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Friday, November 4, 2011

How to Create a Familiar Spirit

Creating a familiar spirit is a more advanced technique for creating a spirit servant than I
wrote about in my post Creat a Spirit Servant with Your Own Psychic Energy. A familiar spirit
is more sentient and long-lasting that a psi-ball spirit servant and should be able to handle
more complex tasks. However, creating a familiar spirit is not that much more complicated
than creating a psi-ball spirit servant.

The first step is to decide on a name for the familiar spirit. You can use any name you like,
but a name based on the familiar spirit's purpose seems to work best. Some examples of
this type of name might be Moneybringer, Guardian, or Healall.

Then, use the name to come up with a sigil that binds the familiar spirit. My own preference
is to use a planetary kamea or a sigil wheel to make sigils, but any method of producing a
sigil will work.

The next step is to create some sort of physical object with which to contain the familiar
spirit when it is not out doing work. This object will also serve as the physical receptacle of
libations. You can get as simple or creative as you'd like. I just take a small disk of wood,
carve the sigil and name onto the disk, paint it, and generally try to make it look "magical."

The next step is to decide what you want your familiar spirit to "look" like, even though it will
only exist on the astral. I just draw something simple to aid my visualization during the
"incubation" period. If you're a fairly good artist, you could even take your drawing, put it in a
frame, and use that to contain the familiar spirit instead of a wooden disk. If you decide to
do this, write the name underneath the drawing and draw the sigil on the back. You won't be
able to see the sigil, so make another copy to use when you summon your familiar spirit.

Next, design a ritual for creating the familiar spirit within the disk or depiction of it. Any
opening ceremony that you use for spell work or summoning probably can be used this, too.
When you are ready to begin creating the familiar spirit, trace its sigil in the air in front of you
while pronouncing its name three times. Visualize the appearance of the entity or stare at its
deptiction if you prefer. Continue with the visualization for about fifteen minutes. You may
also want to pour on it libations of milk, egg whites, or blood. If you begin to lose focus
during visualization, repeat the sigil tracing and name pronounciation part of the ritual and
keep going.
Repeat this procedure daily until you can feel that the entity is becoming more and more real
on the astral level. The initial feeding and preparation is called an incubation period.
Incubating your familiar spirit gives you more of a window for error and removes a lot of
pressure to do everything exactly right on the first try. To start with, allow a week to incubate
your familiar spirit before giving it a task.

If you banish before magical work, make sure to remove the disk or depiction from the room
before banishing during the incubation period. You will banish the developing familiar spirit.
After sending it out on a task, however, using a banishing ceremony can act to give it a little
push in case it wants to hang around instead of doing work.

After the incubation period, you can command the familiar spirit to do a task for you. Below
is a sample of what you might say the time of summoning. This charge to the spirit has not
been handed down by King Solomon, Merlin, or anyone like that, so feel free to revise the
wording if you need to. You may want to point a ritual dagger or wand at the disk or
depiction for emphasis:

Hear me now _____________! I, who created you from the astral substance, charge
you to rise from the disk/depiction bearing your sigil and name. I, who created you
on the astral plane for the sole purpose of working my will upon this plane,
command you now to hear and fulfill this task. I, who feed and fuel your very
existence, command you to ________________. Fulfilling this and all tasks I give you
is your duty and sole justification for having been created. Obey now with full
cooperation and faithfully serve your lord/lady who created you and who will
destroy you if you are disobedient.

The task should be as simply and as clearly stated as possible - ideally a short, declarative
sentence. This charge is more heavy-handed than what I would recommend using for an
independent spirit that you didn't create yourself. However, this spirit is yours and was
created to do your will. It's also very simple-minded, so the strong, direct approach is
needed.

Come up with a "calling back" ritual to use once the task is done. That's normally when you
should feed your familiar spirit. If you send it out on long tasks such as protection of
another person or menacing, be sure to call it back at least once a week to feed it. If your
familiar spirit fails consistently to complete tasks, make good on the threat to destroy it by
burning the disk or depiction and thoroughly banishing it.

If you want to know more about creating familiar spirits, the two best books available are
Creating Magickal Entities: A Complete Guide to Entity Creation by David Michael
Cunningham, Taylor Ellwood, and T. Amanda R. Wagener and Familiar Spirits: A Practical
Guide for Witches & Magicians by Donald Tyson. Each book has ideas and methods not
contained in the other, so if you're really interested in this area of magic, you will want to get
both books.

Caitlin MacKenna at Friday, November 04, 2011

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32 comments:

Anonymous January 16, 2012 at 8:10 PM

could you answer me where does cunningham derive his associations to numbers, because I
don't find any such system of correspondences related to pythagorean system and is just time
confusing ;)
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna January 17, 2012 at 3:10 PM

It's been awhile since I read the book, and I don't have a copy handy, but I'm sure it's kabbalistic.
That's the system of correspondences most ceremonial magicians use. Crowley's 777 has the
most complete listing.
Reply

Anonymous January 22, 2012 at 6:16 AM

many thanks! :)
Reply

Themomentwhen... May 12, 2014 at 12:03 AM

So how do I feed it?
Reply

Replies

Unknown October 9, 2015 at 3:12 AM

With your energy and any form of your escence . Seeing as it was created from you
,that is what it would need to thrive . Any form of you energy would work , may that be a
drop of blood for spirit of semen for sexual energy also known as life energy . Be
creative ,theres no exact how to do anything in life.

Reply

Caitlin MacKenna May 14, 2014 at 11:14 AM

You can burn a candle for it, set out a glass of water or an alcoholic beverage, or a plate of food.
It depends of the nature of the spirit.
Reply

prateek October 11, 2014 at 6:05 AM

Will it contain a real spirit
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna October 11, 2014 at 6:36 AM

A spirit is a spirit, but it takes time for spirits to learn how to do work and gain power.
Reply

Anonymous November 27, 2014 at 2:35 PM

I don't have any knowledge of having a familiar or companion, could you explain to me how to
obtain one and use the planetary table thing.
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna November 28, 2014 at 6:18 AM

The article tells you how to obtain one. I can't explain how to use a planetary kamea or sigil wheel
in a comment. If you want to go into the subject more deeply, the two books I mentioned are the
best resources.
Reply

Replies

James Catlin March 29, 2015 at 12:18 PM

You should also check out "the Magician's Companion"

Reply

Anonymous November 28, 2014 at 11:52 PM

alright thanks :)
Reply

Serenity February 28, 2015 at 12:14 PM

Will this work? In the past, I have tired other methods which don't work.
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna March 1, 2015 at 7:20 AM

Yes, this method works.
Reply
Caitlin MacKenna March 30, 2015 at 6:12 AM
"The Magician's Companion" is a good reference, but not wholly devoted to creating familiars as
the books I mentioned are.
Reply

Anonymous June 6, 2015 at 4:52 PM

I have used a similiar method and would try this one as well. I'm curious to know why milk or egg
whites? Is this meant to be an offering?
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna June 9, 2015 at 6:12 AM

They contain life force, so they help enliven the familiar.
Reply

Brennan Fraser July 23, 2015 at 7:41 PM

Is there any limit to what your familiar can or can't do?
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna July 24, 2015 at 12:05 PM

Theoretically, not, but keep in mind that a master of all trades is a master of none. Also, it takes
time for a spirit to develop its abilities. The advantage, though, is that a familiar will be devoted to
you and try its best to carry out its assigned tasks. Other spirits may not be so amenable. They
may have to be bargained with to get their assistance.
Reply

Anonymous July 31, 2015 at 6:15 AM

What do you feed you famaliar Spirit?
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna July 31, 2015 at 5:10 PM

Asked and answered.
Reply

Anonymous August 9, 2015 at 1:34 PM

Is there any time a familiar spirit becomes visual besides on the astral field .
Reply
Caitlin MacKenna August 9, 2015 at 3:14 PM
Possible, but not likely.
Reply

colin tremblett August 30, 2015 at 9:13 PM

you make it sound like a wooden disk or drawing is the only place for the familiar to rest. would
anything else work? also, do i need to do a drawing?
Reply

colin tremblett August 30, 2015 at 9:14 PM

can i use any physical object to contain my familiar? also, do i need to draw what it looks like?
Reply

Anonymous September 1, 2015 at 7:43 PM

Is there anyway that I could possibly use paper for the sigil?
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna September 10, 2015 at 3:03 PM

No, I don't make it sound as if a wooden disk is the only thing you can use. Instead I say that you
can be as creative as you want.
Reply

Unknown October 31, 2015 at 7:09 PM

umm, can anyone give some more information on the banishing part please? :3
Reply

Anonymous December 1, 2015 at 6:14 AM

I tried this I feel like I skipped a couple steps but after 2 days I fell asleep after jokingly calling to
the spirit telling it to protect me and sleep near me. I fell asleep for 5 min and dreamt I was still in
bed and some cat looking thing was near me I tried to touch it but it moved behind me but still
looked at me I was a bit scares, I was also disappointed I wanted it to look like a dog not a tiny
cat. Did I accomplish something I'm confused
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna December 3, 2015 at 6:53 AM

 You've pretty well answered your own question. You didn't follow the instruction, and you fell
asleep and dreamt.
Reply

THE_ODDEST ! December 8, 2015 at 10:55 PM

Have you successfully done this? Also will I be able to see it and communicate with it?
Reply

Caitlin MacKenna December 10, 2015 at 4:39 PM

Of course, I have done this. It's Magic 101. You can communicate with it, but whether you can see
it will depend on how well-developed your astral senses are.
Reply

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About Me

Caitlin MacKenna
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I am originally from Chicago but moved to sunny Florida after graduating from the
University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in physical therapy. I am also an herbalist and
Reiki Master. I work as a physical therapist.
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