Familiar spirit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Familiar)

For the Linux distribution, see Familiar Linux.

In early modern English witchcraft, a familiar spirit, commonly called familiar (from Middle English familiar, related to family) or imp is a spirit who obeys a witch, conjurer, or other users of the supernatural, and serves and helps that person. Although they may not be as intelligent as their masters, they are often as intelligent as the average human. Familiars often perform domestic duties and help in farming, but also aid the person in bewitching people. If they look like ordinary animals, they can be used to spy on their masters' enemies. These spirits are also said to be able to inspire artists and writers (compare with muses). Some reclusive wizards rely on familiars as their closest friends.

Familiars were mentioned in Shakespeare's Macbeth, as the witches called their familiars. Many other works have utilized familiars. The most common species identified as familiars are cats, particularly black cats, owls, dogs, and sometimes frogs or toads. In later cases, familiars moved to more ethereal forms, often taking the shape of a "black man" thought to be representative of Satan.

Familiars are an identifying characteristic of early modern English witchcraft, and serve as one feature setting it apart from continental or New World witch crafts.

Familiars are generally animals or such beings. They usually have some magical power, or are simply there to advance the story. In many modern fantasy stories, a magician's familiar is a magical creature, such as Vlad's flying lizardlike familiar, Loiosh, in Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series. Furthermore, in many cases the power of the familiar is directly proportional to the power of the magician. The form taken by the familiar is also influenced by the personality of its master as in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, though the comparison is not perfect, the nature of Pullman's dæmons being dissimilar from standard notions of a familiar. The relationships between familiars and their masters vary by story. Some familiars do not have free will and are nothing more than tools of their masters while others are willing servants who can make their own decisions and would leave their masters if mistreated.

Familiars are most common in western European areas. Some scholars argue that familiars were only present in England, Great Britain, Scottland and France. In these areas three categories of familiars were believed to exist. The first is a human familiar, found throughout Western Europe. Second are divinatory animals, found in Great Britain and France. Third are maleficent animals, found strictly in England.<ref>[[ M. A. Murray, “Divination by Witches’ Familiars.” June 1918. Jstor.</ref>, The most evidence of familiars comes from the English and Scottish period during the 16th and 17th centuries. The court system that tried witches was known as the Essex witchcraft trials. The Essex trial of Agaes Sampson of Nether Keith in 1590 displays proof of a divinatory familiar. This evidence shows Sampson being tried for high treason and the court wants to prosecute Sampson for attempting to use witchcraft on King James VI. The court documents Sampson for stating familiar spirits came when she called it and resolved her doubtful matter. Another evidence of a familiar appearing in an Essex trails is that of Hellen Clark tried in 1645. This court documented Hellen and she stated that the devil appeared as a familiar in the form of a dog.<ref>[[ M. A. Murray, “Witches familiars in England.” July 1918 Jstor.</ref>,

Dangerous familiars are in the forms of weasels, puppies and toads.<ref>[[ Frances Dolan, “Dangerous Familiars.” (Ithaca and London: Cornell University press,1994) 175.</ref>, Also familiars were animal or bird sucking witch’s blood. Eastern side of England, in places like suffolk familiars are more common. Eastern familiars were cats, ferrets, mice, moles, toads and dogs. Familiars sucked blood and were known to eat bread, raw meat and drink milk. The English courts reflect a strong relationship between the witch and the familiar. Equally important no evidence shows familiars emerging in other countries before England.

Familiars play an important role for scholars in the field of witchcraft. One scholar Emma Wilby has taken what is known about witch’s familiars and compared them to contemporary fairy beliefs. <ref>[[ Emma Wilby, “The Witch’s familiar and the fairy in Early Modern England and Scottland. Oct 2000 Jstor .</ref>, Other scholars like Deborah Willis and her book “Malevolent Nurture,” Frances Dolan and her book “Dangerous Familiars,” M.A. Murray and Melaine Klein are only a small fraction of scholars that define how familiars played a role in Early Modern Western European witchcraft.

Familiar spirits are referenced in the Bible: "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them." Lev. 20:27, KJV.

[edit] Familiars in modern times

Familiars have appeared in several fantasy role playing systems, most notably as the companions of wizards and sorcerers in recent versions of Dungeons & Dragons.

In vampire fiction (Salem's Lot, Blade, etc.), familiars are humans who were promised immortality by a vampire lord in exchange for services of some kind.

In The WB television series Charmed, the star characters possessed a familiar for the first half of the series named Kit the Cat, who was a white Siamese with blue eyes.

In the film Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Elvira possessed a familiar named Algonquin, or Gonk for short, who took the shape of dogs and mice.

In the series Sugar Sugar Rune two familiars come as a mouse and frog.

In the series Sailor Moon, the main characters possess familiars named Luna, Artemis and Diana.

In the Earthsea books, Ged has a mouse-familiar, an "ottak". There are references to several other familiars, including ravens and boars.

In the Harry Potter series there are a number of characters possessing beloved pets similar to familiars, though the term is never used.

The DC Comics character Klarion the Witch Boy has an orange cat familiar named Teekl, as does the character Morgana whose black cat was named Frimost.

In the Philip Pullman book series His Dark Materials, dæmons are similar to familiars.

In the animated television ReBoot, the character Hexadecimal had a "verminous" familiar named Scuzzy.

The Marvel Comics character Satana had a familiar named Exiter who died while trying to save his mistress.

In the British comedy programme The Mighty Boosh, Bollo, who is the "oldest ape in captivity" is the Shaman Naboo the Enigma's familiar.

In Riviera: The Promised Land, a Game Boy Advance game, the main character Ein has a familiar named Rose (who looks like an ordinary black house cat).

The PlayStation game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night features several familiars that can be unlocked to aid the player.

In another PlayStation game, Azure Dreams, the basis of the gameplay is centred around recovering monster eggs that become the hero's familiar when hatched.

In the browser-based MMORPG Kingdom of Loathing, a familiar is a creature that assists a player in various ways.

In the Karin (anime), Karin's sister Anju control a horde of bat familiars that watch over Karin throughout the day. She is also accompanied by many doll familiars, most notibly "Boogie" whom she often carries around with her.

In Rob Schrab's "Twigger's Holiday", Twigger has a humanoid familiar named Josh who often barks like a dog. Twigger's girlfriend Michelle also has a humanoid familiar who meows like a cat.

The plot of the japanese visual novel Fate/stay night, tells the story of a war between magicians and their "servents", heroic spirits which can be rendered as familiars.

In the Japanese anime Zero no Tsukaima, all of the 2nd year students must summon their own familiar. The heroine's familiar turned out to be a human.

In Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Sabrina Spellman had a black cat familiar spirit named Salem. (Although in the live-action television show version, Salem was actually a warlock who had been turned into a cat as a punishment for his crimes.)

Familiar is the name used for a common, bat-like monster in Ragnarok Online.

In Warhammer 40,000, space marine librarians, chaos sorcerors, and inquisitors can choose familiars as equipment.

A dog and cat prowl a dark alley, pausing to inspect a corpse, in the opening sequence of the 1986 horror/mystery film Angel Heart, foreshadowing the appearance of the sinister Louis Cyphre and his attorney.

Masaki Andoh from the Super Robot Wars game series has two cat familiar spirits, a female black cat named Kuro and a male white cat named Shiro. They also help him in combat, piloting Cybuster's Hi-Familiar remote weapons.