Familiars and first harvest

In this episode, I will tell you a bit about familiars, Lammas and Imbolc, the outcome of one of my Tarot readings, and I’m going to give you a prompt, something you can do easily and in a short amount of time, to get some magic into your day.

Caution and Disclaimer

A small caution. If you’re sensitive to language, I must warn you that the occasional swear word might slip through the cracks when I edit.

• I do not give medical advice
• I am not promising a cure for any illness
• I am not telling you to replace conventional medication. Remember
  that this is about magic and not physics, chemistry or something similar.
• Any and all parts that contain information about herbs and remedies is only of historical interest.
• Any use of this information is entirely your own responsibility and at your own risk.
• I do not guarantee the function of any of the recipes or instructions.

Show Notes

Tarot Forecast

Familiars

Some seem to think every witch should have a familiar. This goes for both Pagans and Non-Pagans. The truth is that some of us do, and
some don’t.

What is a familiar?

Historically speaking, familiars were said to be small spirits which could be sent out to do a witch’s bidding, often inhabiting an
animal. Although cats, especially black ones, were most common, dogs, toads, and other small animals were sometimes used.

Today, many witches have an animal that they think of as their familiar, and most people don’t believe that these are spirits or demons
inhabiting an animal. But not all animals are familiars. Just because you have a cat as a pet, doesn’t mean it’s your familiar.

A familiar, in my opinion, is a living being that not only chooses to live with you but shows a keen interest in helping you with your
magic workings.

If you’d like to draw a familiar to you, some believe that you can do this by meditation. If an animal appears in your life unexpectedly,
like a stray cat, it’s possible that it may have been drawn to you. But make sure to rule out mundane reasons first. If you’re leaving
out food for the local feral cats, that’s a far more likely explanation for its appearance.

A familiar doesn’t have to be a cat or a dog. It might be a bird, a horse, a pig, or any kind of living being. Those with allergies might get a reptile or an amphibian. Or why not grow a plant familiar? Maybe your husband is your familiar? Or the tree in your backyard?

As for me, I have no need for a familiar. In the last twenty-four years as a witch, I’ve had none. We’ve had dogs for a number of years,
but neither King nor Bonzo has been a familiar. We had to put King down in 2002 because of epilepsy, and we didn’t get another dog until
2013, when Bonzo joined the family.

Since I’m a cat person, I’d really prefer a cat if I was to have a familiar. I had a lot of cats before I met my husband. But hubs can’t have cats because he gets infections from the claws, and can’t keep himself from playing with them. Just so you know, I didn’t get rid of any cats when I met him,
they’d passed before that. So no animals were harmed.

I do have a dragon blood tree that’s 13 years old, but I haven’t tried to make it into a familiar.

Do you have a familiar, or would you like one? Leave me a comment at the bottom of the page.

A Tarot reading

I was once asked to do a Tarot reading regarding the personality of a man. The cards that came up were The Hanged Man, The Eight of Cups, and The Fool and all three cards came up reversed. My interpretation was that he has trouble starting new things and see things in new ways. In some ways, he’s stuck. He needs something new with deeper meaning, but he resists doing what it takes to get that. He has a habit of choosing the simplest solution.

There’s something he has to let go of. A sacrifice of something which no longer works for him will open for something more positive. He is somehow prevented from doing what he should or would do. It is possible that he gave up his dream because of home, family or something similar.

Now get your own reading. If you sign up for the newsletter, you get 50 % off your first reading.

Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh which is also called Lammas is the celebration of autumn and begins what is called ‘The chase of Lugh’. Lugh is the Celtic Sun God and he grows in the crops, lives in the golden fields.

This is the time for the first harvests. At this celebration, those who celebrate it thank the Earth for its abundance and beauty. It’s from these harvests that we have food through the winter. To honor Lugh, games and sports are arranged to celebrate strength and good health. The grain goddesses Demeter and Ceres are also honored. This is the time to harvest the dreams which were planted earlier in the year.

You can find more about Lammas in the Witch’s Library.

Imbolc

Since I have people I know in thte Southern hemisphere, I’d better mention Imbolc too, since that’s what they celebrate when we have
first harvest here.

Imbolc which is also called Brigid’s Day is a festival marking the beginning of spring. As the first cross-quarter day after Yule, it traditionally marks the first stirrings of spring. It is time for purification and spring cleaning in anticipation of the year’s new life.The word ‘Imbolc’ means ‘in milk’, and that’s because the pregnant sheep start to make milk at this time of the year. This was considered a safe sign that spring was on its way. Even though the days are getting longer it’s still winter. This is a time to start anew and for growth. Think about your goals and dreams for this year.

You can find more about Imbolc in the Witch’s Library.

Today’s prompt: If you can, then make sure you go outside before going to bed, trying to make note of the moon phase and the location of the
moon. This gets you more in tune with the cycles of Nature.

That’s it for me for today. Thanks for listening to the Witch in the Valley Podcast. The next episode will, among other things, be about evil in paganism. If you have any questions, just reach out to me at linda@lindaursin.net Remeber to rate and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

(This podcast will be published on iTunes after 5-6 episodes.)

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