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Familiars in Witchcraft: Supernatural Guardians in the Magical Traditions of the World
A comprehensive exploration of familiars and their many forms and powers
• Explores witch’s familiars in folklore, shamanic, and magical traditions around the world, including Africa, India, Scandinavia, ancient Greece, and China
• Explains how familiars are related to shamanic power animals and how the witch draws on her personal sexual energy to give this creature its power
• Examines the familiar in alchemical, Hermetic, and Egyptian magical literature, including instructions for procuring a supernatural assistant
Exploring the history and creation of a “witch’s familiar,” also known as a spirit double or guardian spirit, Maja D’Aoust shows how there is much more to these supernatural servant spirits and guardians than meets the eye. She reveals how witches are not the only ones to lay claim to this magician’s “assistant” and examines how the many forms of witch’s familiars are well known in folklore throughout Europe and America as well as in shamanic and magical traditions around the world, including Africa, India, and China.
The author explains how familiars are connected with shapeshifting and how the classic familiars of medieval witchcraft tradition are related to the power animals and allies of shamanic practices worldwide, including animal guardian spirits of Native American traditions and the daimons of the ancient Greeks and Romans. She examines the fetch spirit, also known as the fylgia in Scandinavian tradition, and how the witch or sorcerer draws on their personal sexual energy to give this creature its power to magnetize and attract what it was sent to retrieve. She looks at incubus, succubus, doubles, doppelgangers, and soul mates, showing how familiars can also adopt human forms and sometimes form romantic or erotic attachments with the witch or shaman.
Reviewing alchemical, Hermetic, and Egyptian magical literature, including the nearly forgotten alchemical works of Anna Kingsford, D’Aoust explores their instructions for procuring the attention of a supernatural assistant as well as an extensive description of the alchemical wedding and how this ritual joins the magician and familiar spirit into a single unified consciousness. Exploring fairy familiars, she reveals how a practitioner can establish a “marriage” with a totemic plant or tree spirit, who, in return, would offer teachings about its medicinal and visionary powers.
Delving deeply into the intimate relations of humanity with the spirit world, D’Aoust shows how forming connections with living forces other than human enables us to move beyond the ego, expand our magical abilities, as well as evolve our conscious awareness.
• Explores witch’s familiars in folklore, shamanic, and magical traditions around the world, including Africa, India, Scandinavia, ancient Greece, and China
• Explains how familiars are related to shamanic power animals and how the witch draws on her personal sexual energy to give this creature its power
• Examines the familiar in alchemical, Hermetic, and Egyptian magical literature, including instructions for procuring a supernatural assistant
Exploring the history and creation of a “witch’s familiar,” also known as a spirit double or guardian spirit, Maja D’Aoust shows how there is much more to these supernatural servant spirits and guardians than meets the eye. She reveals how witches are not the only ones to lay claim to this magician’s “assistant” and examines how the many forms of witch’s familiars are well known in folklore throughout Europe and America as well as in shamanic and magical traditions around the world, including Africa, India, and China.
The author explains how familiars are connected with shapeshifting and how the classic familiars of medieval witchcraft tradition are related to the power animals and allies of shamanic practices worldwide, including animal guardian spirits of Native American traditions and the daimons of the ancient Greeks and Romans. She examines the fetch spirit, also known as the fylgia in Scandinavian tradition, and how the witch or sorcerer draws on their personal sexual energy to give this creature its power to magnetize and attract what it was sent to retrieve. She looks at incubus, succubus, doubles, doppelgangers, and soul mates, showing how familiars can also adopt human forms and sometimes form romantic or erotic attachments with the witch or shaman.
Reviewing alchemical, Hermetic, and Egyptian magical literature, including the nearly forgotten alchemical works of Anna Kingsford, D’Aoust explores their instructions for procuring the attention of a supernatural assistant as well as an extensive description of the alchemical wedding and how this ritual joins the magician and familiar spirit into a single unified consciousness. Exploring fairy familiars, she reveals how a practitioner can establish a “marriage” with a totemic plant or tree spirit, who, in return, would offer teachings about its medicinal and visionary powers.
Delving deeply into the intimate relations of humanity with the spirit world, D’Aoust shows how forming connections with living forces other than human enables us to move beyond the ego, expand our magical abilities, as well as evolve our conscious awareness.
160 pages, Paperback
Published July 16, 2019
24 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 7, 2019
An insightful book about familiars and the spirits that have worked with witches in several cultures and societies. Although the author mixed her opinion and judgements several times, bothersome to say the least, the actual research behind the content was incredible. There came a point on which I couldn't stop reading.
November 24, 2023
3.5
It covers much more than I imagined.
Very interesting.
It covers much more than I imagined.
Very interesting.
June 13, 2020
A noble attempt to catalog familiars that falls flat with this reader.
What I liked
It was obvious that the author did a great deal of research.
Contains obscure information on familiars throughout history.
What I didn't like
Spends a great deal of the book on the Abrahamic religions.
Catalogs angels as familiars.
Draws conclusions based on circumstantial and thin information.
The author displays bias which seemed to play a role in most of her conclusions.
The name of the book lead me to believe this book would be something better than what it was (it mostly reads as a bad thesis paper).
Final thoughts
I can't recommend this book for the above reasons. It's junk writing, and spins a narrative that is mostly just garbage.
What I liked
It was obvious that the author did a great deal of research.
Contains obscure information on familiars throughout history.
What I didn't like
Spends a great deal of the book on the Abrahamic religions.
Catalogs angels as familiars.
Draws conclusions based on circumstantial and thin information.
The author displays bias which seemed to play a role in most of her conclusions.
The name of the book lead me to believe this book would be something better than what it was (it mostly reads as a bad thesis paper).
Final thoughts
I can't recommend this book for the above reasons. It's junk writing, and spins a narrative that is mostly just garbage.
Read
December 28, 2019 This is another book which I feel torn on a rating for. There were some interesting points but none that really felt revolutionary. It is an interesting jumping off point for those who are new to the concept of familiars that doesn't rely on the pets as familiars fable of modern Wiccan practice. However, I am wary of any book which uses Castanada as a source for anything, and found some of the history questionable. I also was not particularly interested in the many Christian references throughout the book. Lastly I was confused by the tone of the book, being at once academic, but at times a bit flippant.
December 30, 2020
I love this book as a reference for different types of familiars and how they were viewed / came to be known in different countries and cultures around the world across the ages. It's by no means in depth but still has a lot of information within it, and for a book that's only 160 pages, I couldn't ask for more. I will definitely be buying more works by Maja D'Aoust.
April 17, 2022
Familiars in Witchcraft by Maja D’aoust beautifully mixes research from Traditions around the world with her own personal views and experiences; the result is a very well thought-out, and gorgeously compiled resource that I would highly recommend to anyone looking into the true nature of the Familiar.
I sped through this book – I could not put it down. Familiars and Personal Totems have been a deep interest of mine for quite a number of years, and I walked away with so much from this book (I actually ran out of tabs trying to annotate everything I want to come back to).
While I’ve read a number of reviews that stated the addition of the Abrahamic religions took them away from the book, I have to disagree – for me this added so much to the etymology of this vast subject; without looking at the Abrahamic associations, I feel, you would miss out on quite a lot that is important to understand; it’s so easy to overlook that many things within Abrahamic religions – Christianity, being a key example – while unquestionably appropriated, have kept Pagan traditions alive in some form even as they sought to obliterate them… I found the inclusions here to be quite fascinating and educational.
The Psychological inclusions within her book is just one more thing D’aoust did right, and touching upon the Kitsune and sprinkling in ties with the Otherkin (without mentioning them as such) was a surprise tidbit I was not expecting… Thinking about the Kitsune or Otherkin as a branch of Familiars is something I have attempted to explain to others for many years, and the subtle way she touched upon it in her book was perfect; then, mixing in the Totemic aspects of this subject, really rounded things out for me.
Overall, Familiars in Witchcraft is a gorgeous crafting of the widespread history, mythology, psychology, and spiritual nature of Guardians around the world – this book was a huge yes for me!
I sped through this book – I could not put it down. Familiars and Personal Totems have been a deep interest of mine for quite a number of years, and I walked away with so much from this book (I actually ran out of tabs trying to annotate everything I want to come back to).
While I’ve read a number of reviews that stated the addition of the Abrahamic religions took them away from the book, I have to disagree – for me this added so much to the etymology of this vast subject; without looking at the Abrahamic associations, I feel, you would miss out on quite a lot that is important to understand; it’s so easy to overlook that many things within Abrahamic religions – Christianity, being a key example – while unquestionably appropriated, have kept Pagan traditions alive in some form even as they sought to obliterate them… I found the inclusions here to be quite fascinating and educational.
The Psychological inclusions within her book is just one more thing D’aoust did right, and touching upon the Kitsune and sprinkling in ties with the Otherkin (without mentioning them as such) was a surprise tidbit I was not expecting… Thinking about the Kitsune or Otherkin as a branch of Familiars is something I have attempted to explain to others for many years, and the subtle way she touched upon it in her book was perfect; then, mixing in the Totemic aspects of this subject, really rounded things out for me.
Overall, Familiars in Witchcraft is a gorgeous crafting of the widespread history, mythology, psychology, and spiritual nature of Guardians around the world – this book was a huge yes for me!
July 17, 2020
Going into this I was expecting to hear about black cats and European centered magic, and while the first few chapters are covering just that, the author actually branches out and talks about various other cultures and myths.
In this book, a familiar is pretty much any "imaginary" entity which talks to and guides a human being. This loose definition allows the author to draw and showcase many different connections and similarities between the ancient myths, worldwide.
Some people will have a problem with this, but I think it is very interesting and raises some good points. I also really like that the author explained the origin of some well known words / names. This new knowledge changed the way I view those words and myths created around them.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and will probably purchase a physical copy so that I can re-read some parts at my own pace. The author also cites numerous other sources which I'd like to check out.
In this book, a familiar is pretty much any "imaginary" entity which talks to and guides a human being. This loose definition allows the author to draw and showcase many different connections and similarities between the ancient myths, worldwide.
Some people will have a problem with this, but I think it is very interesting and raises some good points. I also really like that the author explained the origin of some well known words / names. This new knowledge changed the way I view those words and myths created around them.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and will probably purchase a physical copy so that I can re-read some parts at my own pace. The author also cites numerous other sources which I'd like to check out.
October 8, 2021
As an LHP practitioner, I of course would feel that Ms. D'Aoust spent far too many pages on the Abrahamic pathways . . . however, this book opened my eyes to a perspective I hadn't previously considered: the "question" spiritual systems seek to answer isn't really "what happens after we die?" (this is secondary), but rather "what is the outcome when humans mate with mythical beings (angels, gods, faeries, etc.)?" Exploring the intersection between humanity and the spirit world across various traditions, Ms. D'Aoust nimbly demonstrates that this question lies at the heart of nearly every known religion and spiritual path. Kudos to the author as well for narrating her own audiobook . . . very refreshing to hear the author's own voice relating her concepts, even if at times the narration slightly lacked the "polish" of a professional narrator. Worthwhile reading/listening.
February 8, 2021
An interesting & informative & well-researched context. I really didn't expect such a wide cultural approach. Touches a variety of history, mythological, and etymology aspects of familiars. The author's explanations clarified to me mythological notions regarding certain well-known words, entities, and this made me review my understanding I was having about them.
I really enjoyed this book, I liked the tone and the pacing.
I highly recommend for a more out of the box view about familiars & for a better understanding about what they can be & their relationships with the humans.
I really enjoyed this book, I liked the tone and the pacing.
I highly recommend for a more out of the box view about familiars & for a better understanding about what they can be & their relationships with the humans.
December 4, 2023
It was a good book on the history of nomenclature with a sprinkle of conspiracy theories.
Over all I don't hate this book but I don't love it ether. I expected something completely different and honestly this book focuses much more on spirits from Abrahamic religions than it does really on witchcraft as a whole.
I got it on audible so side note there was a lot of times that things like heavy breaths into the microphone, lip smacking, takes that should have been edited out and strange pronunciation.
Over all its a large amount of information but it feels like chasing butterflies.
Over all I don't hate this book but I don't love it ether. I expected something completely different and honestly this book focuses much more on spirits from Abrahamic religions than it does really on witchcraft as a whole.
I got it on audible so side note there was a lot of times that things like heavy breaths into the microphone, lip smacking, takes that should have been edited out and strange pronunciation.
Over all its a large amount of information but it feels like chasing butterflies.
April 1, 2021
This book is a great historical overview of spirits and guardians. The author brings the spirits of occultism and relates them to witchcraft. She relates familiars as part of a much bigger and longer history that can be seen in the world of antiquity and occultism.
January 7, 2020
Very Interesting.
I learned a lot of different things while reading this book. I'll definitely come back to it at a later point.
I learned a lot of different things while reading this book. I'll definitely come back to it at a later point.
February 16, 2021
2.5. Decently researched, just really dry.
August 25, 2022
A clear and well-researched book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews