The concept of the
familiar has been a vital component of various cultures throughout man's history. The Romans, for example, believed that each household was protected by a familiar whose job it was to keep the family from harm, and
shamans and medicine men of various tribal traditions have long honored the spirits of animals for their wisdom and assistance in magickal workings. Yet despite these positive influences, when we think of a familiar the most common image is that of the evil witch with her fearsome-looking black cat. This archetype, straight from the fairytales of our childhood, has its roots in the fear and superstition of the Dark Ages, and it bears scant resemblance to the modern-day familiar.
With the infamous
witch trials of the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods came an obsession with familiars-those hellish imps that took the forms of animals to assist witches in their evil deeds. It was believed that these imps were given as gifts from Satan to his faithful followers. The arrangement seems to have been a lucrative one for the devil, as when an imp wasn't busy inciting the witch to greater evil, it was reporting back to its master on the comings and goings of his servant. It became common knowledge that witches often took the form of their familiars to travel unnoticed to their unholy sabbats, and that as a reward, they were given drops of the witch's blood. At the witch trials, evidence for consorting with the devil oftentimes included accounts of the accused keeping company with an animal, and many a lonely old woman was executed as a witch because of her affection for her pet.
It's interesting to note that, while witches' familiars were considered evil during this period, the harnessing of spirits was acceptable in certain circumstances. Indeed, magicians often sold as talismans small vials or trinkets in which they claimed to have entrapped a spirit that would ensure the buyer's good fortune. It seems that consorting with spirits was permissible as long as the spirits were considered to be benevolent.
While the familiar could take any animal form, right down to the smallest spider, the creature whose reputation suffered most from its role as the witch's evil accomplice was, of course, the cat. This association may have come about because cats were plentiful and were often kept as pets to help control the rodent population, an ever-present problem due to the lack of sanitation. Black cats were especially targeted as familiars because the color black was associated with the powers of darkness.
