Liber ab Familia (Book of Familiars—Condensed^1219
Cat (named after my lawyer at the time) came into my life much as did Puppy. I was
returning from visiting my lawyer Catherine when I stopped in Lancaster, Ohio to visit
with friends. After my visit, I was on my way to my car when I spotted her in an over-
grown grass field next to my car. She was dehydrated and seemed a bit lame, but I
didn’t think she was really in need of rescue. She insisted. Now I don’t mean she opened
up her mouth and talked to me, but she looked at me with those big loving eyes and I
told her,“No, you might belong to someone, so I am not going to fall for that. If you
really want to come home with me, you jump in that car yourself.” Although it sounds
boastful, she did just that. Yes, I did hold the car door open when I told her but she
took it upon herself to jump into my car and my life. Ten years later, she is still in my life
by her own choice. How do I know? The store door is propped open whenever it is hot
and she remains inside because she knows who loves her.
Neither Puppy nor Cat participates in formal ritual with me, but they are most
certainly part of my religion. They each speak to me of loyalty and of honoring the folk
that choose to love me. During the time I have had them in my life, I have had many
occasions to be down and out, doubting very much that I will ever find love with the
end of each tormented relationship. Each time Cat would sit in my lap and Puppy made
his cute little howling noise, both reminding me that I am loved in love’s purist form. I
don’t know about you, but that message has surely extended my life.Kith Familiars
Folk who identify with the term New Age (and a few Pagans) tend to call them
power animals. Folk following the rediscovery of Native American ways sometimes call
them spirit animals or totem animals. Those who have discovered the Dream Time
traditions of South America and Australia sometimes call them dream animals. Folk
who follow specific pantheons of gods and goddesses with specific animal forms often
call them by the name of that god or goddess. Such is the case with gods like Horus
(Hawk) and Bast (Cat), each having their god or goddess name even when depicted in
purely animal form.
In formal conversation, I call them kith familiars, but mostly I just call them out-
door critters. These are the animals that we do not know on a personal basis. We see
their entire line as if it were one. When we talk about these critters, we call them by
their collective name to honor their collective spirit. With this relationship, all wolves
are called Wolf; all hawks are called Hawk. The order in which we relate to these
critters is much the same way we relate to groups of people. Although much less accu-
rate than the description of a specific person, this practice allows us the luxury of gen-
eralized expression of common observations—a fancy way of saying stereotypes.
Now, before you experience a knee jerk reaction to the use of stereotypes, let me
tell you how they are sometimes a good thing. You see, stereotypes let us discuss those
traits belonging to a group that seem to represent the whole of that group. When we
say Hawk has good eyesight, we do not mean that all hawks everywhere have good
eyesight. When we say that humanity now knows that the Earth is round, we do nott WB Chap 12.p65 219 7/11/2003, 5:55 PM