Familiar. . .

Meet Miss Nike!

Most of my life has been lived in the presence of a cat or two. The times when there was no cat were lonely. Some of those cats were just friends who curled up with me and a hot cup of tea. Others were far more than that. They curled up beneath the working altar, stood over my readings, investigated oddly flickering flames ( a few times coming out of it with less whisker), alerting me to weird things floating around and patiently waiting for me at the door to come back in after a smoke. These cats were familiars, magical partners. Familiars can not be made, they choose the work.

Familiars are energetically sensitive and are willing and capable of forming a psychic bond with the person they choose to attach to. Over the years, I have found they can choose to perform one service or many. I don’t understand yet if it is just “these are the skill I have” or whether “these are the skills I have and you most need help in; the rest I hide or reveal in my own damned time” ( insert kitty laughter here.) Most recently, I have found myself in trance with an extra companion. I have heard reports of it happening from other witches I have worked with. She was sort of along for the adventure: what are you doing in here Mom??? I came out to find her happily purring away in a curled up, warm, fuzzy, ball at my feet.

As there are benefits to the familiar relationship, there can be things you must be cautious with. That psychic connection??? If you are not in the presence of your familiar and you have an emotional melt down, so does your familiar. It is very traumatic to your familiar to not understand what is happening to you. They will act out in negative manners, even appear to have their own melt down. My suggestion to remedy this is to take a moment and send a calming visual to your familiar and when you come home expect to be glommed upon; break out with the kitty nip. It takes practice, but it will enhance the communication between you and your magic friend.  

I can’t say that I have actually trained my familiar. I think “training” your familiar is probably a misnomer. I just sort of tried stuff to see what works and what she responds to best. It is more of establishing a working relationship with a person than a power over situation where “you belong to me.” I find those relationships to be most unhealthy to live in.

So if you find yourself in a relationship with an animal that seems to be waiting for you to do something and hogs up your altar space, give ‘em something to do besides singe their whiskers off.