A Selection of Familiar Shapes
On the Shapes in Nature Taken by Familiar Spirits
“The deed was signed in the blood of the witch and horrible ceremonies confirmed the compact. Satan then gave his ally a familiar in the form of a dog , ape , cat , or other animal , usually small and black , and sometimes an undisguised imp.”- Terri Hardin, Treasury of American Folklore: Our Customs, Beliefs, and Traditions
Owl- The Old Hag
of Night
The owl witch is an old one. These familiars are well endowed with
witching art and are in the service to the darkest mothers the world
over. As a familiar, thy serve witches
as messengers, as trackers, as omens and as guides for necromancy. Owl familiars are not to be treated lightly,
and ought to be given their freedom to move.
Their ultimate service is to the dark mothers, those queens of
underworld and inferno and so their wisdom must be respected. Unlike some familiars which are sometimes
brought to heel by force, this one is selective and requires wooing.
The most important creatures in American witchlore were familiars; demon servants that took the form of living animals in order to surreptitiously serve the enchanters. Familiars were indispensable in casting spells, but by disguising themselves as normal beasts of the wilderness, the spirits could move undetected through the countryside, spring upon innocent citizens and performing evil assignments.”- Sally Smith Booth, The Witches of Early America
Mouse & Rat-
Little Devils
The rat and mouse class of familiars ought to be
approached carefully and with planning.
Many spirits, shape-changers and demons take the shape of rats and mice
for their work, and a familiar in this shape often works in company with
others. Offerings of food and
shelter are often enough to draw a whole nest of hard-working familiars who
will nuisance any neighbor you despise.
They can be politely reasoned with through well-written letters but are
quite difficult to get rid of. If this
familiar appears, the witch will move swiftly and with cunning, and be
given access to hard to reach places.
Rabbit-
Jack-in-the-Graveyard
To select this familiar spirit, one
need not obtain the foot. Witches appear
as rabbits quite often, and familiar spirits of all manner wear the skin of a
rabbit to hide their true faces; it is one of the easiest forms to attain and
familiars to encounter. They are a
lucky, swift and self-preserving friend, a valuable spirit. Rabbit witches are not to be crossed, as
harming one brings an instant hex, unless a silver bullet is used.
Frog and Toad- The
Living Thing Within
Though a selector of familiars
would recognize lizards, toads and frogs as components to hex work, they are
also valuable familiars. A familiar who
takes this form is long associated with our kind and provides a plethora of
innate gifts such as healing prowess, weather reading, communication with other
spirits and usefulness in the production of elixirs and potions designed to
harm others. The killing of toads and frogs is taboo, as witches often take these forms.
Cat- Ye Olde
Familiar
By bone and by black fur, the cat
is an old mask of the practitioner and a highly prized form for a familiar to
take. Those who wander out of their
skins and into another will find the cat an easy form to shape, and as a
familiar spirit, the cat is quite loyal and powerful. Its very bones emanate with the power of
invisibility, initiation, conjuring and divination. A familiar in the shape of the cat will guard a witch but only
at its own leisure.
Horse- The
Nightmare
The horse as a
familiar spirit or wearing it's shape will give the witch a distinct advantage in nightriding,
shapeshifting and travel. Witches may
even be able to turn humans into horses to use as they please as though they
are familiar spirits themselves. This
familiar can assist a witch in dreamwork and flight.
Hog- Swine Haint
A hog is a form often taken by the
witch, and witches are known to bewitch pigs belonging to others, but
they are also a permissible familiar spirit that can perform tasks for witches
of all manner. They are wise, unassuming
and will serve as a suitable specter for the night-riding hag witch. A hog bewitched or a familiar hog can torment
others by spoiling their crops or spoiling their dreams with the squeals of
unholy songs. A witch hog is hunted by
silver bullet and pokeberry, so these things ought to be avoided.
Mole- The
Magician
The selection of the mole for one’s
familiar spirit is a bloody affair. Familiar moles evade the law, harbor the gift
of invisibility, the healing virtues that take away disease, and general
command of the magical arts. This
familiar is promised to remove obstacles and block other witches from being a
burden. The difficulty of this familiar is
attainment, as it must offer itself, or, be taken. If the former, this bond is forged in roots
and dirt; if the latter, the mole must be crushed in the left hand and the
heart and or liver consumed quickly before the paws and teeth are removed and
set to dry.
Beetle- The Death
Watcher
A familiar who takes the form of
the beetle is one who is well adept to traversing the keyhole. It is the teller of death, rain, thunder and
will be useful in delivering forewarnings as a familiar. Its gift is that it may wander in small places
and keep watch without notice. The black
beetle will climb into beds and pinch one’s enemies and will find their way
back to the witch even in the deepest darkness. Sadly, the beetle familiar is
easily captured in an anti-witching bottle.
Familiars, whether shaped as ghastly specters or as everyday animals, were not thought capable of sustaining themselves without nourishment.”- Sally Smith Booth, The Witches of Early America
The Odd Shape
These can take the shapes of specters, winds, lights or shadows, or, fantastical shapes. Some of the devils and imps of witchlore which appear to witches and non-witches alike look like fireballs moving on the wind, or appear as dust-devils kicked-up on a breezeless day. Some may have the ability to take on shapes we recognize in our animal kingdom while others take rare and strange forms unnatural to our perspective. These spirits may appear before a witch in forms simple and strange, silly and odd, or so terrible it nearly breaks the mind to try and comprehend. The sacred geometry of some spirits is a fascinating thing; that the spirits in their unseen forms can be greater in size than imagination, smaller than reckoning and can be in shapes that twist the eyes and stun the mind. They can be twisted and terrible, wrenching to behold, the very stuff that inspired the horrors of hells’ mythology or perhaps celestial beauty. Their bodies can be infinite fractals winding in and out of themselves, undulating with the deeper maths of the universe, or simple and senseless things- barely imagined, barely there, a simple wisp of an idea lost on the wind. A spirit is not always a familiar face, sometimes, it is so vastly foreign that we are instantly repelled. What is beauty in one universe can be a nightmare in another and the shapes of familiar spirits can take these drastic and diverse forms, but most typically, entities appear in forms suitable to our world; our animal and plant and mineral allies, aspects of nature that can trick our eyes and the eyes of others.
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