Question for the Wiccans

[BigMommaJesca]

It's no small secret that humans, by and large, live much longer than animals.  My question, then, is...what happens when your Familiar dies?  Besides the emotional torment that comes with losing any pet, I mean.

Can you get a "new" familiar?  Or is a piece of you gone forever at that point?

Also, for the first witch to post...please explain in detail what a "familiar" is for our non-Wiccan members, since I know you can explain it more thoroughly and accurately than me.

[bluesmomNC]

First, I'd like to say that I'm not strictly a Wiccan.  I'm an eclectic Pagan, so anything I say here is open to correction by  Wiccans.  This is my personal take on Familiars and my experiences with my own.

A Familiar is an animal, much more than a pet.  In traditional Witchcraft, a familiar was a sort of "helper" to it's Witch.   Many modern Witches have Familiars,  animals that they feel a deep spiritual connection to.  It goes way beyond the feelings of affections that most people have for their pets.

We had a beautiful cat who came to us as a stray.  Out of  several dozen homes to choose from, he picked us.  Our neighbors tried to feed him, but he would only eat from us!   So we adopted him and named him Pyewicket.

Pye was an active participant in our rituals ( as far as a cat can be!)  for three years.  He developed a kidney problem and we had to make a very hard choice - we gave him to our vet instead of putting him down.  We couldn't afford his medications, but our vet loved him so much that he adopted him.

We can't replace Pyewicket.  That piece of our lives is gone forever.  Possibly,  another animal could "find" us, but it would be a different relationship.  Familiars are like people, each one is different and there's no guarantee that we will ever have another.  Maybe we just needed each other on that part of our journey through this plane and that's all the Gods/Goddesses are going to grant us.  We still mourn the fact that he's gone,  but we never know what's in store for us down the road.

Thanks for asking!  I hope that this & other's replies can answer your questions!

[BigMommaJesca]

Awesome!  Thanks so much for that!

[bluesmomNC]

Your welcome!

I'm hoping that some other ladies reply too.  My answer to you is definitely not the only one & I'm curious to see how other people will reply.

I just keep this in mind:  Cats were revered in ancient Egypt as gods - modern cats have not forgotten this!

[Hippiemama98]

excellent question! bluesmom pretty much hit the nail on the head with her definition, but i wanted to add my own opinions....i believe this is the second time in this lifetime that i've connected with the same animal spirit. i'm fairly certain the cat i have now is the same one i had when i was a kid. i have always believed that we stay close to other familliar human spirits when we are reincarnated, so it makes sense to think the same for animals.   

[BigMommaJesca]

Quoting Hippiemama98:

excellent question! bluesmom pretty much hit the nail on the head with her definition, but i wanted to add my own opinions....i believe this is the second time in this lifetime that i've connected with the same animal spirit. i'm fairly certain the cat i have now is the same one i had when i was a kid. i have always believed that we stay close to other familliar human spirits when we are reincarnated, so it makes sense to think the same for animals.   

That brings me to another question:  Is it always a cat?  I've never heard her refer to her as such (to me, anyway), but I think that my stepmom's dog is her familiar.  The first time she brought her to an animal psychic, the psychic said she was getting a faded picture of a small white dog (Shelby is a medium-sized black dog).  My stepmother thinks that that picture was of a dog she loved and cherished as a child.  She wasn't a dog person when I met her, but she said when she saw Shelby at the pet store, she ABSOLUTELY couldn't get her out of her mind, and went the next day to buy her.

That sounds like the kind of experience that would constitute a "familiar" to me.

Ok, so ANOTHER question:  Does EVERYONE have a "familiar" somewhere, and it's just that only some cultures recognize it?

[Hippiemama98]

no, it certainly doesn't have to be a cat. a familiar can be any animal.

[bluesmomNC]

The only other culture that I can think of  are some Native American tribes have totem animals - I guess that they could be considered familiars in a way.

I'm not sure about other cultures.  I'd have to look some things up.

[ChrisandLiz]

Quoting bluesmomNC:

First, I'd like to say that I'm not strictly a Wiccan.  I'm an eclectic Pagan, so anything I say here is open to correction by  Wiccans.  This is my personal take on Familiars and my experiences with my own.

A Familiar is an animal, much more than a pet.  In traditional Witchcraft, a familiar was a sort of "helper" to it's Witch.   Many modern Witches have Familiars,  animals that they feel a deep spiritual connection to.  It goes way beyond the feelings of affections that most people have for their pets.

We had a beautiful cat who came to us as a stray.  Out of  several dozen homes to choose from, he picked us.  Our neighbors tried to feed him, but he would only eat from us!   So we adopted him and named him Pyewicket.

Pye was an active participant in our rituals ( as far as a cat can be!)  for three years.  He developed a kidney problem and we had to make a very hard choice - we gave him to our vet instead of putting him down.  We couldn't afford his medications, but our vet loved him so much that he adopted him.

We can't replace Pyewicket.  That piece of our lives is gone forever.  Possibly,  another animal could "find" us, but it would be a different relationship.  Familiars are like people, each one is different and there's no guarantee that we will ever have another.  Maybe we just needed each other on that part of our journey through this plane and that's all the Gods/Goddesses are going to grant us.  We still mourn the fact that he's gone,  but we never know what's in store for us down the road.

Thanks for asking!  I hope that this & other's replies can answer your questions!

Wow interesting...I know my dog of 16 years holds my heart so dear...I am just gonna lose it at her passing.....holy cow.......

[BigMommaJesca]

bump

[AprilMay1313]

Quoting Hippiemama98:

excellent question! bluesmom pretty much hit the nail on the head with her definition, but i wanted to add my own opinions....i believe this is the second time in this lifetime that i've connected with the same animal spirit. i'm fairly certain the cat i have now is the same one i had when i was a kid. i have always believed that we stay close to other familliar human spirits when we are reincarnated, so it makes sense to think the same for animals.   

This is reminding me of a dream I had once.  I was the reincarnated cat of my childhood cat Ms. Bunny.  Very weird dream but comforting.  She was a very comforting cat.