Part One: Types of Familiars

“Nowadays, general jargon suggests that familiar refers to an animal but you might be surprised to find that many types of familiars exist.  Not all of them interact with a witch the same way a domestic familiar might.  Not all of them exist in the physical realm.  Some are born with the witch, some are manufactured by the witch and some require a contract or pact.  In order to eventually define domestic familiars, we must also define the other types of familiars as well… Keep reading.”

Part Two: Domestic Animals as Familiars: How can I tell if my pet is a familiar?

“Historically called imps, these animal familiars are physical creatures who form an agreement with a witch to assist said witch in their work.  Imps are what I prefer to specifically call domestic familiars.  If you’re here, you may be interested to find out if your pet or recent animal friend is a familiar.  I cannot judge from your story as to whether your pet is a familiar. Only you can decide if an animal in your life is familiar worthy and if a pact can be made.  However, the following article can help… Keep reading.”

Part Three: Forming a Pact with the Domestic Familiar 

“If you have a true familiar, you’ll know it.  There are certain bonds and interactions you’ll experience with your animal if they’re interested in familiarship.  One of these special traits is a telepathic voice of sorts with which they use to communicate.  Familiars will utilize this form of communication to initiate a pact. A pact is a form of spiritual agreement between you and your familiar, detailing their bond to you, how they will assist you with your magical work, what you will do for them and in what circumstances that pact would be rendered void.  It’s much like a legally binding contract for the spiritual world… Keep reading.”

Part Four: How the Domestic Familiar Serves the Witch

“I’m often asked what exactly a familiar does.  In truth, “serves” is a bit of a misnomer.  It’s really more “assists.”  What your familiar does for you should be something you and your familiar-to-be should discuss before confirming your pact through ritual.  You should know before “signing the contact” what exactly it is you get out of this partnership.  But what if you don’t know where to start? … Keep reading.”

Part Five: Maintaining a Bond with the Domestic Familiar

“Your pact should fully outline everything you owe to your familiar and what they give you in return.  You should discuss what happens when one does not uphold their side and where the pact ends, the latter of which we’ll discuss towards the end of the series. That being said, you may wonder exactly what your familiar might ask of you in order to maintain your bond.  Here’s some examples! … Keep reading.”

Part Six: The Domestic Familiar and Ritual

“In part four, I listed the many ways in which a domestic familiar will serve the witch, ranging from basic grounding and protection to venturing across the veil and deep into the Other.  While these can be applicable to ritual, ritual is more than mere spell work.  Here’s a deeper look at how you and your familiar can create and participate in ritual together… Keep reading.”

Part Seven: Can I Have Multiple Domestic Familiars?

“One common phrase I hear, and have at points repeated myself in error, is that it’s extremely uncommon to have multiple familiars.  This is simply not true.  Perhaps it’s because we so often conflate the owner-pet relationship for the witch-familiar relationship.  When witchlings sometimes have a hard time separating the two, witches may be more apt to tell others that familiarship is rare and that multiple familiarship is even more so simply to caution against making unnecessary pacts.  This is a mistake, one of which I attempt to remedy by clearly drawing the line between a potential familiar and a pet here… Keep reading.”

Part Eight: The Death of the Domestic Familiar

Trigger warning: This article will discuss the particulars of the death of an animal in detail that may be uncomfortable for the reader, including the cleaning of bones and the process of removing the body from the home.  Please be advised. … Keep reading.

Part Nine: The End of the Domestic Familiar Pact

“Towards the beginning of the series, I spoke in great detail about the pact. This entire series has been written with the idea that you read it in its entirety before initiating a pact with your would-be familiar.  And so, as we draw to the close of the series, we will talk about clauses that may cause the end of the pact - and just how to confirm the end of that magical contract… Keep reading.”

I sincerely hope this series of articles helps you on your road to familiarship!  Enjoy!
-Marietta at Witchy Words