Occult Familiars and Animal Companions

(everything stated in this blog is based upon my own research, personal practice, and opinion)

Let’s be real: if you’ve ever cracked open a witchy book, binged a fantasy series, or scrolled WitchTok for more than thirty seconds, you’ve run into the familiar. A black cat slinking across the hearth, a raven whispering ominous advice, or some questionable toad parked in a cauldron like it’s a jacuzzi.

Familiars are part of the aesthetic in the same way black eyeliner and “accidentally” hoarding too many candles are. But once you scrape off the Instagram filter and dig past the medieval propaganda, what is a familiar? Are they literal magical helpers? Spirit allies wearing animal suits? A convenient excuse when your parrot screams profanity during ritual and you claim it’s “a spirit omen”?

The short answer: all of the above, depending on the tradition, the practitioner, and whether you’re willing to accept that sometimes your cat just wants snacks, not to channel Hekate.

A Brief (and Bloody) History

The word “familiar” comes from the Latin familiaris, meaning “household servant.” Which should already tip you off to the baggage. In medieval Europe, especially during the witch trial era, familiars weren’t depicted as adorable Disney sidekicks. They were “devils in animal form,” sinister emissaries that witches supposedly fed with blood and tasked with carrying out dark deeds.

Here’s the fun part: the witch hunters were the ones obsessed with this idea. The records of familiars come more from accusations and torture transcripts than from actual witches bragging about their demon ferret. If anything, actual folk practitioners were far more likely to keep animals around for mundane reasons: cats for pest control, dogs for protection, birds for omens, and toads because…well, toads are weirdly magical looking, okay?

The entire “tiny demon animal” trope was probably as much projection as reality. The inquisitors couldn’t imagine a woman having power without help, so they invented the image of creepy helpers to justify their paranoia. But the image stuck. Fast forward a few centuries, and familiars evolved from satanic evidence into beloved witchy companions. The familiar of today is a blend of folklore, pop culture, and genuine magical practice. It is a creature that sits somewhere between literal and metaphorical.

What Even Is a Familiar?

The Spirit Familiar

In some traditions (especially within ceremonial magick, shamanism, and cunning folk practice), a familiar is not your literal house pet. It’s a spirit that takes the form of an animal, sometimes appearing physically, sometimes in dreams or visions. This kind of familiar is a teacher, ally, and sometimes trickster. It’s closer to a contract than companionship. You don’t “own” a spirit familiar; you negotiate with it, respect it, and sometimes endure its sass. Think less “loyal golden retriever” and more “intern who knows they’re smarter than you.”

The Animal Familiar

This is the cat, dog, ferret, snake, parrot, etc., living in your house, shedding on your ritual robes, and sometimes, just sometimes, doing something that makes your witchy hairs stand on end. Some practitioners believe animals can attune to magical energy, guarding circles, soaking up psychic nastiness, or lending their instincts to divination. Are they “magical” because they’re inherently enchanted, or because humans project meaning onto everything their pets do? Honestly, does it matter? If your cat meows right as you pull the Tower card, you’re going to remember it.

The Archetypal Familiar

This is the symbolic role, the idea of “the witch and her beast” as inseparable archetypes. The familiar functions as a mirror of the witch: wild, liminal, outside polite society, both feared and desired. Whether you literally believe in them or not, the familiar archetype has power. It shapes how people imagine witchcraft, and how witches imagine themselves.

The Good, the Bad, and the Hairballs

Not every animal in your life is a familiar. Some are just animals. Some are familiars. Some are chaotic goblins who refuse categorization.

Cat

Classic familiar. Independent, liminal, staring at empty corners like they see a spirit. Cats are the witchcraft interns who refuse to file your paperwork and instead knock your crystals on the floor.

Dog

Less traditional, but fiercely protective. Dogs are guardians, emotional support, and occasionally the reason your ritual space smells like wet fur. They don’t care about subtle omens. They bark at ghosts and demand belly rubs after.

Birds

Historically, ravens and crows are favorites (thank you, Odin and every goth teenager ever). But parrots? Peak chaotic familiar energy. Imagine trying to hold a solemn invocation while your African grey keeps chanting “HAIL BOB” because your ex thought it was funny (it was) to teach it that.

Reptiles

Snakes and lizards often come with symbolic weight (wisdom, death, transformation). Toads get a bad rap but carry their own lore. Having a reptile familiar says, “I do magick, but also I’m fine if my best friend stares at me unblinking for twelve hours.”

Rodents and Ferrets

Mischief incarnate. Small enough to hide in pockets, sneaky enough to steal offerings, and statistically likely to poop during ritual. Bless them.

Fish

Yes, some witches claim fish familiars. Nothing like casting a spell while your betta stares judgmentally from its tank, silently plotting your downfall.

Do Familiars Actually Do Anything?

This is where the woo meets the skeptical snort depending on belief. Reports of familiars include:

Guarding ritual circles.

Warning witches of danger.

Acting as magical batteries (absorbing or lending energy).

Acting as messengers or mediums for spirits.

Being living symbols of magical intent.

Maybe your cat really does absorb negative vibes. Maybe your cat just likes sitting on warm chalk circles. The real question: does it matter? If working with your familiar strengthens your focus, builds your practice, and deepens your relationship with the unseen, then that’s valid. Magick is, at its heart, the art of meaning-making. Familiars, whether spirit or flesh, are meaning.

The Ethics of Animal Companionship in Magick

Okay, time for the heavy stuff. Let’s talk ethics. Because nothing ruins a witchy vibe faster than realizing your “magical practice” is stressing out your dog.

Consent: Your cat did not sign up to be your magical battery. If your rituals involve animals, make sure they’re not uncomfortable. Spirits might sign contracts; your hamster did not.

Projection: Don’t dump all your magical expectations on an animal who just wants snacks. If you think your rabbit is your reincarnated grandmother, that’s cool…but maybe also see a therapist.

Respect: Animal companions aren’t props or tools. They’re lives with needs, quirks, and the right to ignore your entire spiritual journey. Respect their boundaries.

Familiars in folklore were often accused of being “fed with blood.” Please don’t reenact that. Your parakeet doesn’t want to drink from your finger. It wants millet.

Enter… Pop Culture

Pop culture gave us some of the most iconic familiars:

Salem the sarcastic cat from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

The talking raven from countless goth Tumblr posts.

Daemons in His Dark Materials, basically familiars as soul fragments, proving once and for all that if your soul takes the form of a dung beetle, life is unfair.

These depictions reinforce the archetype, but also risk making people think familiars are always flashy, talkative, and plot convenient. In reality familiars are less “exposition machine” and more “silent, mysterious, and occasionally barfing on your altar.”

Finding or Meeting Your Familiar

So, how do you get one? Spoiler: there’s no Witch PetCo. You don’t walk in and say, “One mystical crow, please.”

Common Methods

Vision or Dream: Many witches meet familiars through trance, dreams, or meditation. The animal may appear as a guide.

Adoption or Chance Encounter: Sometimes the familiar just shows up, literally at your door, in a shelter, or staring at you through the glass of a reptile shop.

Ritual Invitation: Some traditions involve ritually calling a familiar spirit, offering partnership.

The key: it’s about relationships, not ownership. Familiars aren’t mail-order demons. They’re allies who may or may not decide you’re worth their time.

Familiars vs. Other Animal Companions

Not every magical animal is a familiar. Sometimes an animal is just a beloved companion who shares your life, your energy, and your ritual space. That doesn’t make them “less.” In fact, the bond itself can be its own magic. I’ve written before about the mundane and magical being one and the same: being/https://artofbecoming111.com/2025/07/03/everything-is-magick-the-inescapable-enchantment-of-being/)

Your dog who comforts you during grief, your cat who insists on sitting in the circle, your snake who sheds right as you cast a spell for transformation, these are moments where the intertwining jumps out at us. Familiars, companions, allies, or just pets…they all matter.

The Witch Without a Familiar

You don’t need a familiar. You’re still a witch if you don’t have a cat, raven, or salamander. Familiars are powerful symbols, yes, but witchcraft is about your will, your practice, your relationship with the unseen. If you don’t have a familiar, you’re not “missing” anything. If anything, you dodge the part where your ferret eats half your tarot deck.

Every Witch Needs a Witness

Here’s the thing: whether they’re spirits, archetypes, or just really judgmental cats, familiars embody the messy, playful, mysterious intersection of human and non-human. They remind us that magick isn’t solitary, it happens in relationship, whether with gods, spirits, or the beings who shed on our bedsheets. Familiars may guard circles, whisper omens, or just knock over candles at the worst possible time. But maybe that’s the point. They keep us humble, connected, and just a little bit wild.

The next time your parrot screams during your ritual, don’t roll your eyes. Maybe that was the omen….maybe they just wanted peanuts. Either way: you’re in good company.