How to Work With Familiars

A familiar is a spirit that is in continuous contact with a person, maybe acting in service or as a guardian, or an information or instruction provider. Familiaris in latin, means “domestic or household.”

They can be good or evil in nature with varying degrees of power and intelligence. They take different shapes, such as animals, birds, insects and even as spirit spouses. These various shapes usually reflect their nature.

A familiar is simply a Witch’s or Magic user’s spiritual aid which is usually in animal form. They are the constant servants of spellcasters, wizards, magicians and healers. It could be a household pet. Also, older pets can pass it down to younger pets or new pets to the homes. Familiars can be invoked magically for a variety of reasons.

It is believed that during the witch hunt era in Europe, witches were said to have these Familiars manifesting through black dogs, or were said to be visited by their master, the Devil, shaped like a black dog.

There are also some medieval descriptions of familiars who were humanoid or had a resemblance of monsters and were all believed to manifest as physical beings. There were some other Familiars of Magic and Witchcraft that manifested in ordinary forms and had common names.

Despite the strong bond to the witch or magic user which they serve, Familiars have their own goals, personalities and prejudices. They are mostly real solid beings and not just mere imaginative thoughts.

Different Types of Familiars:

1. Low familiars

These are non living objects for example; magical books which can appear mysteriously.

1. High Familiars

This type can take the form of plant, animal and humans. Simply put, they consist of living objects.

How to Contact Familiars

Familiars in witchcraft are low profile demons gifted by the devil to those who follow his path or acquired from other witches. A witch or magician may request a familiar from nature or a guardian spirit and usually, this takes effect when both the familiar and witch make contacts. Once a person is able to acquire a familiar, it marks the official entry into the world of witchcraft and magic.

Sometimes, a familiar can be given to a magic user after undergoing a study in magical arts. Also, when a fellow magic user dies, another can inherit his familiars who usually may come unannounced to the new owner’s doors.

These familiars can also be gifted through families, generations and covens. Even modern witches have this popular belief that familiars come when they are least expected or when they are most needed.

They can be magically stored in bottles, stones and rings and often sold as success charms in business, love and gambling.

How to Work with Familiars

These witch helpers exist in both material and spiritual realm. Witch hunters says Demonic familiars serve the witches even sexually and can be the medium for bewitchment and spells. They can function as a mediator between the witch and two different worlds. Both parties work together in many ways to the witch’s advantage.

This can happen via riddling where a witch goes into a trance state and the familiar creature acquires her consciousness. With this aid, a witch can easily fly to different places that her physical body can’t reach ordinarily.

Familiar may go on to complete a physical or astral task for her user. It can also act as a guardian to the witch while she is in trance as it helps to keep her alert and drive away surrounding contrary spirits. A familiar also reduces spell work effect on the witch.

How to Care for Familiars

Back in the middle ages, witches had a mole or an extra nipple referred to as witch’s teat from which their familiars suckled and enjoyed life or they feed the blood of sacrificed animals to the familiar.  In recent times, witches burn incense or candles for the spirit of familiars and feed them with any natural food which they require for survival.

How to create familiar that won’t be too powerful

Getting familiar marks the beginning of your journey into witchcraft which makes this stage very important. When it comes to creating familiars, ensure to create one that will be obedient and won’t overpower you. To create this kind, a ritual circle is drawn with the summoner enclosed in it.

The summoner then gets energy from the magic realm and shapes it to finally become a familiar. These spells usually can take a longer time to perform. The end product will be familiars with a unique size, strength, intelligence, weaknesses and other attributes.

After creating your familiar and assigning all the necessary attributes to it, it would be difficult to undo unless the summoner does what is called banishment and starts all over again.

Be careful while creating familiar so as not to breed a powerful and disobedient one as this may go uncontrollably out of hand. This type of familiar can be harmful to both the summoner and the people around. It can end up having a great hunger for the wizard’s blood instead of playing a supportive role.

Problems of Familiars

Having frequent contacts with them can be a major cause of recurrent nightmares, physical assault and a situation where a person hears voices that compel him to injure himself, commit suicide, become violent or harm others. Note that too much close contact with familiars can lead to physical, emotional and mental break down.