October is a time of deep spiritual connection, transformation, and preparation for the darker months ahead. For witches, this month holds powerful energy as the veil between worlds becomes thinner, allowing for a deeper connection with spirits and their energies. During this time, we prepare for the colder season, readying ourselves for winter. The vibrations throughout the month are strong, making it the perfect time to practice our magic and align ourselves with the stillness of the approaching winter season.
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Celebrations:
Samhain/Halloween
(Samhain, meaning "summer's end," marks the end of the light half of the Celtic year and the beginning of the dark half. It's a time when the boundary between worlds grows thin. According to legend, on this day, the Dagda, the father god, and the Morrigan, the "phantom queen," unite to ensure fertility for the land, people, and animals in the coming year. The Morrigan, often described as a goddess of war, begins the ritual as an old woman but is restored to youth and beauty through their union.)
Raven, crow, bat, spider, stag, scorpion, owl, cat
Trees:
Beech, willow
Symbols:
Acorns, pumpkins, raven, skull, broomstick
Magical powers:
Garden magic, communicating with spirits, connecting with other realms (otherworld), scrying, death (letting go of the old and welcoming the new), connecting with ancestors, shadow work, fertility, transformation, balance, inner peace.
ACTIVITIES TO DO:
🎃Celebrate Samhain and Halloween
🎃Connect with your ancestors or the spirits of your loved ones
🎃Bake autumn recipes
🎃Use cinnamon essential oil in your practice
🎃Practice pumpkin magick
🎃Light candles and relax
🎃Do daily tarot readings
🎃Honor your ancestors or loved ones who have passed away by creating a special altar or offering them gifts
🎃Read about the history of witches
🎃Collect pine cones or acorns
🎃Decorate your home to welcome the spooky vibe
🎃Try rune divination
🎃Connect with the elements of Water and Fire
🎃Watch Halloween movies
🎃Include October elements in your practice (such as apple magic, manifesting with bay leaves, or using pumpkin seeds in spells)
🎃Experiment with new magical skills. You could try a new spell or explore different types of magic, like faerie or draconic magic
(Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of autumn before, this time of year—especially October—is when I feel the busiest, most inspired, and most connected to my craft. I’m especially excited to communicate with dragons! :D)
Hey! Are you broke but still wanna offer something up to the gods? Don't worry! (So am i) So here's a guide of things that are either free, low cost or that you probably already own to slap onto those altars. Mind you: These are mainly modern offerings that I attribute to these different classification of gods. I'll likely update as time goes on with other classifications :)
General Offerings to Deities:
random flowers from outside
random sticks from outside
hand written letters/prayers
plushies of the animals they're connected to
raw/cooked meats as "sacrifices"
drawn symbols
Art/Creative Deities:
symbol painted bottle caps
pens/pencils/markers
old sketchbooks
stickers/prints
origami
comic books
figurines
Death Deities:
bones or meat from your meals
dirt from a dead plant
dying flowers
skull imagery
coins or other gifts for those passing
photo/belongings of your late loved ones
Familial/Household/Protector of Children Deities:
photobooth photos
jewelry gifted from family
baby teeth from your children
breast milk
old baby shoes
framed photo of family
cookies/bread
homecooked meals
Fire Deities:
birthday candles
charcoal discs
burnt herbs
alcohol
incense
tobacco
matchbox/lighter
Healing Deities:
your current medications
bandaids
water
skincare
vitamin gummies
spell jar in an empty pill bottle
Knowledge/Wisdom Deities:
old books & textbooks
pens/pencils
mini chess pieces
written down philosophical quotes
good test scores/report cards/degrees
Love/Lust Deities:
origami 3D hearts
chapsticks
unused makeup
love letters to deities
love letters about S/O or crush
current perfume/cologne
current lotions
apples
Nature Deities:
plants dedicated to them
herbal tea packets
feathers
milk
fruits/vegetables
spells using recycled materials (toilet paper rolls, etc.)
whenever i get sad that i don’t have friends to worship and do rituals with, I remember that birds sing love songs into the sky everyday, and the grass dances in the wind when it blows. And the clouds blush at the sunset, and the wind whistles tunes, and the bees hum, and the deer trot. And then I remember that the river runs, and the flowers open themselves to the sun, and the bugs sleep on warm leaves. and as I walk and pray, perhaps the rabbits nibbling on shrubs are praying too, perhaps that’s why the spider spun her web so beautifully. and then I remember that I’m not worshipping alone. I never was.
Familiar Spirits in Eclectic Paganism & Witchcraft
Hey, you! Have you ever wondered what familiars are, and if you have one? You've asked the right person—I've been working with animal spirits for as long as I can recall! I recently contracted two wolves that have been spirit guides following me my whole life to be permanent familiars. I've gotten quite a few questions on my experience in spirit work recently and wanted to talk about it.
Before I even start to give a brief background on what familiars are and how to know if you have one, a quick disclaimer:
Familiars are not your spirit animals! Or totems! They are a type of contracted spirit and/or spirit guides.
Spirit animals and/or totem animals are closed to Native American/indigenous practices. A familiar animal spirit or spirit guide is an entirely different concept. Don't get them mixed up! I'm tired of seeing appropriation in animal spirit work with people taking the term "spirit animal" and running. Native spirit animals are an entirely different concept that I, as a white person without an indigenous culture or background, do not have the authority to speak on nor practice.
So, what is a familiar spirit? Are they real animals, are they ghosts, or are they spirit guides?
The answer: a "familiar" can be all three, depending on who you ask! "Familiar" is a very broad term that you can find in many practices and various branches of witchcraft. Some folks have a physical animal companion/pet as their familiar, such as a cat or dog, that they called out for and/or received as a gift. Some people's familiars are the spirit of a past living animal companion/pet that accompanies them in the metaphysical. Some familiars, and this goes for my case, are contracted forms of spirit guides gifted by deities, ancestors, guardians, etc.
In my own definition, I would define a familiar spirit as a spirit bound to a practitioner in a contract. Most of the time, a familiar will take the shape of an animal. However, historically familiar spirits have also been mythical creatures, such as dragons, elves, or fae.
Let's keep in mind that spirits, especially spirit guides assigned to you, will appear to you in the form they choose, so, yes, it is entirely possible you've got a dragon spirit that's reaching out to you. It's also possible for your familiar spirit that was a cat to appear to you as a dog if it decides to change its shape. In my experience, I haven't encountered any mythical creatures, but your familiars are a unique experience to you!
Today, I'll be talking about familiar spirits in particular. I don't have experience on the end of physical familiars, so I'm going to speak about familiars that accompany us in the spiritual, metaphysical, or energetic realm.
What are familiar spirits good for, and why should I want a spirit following me around?
There's quite a few reasons folks work with familiars! For one, their energy is a lot more gentle, louder, and softer (in my experience) than a deity's energy. They are personal to you, are meant to work with you, and can act as a guide that is with you 24/7, whenever you call upon them. They are for you!
Here are a few different reasons I, or other witches, might work with a familiar:
A "alarm system" for spiritual attacks. If someone attempts to harm you or your energy, your familiar will likely be the first to know, and can alert you to it.
Aide and assistance in spells, magic, and divination.
A safe and trustworthy lucid dreaming or astral travel companion. If requested, familiar spirits will happily follow you into your dreams and walk with you when your body is at rest. This was huge for me as someone who suffers from PTSD and has frequent nightmares—after contracting my familiars, I found that going to sleep I felt protected and guarded when I was not awake.
Many familiars can provide wisdom or knowledge from an animal's unique perspective, and can help with advice specific to their species. For example, a cat might help you to understand how important rest and relaxation is, encouraging you to take it slow and let yourself bask in the warmth of the sun.
A comfortable spirit that you can feel and understand that it's there for you—it is with you, all the time, it understands every aspect of your life and soul, and may be a comfort entity. Mine certainly show up when I need to feel better or overwhelmed.
Clear communication from the spiritual realm—I've found that familiars are very quick and concise when communicating, making them excellent messengers for deities or ancestors. Sometimes mine deliver messages from my God Squad.
This is not an all-comprehensive list, and I have many of my own interpersonal reasons for working with familiar spirits. The point is: they can help in a ton of different ways as a safe and trustworthy spirit.
Well, that's cool! How do I know if there's a familiar spirit reaching out to me?
Everyone is going to have a different experience in this front. Here are some signs to look out for if you're feeling an animal or creature's presence and sensing a spirit around you that may be interested in becoming your familiar:
You are repeatedly dreaming about the same animal(s), or seeing them in the astral.
You are drawn or interested to a specific species of animal (a lot of times, look back at your childhood; that imaginary friend may have been a spirit guide!)
You repeatedly see signs of this animal surrounding you, such as repeated imagery of a crow, or people just can't stop mentioning bears around you and you can't figure out why.
Your deities or spirit team have communicated to you that they have sent you a spirit, or that there is one in your presence.
The spirit feels playful, wild, or behaves like an animal does in comparison to a spirit that might carry energies of a deity or any other supernatural spirits.
The spirit is not causing you harm or distress. If you are being caused distress by a spirit, it's absolutely not a familiar, as they are sent to aide you and become a companion, and you might need to Banish The Thing That's Causing You Stress because it's not a familiar spirit!
You vet the spirit and its communication may seem more primal or animalistic.
The spirit feels smaller (or larger) than a deity or other entity's presence, and more concise to its shape. I found that my familiars feel much more compact and true-to-side with their energies when they are around me compared to the ambiguity with my deities.
Once again, many of these are unique to my experience, and with this topic, you'll find that many people have so many different stories as to how they got their familiar. The important part is to vet your spirit, make sure that they are a creature trying to reach out, and find out who or what sent them to you. Trust me, you don't want an unwelcome spirit following you around. Always confirm with divination, with your God Squad or spiritual team, that this is an animal spirit reaching out to you.
Okay, that's awesome. I know and got confirmation that there's a familiar spirit reaching out! What are my next steps?
PAUSE! Before you contract or bind yourself to any spirit, you need to spend time with it and get used to it to make sure you for sure want this presence in your life consistently. Contracting/binding is non-reversible and permanent. It is a big decision, and you need to be super prepared and confident in making that decision.
You may choose to do a meditation to reach out to this spirit. Ask it what it looks like, its name, how it feels, etc., to get a full feel of its energy. You may do a tarot/oracle reading with the spirit. You may ask another witch to confirm that it is a familiar spirit and what messages it has for you. You may walk with your deities to meet the spirit. You may also choose to work with the spirit for a bit before fully contracting it to become a spirit if you are hesitant or new to spirit work.
I worked with mine as spirit guides for, well, 15+ years through the course of my life before I contracted them. It'll take patience, and it's a big decision to contract a spirit. Familiarize yourself (pun intended) with its energy, advice, knowledge, and how it interacts with your practice and through your daily life.
Is the spirit too overbearing or strong? Is it overwhelming? Is it an energy you wouldn't want surrounding you constantly? You may not want to contract a spirit of this manner. Tread carefully, and be aware of what you are binding yourself to. You can always peacefully depart with any familiar spirit who you choose not to work with if the "trial period" doesn't feel right—they won't take it personally, I promise! I've actually worked with quite a few animal spirits who were first spirit guides that had the potential to become a familiar, and did not end up contracting them as I found that they were simply not totally aligned with my life's overall path.
I've worked with the familiar spirit, gotten my confirmation, and know that this is a spirit I want to contract. How do I do that?
First of all, congratulations! That's a big deal. You've put in the work, and now you're ready for the next step. What's a contract and how do you do that?
Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. You can write or speak the contract when in contact with your familiar spirit and have their presence with you. Contracts are two-way, so you need to be able to allow the spirit to communicate their own boundaries and ensure they agree to the terms. Here are some things you may or may not want to include in your contract:
Your boundaries. How often do you want to feel your familiar's presence? How are you going to communicate if you need space from the spirit? What does that look like? Do you want the spirit to be able to walk into your dreams without permission?
The familiar's boundaries. Does this spirit want to be with you constantly, or do they need time for themselves where you may not be able to reach them all the time? How would they like to be addressed or treated?
The things you would like your familiar to help you with. Do you want them to assist you during spells with their energy? What about walk with you in your dreams?
How much the familiar wants you to talk about them. Some familiars are very quiet and like to keep their experience personal to their person, while others are perfectly fine with the witch talking about them. Mine are!
How you can give back to your spirit. This is a two-way contract, and even though your spirit is there for you, it's always kind to consider what the spirit may want as well. Would it like an altar or sacred space? Does it want you to talk about it? Perhaps it wants you to research and learn about its species to help preserve or safe its kindred souls!
What an alert from a familiar looks like. Coming from someone with a service dog, you should want to know what it looks like when your familiar is reaching out to you! If you want to be alerted of spiritual attacks, how should your familiar notify you of that?
Restrictions to the contract/binding. Maybe you don't want it to be entirely permanent—maybe you only would like to work with this spirit for a set amount of time, or vice versa.
Come up with your own rules! Write, revise, and write again. Edit your contract until it feels right between you and your familiar(s). When you are both ready, you can agree to the contract. With mine, I signed a physical letter that I wrote to my familiars, and let them channel through me to speak on their own behalf. How you do this is unique to you!
My familiar wolf spirits and our story.
Who the heck am I to speak, right? Figured I'd share a little bit of my experience with my familiars.
I've been working with my now-familiars for as long as I can remember, upwards of 15+ years. I first saw them when I was around 1st or 2nd grade, and I definitively remember seeing a black wolf curled up underneath my desk as a kid. I would walk with these spirits throughout my childhood in my dreams, or the space between awake and asleep. I would speak with them, see them when I closed my eyes, and when I was very young, saw them when my eyes were open as energies. Consistently, I was followed by a male black wolf and a female lighter gray wolf. They happily guided me through my childhood and sparked a great passion in me over wolves.
When I grew older and lost my ability to see these spirits right before my eyes, I decided that they were imaginary friends, as I'm sure most of us had when we were kids. I would talk to my friends, my parents, my brother, everyone I knew about these two wolves. Everyone thought it was adorable; me with my little imaginative mind, and imaginary friends.
When I was a teenager, I was reintroduced to these two wolves in a meditation to reach out to my spirit guides. The black wolf began to walk with me as a spirit guide and the lead of my spiritual team before I began deity worship and work. He would be my guiding light as I explored my craft and paganism. Later on, his white wolf mate would reappear to me in the same form. And then there were two!
I later learned after working with deities, especially with Loki, that the black wolf was a spirit companion sent by my ancestors. He (the black wolf) has walked alongside me for many lives. Once upon a time, he was alive, originally domesticated in ancient Scandinavia by his original person, one of my ancestors. His spirit followed my own through many cycles of death and rebirth after becoming domesticated. His mate, the white wolf, followed him into astral, and in this life, my deities allowed her to become one of my guides. I worked with these two wolves for a large amount of time as spirit guides before finally doing the research and deciding to contract them, as suggested by Loki.
I contracted my two familiars for life recently. My practice with them looks like feeling their presences, walking with them in my dreams (I like to call it "wolfwalking" lol), inviting their presence to my rituals, and pretty much incorporating them into every part of my practice. They are always with me, following me into my rest each and every night. I am constantly working with these two spirits and have dedicated myself and my work to them. They are, simply put, my companions for life!
In return, I have dedicated myself to spreading awareness of the wolf. I am a professional naturalist and author, and every day I speak about protecting the species and their life histories. I am writing my thesis over wolf reintroductions. They are the key to my passion and heart!
If you made it this far, thank you for reading! This is my experience and advice, so questions, comments, or additions are always welcome.
If you thought this was super useful and would like to give thanks for the 3 hours I spent writing and revising this post, I have a Ko-Fi for tips! I also do accept requests in my inbox for topics on familiars, including interpretation and communicating messages from your familiar spirits.
A river listens to the words you speak to it. The earth remembers your every step, from the very first time you walked upon it. The wind teaches you songs and words that nobody else will ever hear. The sky sings you to sleep, though you can't always hear it. Speak to the world, that is what Óðinn taught me. Speak to it and it’ll speak back. Every living thing and every piece of the world, no matter how small, has something to teach.
Physically I’m here, mentally I’m walking through the forest feeling the dirt beneath my paw pads, becoming friends with nature until I am called back inside by my owners to be fed and cuddled, I am both wild and domesticated and 100% loved.
:33 < iHATE having to fight EVERYTHING for the SMALLEST amount of representation in this community. therians get SO MUCH representation in this community, nobody talks of objectkins, or fictionkins, or plantkins, or conceptkins, or elemental kins, or space/voidkins, or songkins, or LITERALLY. ANY. "UNCOMMON". ALTERHUMAN IDENTITY. it is SO UNFAIR ON THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WE LITERALLY HAVE TO FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL JUST TO GET THE SMALLEST REPRESENTATION IN THIS COMMUNITY. WE NEVER GET TALKED ABOUT. EVER. (also, ihave NOTHING against therians. iam one. but iwont post about it because iwant to fight for representation of "uncommon" kins.)
:33 < shout out to alterhumans/non humans with NO kin identity, just saying they arent human. youdont "need" to have an identity and fit into a box. youre perfect just the way you are.
:33 < shout out to plantkins. every single plant/fungi. from the DEADLIEST venus fly traps to the BRIGHTEST boquet of roses. have a fresh ray of sunlight to beam upon you, youre shining so much its insane.
:33 < shout out to all the objects. whether it be a small eraser, or your favourite plushie, youre still valid, and awesome, and soooo cool /gen
:33 < shout out to elemental kins. burning fire, cold breezes of wind, all elements. the most HURTFUL, DEADLIEST elements to the ones that arent so dangerous. your kintype is never too dangerous for me. keep living life the way youwould
:33 < shout out to fictionkins. the weirdest characters, the "prettiest" characters, your favourite characters, your hated characters, your least favourite characters, characters from an uncommon source or from a common source, all of you.
:33 < shout out to songkins. from the strangest, most unusual melodies, to the songs everyone knows. you are the most beautiful, melodic songs ever. you keep being you bro.
:33 < shout out to placekins. youre a little cottage in the woods ? thats awesome. youre that corner shop down the street ? so cool. youre massive theme park, with flashing lights and fireworks and everything ? genuinely so amazing.
:33 < shout out to daykins/monthkins/seasonkins/yearkins. all the several days, seasons, months passing by us is so beautiful to watch
:33 < shout out to number/letter kins. all the numbers formed to make mathematics, all the letters we have in languages today, all so beautiful
:33 < shout out to spacekins. all the stars, cosmos, voids, even those who identify with being space as a whole. so beautiful.
:33 < shout out to conceptkins. strangest concept to comprehend, the easiest concepts, idont care. yall are amazing.
:33 < and shout out to any "unusual" or "uncommon" kintype ihavent mentioned.
:33 < yall are SO BEAUTIFUL !!
:33 < if you identify with an "uncommon kintype" PLEASE interact with this blog iwant more cool people to follow /nf
:33 < and if you are a therian blog iwould hope you to repost this so youcan show awareness for other kintypes in this community.
those who believe they are physically animals/nonhuman are allowed to be considered therians.
you can try to erase us from the community, make us seem like we are "the crazy ones" who should be avoided. like we are the extreme that you fear turning into. so you push us to the far corners of the community.
we are not going away. no matter what reason someone may believe they are actually an animal is really no one else's business and it shouldn't be a reason to be excluded. if this believe is caused by mental illness or delusions, we still deserve respect and space in this community. our voices deserve respect. we deserve to be heard and acknowledged in therian spaces. our experiences are real. we are therians too.
if you exclude anyone from the therian community simply because their experience of being an animal are different from yours or you don't understand the experience, you are close-minded and choosing to be exclusionary. I've seen many others not want to interact with the therian community on certain platforms (or at all) due to how "we don't ACTUALLY believe we are animals!!" is so wide spread in them. this goes for the alterhuman, otherkin, and fictionkin communities too, honestly plenty of places are guilty of this. the shaming of others who truly believe they are that animal/object/concept/character is just dumb and pointless.
inspired by a post from @ lukanthropi, I wanted to share my feelings on this topic as well. I think that the communities on tumblr are a bit better about not excluding physical nonhumans, endels, etc. there is definitely way more of it on other platforms.
I apologize if it's poorly worded, I am burnt out and very tired
