Wiccan Eyes

The Importance of Familiars

In this chapter, I want to discuss the importance of animals in a Witch's everyday life.

This is a good topic to discuss because there seems to be confusion on what Familiars are and how to obtain one.
I myself do not have one because I am still looking for the right one but talking about it may just help some of you out!

Let's start out by defining a familiar.
Keep in mind the definition does vary depending on the person, but I believe that Familiars are a Witches Companion. They help Witches with their magickal workings, and might even be messengers.
They can range from Cats to Dogs, Birds, Hamsters, Snakes, Mice, Deer, E.t.c.

To a witch, the most preferred familiar, (and pretty common) is a black cat or just specifically cats in general.
Why a black cat? Maybe because they're mysterious and mystical looking. Some just like them, some just have a connection with them.

I think I had found a familiar a long time ago but to this day I am still unsure. My family and I always see this stray cat that lives in my backyard who sometimes turns up pregnant once in a blue moon. It seems like she gets pregnant on a frequent basis, because whenever I go outside she is either pregnant and looking for food or she has disappeared somewhere in the neighborhood.

So, on one rainy night I had stepped outside to throw away the trash, and I had heard faint meows coming from the cat house we bought for the strays a while back. I peeped inside and saw the mother and her two newborn kittens. I then frantically darted into my house and poured milk into a bowl and proceeded to walk back outside with the bowl with the intention to have them drink it. Knowing the mother, she has been giving birth so many times, I had lost count after 8, so I had thought she had no milk to give because she was always so hungry and giving birth.

I had went and told my parents of the situation but they made me stay away and not interfere with the stray family. I knew that if I did interfere the mother would have likely abandoned her newborns.
So all I did was watch them from inside my house.

Fast foward to winter, with blankets of snow on the ground. The newborns fully grew to the kitten stage and were happily hoping around in the snow. That night I had once again went outside to see the snow fall and I was quite surprised to feel something rub up against my boots. Lo and Behold it was one of the kittens. A brown and black stripped kitten...who just couldn't stay away from me. From that night on I knew I had a special connection with this little cutie.
I had bought a toy and played with him outside. He would joyfully wack the toy and pounce on me when I yanked the toy away. Sometimes I even tried sneaking him into the house but I had got caught so I had to chase him back out.

As fun as it was, he never ran away from me for he had found some sort of comfort with a human. No fear. Nothing.
But unfortunately, it didn't last.

(Warning. Sad End.)
Not long after the end of Winter, my mom had picked me up from school and while she was parking the car she had seen something laying flat further down the road. I had ran out of the car and saw that my cat had been killed by a car. Ran over. Flat. I won't go into detail but from the looks of it, the poor thing trotted across the street at the wrong time.
The sad thing is, all of the mother's kittens eventually died on the road. So to see this happen wasn't a surprise to me. All I did was kneel down and prayed over my dead companion.

Now why did I say this story?
I said this story because that kitten could've been my familiar. Being born a stray, typically they would run in fear, but not this little guy. The only one who enjoyed my presence, and I equally enjoyed his.
So I highly implore you all, that when something like that happens, chances are, that's your familiar.

Familiars will either appear as strays, the ones dying on the side of the road, the ones abused, or the ones you pick out in the shelters. You should keep your eyes open. Maybe a familiar will give you their help once they receive help from you. You also need to build a sense of trust and love with them as well. Familiars aren't suppose to be pets, but friends. Companions. Family.

This now brings up the sub topic of "How to Obtain a Familiar?"
Obtaining one can either be easy or difficult depending on the situation. I know many Witches who instead of looking for them, bought little baby animals and raised them into the craft. Some find them almost dying on the side of the road. Some find them abused in shelters. You just need to know where to look.

"How do I know they are Familiars?"
I can surely say, you won't know right off the bat if an animal is your familiar. You need to feel that special connection to the animal, and they have to choose you as well. Once that connection is established by both you and the familiar, then they will proceed to help you in your magickal workings. Also don't forget to help them back as well whatever the case may be.

"Does the familiar have to be a cat?"
No. A Witch's familiar does not have to be a cat. It could be any animal as long as you feel a certain connection with them, and them vice versa.