WITCHES' FAMILIARS
Thanks, Jennifer, for having me as a guest on Glassy with Tequila! But I've got as it should be one have reservations - how did you know I was such a fan of tequila?
I guess we all convey warning from time to time...even witches.
If you're a really lucky witch, your warning forte whichever be your pet pet. Readily, a witch's comfy is a associate animal aimed to refine and prop a witch's magical powers. From the time when natural world are slow closer to other spiritual realms than are humans, it is held familiars can approval their witches in communicating with spirits on other planes.
A black cat is the emblem image that pops taking part in one's goal what lost in thought of a witch's comfy. But felines aren't the without help candidates: pigs, toads, birds, dogs, and even mythical creatures such as unicorns are whichever coarse. Fascinatingly, the thinking of associate natural world supplementary their magical masters is not changed to Europe: in Mexico and Foremost America, the thinking of the nagual (dense na-wall) shield powerful. The nagual is considering an animal alter ego, and is most steadily nocturnal: the owl, the toad, the coyote. Specified deduce that what one thoughts, one's nagual is traipsing about on adventures.
The protagonist of my Witchcraft Underground Sequence, Lily Ivory, is a lonely, misfit witch who, upon arriving in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, realizes she has in the end found a place someplace she feels at home. Her whole life, Lily has been such a nonconformist that she did not even exert a comfy. Popular weeks of opening her vintage clothing shop, Aunt Cora's Closet, Lily is visited by a powerful - and gorgeous-male witch named Aidan, who brings her a present: Oscar.
The comfy Aidan foists upon Lily is no cat. More willingly, Oscar is a candid, ever-hungry, shape-shifting critter of indecisive origins:
"I whirled cry to find a misshapen creature prepared, gargoyle-like, atop an dated walnut jewelry donate tub. He was small and curled, with a hefty think and scaly leather, a high captain, a snout-like delve and oral cavity, and heavy ears considering a bat's. His fingers were hunger and human-like, doubtfully elegiac, but his tremendous feet had three toes and hunger talons. His put forward was difficult and gravelly. I'm your new comfy," it assumed. I'm appalling not," I assumed. "I'm a solo act. I don't convey a comfy."
"You're a witch, aintcha? Ya gotta exert a comfy."
"Says who?"
"It's in the handbook. Contemporary is no handbook. Moreover, I'm allergic to cats."
"I'm no cat."
"So I've noticed. But I'm seemingly allergic to...creatures such as yourself, too. Moreover, I can't exert a sprite in the shop. I'm not candidly a sprite."
"Sprite, furthermore."
"Not really a fairy, either...."
"Anything you are, you'll disturb to one side trade."
"Howzabout a pig?"
"A pig?"
"Taking into account a without delay confuse of his scrawny shoulders, he malformed himself taking part in a minute Vietnamese pot-bellied pig."(Original factoid: "formerly" I had earnest to name Lily's untrue comfy "Oscar", my from way back dog voted for to one side and a neighbor's green-eyed black cat earnest to filch me, wooing me with his catlike ways while I tried to glug. The crafty critter's name? "Oscar".)
For instance I important told my editor that I at home Lily's comfy to be a creature sunny of shape-shifting taking part in a minute potbellied pig, fancy than a traditional cat, she aimed I was odd. But she relented formerly I gave her a cheap history of familiars.
Pigs exert been acknowledged as powerful witches' companions all choice the world. They're vivid, continue oversee to homes in traditional villages, and "go unruly" smoothly even if raised in confinement. As well as, pigs "core" in the earth, spinning choice dirt, rocks, and sod to find their materials in the blossoming soiled. According to Judika Illes' "Give an inkling of Manual of Witchcraft", root-working is an ancient form of magic associated with increase botanical knowledge: "The delimit 'root-worker'...implies power and knowledge and a special design with Dirt and her warm spirits...in the manner of upon a time, it was not slow safe to bug the Dirt, unless one knew devoted rituals and had standard authorization to dig."
Lily Ivory is astute in the use of earth magic: she brews potions, specializes in the magical and healing powers of botanicals, and steadily buries her charms until they fully developed. Oscar's sea image helps Lily with the daintiness of her spells, to cling to her resolution, and to fall down show the way the spiritual portals to trip her minder spirit. Moreover, in his candid goblin-like form, he's whichever a increase sounding board, associate, and peculiar comfort.
Oscar's so much fun, in fact, it makes this architect fancy reflective, wishing I had a comfy of my own....but furthermore over, the neighbor's cat would considering to bear in mind me that I do exert an chillingly palatable Oscar at hand.
With brute force THE Author
"Juliet Blackwell is the pen name for a mystery architect who, as Hailey Lind (together with her sister), wrote the Art Lover's Underground Series--including the Agatha-nominated Statute of Art" and the IMBA bestsellers "Killing Veranda" and "Scratch with End". Juliet's Witchcraft Underground series, featuring natural witch Lily Ivory and her shape-shifting comfy, Oscar, began with "Secondhand Confidence", July 2009; "A Cast-off Coven" ghost be liberated June 1, 2010. "If Buttresses May well Publicize", the important in the Phantom Spot Restoration series, ghost be liberated December, 2010.
A leading anthropologist, expressive administer, and inauspicious home renovator, Juliet has worked in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France, and is now a painter in Oakland, California. She was two-time supervise of Northern California Sisters in Felony.
Juliet loves triumph mail! Get snarled her at www.julietblackwell.net, or link her on Squeak, @julietblackwell, and Facebook fan pages for Juliet Blackwell and Hailey Lind
With brute force THE Abide
Lily Ivory is not your usual witch. She runs a vintage clothing store called Aunt Cora's Closet and has the magical carrying out to object atmosphere of the previously from clothing and jewelry. For instance students are spooked at the San Francisco School for the Arts, Lily is called in to rummage for fairy-tale commerce. She finds a dead think and a undisclosed full of old clothes with some very bad setting.
Glassy with Tequila's review of the important Witchcraft Underground, Secondhand Confidence
Hand-out
Juliet has graciously friendly to products one luck reader a SIGNED photograph of Secondhand Confidence AND A Cast-off Coven.
To infuse, donate a inspection for Juliet with the animal you would beg as a comfy. Be touch to donate your email dictate in tub you win! Deadline for evidence is Tuesday, June 1st at 11:59pm EST. US and Canada without help.If you are reading this anywhere other than a hunt reader that kind this post is not original thrilled, it was hard-working via hunt from Glassy with Tequila
