Familiars: What They Are And How To Get One

My familiar is a fox, and I want to delve into the history of familiars as well as ways to get one.

During the witchcraft trials in Europe in the 15th-17th century, familiars were seen as demons sent from the devil to aide witches in witchcraft. Often, they were seen as possessing the bodies of animals to disguise themselves. If a suspected “witch” had a mole or skin growth, it was seen as the way they fed their familiar.

Now, in modern Paganism and witchcraft, many witches choose to incorporate familiars into their practice. In Paganism, there is no belief of a devil or the Christian “hell”. Instead, we believe in deities and divine forces that guide us through life. These can also be ancestors, plants, animals, spirits, spirit guides, and other similar teachers/protectors.

So, what is a familiar in modern witchcraft? It depends. Many people associate cats with witchcraft because of modern media that has portrayed witches as being associated with cats for years. Some witches do have cat familiars, and others have other physical animals that help them with their magic. Some witches also have spirit familiars, or guides that they have called on to help them in their practice. These are usually animal spirits, and can be lost familiars or animal guides that have been with them throughout life.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that familiars aide you in your magic. If you have a cat who you know would ruin your altar space if they were near it, chances are they’re not your familiar. I have cats and dogs, but if I let them near my altar space, they will gladly eat food offerings I have left out or sniff through my herbs when I’m crafting a spell. There is a big difference between pets and familiars, although sometimes they can be both. For example, if you have a hedgehog who gives you quills and will meditate with you, that could be your familiar. And it’s important to keep in mind that just because your familiar isn’t your pet doesn’t mean you love your pet any less, it just means that love is different between you and your pet than between you and your familiar.

Alright, now that we’ve covered that, how do you get a familiar? Well, I’ll start with how I got mine. When I started witchcraft, familiars were an interesting concept to me. I had known about animal guides for many years, but I didn’t know that familiars were any different from an animal guide. And in some ways they aren’t. Anyways, I digress. I was seeking one out for a while, and one day when I was looking at one of the many wonderful witchcraft shops the internet has to offer, I came across the familiar section on one of them.

It displayed an array of bones, paws, and skulls, and that seemed like the answer to my question of “how do I get a familiar?”. I happened to have a little wooden fox statue that’s been sitting in my family’s living room for years, so I grabbed it off of the table and meditated with it. It was my first time contacting my familiar, and it felt great. He was kind and sweet, and he told me that while I didn’t need the bones, it would help his spirit find me and connect to me deeper. So I got the bones.

Now, I have them on my altar along with a candle that I burn for him, some crystals, and a few other things.

So, that story was all to say that familiars find you in different ways. There are many kits on Etsy for creating a familiar or finding a familiar, and I will link some shops that sell those below so that you can easily find them. As long as you keep your eyes peeled, a familiar will find you. It may not be what you expected, but trust me, you will love it so much and your bond will be amazing.

That being said, here are some tips for finding familiars:

1. Be on the lookout for signs from animals. That doesn’t mean that if you have crows in your area and you come home to crows eating out of your garbage, a crow is your familiar. What I’m talking about is animals acting strange or out of the ordinary. Did a bird land right in front of you to look up at your face? Did a rabbit come close to you like they never do? Did a deer lock eyes with you and start walking towards you rather than looking at you with fear? These are all signs that your familiar may be the spirit of one of those animals.
2. Ask the universe as a sign! It’ll give one back to you. I’ve never asked for a sign and had it been ignored by the universe. If you ask to know what animal is your familiar and then you start seeing koalas pop up all over Instagram on accounts you’ve never seen them on, that’s a sign. Look for the synchronicities!
3. Ask your guides or deities to offer a familiar to you. If you have a deity or guide that you frequently communicate with, they will be more than willing to send you a little help on your spiritual journey in the form of a familiar.
4. Manifest having a familiar. Manifesting has to be done in the present, and you can do this in a journal, out loud, or just in your mind. I might have manifested, for example, “I have a fox familiar.”
5. Don’t stress about it too much!! There is such a thing as manifesting something too much, or constantly obsessing about signs so much that the universe doesn’t want to send you any. When you’re meant to have a familiar, that time will come!

For now, blessed be witches, and remember to stay safe out there! ❤️

-Keira

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/topic/familiar https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-an-animal-familiar-2562343