{"id":28714,"date":"2023-06-21T01:10:43","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T05:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=28714"},"modified":"2023-06-21T22:21:35","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T02:21:35","slug":"that-old-familiar-feeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2023\/06\/21\/that-old-familiar-feeling\/","title":{"rendered":"Weyland’s Whey – That Old Familiar Feeling"},"content":{"rendered":"

That Old Familiar Feeling<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

They\u2019re a basic ingredient.\u00a0 When you\u2019re a witch you gotta have the robe.\u00a0 An altar.\u00a0 And a familiar or two.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, full disclosure time here: I\u2019m no<\/i> scholar or expert.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t seriously researched this topic, nor do I intend to.\u00a0 But I deal with familiars on a daily basis (or at least I believe I do) and I\u2019m happy to share my own experiences.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I suppose familiars come in all genders and species or whatever, but I only deal with my boys Jinx and Spirit.\u00a0 They\u2019re a couple of stray cats my girlfriend Sparkle took in long before she and I met.\u00a0 We hit it off as soon as I stumbled through the door.\u00a0 (Spirit and I, that is.\u00a0 Jinx took a little longer.\u00a0 Sparkle is still making up her mind.)\u00a0 I considered the boys to be my fams right away, just as a matter of course.\u00a0 (Wytch plus cats equal familiars, right?\u00a0 Right?)\u00a0 Foresight not exactly being my forte<\/i>, I originally had no<\/i> plans to do anything magickal with them at all.\u00a0 But when I noticed those two furry little freeloaders weren\u2019t paying any rent money, I decided to put them to work.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The question was how.\u00a0 Communication would be a major hurdle.\u00a0 Cats don\u2019t talk.\u00a0 (Try \u201cmeow\u201d.)\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if they think in words or symbols at all, although they seem to respond to their own names.\u00a0 (And some occasional profanity on my part.)\u00a0 So messages would have to be empathic, not psychic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What else can they do?\u00a0 Well, their divination prowess is limited.\u00a0 Did they warn us that our neighbor\u2019s house was going to burn down?\u00a0 Apparently water damage doesn\u2019t show up on their radar.\u00a0 Can they help find missing keys?\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 How about stock market tips?\u00a0 Only on Sabrina<\/i>.\u00a0 Size and the absence of opposable thumbs hobble their usefulness as servants or gofers.\u00a0 As if a cat would follow instructions anyway.\u00a0 They\u2019d have to be mute advisers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately they\u2019re both natural born snugglers.\u00a0 Scooping them up and holding them is no problem.\u00a0 Maybe proximity would be a key here.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hey presto.\u00a0 Spirit likes to hop on \u00a0the bed and stare at Sparkle while she sleeps. He usually has to walk over me to do so.\u00a0 Intercepting him with a hug was business as usual.\u00a0 I soon found I had thought of an answer to a problem at work I had been \u00a0fretting over.\u00a0 Quality time spent with Jinx yielded similar results.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Oh yeah, I know what you\u2019re thinking.\u00a0 Instead of having two empathic felines who feed me solutions to my troubles, it\u2019s far more likely the cats are just stress busters.\u00a0 I pick one up, my blood pressure goes down and voila<\/i>! I suddenly know what to do tomorrow.\u00a0 Not because the cats did anything.\u00a0 Because I\u2019m calmer and can figure out my own solutions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In my heart of hearts I figure that\u2019s probably how it works.\u00a0 But what fun is that?\u00a0 Yours truly has been a Romantic since birth.\u00a0 (How can you be a wytch and not<\/i> be a Romantic, eh?)\u00a0 So I choose to believe my furry little fams are purring answers into my ear.\u00a0 It fits my worldview better.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And who\u2019s to say the process isn\u2019t magical after all?\u00a0 Reducing stress and tension sans<\/i> meds is a neat little trick in and of itself.\u00a0 If magick is the art of causing changes with our willpower, this is pretty darn close.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hey, it works for me.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(<\/i><\/span><\/span>Photo by Anusha Barwa<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/i><\/span><\/span>)<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

**<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Weyland Smith<\/b> is an eclectic solitaire wytch.\u00a0 He lives in New Jersey with his girlfriend Sparkle, their two feline familiars and a dog named Delinquent.\u00a0 Weyland\u2019s interests include writing, crystals and web weaving.\u00a0 Wey is also a firm believer in reincarnation\u2014in a previous life he was a village idiot. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That Old Familiar Feeling   They\u2019re a basic ingredient.\u00a0 When you\u2019re a witch you gotta have the robe.\u00a0 An altar.\u00a0 And a familiar or two. Now, full disclosure time here: I\u2019m no scholar or expert.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t seriously researched this topic, nor do I intend to.\u00a0 But I deal with familiars on a daily basis (or at least I believe I do) and I\u2019m happy to share my own experiences. I suppose familiars come in all genders and species or whatever, but I only deal with my boys Jinx and Spirit.\u00a0 They\u2019re a couple of stray cats my girlfriend Sparkle took in long before she and I met.\u00a0 We hit it off as soon as I stumbled through the door.\u00a0 (Spirit and I, that is.\u00a0 Jinx took a little longer.\u00a0 Sparkle is still making up her mind.)\u00a0 I considered the boys to be my fams right away, just as a matter of course.\u00a0 (Wytch plus cats equal familiars, right?\u00a0 Right?)\u00a0 Foresight not exactly being my forte, I originally had no plans to do anything magickal with them at all.\u00a0 But when I noticed those two furry little freeloaders weren\u2019t paying any rent money, I decided to put them to work. The question was how.\u00a0 Communication would be a major hurdle.\u00a0 Cats don\u2019t talk.\u00a0 (Try \u201cmeow\u201d.)\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if they think in words or symbols at all, although they seem to respond to their own names.\u00a0 (And some occasional profanity on my part.)\u00a0 So messages would have to be empathic, not psychic. What else can they do?\u00a0 Well, their divination prowess is limited.\u00a0 Did they warn us that our neighbor\u2019s house was going to burn down?\u00a0 Apparently water damage doesn\u2019t show up on their radar.\u00a0 Can they help find missing keys?\u00a0 Nope.\u00a0 How about stock market tips?\u00a0 Only on Sabrina.\u00a0 Size and the absence of opposable thumbs hobble their usefulness as servants or gofers.\u00a0 As if a cat would follow instructions anyway.\u00a0 They\u2019d have to be mute advisers. Fortunately they\u2019re both natural born snugglers.\u00a0 Scooping them up and holding them is no problem.\u00a0 Maybe proximity would be a key here. Hey presto.\u00a0 Spirit likes to hop on \u00a0the bed and stare at Sparkle while she sleeps. He usually has to walk over me to do so.\u00a0 Intercepting him with a hug was business as usual.\u00a0 I soon found I had thought of an answer to a problem at work I had been \u00a0fretting over.\u00a0 Quality time spent with Jinx yielded similar results. Oh yeah, I know what you\u2019re thinking.\u00a0 Instead of having two empathic felines who feed me solutions to my troubles, it\u2019s far more likely the cats are just stress busters.\u00a0 I pick one up, my blood pressure goes down and voila! I suddenly know what to do tomorrow.\u00a0 Not because the cats did anything.\u00a0 Because I\u2019m calmer and can figure out my own solutions. In my heart of hearts I figure that\u2019s probably how it works.\u00a0 But what fun is that?\u00a0 Yours truly has been a Romantic since birth.\u00a0 (How can you be a wytch and not be a Romantic, eh?)\u00a0 So I choose to believe my furry little fams are purring answers into my ear.\u00a0 It fits my worldview better. And who\u2019s to say the process isn\u2019t magical after all?\u00a0 Reducing stress and tension sans meds is a neat little trick in and of itself.\u00a0 If magick is the art of causing changes with our willpower, this is pretty darn close. Hey, it works for me.   (Photo by Anusha Barwa on Unsplash ) ** About the Author: Weyland Smith is an eclectic solitaire wytch.\u00a0 He lives in New Jersey with his girlfriend Sparkle, their two feline familiars and a dog named Delinquent.\u00a0 Weyland\u2019s interests include writing, crystals and web weaving.\u00a0 Wey is also a firm believer in reincarnation\u2014in a previous life he was a village idiot.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10004],"tags":[10771,11981,11943,10299,10065,10077,13061],"class_list":["post-28714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-monthly-columns","tag-animals","tag-communication","tag-familiars","tag-guide","tag-magic","tag-magick","tag-pets"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28714"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28744,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28714\/revisions\/28744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}