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The Witches Familiar

The Witches Familiar

Monthly Archives: October 2014

Call of Duty

23 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by Val McDowall in Black Cat, enchanted forest, Familiar, Witches

≈ 3 Comments

Read from the beginning

My story begins in the summer of 2008 when I was living blissfully wild on a large acreage immediately to the south west of the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It was extremely hot as I remember. I’d been living life large, a fine country existence, gorging on prime field mouse steak and languishing in the strong Albertan sunshine. I amused myself daily exploring the grasslands and wooded areas in and around the lands of the Enoch Cree Nation. Life was good.

I’d had limited exposure to human folk up until that point in this life. The human folk from the old house would sporadically leave milk or water for me and the other feral cats and sometimes they’d treat us to leftover scraps of food. The only cloud on the horizon at the time was the gang of marauding coyotes but they were more of an irritation than threat to me. They would howl and yip throughout the night which, believe you me, becomes most tiresome when living at such close quarters.

I’d had a couple of confrontations with them on occasion, the young ones trying to make a name for themselves as they plundered what they could from the area. They never really bothered me, I was much too smart for them but they were a mischievous bunch. I’d heard many a worrying tale about their antics and raids, some of them shockingly violent and blood thirsty and so I remained wary of their presence.

003 - Buck Moon

It all started the week leading up to the full moon in July. The Buck Moon as it is known by many of the native bands in the area, where the new antlers of buck deer begin to push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur. I prefer to think of it as the Thunder Moon myself since it occurs exactly in the middle of the spectacular thunderstorm season we see here in the Prairies.

On that first night, I could not settle. I fretted and paced, I was inexplicably anxious beyond belief. My dreams were vivid and disturbing. I barely slept. Something was pricking at my subconscious frustratingly just beyond my comprehension. I realized on a deep level that the dreams were probably messages but at the time they did not make sense. I experienced a sensation of déjà vu as many of the images were strangely familiar.

As it turned out, I was receiving glimpses of my previous lives, long forgotten places, mistresses and deeds. My ancient knowledge was returning. It came to me as a battery of rapidly flickering images in my third eye with little time to absorb what I was seeing. I felt like all my senses were under attack. There were a lot of metaphysical and symbolic references. I knew full well what they were and what they meant. It provoked a sense of foreboding deep within me.

I began to see and hear things while I was awake and soon every shadow or sound on the acreage had me on edge. Someone or something was calling me and forcing me to remember my past. I saw otherworldly beings, elementals and spirits moving around me in my physical world. Some were going about their business seemingly oblivious to me, but most were vying for my attention. I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. If I couldn’t see them then perhaps I could convince myself that they weren’t really there. But it didn’t stop the roar of their voices.

I became physically exhausted and energetically drained very quickly but at the same time I had an insane urge to travel north. It plagued me during my waking hours. I could not eat. Every time I thought about it I’d wretch painfully, the contents of my stomach long since emptied. My heart raced, my stomach lurched, my head swam and my body ached horribly. I felt lost and empty and desperate. I was utterly tormented and miserable.

I realized then that I was experiencing a Restoration, something akin to the immortal Highlanders’ quickening except that the power was all mine. I’d heard about the phenomenon before but had never experienced it. I was receiving a massive and sudden cosmic download of all my previous power and mystical knowledge from past lives – except … except I was madder than hell! I had not signed up for this! I resisted with all my might and howled.

In previous lives, I was born into the familiar role and trained from a young age. I knew what to expect. It was all I’d ever known and wanted. I’d chosen each and every single one of those lives. In this life I’d opted for simplicity. To live a life as a normal feline as a kind of resting reward for all the pain and sacrifice I’d endured. Some blessed peace after assisting my many Mistresses with their magic, for the greater good or otherwise. That was certainly my understanding of my most recent negotiation with one of the Akashic Record Keepers. For once, I wanted to experience life as a simple creature.

It was unbearable. I was completely overwhelmed.

On the first night of the full moon, I finally succumbed. I allowed my feet to take me where they wanted to go. As soon as I started moving, an odd sense of relief flowed through me. I didn’t think, I couldn’t, I simply placed one weary foot in front of the other, allowing myself to be drawn hypnotically northwards until I came to the edge of the Enchanted Forest on the furthest western edge of Edmonton.

003 - Enchanted Forest

I’d heard stories of the forest but I’d never been there myself. In fact, I couldn’t think of anyone I knew who’d been there either. There were lots of terrifying and gory stories, each one worse than the last … the kind of stories that no-one returned from. The tales were so exaggerated and wild that I almost believed the forest didn’t exist. And yet here I stood, right on the edge of it. I shivered with dread.

I didn’t need the light of the full moon to know that the forest was teaming with movement. My senses were on high alert and my heart was hammering in my chest.

All around me I could hear rustling in the undergrowth and twigs snapping under many feet. I could hear the moans and groans of the other worldlies as well as the cries and sounds of the breathing forest creatures. Strange lights glowed and dimmed as they moved gracefully amongst the trees. Shimmering ghostly faces appeared and disappeared as if eyeing me up for ambush. Luminous eyes blinked from everywhere I dared look. And that smell … the rancid odour of death and decay reached my nostrils. Coyotes, fresh from scavenging a dead body. I felt my bowels loosen and my stomach clench.

Then suddenly the dense bushes directly in front of me parted and seemed to invite me in. The light from the full moon illuminated a narrow beaten path. As if in a trance, I was drawn hypnotically forward. I couldn’t stop myself. My hair stood on end as I heard an abrupt loud rustling noise and realized the bushes had closed in behind me. I flattened my ears against my head, sinking closer to the ground, my back legs coiled and ready to spring into action. As the adrenalin raced round my body, I was in full fight-or-flight mode. I was in the total grip of fear.

Holy shit!  I was completely surrounded …

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Many Lives, Many Mistresses

20 Monday Oct 2014

Posted by Val McDowall in Black Cat, Familiar, Witches

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Black Cat, High Priestess, Magic, Novel, Oracle of Delphi, Reincarnation, Witches Familiar

002 cropped-black eyes

Read from the beginning

They say cats have nine lives but I know this to be untrue for I’ve had so many more lives. In all but a few, where I perished before I was able to fulfil my true destiny, I have always been a witch’s familiar.

Known by various names in other times and different cultures, my mistresses have all been witches, shamans, high priestesses, sorceresses, oracles and the like. All have been practitioners of powerful magic.  I too have learned the craft over the eons, most often from necessity, but it has served me and my mistresses well.

I have always been highly revered, in some cases almost as a deity myself, particularly where my mistress was a servant of Bast. I enjoyed those lives the most, where my appearance mattered often as much as my supernatural abilities.  Human folk are superstitious by nature and I am only too happy to perpetuate this unease to my advantage.

Far from being demonic or evil as was thought in ancient times, I am considered to be a guardian angel, of a sort, to my mistresses. Contrary to outmoded beliefs about familiars, I have never met the Devil, nor do I intend to.  I am not and never have been in league with him nor was I ever ‘given’ as some pet demon to any of my wards to carry out their bidding. As if! I am a protector and I will do anything and everything in my power to protect what matters to me the most … my mistress.  I am a most loyal servant.

I have been fortunate for the most part throughout my numerous lives. I’m an old soul, most ancient in fact.  I’ve negotiated all my sacred contracts through my otherworldly knowledge and special skills.  Of course, the fact that I have contacts in high places, so to speak, hasn’t hurt either.  I am privileged to have reincarnated into each of my lives looking exactly as I do now.  There are few among us who can say that.

The wisdom I have accumulated and carried from life to life has been extremely valuable to each of the mistresses I have served. It’s saved lives on many an occasion including my own, for which I am immensely grateful.  My mistresses have all been powerful women.  I am a coveted black cat and a much in demand familiar.  I have been known by many names throughout my time but my real name is Zephyr, like the exotic lily.  I like to pronounce it with panache so it rolls off my tongue as Ziffeeerrr as I purr.  In ancient Greek my name means ‘West Wind’ and that’s exactly how my name came to be.

Quite literally, I was blown onto the steps on the east side of the Temple of Apollo and found by a coven member serving the Pythia at the time. That was in ancient Greece as I’m sure you’ve realized, approximately 1229 BC by your methods of keeping time.

0002 Oracle of Delphi by John Collier
A strange and sudden wind had whipped up mysteriously that day outside the city, conjured by the Oracle of Delphi herself.  It spun into a tight twisting column, lifting me off the ground, sweeping me westwards through the Valley of Phocis and taking me on a journey I’ll never forget.  The High Priestess was determined to have me and, as I soon discovered, her wishes were never refused or left unfulfilled.  She’d just taken her place at the temple due to the demise of the previous Oracle.  Her real name was Aleris but none dared ever speak it.  She was only ever referred to by her title as the Pythia.  That was not my first life but it is one of significance that I remember.  I was originally born on the banks of the River Nile in Egypt an age or two before that.

On many a lifetime’s journey I have crossed paths with the same soul in another Mistress’s body. I delight when that happens.  It’s as if no time has passed and we can often pick up where we left off, old friends reunited on a shared spiritual path.  I always recognize their souls but they don’t necessarily recognize mine, at least not at first.

And so it was the case in this life when I first met my current Mistress although it wasn’t she who summoned me to duty. No.  It was a much more complicated affair than that.  This is the first lifetime I have experienced such frustration and reluctance … from me I should I say, not from my ward.

They say you have to learn to move forward. Hmmphhh, I thought I knew so much already, what could I possibly need or learn from her?

A surprising amount as I was about to find out …

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Letting the Cat Out of the Bag

16 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by Val McDowall in Black Cat, Familiar, Witches

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Black Cat, Magic, Novel, Witches Familiar

 

Ever since our little black cat turned up on the doorstep in the summer of 2008 I’ve turned into that crazy cat lady!

She’s quite literally our little fur baby and the centre of our world here in Canada.  She captured our hearts as well as my imagination with her bright golden eyes and her glossy black fur.  A proper witch’s cat if ever there was one.

Years ago, when we were planning our emigration from Scotland, we’d sit on the Prom in Kirkcaldy, looking out to sea.  We drank our coffee, ate our chip butties and dreamed of what our new life in Edmonton would look like.

On one such day, I announced to my husband that I wanted a cat.  Not just any old cat, specifically a black one.  Leaving all our family behind in Scotland, I thought it would be nice to put a little ‘heart’ into our new home wherever that might be.  Pets can do that for you.

The Universe must have been listening for, 8 months after our move, it delivered a beautiful black stray cat.  I was stunned.  And delighted!  She turned up on our doorstep that first summer and refused to leave, determined to live with us and who were we to turn away such a cute house guest?  I’ve always been philosophical about life and when animals ‘find’ you, I tend to take note.

Nowadays, I can’t imagine not having Sheba.  I’ve no idea what her history is, where she came from or what she might have seen.  She’s lost the tips of both ears to the bitter Albertan winters and looks more like a cuddly black teddy bear than a cat.  She regales us with stories constantly although we have no idea what she is saying.  She’s such a chatty wee thing – Bagpipes really would have been a much more apt name for her.

I’ve often wondered what her story is.  Where did she come from, what has she been through and most importantly, why did she turn up?  It doesn’t take much to fire my imagination.

What if she was magical?  I asked myself.  Well, of course she is, aren’t all cats?  What exactly does she get up to when we’re not around or fast asleep?  What if we were completely oblivious to the duality of her secret life?

Time to find out what’s really been going on …

I hope you enjoy my rambling fantasy and, if you feel so inclined, will come back and visit me again soon.

Thank you!

Val

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