April Will Be Filled With Joy.

April will be filled with joy.

April will be filled with love.

April will be filled with peace.

April will be filled with trust.

April will be filled with kindness.

April will be filled with miracles.

April will be filled with hope.

Familiars in Witchcraft

In the past familiars were seen as animals that had demonic ties and served witches in their malevolent deeds. Animals like cats, crows, snakes, and toads are often used in this context even today.

However, as times have changed so has the meaning of the word Familiar.

What is a familiar?

While the definition of familiar will vary culture to culture, practice to practice, and person to person. The relevant Merriam-Webster definition (as there are obviously other very different meanings e.g. being familiar with someone) is:

a spirit often embodied in an animal and held to attend and serve or guard a person

This could be a physical animal, even a pet, but it doesn’t have to be.

Technically the Familiar doesn’t even need to be a real animal, it can be a mythical creature or even a plant or mineral!

Modern day Familiars

Today familiars are essentially beings that help with or are connected to the witch* through their magic. They have been likened to metaphysical guardians, guides, or companions.

Pets can certainly be familiars but not every pet that a witch has qualifies as a familiar. Pets do not have to be your familiar to assist you in magic, you may have simply gotten lucky and received a pet that you are very attuned to. This is still a very wonderful relationship to have, though it is not the relationship between a familiar and a witch.

Witches can have multiple familiars as well.

Not every witch has a familiar and it is not necessary to have one, though many witches feel comfortable and even more connected through their magic with the help of their familiars.

Familiars are not always constant, aside from the perishing of the physical form that may happen to a living creature, spiritual familiars come and go as they see fit. Sometimes it means they’ve helped you or taught you all that they can and it is time for you to move onto something more, other times it may be that you have chosen to leave the witch life behind you.

There is no shame in the loss of a familiar, just like any other relationship; some may last for life times, others may be gone in the blink of an eye.

Familiars in Practice

Familiars help to strengthen the power of the witch's magic. If not overall, they can strengthen magic that the familiar is tied to.

They also may serve as guides to teach and protect the witch.

Sometimes a witch may meet and take on a familiar based on what that being stands for. (Ex: If you need more strength, perhaps you would be sent the spirit of a lion or strong mineral…)

To attract a familiar, or to divine if a pre-existing relationship with a being is a familiar-witch relationship, you can use visualization and meditation. There are some guided meditations on YouTube, but you can do your own if you’d like.

Using other methods of divination is a good way to tell if the being in question is your familiar. Familiars may also come to you in a dream.

Things to remember:

You can’t force a relationship with a familiar..

Familiars are not servants, they are companions and guides.

Respect your familiar as you would any other spirit, showing them love and kindness as the relationships need to be balanced, give and take.

As a witch, your relationship with a familiar is only yours to decide, others cannot decide it for you. Looking to other witches for guidance is advised, of course, but the decision and connection is between you and the familiar.

* Witch is used as a gender neutral and all-inclusive term here, though you do not have to identify with the label of witch to practice magic or to have a familiar.

Doing anything for the full eclips tonight?

Unfortunately I did not. I'm honestly horrendous at keeping up with the moon despite the fact it fascinates me so much 😅!

Reminder that you do not have to be any specific type of witch. You do not need to label your craft. You don't need any identifier like being a green/sea/kitchen/hearth/etc witch. You can just be a witch and that be it.

Labels are great for those who want them, but for those who don't they can feel limiting. So this is just a tip and reminder that labels are only necessary for you if you want them to be.

Couldn't agree more, self care is the strongest form of magic

Reminder that self care is magic.

Drink water

Connect with nature

Breathe

Take your time