[Opinion] Not to Be Overly Familiar...

[Xenophon]

I haven't seen anything about familiars in this forum. Another forum I hang in has a short paper about them, but nothing much written. Anyone have a familiar? How did you get it? What does it do for you? (I'm talking specifically about animal familiars)

 

[Yazata]

People have different opinons on what a "real" familiar is.
When I found a three week old kitten in my old apartment I labeled her my familiar. She was often in my dreams, and when I (in the early days) cleaned up my temple to make it a normal room again, she always would run to the spot where the altar had been and lay there.
I also recall one pretty weird instance where I had called on Bael, and nothing much happened, but later that night some scratching on the walls in my bedroom was heard by both of us until she seemed to get very scared by something invisible coming at her (she was on bed and crawled under the blankets in a panic after ducking away several times). I was tipsy and stoned and not that impressed with the invisible at the time.

I have also gotten a (spirit) crow familiar from Halphas once. But I didn't have or make much use of it to be honest and it has faded away.

 

[Xenophon]

Reminds me of the lone creepy animal story in my life. My dad died when I was 12. Fairly spectacular heart attack and all. About 3 months or so later, I went to the bathroom late at night. The bathroom light did not work. Shorted out and money was a bit short for an electrician. So, when light was needed, we used candles. Late at night, we generally did not bother. Anyhow, that night I heard snoring in the bedroom, pretty much like my dad used to. (He never slept in the crapper, but hearing is believing.) A bit nonplussed, I called my mom in. And she gets creeped out by the the eerie noise from beyond the grave. In which tremulous vein we both continued till, with some grunts and snuffles, our rather fat and hoarse dog woke up and came tottering out from behind the clothes hamper. Another true ghost story bursted by the pinprick of acute anticlimax. Um...wait...ok, ok. I got it. I'm pretty sure that, at the pitch of our terror I must've been levitating about 18 inches off the floor. There, does that give my story creep-cred?

 

[Ziran]

Yup. My dog's name is tilly, short for matillda. I get down on the floor and play with her every night. She's snuggling to my left as I am typing this. There's a series of events which placed her in my care. I am inspired by her. I love her. I am attached to her and she is attached to me. It might appear mundane to the casual observer, but, there is a lot more happening below the surface and in the heavens... as usual.

 

[pixel_fortune]

I read this book and was interested in the idea, but for me personally it's too much commitment.

Book – PDF - Familiar Spirits - A Practical Guide for Witches & Magicians by Donald Tyson

https://mega.nz/file/d6YCBKAB#adyG3WfLT8wpJZRw0pzDBDkzM6xHCgTLRT6rwVmJHt4

wizardforums.com

I have ADHD and a history of lacking follow-through, so as a largely responsible person, I don't do things where I'm making a commitment to another being until I've demonstrated to myself that I have a sustained interest in it.

(So in this case, I'd have to have successfully maintained a servitor first, or something like that)

Re: pets as familiars, I don't like the assumption that any pet is a familiar that you see some places (esp r/witchcraft). I mean as a cute term for a pet it's fine, but if it's seriously meant, it it's like... I dunno, let your cat be a cat.

(Dogs are working animals by temperament and generally like being given tasks to do. Cats are super not, you can train them to do tricks but they are always doing it for the reward, it's rare for them to start enjoying it independently the way a dog loves playing fetch or herding)

(Not talking about the earlier commenter whose cat showed an interest)

I guess it depends how you frame it. If you think "familiar" means "caring relationship" then yeah that's most pets, but I think of it more as "a spirit you look after and ask it to work"

Post automatically merged: Nov 27, 2023

Follow up question: what's your interest? You have a familiar or are interested in creating/calling one? What's compelling about it for you?

(That sounds interrogatory but I just mean, you brought up the topic, you must have thoughts on it!)

 

[Roma]

I was in a SATB choir and my part in one song required a drop of more than an octave from the end of one line to the start of the next.

Those singing that line had trouble with it for more than a year, going very quiet on the note as they listened to those around them to see if any had it properly.

So I was one of those that struggled for a year. Then one day I had the following thoughts:

• Mozart had a spirit that helped him write complex music at age 5
• Famous singers also had such spirits
• The name of a famous singer from a century ago came to me.
• His helpful spirit was probably still around
• If the singer's family was agreeable I could have the spirit.

And so it was that I acquired a singing spirit on a Saturday and the next Monday for the first time I found that note, accurately, and I hit it hard with confidence.

After that the choir had no difficulty finding that note. Perhaps that spirit was being generally helpful.

I did of course test that spirit various ways before I allowed it to enter my light body

 

[Xenophon]

I was in a SATB choir and my part in one song required a drop of more than an octave from the end of one line to the start of the next.

Those singing that line had trouble with it for more than a year, going very quiet on the note as they listened to those around them to see if any had it properly.

So I was one of those that struggled for a year. Then one day I had the following thoughts:

• Mozart had a spirit that helped him write complex music at age 5
• Famous singers also had such spirits
• The name of a famous singer from a century ago came to me.
• His helpful spirit was probably still around
• If the singer's family was agreeable I could have the spirit.

And so it was that I acquired a singing spirit on a Saturday and the next Monday for the first time I found that note, accurately, and I hit it hard with confidence.

After that the choir had no difficulty finding that note. Perhaps that spirit was being generally helpful.

I did of course test that spirit various ways before I allowed it to enter my light body

So you called in a ringer?

Post automatically merged: Nov 28, 2023

I read this book and was interested in the idea, but for me personally it's too much commitment.

Book – PDF - Familiar Spirits - A Practical Guide for Witches & Magicians by Donald Tyson

https://mega.nz/file/d6YCBKAB#adyG3WfLT8wpJZRw0pzDBDkzM6xHCgTLRT6rwVmJHt4

wizardforums.com

I have ADHD and a history of lacking follow-through, so as a largely responsible person, I don't do things where I'm making a commitment to another being until I've demonstrated to myself that I have a sustained interest in it.

(So in this case, I'd have to have successfully maintained a servitor first, or something like that)

Re: pets as familiars, I don't like the assumption that any pet is a familiar that you see some places (esp r/witchcraft). I mean as a cute term for a pet it's fine, but if it's seriously meant, it it's like... I dunno, let your cat be a cat.

(Dogs are working animals by temperament and generally like being given tasks to do. Cats are super not, you can train them to do tricks but they are always doing it for the reward, it's rare for them to start enjoying it independently the way a dog loves playing fetch or herding)

(Not talking about the earlier commenter whose cat showed an interest)

I guess it depends how you frame it. If you think "familiar" means "caring relationship" then yeah that's most pets, but I think of it more as "a spirit you look after and ask it to work"

Post automatically merged: Nov 27, 2023

Follow up question: what's your interest? You have a familiar or are interested in creating/calling one? What's compelling about it for you?

(That sounds interrogatory but I just mean, you brought up the topic, you must have thoughts on it!)

I've had a few dogs I really was close to. I consider them superior to the common run of human. I'm not sure any really come up to the level of familiar. The tradition I hang with has a belief in familiars (under another name), but presently does not seem to cultivate filling that office very much. (Possibly this is due to metastisizing urbanization. The only animal most of us see outside of stray cats is maybe the rats they chase.)

 

[Rowena]

I read this book and was interested in the idea, but for me personally it's too much commitment.

Book – PDF - Familiar Spirits - A Practical Guide for Witches & Magicians by Donald Tyson

https://mega.nz/file/d6YCBKAB#adyG3WfLT8wpJZRw0pzDBDkzM6xHCgTLRT6rwVmJHt4

wizardforums.com

I have ADHD and a history of lacking follow-through, so as a largely responsible person, I don't do things where I'm making a commitment to another being until I've demonstrated to myself that I have a sustained interest in it.

(So in this case, I'd have to have successfully maintained a servitor first, or something like that)

Re: pets as familiars, I don't like the assumption that any pet is a familiar that you see some places (esp r/witchcraft). I mean as a cute term for a pet it's fine, but if it's seriously meant, it it's like... I dunno, let your cat be a cat.

(Dogs are working animals by temperament and generally like being given tasks to do. Cats are super not, you can train them to do tricks but they are always doing it for the reward, it's rare for them to start enjoying it independently the way a dog loves playing fetch or herding)

(Not talking about the earlier commenter whose cat showed an interest)

I guess it depends how you frame it. If you think "familiar" means "caring relationship" then yeah that's most pets, but I think of it more as "a spirit you look after and ask it to work"

Post automatically merged: Nov 27, 2023

Follow up question: what's your interest? You have a familiar or are interested in creating/calling one? What's compelling about it for you?

(That sounds interrogatory but I just mean, you brought up the topic, you must have thoughts on it!)

I'm with you on the 'pets-as-familiars' thing.

Familiars were traditionally spirits, not physical beings, with the modern English interpretations being essentially based on the Old Norse Fylgja and Hamingja; the fylgia being a personal spirit - usually in the form of a female animal, and the hamingja being a family spirit - also often in the form of a female animal, but sometimes also as the spirit of a female ancestor.

I suppose there is no reason why a powerful ancestral spirit-worker couldn't return from the grave to posses a stray cat and have it beg for tuna, but I'm at a loss to explain why, or in what way doing so would be useful to them.

 

[Roma]

spirit-worker couldn't return from the grave to posses a stray cat and have it beg for tuna, but I'm at a loss to explain why,

I used to have a stray cat visit me a lot. The cat would make very long eye contact - much longer than humans like. Various people commented how the cat looked at them in an un-cat-like way.

At one stage another stray cat would come around terrorizing my cat. The other stray had a strange glare. It made loud non-cat noises for hours at night around my house.

Eventually I understood the strange cat was possessed - so I de-possessed it. Immediately it made ordinary cat sounds and was quiet - and did not come back.

My stray was taken to an animal place and, having had a very traumatic life, was inclined to scratch the attendants. So it was put down.

That night as I was meditating I saw its spirit come on to my patio. It was in the form of a large black panther. It looked through the glass door at me. After that it did not return.

A week later an absolutely identical cat came and rattled on my front screen door. I ignored it, but it was back at exactly the same time the next night. So I opened the door and it ran away - never to return

That last cat was pretty dumb - knocking on the front door. The original cat knew to come around the back to the kitchen

 

[Xenophon]

I used to have a stray cat visit me a lot. The cat would make very long eye contact - much longer than humans like. Various people commented how the cat looked at them in an un-cat-like way.

At one stage another stray cat would come around terrorizing my cat. The other stray had a strange glare. It made loud non-cat noises for hours at night around my house.

Eventually I understood the strange cat was possessed - so I de-possessed it. Immediately it made ordinary cat sounds and was quiet - and did not come back.

My stray was taken to an animal place and, having had a very traumatic life, was inclined to scratch the attendants. So it was put down.

That night as I was meditating I saw its spirit come on to my patio. It was in the form of a large black panther. It looked through the glass door at me. After that it did not return.

A week later an absolutely identical cat came and rattled on my front screen door. I ignored it, but it was back at exactly the same time the next night. So I opened the door and it ran away - never to return

That last cat was pretty dumb - knocking on the front door. The original cat knew to come around the back to the kitchen

My chronic nay-saying yields before a good animal story. No sarcasm. This I have no trouble crediting.