Everything Under the Moon

My partner and I have 5 cats, four from litter and one other.
Alpha cat was always daddys boy but since I joined this forum whenever I want to log in here he runs to my lap and insists on being cuddled, distracting me for ages. He puts his head under my chin and a front paw on each shoulder,paddles, purrs and sometimes licks me. Rubs his head all over my face, then stares into my eyes.
By the time he is finished I need to wash all the hair off my face and neck.

He's a keeper & a sweetie & he probably likes it when you sit down & hold still.

There has been much fictional pop-culture romanticism on the subject of familiars that has lead to fanciful speculation. The historical concept of familiar spirits comes from witchcraft trial records from the mid-1300-1800s. They were either the Fae working on the witch's behalf or ancestral deceased spirits handed down over generations through a family. They were not pets.

Historical records of animal shapes observed were likely to have been the spirit-shapes taken by the witch themselves during out-of-body travel & the shapes most often recorded were a hare or mouse. Toads were kept for their hallucinogenic secretions used in flying ointment. Cats controlled vermin and made good pets. Dogs herded stock animals, protected their home &'made good pets. Crows & magpies could mimic words &'made good pets.

Animals can sense different energies like human moods changes, incoming severe weather, tsunamis & earthquakes better than we do. Our domestic pet buddies will naturally be interested in the energies we manipulate & we're wise to observe their behaviors that forecast changes. This doesn't make them familiars in the historical meaning of the word. If life were a Disney movie then every beloved household pet would qualify as a familiar.

I'll just appreciate our cuddle time when I want to come to this forum. I must be doing something different, because I can be anywhere else on the net and he shows no interest. Guess I'll just relax and enjoy the attention.

My black cat is sitting on my chair's headrest behind me, watching every keystroke & flicking me with her tail. I think she's checking my spelling & takes cat snoopervising seriously. The tortoise shell cat ignores everything but feeding time & going outside. The tabby will often slap his paws on the tablet screen ... sometimes "accidentally" changing the channel if it's a YouTube vid. Cats will be cat's. Ya gotta love 'em.

The next door neighbors cat , Dixie, anxiously awaited our Samhain celebration. She had been joining me in the yard while I prepared for the event and then when everyone showed up she was there for the whole ceremony. After everyone left she plopped herself down on the ground in between the legs of the skeleton that was set up on the ground, I believe she was there visiting ancestors as well.

Looks like this cat of yours is very interested in what you're doing, keep your eye on what brings her around and what you're doing at the time ...you'll know soon enough if she's working as your familiar.

Blessed Be,
Firebird

FBF can you determine what the neighbor's cat's presence was actually contributing to the effectiveness of the workings? I know some cat's are good at spotting energy fluctuations & that's useful in verifying our own senses. What really makes it a witch's working familiar? I dont enjoy being an old stick in the mud doubting-Tomas-cat, & I'd really be interested to know how people make use of their pets in real life Craft practice. I haven't found anything written outside of novels in which the animal is used to scout out the competition. As a person-with-pets I know people & animals communicate clearly (I feel it if my cat's staring at my back with that unblinking force because it wants something) & observing wild animal behaviors forecasts coming changes; for example, without fail a week after the geese migrate south from the pond, we get first snow. So far my cat's only circle contribution is to watch carefully for any chance to steal my wand.

I know my cat cookie is a familiar read on it feel it very very vocal
I was outside side house I could hear calling me .. in her way
I seen the past in her eyes She loves my crystals
She has many secrets And so smart I never a pet like her.
She came to me back in 2016 as kitten.
She knows when chat with my friend on email
She gets excited and vocal when we chat
I told my friend about it
She is happy about it she's cat person as well.
Cookie sticks by me alot She has much wisdom
I tell her and says reow.. with her huge eyes.

Cookie sounds like a delightful & loving cat.

SpiritTalker wrote:
FBF can you determine what the neighbor's cat's presence was actually contributing to the effectiveness of the workings?

Yea, I'm not altogether sure that she contributes to the effectiveness at all, but more like an observer...and distractor. The latter can be problematic when doing meditation or other deep working like aspecting. But like you said, they are much more astute at detecting other presences, be they a possum in this world or a sprite between the worlds. It's always interesting to watch her watch something else.
The Rock dove (pigeon) I had for a time was very good at spotting hawks. He could see them so far up in the sky I could barely make them out. When he did the rubberneck one eye to the sky, I knew he knew he had to take cover. So as far as this critter being a familiar, it was more like he was there just to hang out, when he got bored he just flew away. And the ferret just wanted to sit in my lap if I was meditating or doing some other sit down spell work, yet that's when he would show up.
I can't say with any certainty that the cat or the other animals "help" the work, but to have some critter hold space and lend energy seems to be a monumental task for them, and appreciated by us. I had a black cat once (Spooky) who would sit at the perimeter looking outward like a bouncer just waiting for some"thing" to break the barrier. Sometimes he would wander off before I was through, so I figured all threats must have passed.
I would love to hear others take on how the familiar lends help to magic work.
BB, Firebird

I don't do any magic work, I see, hear or smell things. I acknowledge the presence but try not to interact beyond hello. Dream a lot less now than I used to, learned how to lucid dream or to wake myself when it's too out of control. Though sometimes it really is like Nightmare on Elm st. Sometimes I get like a premonition but it comes through my stomach.
I don't trust that my visitors are friendly. I have too much baggage to even trust myself, I am too negative.

I think Alpha is more like trying to keep me calm / grounded when I come here. I think he's picking up on some anxiety or nervous energy

I stumbled onto this 2015 Lunar Wisdom youtube channel video: "what is a familiar & how do witches work with them" that includes both familiar spirit & a pet animal in a working cooperation. But the point is a familiar is a spirit being.

https://m.youtube.com/?reload=7&rdm=3ob ... -a3EkyOFY8

This vid's interpretation suggests a spirit entity may be housed in an inanimate object or take a pet's body to do errands. The familiar spirit specifically assists the witch in non-physical ways (spiritual matters & guidance) or sometimes with raising energy. Notably a witch doesn't find the familiar, the familiar finds the witch.

Another YouTube vid channel is George Hares (formerly known as MrShadowBwoy). This guy does good research into the topics he talks on.

Traditional witchcraft familiars Part 1
https://m.youtube.com/?reload=7&rdm=3ob ... OGl4KZxNMY

Part 2
https://m.youtube.com/?reload=7&rdm=3ob ... 1xm4bMN1K0

Familiar spirit -something to clear up
https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=9cb9-anA4FQ

Gaining a familiar spirit - how to
https://m.youtube.com/?reload=7&rdm=3ob ... Y4Bhwcv39k