Finding and working with Familiar Spirits and the Fetch

The true power of the wytch lies not in the wytch…but in the company he or she keeps. The wytch is a mediator between the physical world and the wyrd spiritual world beyond the veil. There is a long history of wytches using familiar spirits to do their bidding. In truth it’s more of a mutual relationship between the wytch and spirits than a wytch “using spirits for their bidding”. It’s a give and take relationship filled with agreements, understandings, trust, and emotional attachment just as any other relationship between two human beings.

The Use of Familiar Spirits for Divination and Protection

Familiar spirits are very powerful beings. They can aid as a powerful divination tool by telling you what’s really going on in a situation. There are few places they can’t travel and few things they can’t learn, for most normal people will not notice them present. Because they are spiritual creatures, they are not subject to time as we are. So looking into the past or future is much easier using their assistance than pulling out the old tarot cards. Once the relationship is built strongly, they will want to keep you safe from harm as any true friend would. They are very quick to warn you of troubles ahead, especially if that trouble involves magickal attack from an enemy or negative spiritual entity. I have had several instances where my fetch has come to me and showed me that someone was doing negative spell work on me in real time. She showed me what they were doing, how they were doing it, and what they were trying to achieve. I could literally see the curse being done in real time through my fetch’s eyes.  So in this way, familiar spirits are your biggest protectors and defense against harm, especially magickal attack.

Every Good Deed Has Its Rewards

Just as you would expect to get paid for a job well done, so does familiar spirits. Every now and then there are exceptions. There are times my Fetch will do things and not request any favor, but typically there is an exchange of offerings. One of the main things familiar spirits request is Red Meal. Red meal is a mixture of red wine and dark wheat bread mixed together. I’ve found my spirits love pumpernickel bread and homemade elderberry wine. When I don’t have elderberry wine, my go to choice tends to be Livingston Red Rose wine. But those are what my spirits like, yours may ask for something different. The Red Meal is made by doing a ritual called the Housle. There are several versions of a housle already available online and we need not go further into that at this time.

There are other things that a familiar spirit may request. They may want you to obtain an item for them. This could be a certain stone, a feather, picture, or anything that they would like. Now understand this is a request, and you can make a deal with them. If a friend asks you for something you think may be a little unreasonable, you would not feel bad negotiating with them and coming to an agreement that will make you both happy. This can be done with a familiar as well.

The Eidolon

Every familiar spirit and your fetch will require an eidolon. An eidolon is an engraved image or statue that your spirit resides in. Every familiar I’ve worked with, including my fetch has an animal association. Familiars seem to keep their animal form, but the fetch shifts between animal and human form. Eidolons of the corresponding animal form is ideal for the spirit. It’s a form they are comfortable with and identify with. I’ve learned over the years that the best eidolon is one of natural material, wood or stone being best. My fetch did take of residence in your typical resin cast statue from a craft store, however, she continued to complain about it. Next I bought her cast iron figure which she like better, but still was not completely satisfied. Spirits tend to not care for iron. Now I have her in a wooden statue which she loves. My other familiar still stays in his resin statue and has no problem with it as long as it stays high on a shelf for him to see the entire room. So it depends on the spirit, what they like, and what they ask for.

I’ve once seen someone online speaking about how he keeps his familiar spirits stored in jars with the lids screwed tight, and he takes them out when he wants to release them to do work. I dare not speak what’s right for all, but from my experience, my spirits would not have that. They enjoy being free and existing in a loving environment where they are treated as equals and not as minion being stored away like some genii in a bottle. Who would want that type of existence?

The Fetch

Ah the beloved Fetch…the wytch-mate. So many people have asked me how to find their fetch, or what I may think their fetch beast is.  The truth is I don’t know how to tell someone how to find their fetch…I can tell you how I found mines. I can also tell you what a fetch is. Because the relationship between an individual and a fetch is so personal, there is a lot you will need to work out for yourself. I don’t know your fetch, as I shouldn’t. You should keep all personal information about your fetch to yourself. If you do decide to share information on your fetch, make sure it’s with those you completely trust. If an enemy finds out the name of your fetch, and is a skilled enough occultist, they could hold some serious power over you. So keep it safe…and keep silent.

The fetch is a part of you. Your true soulmate. He or she is the other half of you which makes you whole again. We like to think of our significant other as our soulmate, as romantic as that may sound, your soulmate is a spiritual part of you. It should, technically speaking, appear as the gender you are attracted to. As an example, for a straight male the fetch would typically appear female. A fetch could also appear androgynous depending on sexual preference.

Spiritually speaking, we are attracted sexually to what makes us whole, our opposite energy, despite our physical sexual gender. In the spiritual world, gender is more a mixture of masculine and feminine energies. It’s not as physically defined as our definition of physical gender in this plane of existence. The more electrically charged a spirit’s vital energy is the more it will appear masculine, the more magnetically charged a spirit’s vital energy is the more feminine it will appear. The closer to a balanced between electric and magnetic energies the more androgynous a spirit will appear.

As I stated before, the fetch takes on an animal form as well. They are shape-shifters in a since. Sometimes appearing human, sometimes animal. It’s hard to explain, but in the astral they are both at the same time, yet it seems so natural. They are truly a beautiful sight to behold. Chances are you may have already met your fetch in the past and never realized it. Have you ever met someone in your dreams and felt this intense love for them like you’ve never felt before? They are just absolutely perfect, but they are a stranger you’ve never seen before. You wake up wondering who that person was. You long for that feeling back and want to go back to sleep just hoping to catch another glimpse of them. Chances are if you’ve experience this, it was your fetch-mate. The relationship between a fetch and a wytch is one of pure love. This love is felt by both the wytch and the fetch. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my fetch and there is nothing she wouldn’t do for me. As with any relationship, there are responsibilities. Once this relationship is made, if it were to be ignored, there could be strife between the wytch and fetch. And if you were to do this, that trust would have to be rekindled again. Be ready to throw out some apologies and deal with a grumpy fetch for a while!

It took me years to finally find my fetch. It all happened in a dream. One night she came to me, told me her name, and other things about her (You can see all the details of this dream by reading “The Meeting of My Fetch…The Wytch Wife” on this blog). Over the years she has communicated with me, teaching me more and more about her. I learned what she likes, her habits, what makes her mad, and what makes her happy.  You too can do this….just let go…a listen. Pray to your fetch to come to you. Leave offerings of Red Meal often, at least once a week. Do whatever you can to strengthen your bond. Be diligent and patient. Your fetch will hear you...and your fetch will come.

The Wytch’s Secret to Effective Magic

I have been involved in magickal practices my entire adult life. At the age of eighteen I joined a REALLY good Wiccan church which I have yet to see its teachings rivaled by another. Our training was intense. We were expected to know everything from rituals to history. We were able to perform circles by memory and invoke Gods and Goddesses. We learned recipes and spells for practically anything we needed. When there wasn’t a spell, we were trained well enough to make one to suit our needs. My old coven performed miracles of healing and things you seem to only read about in books. Over the years after the coven broke up, I continued to apply what I learned, using my willpower to effect change in the astral, in turn affecting outcomes in the physical. I thought that was what wytches do. Over the years I was able to curse the wicked, find the missing, and heal the sick. All the while not realizing that this method of working is just scratching the surface of what one can do.

Years later…I discovered the ways of Traditional Wytchcraft. I learned about the fetch and familiar spirits. I quickly realized I had been working not necessarily wrong, but inefficiently all those years. I learned if I shifted my attention to learning how to work with spirits, they could assist me in doing the work I needed to get done. This made things much simpler and way more powerful. No more having to go out and buy wax figure candles, chords, and herbs to perform long drawn out ritual spells. I could simply contact my familiar spirit or fetch spirit and they would give me great insight to what is happening, and what can be done about it. It truly is a one stop shop for your magickal abilities. Once you have contact and build a great relationship with them, they take the guess work out of spell work. The best part is you no longer have to use up all your personal energy to effect the astral world anymore. They can do this for you, and because they are astral beings, they can do it much more effectively than we can do it alone.

This is my secret to being a powerful wytch. The secret is I’m not powerful at all, but my relationships and connection with my beloved fetch and familiars are more powerful than anything that could ever be conjured by man. I seem to always be one step ahead of anything that would do me harm, because they are there…watching over me…protecting me.

The meeting of my Fetch...the Wytch Wife

My love...my friend...my protector. My loving owl girl with wide eyes, we have shared so many magickal moments together. I will never forget the first time we met.

As I lay in bed like any other night dreaming, I found myself in a dark cabin in some unknown woods. I could feel the presence of other "humans" around me to my left and right, although I could not see them. We stood in a line, shoulder to shoulder, in the dark room facing four beautiful young girls who were almost in a huddle, debating in their private circle. I saw your head pop up from the huddle and look right at me. The huddle broke as the decisions were made. I heard you say, "Yeah, I'll take this one." And then you looked directly at me and began to walk towards me. Our eyes locked almost in a trance. You walked up to me taking my hand. You said, "Follow me." and turned to the doorway of the room. Our hands broke away from each other as you made your way to the door.

Then the most unusual thing occurred. What I expected to be the woman before me walking to the door, became an owl flying low to the ground. Your wings moving in a slow cadence as your body bounced up and down with each flap, and your talon feet were hanging below your body as all owls fly. I followed without hesitation, but somehow not confused about what was occurring. In this world, it seems so strange to explain how you can be a beautiful woman, and a regal owl at the same time, and yet both aspects of woman and bird separate. However, in that otherworldly place, it seemed so natural.

As I walked outside into the dark woods. I saw you once again as a beautiful woman standing in a clearing. I remember the ground was bare dirt, and trees were around that clearing hiding in the darkness. You once again took my hands....and we danced a dance like no other. It was a dance of ecstatic excitement, of spinning and spinning which lead to a maddening state of ecstasy. My humanity and self seemed to fade away...and there was just us...in that sacred moment...a wedding of wytch and wytch-wife. We were soulmates joined together again, and no love could ever compare to that moment in that wyrd place.

I learned several things about you that night. Yet things were still very vague. I was left with but an image, a name, and a feeling of love most would only dream of feeling once in their lifetime. Over the years you have taught me many things: You have protected me, you have helped me heal the sick, find the missing, and curse the wicked. In return, the offerings are burned and the red meal is placed on your altar. My craft is my arte, and you are my brush, my paint, and my eyes. Without you, there is no masterpiece for the world to behold.

What Happens When you Put Down your Books...And Do Magic.

Most people get too hung up on books. We run from one book to the next looking for that magical power, that one perfect ritual, that spell to end all spells. We buy the book waiting for it to come in the post, fantasizing of all the glorious wytchery that will be presented to us. We can hardly wait with excitement of all the secrets that will be revealed as we check our USPS tracking waiting for that glorious day. Then the book arrives. We delve into it, tearing it apart frantically searching for what we have so long been waiting for. Yes, there are many great books out there, but they only become property of the mind. Once the feast of knowledge is complete, it retires to our shelf, where it joins its hundred of companions and awaits it's next new neighbor to arrive in the mail.

We look back at our investment and try to recall what we have taken away. We learned a few new things. The feeroine like this and the Witch God is associated with that. Oh, and I got three new recipes for incense in this one. And the one last week gave me a great oil to mix for banishing negativity.

Then the faithful day comes. A friend and one of her friends shows up at your front door. You've never met the other lady before. She says she's sick but no one can figure out what's wrong with her. She comes to you out of desperation...this is your moment to shine. Your close friend knows that you've been in "this stuff" for years, and you seem like the perfect person to help. I mean after all, you're a witch right. This is what you do.

But as you recall all those recipes, history points, and associations, you think to yourself, "What the hell am I gonna do?" NOTHING in this wall of books has the answer!!!

That's when you have to look deep down inside...and realize where true magic comes from. It doesn't come from all the words on those pages. You don't even think of the thoughts, ideas, and opinions your beloved authors put to paper. They disappear into nothingness as something takes over. As you gaze upon the lady, you feel a calm sensation come over you. An almost trace like state that brings a slight smile to your lips. You "feel" the answers rolling out of your thoughts and across your lips into words. This feeling of absolute understanding of what ails her comes into your mind. Without any thought of it, or doubt, you begin to tell her what's wrong with her. You feel like this knowledge is coming from somewhere else. A spiritual consciousness you've never felt before. As you ask her to lay back on your couch you begin to almost unconsciously grab cords, candles, stones, and other implements from your collection. The motions of your art and the words you speak come to you with ease as you balance the discord in her body. To her and your friend it seems that you have done this many times and know exactly what you are doing. But in your mind you are thinking, "Wow...this is really working!"  In what seems like only a small moment in time, your work is done. The woman tells you of feeling a strange "buzz" around her body, physical sensations of warmth and lightness. She says she feels better than she has since her problems started. After some time your friend and the lady leave for the evening. You find out weeks later that the woman's symptoms have never returned since the night at your home when they came to you for help.

This is magic...not the cool witchy things we wear, not the books we read. It's that moment when we create miracles. When we make the impossible, possible...with the help of the Good Folk, The Lord, and his Lady.

Tools of the Craft: The Gods don't shop at Hobby Lobby

What tools should I use in my witchcraft? How should I acquire them? What should they be made of? How should they look? These are important things we all need to ask ourselves before beginning to collect our tools of arte. Modern pagans are bombarded with hundreds of ready made tools, trinkets, and other supplies which come straight off the boat from China, right into the warehouses of Azure Green and Hobby Lobby, all for your buying pleasures.

I myself am guilty of spending a fortune through the years on resin statues and cheaply made ritual tools. It wasn't until I really began to delve into the world of Traditional Witchcraft that I realized that I strayed from what I was trying to achieve. Well, how can we determine what is needed and what it not? What is a good buy and what should I hold off on and make myself? First we must understand what we are trying to achieve with our tools.

First and foremost, ANY and ALL tools of witchcraft are unnecessary to perform a rite of magick. We have to remember that before the 1950s, witchcraft was mostly illegal. It is still illegal in some places of the world today. One could not freely use tools that would  make others suspicious of their use in "the workings of the Devil". This would mean incarceration for the witch, and in many cases death. So tools had to be simple rods of wood, brooms, pots, and stone markers. Nothing with symbols, and certainly nothing that would have been out of the ordinary in any home.

Now that we have covered that tools are unnecessary, let me say that they do help. In fact they help tremendously. They are used by creating a certain mental environment for the witch to do his or her works with. They, in a sense, put the witch mentally where they need to be to strengthen their magickal practices. So, we need to buy, fashion, and acquire tools and other religious items that create an environment that connects us to the "feel" of traditional craft. Its like using specific herbs at a certain time for a certain spell work that coincide on what your are trying to achieve. Would you use herbs that are suitable for a love spell to do a binding? Of coarse not, it would be counter-productive.

The "feel" of Traditional Witchcraft is primitive, simple, and powerful. Its spiritual connection comes from otherwordly spiritual beings. Its the same feeling you get from imagery of the deep dark forest where man rarely treads.  It exudes colors that are neutral, deep, and dark. Shiny bright colors seem to hinder the environment one tries to create for their workings. Where these bright and sparkling colors may work well in Wicca, its a big hindrance in Traditional Craft. It's actually better to not use anything, than throw in a bunch of tackiness into your magickal world. Keep things simple, earthly, and as natural as possible. Use real stone, bone, bronze, and copper. Don't use polyester blend yarn for your chords; get some linen yarn instead. Sure it's easier to go down to your local Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby and pick up some cheap run of the mill yarn. Hell, it's even easier to braid than linen yard. But we have to keep its properties in mind. Robert Cochrane even says that when using linen yarn; the act of braiding linen (flax) yard without any extra intent, creates a powerful tool in itself. We should strive for the very best in our craft, and if we can't get what we need immediately, we should wait till we can. This shows patience. It's shows the Gods that we take pride in everything we do, and present to them. It shows them that we know our path, and we will never settle for "That's good enough".

There are times when we do find things that will fit in our world of magick that are worth purchasing. For instance, most of us are not blacksmiths and have no experience building an athame (knife). But we have to remember; let's pass on that fancy plastic handle, and settle for that simple wooden or bone handled athame. Let's etch that handle ourselves with images the Gods will adore.

Also remember, your altar and tools are an expression of you and your craft. If you walk around wearing a clown suit, people will only see you as a clown!!!

The Witches' Ballad: A Small Look into the Life of a Doreen Valiente

 Although Doreen Valiente became famous from being part of Wicca, there is another side to her practices that a lot of people my not be aware of. Doreen was not only a member of Gerald Gardner's coven where she trained in Wicca, but she was also a member of Robert Cochrane's coven where she practiced Traditional Witchcraft. It would be interesting to have seen how that played out. It's pretty well known that Robert Cochrane and Gerald Gardner were not fond of each other in any way. They had pretty harsh words back and forth criticizing each others religious practices. I can only imagine the drama Doreen had to endure being a member of two feuding covens. Even if she was with them at separate times in her life. I'm sure drama still endured. Either ways...the stories this wonderful woman must have had. And what a legacy she has left behind. To be at the forefront of the birth modern day Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft. I bet that was an amazing journey.

The Witch's Ballad

Oh, I have been beyond the town,

Where nightshade black and mandrake grow,

And I have heard and I have seen

What righteous folk would fear to know!

For I have heard, at still midnight,

Upon the hilltop far, forlorn,

With note that echoed through the dark,

The winding of the heathen horn.

And I have seen the fire aglow,

And glinting from the magic sword,

And with the inner eye beheld

The Horned One, the Sabbat's lord.

We drank the wine, and broke the bread,

And ate it in the Old One's name.

We linked our hands to make the ring,

And laughed and leaped the Sabbat game.

Oh, little do the townsfolk reck,

When dull they lie within their bed!

Beyond the streets, beneath the stars,

A merry round the witches tread!

And round and round the circle spun,

Until the gates swung wide ajar,

That bar the boundaries of earth

From faery realms that shine afar.

Oh, I have been and I have seen

In magic worlds of Otherwhere.

For all this world may praise or blame,

For ban or blessing naught I care.

For I have been beyond the town,

Where meadowsweet and roses grow,

And there such music did I hear

As worldly-righteous never know.

-Doreen Valiente

Ancestors: The Pale Ones Under the Mound

                                        “O’ Where O’ where have the Good Folk gone!!!”

We all have a history…a physical bloodline that can be traced back hundreds of years. As a wytch, we acknowledge this bloodline. We pay homage to those of our ancestral past. Without this bloodline, we are just dust and ash. Upon birth we are enlivened by the cunning fire bestowed upon up by the Great Wytch-Father. Our blood is made red with the same fire that exists within the land. It warms our bodies with the essence of life. The blood that flows through the veins can been seen comparatively as the serpent fire which coils and twist within the land.

So what happens upon death…what has happened to our beloved ancestors who have passed on? Upon the time of death, the fire which has been given to us is taken by Fate. The fire returns to its source back into the land. Our body becomes cold and absent of life. The spirit moves on to a mysterious place to be cleansed of all impurities though fire and water. After this baptism of fire and water, the spirit or shade becomes “Feeorin” or “Faerie”. Because of the absence of life, the spirit is seen as pale or white; Just as the body becomes white as the bone. This state of faerie should not be confused with the fantastical stereotype of glittery winged creature which was created and made popular by Victorian literature.

The Feeorin are powerful in many ways. They can and should be called upon for any workings of magick. It would be egotistical to believe that a wytch’s greatest power comes from within the individual. The true key to magickal practices is to have a strong connection with the fetch and the feeorin. Great magick is worked by the wytch with the assistance of the fetch, feeorin, and deity.

The feeorin are obsessed with the red meal. Being that the feeorin have lost their reddened life force, the red meal becomes the most powerful offering which gives spiritual nourishment to them. In fact, this is just a personal theory, but this may have been the origin of the myth of the vampire. For the comparisons are virtually identical: An immortal pale being which solely is nourished by blood i.e. the symbolic red meal. If one is wondering, an offering of your own blood may be suitable in urgent and desperate situations; however, by giving your blood you open yourself to the dangers of being controlled. Your blood should only be offered during oaths to the Lord and Lady and to reddening or bring life to your magickal implements. A houzel or red meal should be done once a week to establish a proper connection with the feeorin. I have personally called upon the feeorin once over the years, and it was one of the most powerful moments of my magickal life.

The feeorin is truly a force which will bring you love, joy, and protection, if you are willing to faithfully and sincerely work to create and maintain the proper connections.