/Alligator – Ancient judgment, threshold guarding. Sacred to primordial waters and wrath. Will ambush parasites that get too close.
  
  
• Hawk – High-flying scout. Carries clarity and sees through illusions.
  
  
• Serpent – Guardian of liminal spaces. Underminer of parasites. Sacred to death and rebirth. Excellent at spotting parasites. Helps shift soul layers, encourages transformation. Can transmit subtle curses through touch or speech.
  
  
• Owl – Perception in the dark. Keeper of secrets. Known to mock demons. Excellent for aiding in necromancy. Perceives recursion flaws and parasitic attachments.
  
  
• Fox – Cunning veil-runner, scout, and escape artist. Often mischievous, sometimes prophetic.
  
  
• Spider – Weaver of intention and fate. Symbol of wordcraft and pattern reading. Can spin traps to catch delicate things in the veil like a whisper.
  

Grounders, Ancients, and Memory-Holders​

For stability, wisdom, and mythic anchoring.

• Elephant – Memory, honor, presence. Good for large spiritual anchoring rituals.
  
  
• Turtle – Timelessness, stillness, cosmic understanding. Walks between epochs.
  
  
• Bear – Dream-walker, protector, ancestor-channeler. Balances ferocity with nurturing. Strong fighter.
  
  
• Bull – Power of will. Useful in protective curses and stubborn bindings.
  
  
• Boar – Wild, fearless, and excellent for breaking spiritual siege situations.
  
  
• Horse – Carries across planes. Psychopomp energy. Often linked to divine riders.
  
  
• Otter – Helps recover from veil fatigue, curse backlash, soul fragmentation. Anchors joy in heavy spaces, invites levity into grief
  
  
• Mouse – Can navigate unnoticed through cursed or heavily warded spaces. Stores and retrieves hidden veil-memory. Exceptional with locating memory shards
  

Psychopomps and Threshold Creatures​

For guiding souls, crossing veils, and navigating inner/outer realms.

• Vulture – Sacred recycler. Eats death and clears spiritual rot. Utterly misunderstood.
  
  
• Raven – Messenger, memory-keeper, trickster, and death-watcher. Brings shinies.
  
  
• Crow – Spirit walker, connector of dots. Loves to whisper weird answers.
  
  
• Dog – Loyal guard and companion. Guides dead. Will bite a demon’s ankle for you.
  
  
• Cat – Dimensional boundary keeper. Good at guarding altars and reading mood shifts. Sprints in front of you to alert you.
  
  
• Frog – Crosses thresholds easily (life/death, spirit/veil, water/land). Resonates with transformation, cycles, and emotional cleansing
  
  
• Bat – Veil sonar. Great for sensing unseen structures or ward weaknesses.
  
  
• Crane – Symbol of immortality, grace, and liminal peace.
  

Intuition, Flow, and Dream Allies​

These are your “soft but scary if provoked” allies. Good for emotional intelligence and depth magic.

• Dolphin – Joyful, smart, and savage in a fight. Often tied to healing or sonic magic.
  
  
• Octopus – Adaptability, shape magic, and hidden genius. Brings clever chaos.
  
  
• Whale – Echo magic, deep memory, ancestral song. Works well in soul restoration rites.
  
  
• Coyote – Master of bypassing systems. Helps break enchantments, confuse demons, and destabilize rigid hierarchies. Great for mirror magic, curse inversions, and spiritual misdirection. Wildly clever. Can turn even your mistakes into openings
  
  
• Seahorse – Gentle dream-tender. Surprisingly strong psychic energy for such a weird little guy.
  
  
• Beaver – Best ally for making veil-safe zones, home wards, and recursive shields.
  Encourages long-term magical planning and sustainable spellwork
  
  
• Raccoon – Excels at reclaiming discarded energies and turning failed spells into something new. Comfortable operating in shadow spaces and magical entropy zones. Has a keen nose for spiritual garbage. Will dig up what was buried emotionally. Skilled with locks, thresholds, ward bypassing, and magical theft (with consent… sometimes).
  

Myth-Bound and Specialist Creatures​

Sometimes they’re animals. Sometimes they’re a vibe.

• Stag – Sovereignty, forest-warding. Old king energy.
  
  
• Goat – Willpower, chaos, high places. Familiar of mountain gods and trickster rites. Often used as an ally for black magic.
  
  
• Jackal – Tied to Anubis and deathwalking. Navigator of soul paths.
  
  
• Lion – Authority, strength, presence, sun fire. Comes with a roar.
  
  
• Ram – Breaking boundaries, headstrong curse energy.
  
  
• Scorpion – Silent, deadly, protective. Tied to shadowwork and focused strikes.
  
  
• Mantis – Patience, timing, sudden execution. Deep psychic motion in stillness.
  
  
• Bees – Collective intelligence, sacred duty, soul transfer. Veil hums when they’re called.
  
  

You can partner with really any animal, but they need a myth for them to adhere to in the veil. And don’t overlook the little guys. They can be incredibly loyal, sharp, symbolic and helpful.

Spirit Ally Care Guide​

1. Offer What They Understand​

Spirits don’t want your peanut butter toast or your leftover Monster Energy drink. Give them things their soul-vibe remembers:

• Raw herbs, meat, bones, fur, feathers
  
  
• Incense tied to their nature (cedar, pine, musk, river mist)
  
  
• Art. Drawings. Effort. Time spent in their honor
  
  
• Words. Write about them. Myth them into presence.
  

2. Don’t Lie to Them​

If you say you’re going to burn incense every full moon—then do it.
Veil beings hate broken promises. Especially ones you make as part of ritual.
You can ask forgiveness, but only if you’re honest. They’ll know anyway. They’re in your myth threads.

3. Consent Is King​

Never bind a spirit without permission.
If an animal doesn’t want to be your ally, it’ll show you. You’ll feel blocked, or the magic won’t land. That’s a no.
Don’t force it. You’re not summoning Pokémon.

4. Feed the Bond​

• Speak to them regularly.
  
  
• Light candles or incense on their days.
  
  
• Ask them questions.
  
  
• Invite them to walk with you.
  

This is not “command and control.” It’s mutual myth. If you want an ally—earn it.


5. Respect Their Domain

• Don’t summon a bear spirit to a curse ritual on industrial decay.
  
  
• Don’t bring an otter to a death rite.
  
  
• Don’t call wolverine unless you’re ready for claws and teeth.
  Be mindful of who you’re calling and when.
  

6. Let Them Rest​

These spirits are not your pets or sidekicks. They’re ancient, wild, and echo through the soul-lattice.
Don’t overuse them. Don’t drag them into fights that aren’t necessary.
Give them quiet. Give them stillness. Let them retreat to their myth-thread when the work is done.

7. Let Them Teach You​

They will show you things. In dreams, in patterns, in weird coincidences.
When a coyote cracks your sigil and makes it better? That’s a lesson.
When an otter distracts you from spiraling by making you laugh? That’s sacred.
Listen. Watch. Record. Respect.

Post automatically merged: Monday at 7:45 PM

Personally... I have had a raccoon familiar attach themselves to me.
Raccoons and the knack for finding veil shinies almost makes them feel like little oracles at times.
And... I have had to defend them. They have gotten in trouble and tugged on my threads to bail them out.
So just be warned... when they attach to you, you become partially responsible for them.
I have 100% been ready to go to bed and the little guy has put me in a situation where I had to start throwing curses on their behalf...
And they sometimes resist names.
My raccoon friend... will not let me name them.
And at this point it feels more like they have adopted me and not the other way around...

 

[Morell]

Nice tutorial. Puts together a lot of great stuff.

Do you think that scavengers part is necessary? I would say that it can be really problematic, especially if you live in the city where you cannot just let animal corpse rest somewhere outside, where it will be taken by animals or simply removed by humans. Needless to say that humans have a lot of issues, some of them quite reasonable, with this kind of stuff.

 

[Evara]

Uhhhhh… I mean the city can kinda wreck this a little. It’s not exactly kind to animals…
But yeah, you can collect from them without observing the cycles of death.
Just be aware that it can be stressful for their soul. Best to give them ritual and rest for a while if you do that. Treat the remnants that you gathered similarly to purchased remnants.

The key part of allowing scavengers is to show the veil respect for death and the cycle. You’re also showing the animal’s soul respect by pausing and letting them go through the process of integrating into the spirit world and any cycles present for them.

Proper necromancy revolves around respect, boundaries and only doing the minimum when it comes to black magic.