The Language of Animals

Many people dont know that animals can talk. They believe that because they cant understand them they dont speak. But animals do talk, they communicate in their own ways.

Next time you are outside in a natural place listen to the sounds going on all around you. The birds up in the trees will be the first to see you, and they will warn the other creatures that a human is coming. The squirrels will chatter at you from their trees angrily letting you know that they have territorial rights to that tree, and dont dare scavenge their hoards. Crickets will sing at night to guide you ( Did you know that you can approximate the outside temp by listening to crickets chirp? You can, apparently. One of my web site guests, Cybele, wrote me to tell me that if you count how many chirps there are in a 14 second period and then add 40 to that number, it is a fairly accurate way to see how warm it is outside.). Wolves howl as a sort of natural beeper to other wolves, "Hey, I'm lonely. I'm here." The list of animal communication is much too long to go into in any depth here, books have been written on this subject. But watch your pets closely after you get off the computer. When you come home, does your cat twine itself about your leg, purring and meowing? Does the dog act as if he thought you would never come back? All this is communication. They are telling you that they love you, they missed you. In the morning, does the cat crawl onto your face and strangle you? She's hungry, or bored. The above examples are all pretty basic things that most animal owners or lovers already know but they just illustrate a point. If you really watch and listen to your pet, to the animals around you, you can learn to understand them. An animal will never lie. If it is angry with you, or doesnt like you, it will tell you. But if it is happy it will tell you that also. A horse whose ears are flat back against his head and whose neck is arched is warning you to stay away. A bunny who is hunched against the ground is frightened. What of? You? Or is there some other danger near by? A bird on your lawn who suddenly flies away...is there an intruder in your back yard? A cat paawing at a basement door...maybe you have mice. I have one cat who has been with me for ten years. He is my familiar (more on that later on), and we have been together through thick and thin, from when it was just him and I, through my disasterous first marriage, the birth of my child, and many other pets. He and I know each other so well, that I can literally speak to him. I know what each of his different sounds are for, and I can imitate them to express my needs to him. It is a special, empathetic relationship based on mutual regard and on my being aware enough to learn his language.

Familiars

Interesting little buggers to say the least. Picture the classic representation of a witch. High in the air, riding the broom, tall hat, warts...and beside her, on the most comfortable part of the broom (which says a lot about their personalities, quite frankly) is a black cat. The cat is her familiar. Old lore says that a witch would transform herself into the body of her familiar in order to go about the countryside to witch's sabbats unnoticed. I must confess that I have never transformed myself into my cat's body. I wouldnt dare, he would be absolutely outraged. I do however have a very special relationship with my familiar. He is not a pet. I have pets, 8 of them to be exact. But the 9th animal to share my life is not a pet in any sense of the word. He is also not black. He is a grey, black, and white tabby with an attitude. I also think he is gay, but that is another discussion altogether. Familiars can be any animal, or bird, or even a fish, I suppose. They are a creature you share your life and your magic with. Quite frankly, I must confess that there are times when I treat my familiar better than my boyfriend (seniority). He is a part of most of my magical workings and all of my rites , purely by his own choice, of course. I dont know how he knows but he always just shows up whenever I am doing any work. I believe there is a psychic bond between us. He lends his power to my magic, and I feel protected by his watchful eye when I am in a state that I cannot be so watchful ( I do most of my work out of doors, you see). He is my partner.

Witches are not the only ones who can have familiars. Any one can have an animal partner, someone to share their power, their magic, their lives with. The animal they confide in, the animal who is more human to them then most humans. Many non-magical people have familiars and just dont know it. Maybe you already have a familiar and just havent acknowleged it yet. Or maybe you have a house full of animals, but none of them has that special bond that a familiar does ( I am not suggesting that there is a lack of love to other animals in one's home. Quite the contrary, I love my other critters like they were my babies, but the relationship is as different as the one a mother has between her children and the one she has with her best friend.) Below is a basic incantaion to call upon a familair to come into your life, a sort of psychic want ad, if you will.. Remember, if you are going to call an animal into your life, never ever do anything to harm or threaten the animal. Work only with animals that are willing to work with you, never restrict an animals movement within or without your magical space, allow them to come and go as they please. be careful with fire, incense, sharp tools around the familiar, and be watchful of any food or herbs that could harm your familiar.

The Call:

Light a white candle, and some protection incense and sit quietly in a space where you will not be interupted. Ask for the blessing and protection of your particular diety. Close your eyes and meditate, clear your mind. It is always better not to have a specific type of animal you want, but if you have an animal already and you would like to know if it could be a familiar, or is interested in being your familiar, then imagine this animal in your mind. Otherwise, just let your mind be blank. Send out a psychic message for the most perfect familiar to come into your life to share magic and mutual partnership. Meditate on this for a moment longer until you feel the call is truly out there. Thank your dieties for attending, let the candle burn itself out (always put somewhere it will not be a fire hazard, like a sink, or bathtub.) go your way, and wait patiently for your call to be answered. You may repeat this every so often if a familiar doesnt come right away. And remember, the primary force between a familiar and her witch is love.


Spirit Guides

There is a flock of crows that live over my house. I havent lived here very long, but I noticed them right away when we first went to look at this place. To me it was a sign that we might have found the right house. Crows are my spirit guides, the animal forms through which the spirit world guides, protects, empowers me and helps me grow. Every one has spirit guides, whether they be animal, or an object, or just plain spirit. This section focuses on spirit guides in the form of animals. Spirit guides differ from familiars in that they dont necessarily share our every day lives with us. The spirit guide can take the form of a familiar, sure, and therefore you will have two in one. But there is a difference. Spirit guides tend to pop up when you least expect them to to help with a decision, or to guide you if you are lost (either literally, or figuratively). The easiest way for me to describe them is to show you a few examples. My spirit guides are crows and ravens. When it came time for my divorce to happen, I was, understandably, having a tough time making up my mind. While out on a walk I saw two crows, a male and a female, in a tree. Dont ask me how I knew they were male and female, I dont know how I knew, I just knew. They were arguing. One flew away to a neighboring tree, the other chased it there and then flew back to it's own tree. They continued to argue from their two trees until the female just flew away. This was a sure sign to me that it was time to move on. Another instance was finding this house. We were actually driving down the wrong street when we had to brake suddenly to keep from hitting a crow who had suddenly flown in front of our car. As we did one of us noticed we were on the wrong street, we turned around, drove to the right street, and found a flock of crows waiting for us in the trees above the house. And sure enough, after much searching, it was the perfect house. These are just two short examples of how a spirit guide can guide you. Do you have an animal spirit guide? Would you like to find out? It's pretty easy. Concentrate on times in your life that have marked a change. Were there any particular animals around that seemed to be there most if not all of these times? When someone says to you, "Wow! I saw the most beautiful fill in the blank today!" do you find yourself thinking, "yeah, I see them all the time." Maybe this is your spirit guide. If you suspect that you have one, start paying attention when you see your guide around. What sort of signs have they given you? Are they always there when a decision needs to be made, or when you are just down? Or up? If you dont feel you are in touch with a particular spirit guide and you would like to be, you can use a slightly different form of the Familar Call above to find one.

  Summer---cats

Cats have been attributed throughout time with many differnt qualities, curiosity, independence, cleverness, healing even, and often unpredicable. If you ahve cat as your guide, look for these signs, or look to improve these qualities in your life. cats are at home in the dark, ofcourse,a nd sleep by day, you might be a night creature if cat is your guide. If you find yourself in a job, or activity that requires you to be up and most active and propductive during the day, and find yourself unable, or struggling to fulfill your obligations, look to cat to help you find something more suited to your nocturnal nature. Cats are magical and mysterious, and often those with cat totems are seen as such as well. Indulge your mysterious side, develop your inner voice, work with your magical nature, cat will help you in all this.


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