Is Your Pet a Familiar?

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“Once upon a time, in a far away land, there lived a witch and her familiar…”

It sounds like the beginnings of a wonderful fairy tale, doesn’t it? However, Familiars have gotten a bad wrap for a very long time.

Thought to be malevolent beings, or even demons, by The Church- familiars were supposed to be a spirit sent to help a witch carry out evil deeds. Though most history surrounding witches is biased in a post-crusade rhetoric, it’s easy to see that witchcraft and animals were often mentioned together.

Witchfinder General by Matthew Hopkins detailing the many evil forms a witch’s familiar may take

In reality, a familiar was a guardian, sent or contracted, to protect a witch from evil or harm. They often took the form of animals, though sometimes could take shape of insects, reptiles, fairies, and even humans, depending on the witch’s gifts or needs.

In contrast to a spirit animal, a creature one embodies traits of or is protected by from another realm, familiars were physical beings that practiced and assisted the witch in her rituals and every day magicks. In modern times, the popularity of familiars has risen again, creating a link between our witchy ancestors and our selves.

In saying so, we might often find ourselves asking the question: is my pet just a pet, or are they my familiar?

If we go on ancient practices, there are a few rules that designates one as a familiar instead of an ordinary animal: the sudden apparition of the spirit when there was none before, a magickal ritual, and/or a contract negotiated between the witch and the spirit before the spirit takes a form.

Writings from sources in the early 17th Century note instances of these “demons” surfacing in such ways, but the biased nature of these documents lead me to believe that most witches came across their familiars back then much as we do today.

MacBeth Seeing the Three Witches [and their demon familiars]; Engraving by Reynolds c.1786

Therefore, I’ve created a few new ideas based on interviews of modern witches and readings of old texts of how to tell if your pet is a familiar that isn’t based on puritanical witch hunting!

How to Tell if Your Pet is a Familiar:

  1. Your familiar and you will have a soul connection. If you have several furbabies or animal loves, your familiar will be distinguished from the pack by the feeling you have when around them. For most people I’ve interviewed, they knew their familiar immediately- as if a piece of their soul was returning home.
  2. Your familiar may have resisted other owners to find you. When your familiar is meant for you, it will find you when you’re ready for it. Circumstances may present themselves for your familiar to go to a different home, but things will not work out for one reason or another- and this animal will find its way to you.
  3. Your familiar may present itself in an unanticipated moment. Even if you’re not looking for your familiar, if your soul is calling out for one, it will hear you- coming to you in mysterious, or often fated, ways. It will present itself to you when your soul and heart are ready for the connection, not necessarily when your brain is!
  4. Your familiar will understand you and you will understand it. Having the love of an animal is an honor, however, being understood by one is something few of us are ever gifted. If you find that your “pet” understands your moods, your unspoken thoughts, or even your heart, it is likely to be your familiar.
  5. Your familiar will love you the most. If you live with multiple people, or if your familiar is around others constantly, it will still always look for, and prefer being in your company than any other human. This is not to mean they will be exclusively in your face, as animals are social creatures, but you will notice your familiar has a tendency to follow you around, sit by you, or even choose to protect you before itself.
No matter who she’s with, she’s always paying attention to what I’m doing…

It’s necessary to note that as long as you know your pet is your familiar, the above conditions are only a guide. For me, the most important of them all is number one. Everyone I’ve ever asked has always said the same thing, myself included, when they found their familiar: “I just knew”.

My Sadie, a one year old Coonhound at the time, was like this. She was a malnourished, petrified, little pup that hid in the back of her cage when my husband and son passed her at the local ASPCA. However, when I walked by, I instantly stopped- feeling a tingle settle over my entire body. She immediately came to the gate, stuck her spotted nose through the stainless steel webbing, and licked me. I knew, in that moment, that she was mine and I was hers.

We’ve been inseparable ever since. After learning of her history, it became clear that we were connected on a deeper than surface level. She’d been forcibly removed from her last home, abused and beaten, and abandoned by her first home for being a gun shy hunting dog (aka: “not good enough”). She’d been in the care of the ASPCA for a while, not liking any of her handlers and showing no emotional response to anyone- leading many to believe she wasn’t adoptable. Until I came along, that is, and she came alive with the wonderful and loving spirit she is! Sadie was me and I was her, we were the same and without ever having met before, we both instantly understood and loved each other.

We’re always together…even three years later

For many people who don’t have familiars, and believe pets are just animals, it’s hard to describe how a creature of another species can know the pain you’ve lived through in a deep and profound way, but Sadie does. And I know hers. She saved me, that day, just as much as I saved her.

Many I’ve listened to who’ve spoken about their familiars have very similar stories, leading me to believe we all find our loves when it’s meant to be.

When a familiar comes to you, you may wonder: what’s next? What does a familiar do?

Familiars are often uniquely adept at picking up on your needs. For some, protection and comfort will be their designated purpose- as Sadie definitely does this for me. For others, it will be friendship and guidance. Do not try to force the relationship, as your familiar will show you its purpose over time.

Always looking out and guarding me…

Often, familiars will seek to enjoy magick with you, creating a connection that is deeper than simply your own. This can present itself in various ways, such as a cat lingering in your circle, a bird perching on your shoulder during spells, or a dog laying by your feet during ritual. However, given time and trust, your familiar will choose its own way of preforming or assisting your practice- and will very likely be unique to you and your relationship with it.

Sadie often follows me, sitting and guarding my space while I preform any sort of magick- from the mundane to the involved. When I walked the perimeter of our property during our protection spell, she followed right behind me- blending our magicks together in a beautiful dance of intention, love, and power. I, honestly, feel my spells are stronger and more natural with her by my side, as if she balances out my own chaotic energy with her patience and love.

A friend of mine has a cat who found her on a stormy night, meowing on her porch- demanding to be let in. He will sit in her lap while she meditates, purring in tandem with her breath. Though he usually is hidden away, sneaking about, when she goes to sit in her circle he pops up out of nowhere and helps her ground. She’s always claimed he saved her sanity, for he appeared to her when she was at her worst- and chose to show her how to remain calm when she didn’t believe she could.

Therefore, I fully believe each familiar will be different. Yours may shit in your shoe when you leave the house without him, but will sit in reverence as you light your candles and preform your spells. There’s no telling- but believe me when I say, your familiar will not leave you guessing for very long. It’s there for a reason, and it will show you why if you let it.

My question to you is: Is your pet a familiar? How did you know? I’d love to hear about it below!

And, just for the hell of it, here’s a gratuitous picture of Sadie that my phone happened to snap on its own one day!

She smiles for me all the time, and I smile for her…my little Sadie Baby <3

Until next time, my friends…

26 Replies to “Is Your Pet a Familiar?”

  1. Is it possible to have a familiar if you know little to nothing about the craft? I have a cat named Luna who found me on the 8 year anniversary of my grandmothers death with her dopey brother, Archer. Luna is very much in tune with my moods and prefers my company above all others. She will bathe in the light of the moon and practices yoga with me, but I do not know how to do any rituals to see her reactions to that. I just know what I feel and I feel she is a piece of me, but as I said I do not know enough about the craft to say for sure.

    1. You don’t need to know anything about the craft to have a familiar! It’s not our knowledge that brings them to us, but our need. If you feel in your heart that Luna fills that role for you, whether you ever begin practicing or not, then she certainly qualifies! <3 Hope that helps!

  2. I have never been a dog person. Growing up I always had cats. Almost a year ago I got a sudden strange urge to adopt a dog. Again not a dog person. So I started looking and reading stories of dogs in shelters and I applied for 2 and never got a call back. I almost gave up until I got a weird urge to look one last time, this time I looked all over my state. And 3 hours away I found this goofy faced girl…read her story and cried. She had been abused before and returned by many families bc she was skittish and shy. She was uncomfortable around men and different people and wasn’t social with her own kind. and I could relate on soooooo many levels. I applied for her and got a response immediately. I went to go meet her and I spent 2 hours with her just to be sure. At first she didn’t really look up at me she just walked around the yard of the shelter so I decided to just go sit down and let her come to me. She finally did and looked at me and sat with me. I asked her if she wanted to go home and she walked to the fence door, sat in front of it and waited. I named her LuLu and the people at the shelter laughed and said her name was previously LaLa. I had no idea lol But I can’t imagine how an amazing dog like her has been returned so many times. She is so calm, potty trained, not destructive, well mannered, goes outside and walks with me without a leash, doesn’t bark (not that there is anything wrong with hyper dogs, she’s just strangely well behaved) I couldn’t imagine why any one would bring her back? Then I realized mine and her traumas were parallel, how we feel about people or others of our own kind is the same. She’s funny about other people and dogs and so am I. If I were a dog I’d probably be LuLu. No matter what I’m doing she is there, not weird or clingy by like my shadow. Right now she’s laying right next to me as I type this lol But how I realized she is my familiar is a deep knowing…I’m calm when she is by my side. I’ve never bonded with an animal as much as I have with her. She’s my best friend and we go every where together. She is solid white, with a blue eye and a black eye and she looks just like a German Shepard. I call her my little wolf baby lol Anyone else wondering if their familiar has found them look at the circumstances of how they came into your life and when. You’ll just “know”. Mine is empathic/intuitive she alerts me to things I feel and second guess. Her discomfort around someone is my sign to stop the second guessing and trust my intuition. She’s a teacher, guide and a companion.

  3. I had recently lost my flame point Siamese and had just gotten home from my nephew’s wedding in Pensacola when I heard a knock at the door. I opened my front door and this tan and white cat with a white cat marking on his back came walking in like he owned he house. I named him Carey, Care Bear and he doesn’t leave my side. I didn’t know about Familiars until recently. I went to a Shaman and she said that my cat was there visiting and “but he’s not a Siamese, just light colored, he is your familiar”. She said they can visit spiritually even when they are alive. Now I hear him when he comes to see me spiritually.

  4. July two years ago i had a bad car crash and suffered severe damage to my back and sustained other physical injuries, resulting in not being able to start college the september after. I lost a lot of friends and became a really lonely, isolated person. I lost motivation for everything and hardly ever left my bedroom. I really got into a dark place. Less than a year later my mum tried everything to get me out of the house and get back to my normal self and one day she asked me if there was absolutely anything she could do for me or get me to make me feel better and more present in life, i jokingly replied with “can we please get a cat?“. Ive always loved cats and consider myself a cat person and at the time being as lonely as I felt, I would’ve appreciated any fur therapy. She told me that we couldn’t get a cat due to her not liking them and having her own personal experiences with them but said we could get a dog. I’ve never had the responsibility a dog comes with but got really excited about that idea as my mum is not big on pets. She looked online for weeks for a dog or a pup for me and coincidentally enough her friends dog had just got her two others dogs pregnant. My mum mentioned straight away that she’s been looking to get me a dog and her friend wanted us to have one of her pups when they were born and ready to be homed. My mum was more excited than me about this and tried to keep it a secret to surprise me but she eventually told me about it after being too excited to wait for my reaction. The puppies were born and their mother unfortunately rejected them and refused to feed them her milk, my mums friend had to bottle feed them and found it too hard on her own so my mum offered to help as she was there the day they were born and fell in love with them all, especially one. He was the most different looking and the smallest of the litter. He was this brown little chubby pup and my mum knew he was the one for us, mostly me. Time came for him to be homed and I was so chuffed, she brought him home with a little bow on his neck and I instantly fell in love. He was a shy puppy and didn’t like a lot of attention from anyone else but me, he spent most of his time cuddled into my lap. It’s almost been two years since I got him and he’s spent every single day with me since and has not changed much, his personality is bright and like no other dogs I’ve seen and he’s the perfect size for me to walk and sleep next to at night. Wherever I am, he is and I wouldn’t want it any other way. He protects me all the time and is always following me into every room in our house. He speaks to me with facial expressions and sometimes even mimics words with weird noises and barks. He brought light back to my life, I no longer feel alone and he motivates me everyday to get out of bed. He knows when I need comforting and he’s always there to do it. I’ve never loved anything this much in my life before, ever. Everyone is always commenting on how much he never leaves my side and how much he comes to me for everything and I couldn’t imagine life without him. His name is Milo, he’s a staff cross Alsatian-Rottweiler and we’ve been through a lot together and have currently moved into our first house together with my partner who absolutely adores Milo and Milo adores my partner more. He’s like the son we’ve always subconsciously wanted.

  5. This summer, I went to a family friend’s house. They always had dozens of stray kittens around, so I payed no mind to the many cats in their yard. Later, they said there were newborns in their backyard. Obviously I went to check it out. While I was asking the little kittens to come out so I can pet them, one of them stepped out very bravely. She was a tiny white kitten. No bigger than my forearm. She had little black dots on the backs of her legs, as well as a big blotch on her head. Her tail was entirely black. She came right up to me and nudged into my hand. I knew immediately that she was my familiar. I picked her up and walked her right inside. Everyone tried to protest, but I wouldn’t let anyone take her away. She’s been helping me with my spells since then and is relatively well behaved. I named her Narcissa.

  6. I had a young Siamese cat not too long ago. As soon as Benji was done popping him out he would only let me help him without freaking out. As he got bigger he’d always follow me or show up at my door instead of his basket. Things like that. And as he got a older it became apparent there was a connection. Like when I’d sit in my room crying, he’d yell to be let in and then sit on my chest and purr and cry with me. I loved that cat with everything but my mom had him taken away. Is it possible to find a connection like that again or is it only a once in a lifetime?

  7. I went to animal shelter with a specific cat in mind but when I got there I had a sudden urge to go a few cages away. I saw a beautiful calico short hair who seemed to have an eye infection, as soon as she saw me she started purring and as soon as I help her I teared up and immediately knew she was mine.

  8. This made me smile like crazy, I’ve only been Wiccan for a few years but have always known my dog and I share a deep connection. I have severe anxiety and when she can tell I’m spiraling she pulls me out, and I can tell when she is struggling and give her extra attention. I didn’t even think about it until recently that she may be my Familiar and did some research and it IMMEDIATELY clicked. She absolutely is, no question and I love her so much. I am incredibly lucky!

  9. For a while I questioned whether my cat was my
    Familiar or not. She never is interested in sitting around for magickal practices or anything, but will lay on my lap if I was trying to meditate, but she sits on my lap to take a nap on me anyway on a regular day. She does give me some sense of peace. She loves to be cuddled too, sometimes. We have a close connection. I always worry about her if anything happened to her.

    There were very rare times I woke up to something taking a leap onto my bed without her inside the house. I thought she was astral projecting onto my bed somehow, as I have read cats are between worlds (the physical and the astral). I once had a vivid dream she went onto my bed to curl up near my feet. It felt so real. I asked a psychic about it during a livestream on Facebook and she said that my cat is protecting me in the dream world while I sleep.

  10. I’m an out of practice Wiccan. My husband is very spiritual as well. He’s different though, he’s from Jamaica & practices VooDoo (never for bad). I’m a natural Witch & a Clairvoyant. Since having our kids ages 12 & 10 I haven’t practiced for fear our kids would take it the wrong way or try to use it for bad. Kind of like keeping a gun locked in a safe. I just thought it better to stay dormant.
    I’ve had this longing for a kitten since forever & this past summer my husband & I were finally in a position to adopt one. So we all pile up in the car & drive to PetSmart. My 10 year old daughter & I were standing waiting for an employee to help us with an adoption when my eyes were pulled down & when I say pulled I mean it was like someone was holding my head & forced me to look towards the floor. There was this white & grey Calico kitten just sitting there. As soon as I looked at her her head turned, our eyes locked & I suddenly felt like crying. I could feel her pain. The suffering she went through after her mom abandoned her & all her brothers & sisters were gone. She was the last one left out of 8 kittens.When I went in the back to fill out the paperwork she was meowing at me & clawing at her kennel. It was like I understood her & I kept saying “Yes baby, we’re taking you home.” When we first brought her home I wasn’t there since I had a few things to do so she climbed all over my daughter. The moment I got home she was all over me. Rubbing on my legs, meowing this happy meow. When I say down she jumped up on me & suckled on my shirt & fell asleep.
    She’s now 9 months old & follows me everywhere. She lays on me & only wants me to play rough with her. She likes attacking my hands & even though it does hurt I know it makes her happy. She does stop when I say ow if she gets too rough. She sits by the door when I’m taking a shower & sleeps at my feet at night. Sometimes I do close our bedroom door bc my husband works late & I don’t want her waking him up by walking on him, jumping on him or climbing our headboard. Of course she HATES being alone. I do feel bad bc I want her in with me.
    I also want to bring up a something that happened on New Year’s with my dad. So my dad was sitting next to me & Stormy jumped up between us & Stormy meowed at him. My dad started to pet her & she hissed at him. She’s never hissed at anyone. Now my dad & I don’t have the best relationship, but I’ll leave out the reasons. I was thinking that she could sense his negative energy & didn’t like it or she was just pissed that he was sitting in her spot. Her bed sits to the right of me during the day on the couch until the kids go to bed & then I move it to the left of me. The left is where my daughter sits until she goes to bed. Stormy also hid in my room pretty much the whole 2 days my dad was here. My daughter closed my bedroom door & Stormy sat in front of it & yowled. I’d never heard her make that sound before so I opened it & let her in.
    Anyway, I’d also like to know if she’s here to help me open back up & practice magic again?
    I needed this precious girl though. She makes me smile & laugh everyday. She makes my heart so happy. When she lays on me & purrs it’s like I can feel her connecting to my body. I just relax from head to toe. She’s so smart & sweet & she definitely prefers us girls. She does sit in front of our son’s door a lot though & I’m not sure why? She’s also always trying to go into his room as well. Could it be that his room is the only room that closed all the time so she can’t freely investigate it?
    Ok, I’m gonna go now 🤗

  11. About a year ago I had this need to adopt a dog from our local shelter. I thought I had wanted a puppy but went through the kennels of big dogs first. The moment I saw Penny I knew she had to come home with me. Fast forward 3 months and she wound up getting really sick and had constant grand mal seizures that meds wouldn’t stop. I was devastated to say the least. Two days later I saw a picture of another dog on the shelter’s website and had that same feeling. Maggie had been returned 4 times for various reasons and I FIRMLY believe it’s because she was meant to be with me and my family. 3 months after adopting Maggie, we adopted Biscuit. He was also a return that was there when I originally adopted Penny. Now my family and soul feels complete!

  12. I now have had two familiar cats. The first one I rescued had a similar story to yours. I went to a shelter thinking I was going to rescue a certain cat but then there was Chiyo. She was rubbing on the cage and purring so loud and she let me hold her even though she was rescued from the wild. I came just in time since another person who wanted to adopt her and we were inseparable until she passed away from cancer. My current familiar is kika, no one wanted to adopt poor kika and she was in a foster home for a year. But when she was brought to my house the foster mom couldn’t believe how calm and relaxed she was. Kika looked at me as if she been waiting for me forever and let me pet her right away. She wasn’t frightened at all and now every day she is by me and sleeps with me every night (she ignores my husband unless I’m gone).

  13. I’m so glad I found your site!! This was EXACTLY what I was looking for!! I need to tell you about my boy. He is a 20# grungy Pomeranian named Seamus. I ADORE this pudgy, scruffy, snorty, little dude!! I can’t even describe the love and devotion I have to him. I literally refer to him as my kids little brother lol, and my kids are just as in love with him…even my husband. Though, I think that’s because he’s the first one I’ve had that actually loves my husband lol, but I digress. In 2016, my last Pomeranian puppy was hit by a car and killed in front of my home and my son found him on our side walk. It was a devastating tragedy for our family. I felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest. Two weeks later I found this 8 week old puppy on Craigslist down in Los Angeles California and my mom and I went to pick him up. I was told he was 12 weeks old and had been given his first set of shots…I noticed at the time HE WAS TERRIFIED. It seemed really odd to me how scared he was of human contact as every other puppy I’ve ever purchased was very very social and WANTING human contact. Always super excited for people…this was extremely odd behavior for such a tiny pup…I also noticed he had blood coming from his anus. I asked the breeder about it and she said it was probably because she had been feeding him adult food. In her defense, at the time, I thought perhaps the adult food on his tiny colon could have caused colitis and been the source of the bleeding. So I asked her to take the amount off for a vet appointment so I could take him in as soon as I got back home just to be sure that was all it was. She obliged and we parted ways and I left with my new baby boy Seamus. On the drive home he had to potty so we pulled over and that’s when I realized it absolutely WAS NOT THE FOOD…we were dealing with some kind of intestinal parasite. When I got home I took him to the vet ASAP. My baby boy had two intestinal parasites, a sinus infection, infections in both eyes, both ears, and impetigo, which the impetigo took 6 months to diagnose and has now caused lasting issues for him 6 years later. He has a systemic yeast infection which makes him over heat regularly and I have to keep him shaved even during the winter months when it snows.
    As you stated with your girl, Even though I saved my boy, he came to me when I needed saving the most. My heart was absolutely destroyed with the death of my puppy at the time. Seamus helped me heal during a time that I felt like breathing wasn’t even possible. It sounds so silly. But I was so bonded to my last Pomeranian after only a year and a half. After helping Seamus heal and become healthy and needing to take him everywhere with me for so long, that just became our normal thing. Now that’s been the norm for us for the last 6 years. If he isn’t with me EVERYONE asks, “Where’s Seamus!?!” Lol!! He LOVES PEOPLE!! He LOVES KIDS!! I hear from so many people, omg I want a Pomeranian!! And I have to say, “well…lol he’s not the normal Pomeranian…” I recently had to help my sister with a cleansing of her home due to a strange entity she believed to be inhabiting her 1930s house. He did every single thing I told him to do as if he was trained to do it. I told him to stay out of the circle. He laid outside with his toes just outside of it like he was protecting us from the closest spot he knew he was allowed. When my sister was spreading the salt mixture around her fence he followed right behind her and then followed me. He just instinctively knew EXACTLY WHAT TO DO. Normally he can be very attentive to what is going on in the yard and playful. He was extremely calm and in tune to the ENTIRE RITUAL like he KNEW what was happening and he was totally into the whole thing. We had expected HER dog to be a part of it being “her familiar” he didn’t want to have anything to do with it at all!! Seamus was absolutely not going to leave us. I have never felt so strong spiritually than I did that night. Any time I feel bad, in pain, or in need of some kind of uplift, he is RIGHT THERE to help me. I don’t need to speak a word. He just appears. I often wonder what I will do when his time on this earth is up because I just feel like my world will end and that feeling of being unable to breathe will come back. I want him to live forever because he really does feel like my son. I have five dogs that I love with all of my heart. But the bond I have with Seamus is stronger than anything I can even come close to explaining. He is my familiar, my ride or die, my soulmate animal, my son.
    Thank you for reading and for the info.
    Blessings on you and your sweet girl and family ❤️

  14. Last December around the Solstice, I was going through a rough time, just with a lot of stress, and work. I get home and this little tabby comes up to me. He walked with me to my apartment and just walked in, hopped into my favorite chair and just looked at me like he was saying, “I’m home”. He has brought me so much peace and comfort. He spends a lot of time outside, but he avoids everyone but me.

  15. My original familiar went to the beyond in July of 2020. I called for him to return to me day & night for over a year. September of last year, my wife witnessed an accident on the highway. A young lady was transporting a tuxedo kitten to be sold, unrestrained and loose on her lap. My wife spent the better part of an hour trying to find the kitten, and eventually the little mite was pulled from beneath the glovebox. Already having 3 cats, I was hesitant to say yes to a fourth. But when I saw her picture, I knew who that little bug was. Her patches of white are the same areas that afflicted the old man prior to his death at the age of 21. She also has a small white spot between her eyes. She’s young still, and very well-versed in chaos magick, but the bond remains. I’m grateful every single day that this wee spirit returned to me in a healthy, pain-free vessel, and my (human) soulmate was the one to find her <3 (My wife is still a little jealous that I was chosen over her, but it wasn’t up to me.)

  16. So we originally got my cat for my daughter as a birthday gift. After about a year he was attacked by another cat and got a really bad bite on his hind leg. It was through his healing process that him and I really bonded. Ever since then he sleeps with me very single night, prefers to lay with me when we are home and everytime I do any divination he shows up, sits right on top of my work for a bit and then lays next to me while I finish. The cutest part is anytime I’m outside at night, he has to come with me and is always on alert. Putting himself between me and any sort of sounds or things that he sees. I love him to death!

  17. Is it possible to have 2 familiars? My dog was brought into my life when I wanted a companion. She has been with me through all of my darkest moments in life. She is very in tune with my emotional state and often comforts me when she knows I’m falling apart. I’ve also called her my “soulmate” many times because I feel such a strong bond with her. I brought her home when she was a puppy and she will soon be turning 10 years old. My cat, on the other hand, was adopted during the pandemic and when I saw her picture on an adoption website I felt a strong connection towards her and I felt like I was what she needed. I recently started learning about the craft and have noticed that she follows me around when I’m cleansing my home and likes to look at my tarot cards. When I recently took a ritual bath, they both sat next to the bath tub and kept me company. I feel strong connections with both of them, but in completely different ways.

  18. I think my little girl is mine, although I found her before I started exploring witchcraft. I was looking at another kitty before her but last minute complications resulted in me not being able to take that one home, which crushed me until the shelter mentioned a new litter that had just come in. She wouldn’t be ready for a month but just at the first description of her (long haired black cat) I knew she was mine. And right after I brought her home, I was suddenly able to see the toxicity I had been surrounded by and found the strength to stand up for myself. She and I are so close, I can’t stand being apart from her for more than a few days before I start getting tense. I’m so new to the craft and have a lot of self doubt but I’m so sure about her.

    Also, whenever I work at my altar she gets frustrated that she can’t see what I’m doing and will whine until I pick her up. Adorably frustrating trying to do everything one-handed!

  19. My cat is named Christmas, he was named by my landlords several months before I moved in. They found him in the garbage bin with no idea where he came from. He’s always been affectionate, they said, but as soon as I held him and cuddled him the first time, I felt a connection with him. He lives outside and so I don’t always get to see him since he wanders, but he’s been there for me on two notable separate occasions when I was really stressed. Once was during a stressful conversation, and I wanted to sit on the porch in case Christmas would be there. I felt that he would be there, and he was. He stayed in my arms and helped me stay grounded. The second time was actually tonight. Driving home from work, I was getting more and more anxious. Now that it’s winter, I don’t see him as much bc he’s staying in warm spots. But after I got home, I was getting my stuff out of my car when I heard a mrroww. I turned around and saw him padding towards me like he knew I needed him. I only had time to pet him for a few minutes, but I immediately felt better, more grounded and at peace. When I went inside, I looked out the window and saw him looking at me with what felt like a serious gaze, like he was telling me that I’ll be alright and I can handle things.

    I’m moving next month tho and I’ll be tight on money and I won’t be able to take him with me. Even if I could, he would have to stay inside all the time, and since he’s a 100% outdoors cat as of now, I’m not sure he would do well staying inside constantly. But I desperately want to bring him with me, and I feel like someday he’ll be able to be with me always. Maybe I’m just hoping, but I’m going to miss him like crazy.

    1. I hope somehow you’re able to see him, even though you’re moving. I’ve found that outdoor cats actually thrive indoors– so if it becomes an option for you, I’d highly consider taking him in! Good luck in your move and I hope Christmas is able to visit you somehow!

  20. i’m only barely starting to delve into the spiritual world that i’ve been connected to my whole life, and one of the ways i’m connecting with that is through tarot & other card reading. my cat has always shown an interest when i bring out my cards, and i’ve half-jokingly let her pull cards for me before. but tonight she was looking out the window and as soon as i opened a deck she refocused on me, came over, and pulled a card for me. it was so weirdly accurate to the rest of the reading and with how her attention totally shifted, i had to google familiars and came across this article.

    she hits a lot of the points on this list, starting with how i found her. i went to the shelter planning to adopt another cat i had seen online, but when i walked past her room she ran over and started pawing at the glass door. so i sat with her for a bit, then tried to proceed with adopting the other cat but when it came to starting the paperwork i had a feeling and decided to adopt her instead. she had been at the shelter the longest out of any of the cats there, over a year. someone had sponsored her adoption too so anyone could have taken her home for free in that time but she waited for me, and knew me when she saw me.

    thanks for the article/confirming what i felt with her <3

  21. I have been in a hard part of my life for a while now. I’d been wanting a dog but it was hard after loosing mine and then having to give one up. One day my mom and me had to go to town and I saw someone selling puppies. We didn’t stop but when I got home for some reason I got on Craigslist, which I never do, and on the first post I looked at there was Diablo. I fell I love with just his picture and I knew he was mine. I picked him up 2 hours later and I cried when I picked him up because it was an instant bond and love. He filled the piece of me I was missing. I truly feel he was sent to me when I needed him. He is still a pup only about 5 months old and is still learning but we have such an incredible bond and have had it since the day I picked him up. Wherever I am that’s where he is. I haven’t practiced a ritual with him yet but I already feel the power he gives me. He knows when my health is bothering me and comforts me and when I’m stressed he tries to distract me. I do truly believe he is my familiar. It is true they find you when you don’t expect it and when you truly need them.

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