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Author Topic: Thoughts on familiars  (Read 8873 times)

Myst Moonlight

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #15 on: April 22, 2014, 08:30:34 am »
Quote from: Lunamoth;129353
It's a term that has varied definitions depending on who you ask, what their tradition may be, and whether they believe in them.

(The query is a little vague. Sorry.)

 

In my studies I have heard that you can use a spell, to ask an animal to be your familiar, if the animal says yes you do a second spell to give it a magickal name, a name that is to be for just the two of you to know.
has anyone else heard of this?

Kyndyl

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #16 on: April 22, 2014, 10:36:00 am »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

 

I know they exist.. I was blessed to have one for 8 years before I couldn't force her to stay in a body that wouldn't work anymore. D.J. was a puppy I found in a shelter. she was curled up in the back corner of a pen, she's turned over her food bowl, wouldn't stay in the dog house and slept on the concrete. She was literally skin and bones, Vet said she was probably 2 years old when I got her and she weighed 35 lbs when I adopted her.. or she rescued me, still not clear on that point. (btw, she was majority German Shepherd if not purebred). After a few weeks we got her to start eating dog food.Within a year she was over 6 ft from nose to tail, and hovering around 98 lbs. Found out that she could detect seizures in dogs and humans. Brought more gifts into my life than anyone deserves.  that was almost 10 years ago now. She rescued me, never left my side, through 2 states.. about 15 moves, and a lot of rough patches. I thought I was going to loose her soo many times, but things always worked out. So yeah I know they exist.. and perhaps one day I'll be blessed to have another enter my life.

Aspiria

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #17 on: April 22, 2014, 06:46:30 pm »
Quote from: RainbowSnake;129901
Personally, I think that Familiars are another way of saying a pet that you're very close to, who also happen to have a little natural talent with energy. lol

 
I think this is accurate IMO. I think cats are well known for being sensitive and intuitive. So...maybe that's why there are more cats than anything.

Stripperwitch

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #18 on: December 17, 2014, 03:45:08 am »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

 
I think it's nice to have a pet? And they are proven to make people feel calmer and happier/you can totally have a special bond with an animal. I don't necessarily know if I believe that certain animals can actually help you do magic though, they're not really smart like that...

My rats are soooo dumb though, I've never really had a "smart" pet so maybe it's just lack of experience on my end? There are all those stories of dogs and cats saving their owners lives and stuff so ya never know I guess

HappyWiccan

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #19 on: August 08, 2015, 12:06:26 pm »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

 
At work, there is a stray white cat that we feed and give water and milk to. We call him snowflake. He isn't totally white, his tail has some light tan rings on it. He seems really fond of me, always walking over to me, rubbing against my legs, sitting next to me and sometimes trying to jump up on my shoulders. I like to think of him as my familiar.
"When the finger points to yonder moon, the fool will not look at the fingertip."

Christinia Forshee

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #20 on: February 17, 2016, 08:34:43 am »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

My familiar is basically my dog Duke. He's like my best friend and we spend a lot of time just walking around the city together. Some people would probably say that he isn't my familiar because he's not "magical" enough and we mostly just hang out and play or run around together but doing those things really helps me to be more focused and at ease. From my perspective, that IS magical.

Does anyone know any rituals for sort of formalizing a bond w/ an animal as a familiar? I do not mean a ritual to make the animal be your familiar (I'm pr. sure Duke already is mine), but something to sort of make it official? I may try to write one.

Tigress

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #21 on: June 20, 2016, 10:51:08 pm »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

My  Fylgja, similar but not quite a totem animal, is the puma [mountain lion/cougar]. Unlike totem animals  Fylgja are with you from birth to death and they don't change. The Irish have a similar term "the afterbirth of a child". This  Fylgja presented itself to me when I was 17 years old in a dream that burnt such an impression upon both brain & soul that I can still remember it vividly as if it happened yesterday not 13 years ago.


And so my familiar has always been cats. Ursula is my latest one in a long string of familiars. She is a 5 year old Maine Coon who just doesn't follow me around the house but will sit outside the washroom door [which I have to close otherwise she's coming in after me] & chatter away until I come out again. Whatever I am doing, she just has to be right on top of things. And by chatter I mean she loves to talk, and get into things, and yet if I but say "quit it" she will actually stop.

The prior familiar, Hail [so named because being pure white he had a black spot under his nose like someone's moustache], was a ratty looking stray that I met on my usual walks. He wasn't old but partially blind, got into a scuffle with another cat most likely as he had only one ear. Near as I figure the previous owners just upped and moved & didn't bother taking him with them. Never fed him. But he would dog my heels from the grass or just off the trail, a game of hide & seek, the moment I'd bypass his hangout at the fountain that led into the local park. And he'd stop at the fountain on the way out. I am not sure how long this went on for. A week, maybe two, before I made the parting comment on the way out that "well you might as well come along"... he came along.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2016, 10:52:16 pm by Tigress »

agwith

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #22 on: October 30, 2016, 08:31:04 pm »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)


I think they are incredibly helpful. I've got one myself, a female calico, and she's aided with summoning rituals. She's also helped me detect atmospheric changes in rooms while doing spells when I was a bit too numb to detect them myself. Her facial expressions, body language, meowing etc...

I've no information on their history though I feel as though familiars have gone back since the beginning of witchcraft, before it was even known as witchcraft. Humans have always had a tendency to align themselves with an animal.
One of Mother Nature\'s greatest gift is cats. :lub:

FlyingPeregrine

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #23 on: December 16, 2016, 12:16:31 am »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

 
I have a cat familiar. A familiar used to be what you would use to be able to discern what is your current plane. If you have watched the movie "Inception" it's a lot like the pieces they use but not exactly the same. Familiars are a recall device in a way. You can also use them like a mnemonic device with memories of them whilst casting. They're suppose to help your psyche come back down from a higher plane. The high of being in a different plane needs aftercare. My familiar helps keep me from crashing too hard from being in a different plane of existence.

Does that make sense?

FurvaWolf

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #24 on: December 28, 2016, 02:34:33 pm »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)


I consider a familiar a once wild animal that you have tamed or one that is naturally tame to you? That natural bond is so important. I think animals bred for companionship vs animals turned "pet" are totally different. That is my perception of it at least. I have two cats, and a snake, both familiars to me in my terms, and a Fire-Bellied Toad that I did get from a pet store. I don't really consider the toad to be a familiar although he would be considered the most dangerous of the four.

DancesWithHorses

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #25 on: December 28, 2016, 09:06:25 pm »
Quote from: Myst Moonlight;145933
In my studies I have heard that you can use a spell, to ask an animal to be your familiar, if the animal says yes you do a second spell to give it a magickal name, a name that is to be for just the two of you to know.
has anyone else heard of this?


I have actually heard this before. It's a neat concept to me and one I could understand using. I don't currently have a familiar, but I have in the past. Mine are mostly horses and cats. While I own both right now, neither Panther or Cairo have shown any indications of being suitable familiars. In time, I could see Cairo becoming one for me.
Jinx or Jinxy :)
Add a dash of folklore, a few centuries of farmer\'s blood and mix well.
[/B]

Obsidia

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Re: Thoughts on familiars
« Reply #26 on: January 04, 2017, 04:22:26 pm »
Quote from: HandsInTheDirtAgain;129347
Like it says in the title.... :)

 
I guess it can mean an animal you most bond with/connect with. Or an animal that seems to be your totem. Mine is a wolf. I've not owned one before, lol. I just grew up with pet dogs and shifted to the wild canis lupus, who I've encountered. Those were not wild wolves running around woods but in captivatity/care/looked after by wolf helpers. They seem to be the most familiar animals, which I see as kin.

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