Customer Reviews

The Witch's Familiar: Spiritual Partnership for Successful Magic

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had not seen a book out on this topic before so I was excited to come across it. What a little treasure this book is! It is very practical and informative. I especially liked the images of magical seals and the exercises. It was refreshing not to see the same old thing again in a Witchcraft book, but instead to see something that speaks of authentic Witchcraft.

The Witch's Familiar is written mostly about working in a traditional way with familiars, and is not a cutesy or light and fluffly book. The author provides many different uses for familiars including healing, contacting people at a distance, and protection of home and person.

All in all, this is a very interesting book, and you won't be disappointed.

I really enjoyed this book. It provided a lot of information on the familiar which I didn't know. It's approached lightheartedly, not strictly, and explores animal guides in depth. It's very informative and I recommend it for any Witch's bookshelf. It's not a scholarly, in-depth study of the history of the Witch's familiar, but it doesn't need to be. It's clear, accurate and well-written, in all honesty. It's a relatively small book, but this is expected for the content explored. How much can be said about familiars? I believe that which can be said, Mr. Grimassi says here.
I recommend this book alongside Ted Andrew's classic "Animal Speak" for any Earth-based spiritualist.

Thanks, Raven, for another good book! =)

~Colin Smith~
Missoula, MT

Raven Grimassi explores the Witches Familiar; how the familiar has been viewed in the past both in myth and history. He then gives instruction in what familiars are, how to work with them and use them.

Mr. Grimassi presents us with his perception of the three types of Familiars: the physical kind, the astral kind and the spiritual kind. He teaches you how to find your familiar and even how to find a name for that familiar.

He then shows how to use your familiar in your craft, how to bind your familiar, how to control and command your familiar and how to eventually release the familiar.

The book contains sigals and rituals for the binding and spell working aspects of having a familiar. Mr. Grimassi discusses the various types of spell working you can use with a familiar. He also discusses bonding with your familiar.

The table of contents is quite in depth and makes up for the skimpy index. There are four appendixes on keyword associations, classic familiars, names of familiars (which includes Pyewackett, how predictable), and the Witches Alphabet. The book also has a bibliography.

While the book may reflect what may have once been considered the role of the familiar in the craft, I personally believe the role of the familiar has evolved beyond `step and fetch it' that this book presents. Today's craft person keeps their physical familiars as companions rather than tools, and as Mr. Grimassi even states at one point, today we see the role of the familiars we have as more cooperative guardians and guides than something that we need to bind and command. Some of us do not see a need to bind something that has come to us freely and is just as free to leave once the lesson is learned.

I think this book is an overkill of myth, old magic and some very elaborate designs and devices that are not really necessary in today's craft. I think Mr. Grimassi is stretching here to present a relationship as elaborate and complex, when most of us know and enjoy a relationship that is very simple and elegant without the need of all the trappings Mr. Grimassi wants us to go through.

Sometimes things are so simple, and yet there is always someone who wants us to believe it is so complex and involved.

With this book the reader is introduced to a powerful system of working with familiar spirits. Grimassi indicates in the book that he created this system, and presents it as one way of working with familiar spirits. His system involves a variety of magical seals and invocations that are steeped in traditional occult principles of magic. The ethics of working with familiar spirits is highly emphasized throughout the book.

Most of the book involves "spirit familiars" as opposed to physical animal familiars, although there is a chapter on pets as familiars. At a lecture I attended by this author, he mentioned that he didn't want to emphasize physical animals out of concern that people would obtain a creature simply to use as a physical familiar. He was concerned about the treatment and well-being of animals in such a light. This is a responsible approach.

In this same spirit, Grimassi provides a "Notice to the Reader" which is:

"In the following chapter appear the concepts of "binding" and "controlling" familiar spirits. Please note that these are old traditional magical terms and have been used here in keeping with the style of an antique Grimoire. For the purpose of this book the term binding refers to "connecting" or "housing" in order to provide a physical base from which to operate. It does not mean to imprison or hold captive. The term "control" is used to indicate "directing" and is not intended to suggest domination against personal will".

On page 58, the author also writes: "In a merged state you can then communicate with and direct the spirit consciouness of the animal. Bear in mind that this is a mutually advantageous relationship and not one of servant and master".

One reviewer wrote: "Raven Grimassi's appraoch implies a "one right way" to do a spell and, worst of all, doesn't treat familiars with a lot of respect. He suggests a spiritual familiar over a physical one because it requires less work, and sees no problem with using magic to interfere with the free will of what he describes as a sentient being."

Having read this book twice, I can only wonder if the writer of this review skim read and missed the points made, or is intentionally misrepresenting what the author provides in this book.

In any event, this book is an exceptional and unique work, and is highly recommended for beginners as well as the experienced. However, readers who are unable to grasp the most basic elements of Witchcraft and magic will probably find this book to be only a little useful.

at least i do...

Managed to get a great deal with a bargain bookstore here at amazon, and got this quite interesting book.

Like most Grimassi books it has information that won't resonate with neo Wiccan views on the subject ( don't get me wrong here , i'm quite a neo wiccan myself ).

I have to agree that a Familiar is indeed an old sentient being, different from an animal pet, that most witches see nowadays. A familiar can be both but from a different perspective and it's that different perspective that is not consensual. Like in most books i bought i wanted to try the techniques involved. i'm not an armchair warlock at all :).

After the journey quest... decide to use the genesis seal ( at first these seals didn't impress me much ) but it wasn't for long that the connection was clearly made and changes in my home and life occurred. Later i found from a different author the real nature of this familiar ( specially if your familiar asks for milk every week ) . After consulting the well worn path ( grimassi's oracule that i use for spiritual guidance ) decided to put an end to this familiar.. and it was for the best!
bottom line is , if you're going to buy this concise book and use it, you'll find yourself with a new relationship. some will be good others quite won't.

Decide for yourself.

This new book presents a traditional and empowering approach to the topic of the Witches' Familiar, as opposed to the airy-fairy self-styled methods so prevalent in modern Wicca. As with all of Grimassi's books, the reader is treated to rooted-ness rather than silliness.

I think this book provides a wonderful and necessary foundation of myth and old magic. In addition the book contains some very distinctive designs and devices that help the reader feel more empowered to explore working with Familiar Spirits. Grimassi goes to extra lengths to present the depth of relationships possible concerning Familiar Spirits. Rather than focusing on what is already known and used, Grimassi goes far beyond the basics and the commonplace.

Unfortunately the simple-minded and inexperienced will probably miss the point and fail to see the great depth of knowledge and experience shared in this fascinating book. Such readers will no doubt look at the material and wonder "Why so difficult?"

I purchased this book on a recommendation from a different author, for a different take on Familiars. For this purchase, I am satisfied!

Raven Grimassi is known for historical accuracy and commentary. He lived up to this reputation in this tome, beginning with describing first his terminology, then his topics. He covered the concepts, types, historical accounts by the Church, the Court, and modern accounts from his perspective.

He warned, also, that the readers, before attempting any binding and controlling, read through the material first to decide for themselves if and what type of Familiar is best for them. I am glad for that warning; I ultimately decided that at the time of writing this, Familiars were not for me.

But I learned a whole heap.

Grimassi created a Seal system to bind and control the familiars. He shared these seals (creating, calling, departing, protection, dreaming, carrying a spell, severence, binding, controlling, a vortex).

He then described appropriate relationships, how to form them, what to do with them, when to release them, how to name them.

This was extremely informative. My student's stomach was satiated!

Wow.

Informatively written by Raven Grimassi (a Wiccan teacher and practitioner of magical systems with thirty years' experience), The Witch's Familiar: Spiritual Partnerships For Successful Magic focuses upon how to call an appropriate kindred companion to aid in spellwork, ritual, the protection of one's home, and more. Physical, astral, and spiritual familiars, the proper choice of a name, vitalizing one's spellcraft, and learning how to release one's familiar when its work or existence on the physical plane is complete, are all discussed in this accessible, involving, "user friendly", and highly recommended advisory.

The Witches Familiar is a great book if your wanting to learn more of what a familair is and its role to the Witch. It explains different kinds of familiars, how you find them or they find you and tells you how to meditate in your search for your familiar. Through this medidation, I found that my familiar is my cat Bast whom which we bonded closer after Ember died. While meditating, once I found myself at the cave I pictured a deer and rabbit/bunny however the images never lasted long, when i pictured Bast coming out of the cave and walked towards me that is when I knew she was my familiar. I highly reccommend this book

Not as much information on physical familiars as I had hoped. Wonderful information on astral familiars, however.

Unfortunately, it's rather old fashioned when it comes to dealing with modern physical familiars which most of us treat as companions rather than as servants. I know that working with my cat as a familiar, it's important to engage her attention and interest, otherwise, you might as well forget any cooperation from her. I just don't feel comfortable either binding or compelling her.

It is undoubtedly a very good book, just not what I was hoping for.