People who don’t know any better as well people who should know better keep asking me if Itzl is my familiar.
For those who don’t know any better – there is absolutely no way I would allow Itzl to be my familiar. He is too valuable to me, not just because he helps me with the things I can no longer do for myself (hearing alarms, sirens, ringtones, train whistles – I regret that one, I like train whistles), but because he is very dear to me.
I am very protective of him because he is charming, personable, sweet, funny, useful, and cuter than a bug in a rug.
I would be devastated if he were my familiar.
Familiars are animals that absorb negative energies about one, malignant and malevolent forces. They tend to die young. This is why historically, witches had toads, frogs, salamanders, newts, rats, and such as familiars. These animals tended to be short lived anyway, so they weren’t losing much of their life if they died from psychic attacks, malignant spirits, evil forces, or spells gone awry. In cultures that viewed cats and dogs more as work animals than as pets, they were sometimes used as familiars as well. Most often the creature chosen as a familiar was a stray, an animal with less than endearing qualities, so when it died, it wasn’t a wrenching loss.
Do you begin to see why it offends me when someone asks if Itzl is my familiar?
Nor is he a numen, for numena are the discorporate form of loved ones or ancestors who have left behind their individuated corporeal life, or the spiritual embodiment of natural forces or ideas. Since Itzl is very much still alive and corporeal, I have no desire for him to become a numen anytime soon.
What he is is my companion, my partner, and, in some ways, my soul-mate. We are a match (and those of you who have met him in person will understand that more than those who’ve only seen pictures of him).
For those who should know better – I’m sure y’all are clever enough to connect the dots.
I have had familiars in the past, at need. They never lived long. But I and mine stayed safe, and I am very grateful for their sacrifice. I remember them fondly in the winter celebrations that honor the dead and the afterlife and commend them well into Dea Nutrix.
Ebonypearl 