Hating Your Familiar

Post by Fox Flame* » Sun Apr 02, 2006 2:11 am

I've read that people are not supposed to get attached to their familiars, because that defeats their purpose. They are supposed to absorb deflected magic that could harm you, and you have to be ready to kill them if need be.

Anybody read the same or has a familiar for this purpose?

Nackin · Post by **Nackin** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:24 pm

Nope. It sounds rather melodramatic. Familiars are generally your pets. Even an animal which is kept for the purpose of work should be well treated. Are you thinking of something else other than a 'familiar'?

Post by hedge* » Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:26 am

The whole point of a familiar is that there is a bond and special connection between you and they give you extra energy when you need it.
I have never heard of what you said fox flame - it's a load of old pooop.

Post by **gingerkitty** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 6:57 am

Hi there fox flame,may i ask where you came to this interesting info ?There is no way that i would ever place my familiar in any danger and i wouldnt dream of ending his life.

Post by **[Ebony Rose]** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 1:01 pm

it's a load of old pooop

Couldn't have said it better myself!

The very idea of harming a living creature is ghastly. As for my familiars, they have actually kept me alive so I would never ever consider them harm. As a matter of fact, I'd die for them if need be.

Arianna · Post by **Arianna** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 6:46 pm

I'd cry if that were the truth!!

Though, I'm pretty sure my familiars are animals that I can't really have. My cat isn't really a familiar, he hightails it when I start thinking of magic (maybe he's catholic....^_^)

But I'm pretty sure mine are birds.... whether or not you can have more than one familiar.

There's always a blackbird outside my window (Normally seeing a Raven/ Crow outside your home means friends will come visiting) and I always have dreams that I am flying. And I've always held this affinity to Hawks, so I'm pretty sure that my Spirit Guide is a hawk (seeing a Hawk in your travels means good luck, or your going to have a safe journey)

Any time I'm frightened while I'm on an airplane, I imagine that I am a hawk flying outside of the plane, protecting the people within it. It's nice, until you hit turbulence and your mind does flip flops.. it's disorientating!

And another strange and cool thing is, on the Egyptian horoscope, I'm under Horus, the son of Isis, with a head of a hawk.

Wierd huh?

anyway.. I'm done now... I've been blabbing on and on...

Post by Fox Flame* » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:36 am

Whether harming an animal is ethically wrong or right shouldn't really be the way we should examine this issue, since ethics change with social standard. Animal and human sacrifices were once frequently used practices, while now it is generally less accepted. Killing your familiar would be just as animal sacrifices were: death to sustain life. Life essentially feeds on life, so this practice would demonstrate this point. Our ethical points with traditional witches couldn't be compared, because they lived in a different time where that was okay.

And anyway, killing insects and vermin doesn't generally break anyone's heart, so what would be the difference between killing a spider and a cat? Who says a spider can't be your familiar?

About using them as givers of energy only--then what makes them different from an object I can create to serve the same purpose?

Post by hedge* » Thu Apr 06, 2006 3:45 pm

Fox Flame wrote:About using them as givers of energy only--then what makes them different from an object I can create to serve the same purpose?

It's more than them being givers of energy. There is a bond between you and your familiar - they are not there just for your usage and disposal, it's quite comical in fact because your familiar chooses YOU not the other way round. LOL! - maybe we're there for THEIR disposal!!
As to your coment about:-

Fox Flame wrote: Killing your familiar would be just as animal sacrifices were: death to sustain life.

How in bejaysus would killing your familiar contribute in any way to the sustainability of life??
I'm really interested to hear your reply.

hedge

Post by Fox Flame* » Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:00 pm

Hedgewitch -
To your first point: If familiars choose you, then how is it that I hear about witches who recruit the pets to be familiars, and even go on to create rituals to make that their function, much like you would create a talisman?

To the second point: I already described it--if a familiar can deflect harmful "energy" away from you, then in essence, killing them would preserve you. Like, for example, people exterminate termites so they won't eat away at their homes. While the termites hold no metaphysical significance in that example, the ends of the two situations are similar.

I do agree with you about having a certain bond with your familiars, you would have to in order to work with them, that goes without saying. But I mean a more metaphysical bond, whereas you were speaking of a emotional one. I have a bond with my prayer beads, but I don't write poems for them or lavish attention on them like I would a lover.

I got this PM today, and the user has given me permission to post her views on the subject, since she did not have the permission to post here herself.

juliaki wrote:In the question about familiars, I have heard about familiars giving up their life to save the person they are connected to, and I have heard one older story (around the early 1900s) where someone had their familiar's life taken (by their grandmother) to save their life. These days it thankfully isn't common for someone to take the life of their familiar, however it is not uncommon for a familiar to "drop dead", giving up its own life for the person it is connected to. I'm aware that my familiar may opt to do that to protect me, and I'm honored by that trust.

On the other hand, hating the familiar so that it could have its life taken wouldn't work... part of the reason that a familiar giving up its life can protect the person it is bonded to is because of the deep love between the two. If you hate the familiar, even if it ends up dying to protect you, the protection simply won't work.

Would have posted this on the board, but I'm too new to get full access yet.

Post by **gingerkitty** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 6:19 am

Why would you kill a spider, or any other creature?

Post by Fox Flame* » Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:14 pm

People exterminate mice and bugs without a second thought. You kill plants when you eat vegetables, and you kill animals when you eat meat. You kill organisms when you wash your body. You can't really live your life without killing something.

There are ethnic tribes that still practice animal sacrifice as well as other modern Pagan religions (which they don't like to be so public about, because some people act as if it's revolting).

Post by **gingerkitty** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 5:32 pm

Thats the cycle of life and the food chain.Not a choice to kill or to harm.isnt that the point of the wiccan way!

Post by Fox Flame* » Sun Apr 09, 2006 6:06 pm

This was directed at witches, not Wiccans. I know that Wiccans have a seperate ethic system that doesn't neccessarily condone this, but not all witches do.

How is sacrifice not a demonstration of the cycle of life?

Post by **gingerkitty** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 7:05 am

How can you say it is a nessercery of life by killing something that you do not need to servive ? or are you intending to eat what you kill?Presonaly ferret isnt in my diet,nor is cat for that matter.Maybe on yours.I dont know to many witches that eat it either do you?

Post by hedge* » Mon Apr 10, 2006 10:43 am

One time witches practised sacrificing animals because it was believed that the blood of a fresh kill contained an awesome amount of power and energy which was then used by the witch to perform spells.
It is still widely practised in a lot of religions today, though mainly for appeasing the Gods.
Goolge it if you're interested to know more as it holds no interest to me what-so-ever