Familiars — Angels with Fur

Some of your pets are members of your god posse -- the team of guardian spirit entities who attend you on your life's mission — incarnated in animal form.

Borrowing from the Wiccan tradition, I refer to the elevated relationship between human and animal souls as a familiar.

In a very literal and tangible way, there are no relationships on earth that teach you more about the benevolent spirit entities who attend you in this life than your animal familiars. Not all your pets or domesticated animals are familiars -- the designation of familiar is very special and unique label.

The cat familiar is simply the most popular or well-known -- the traditional classic -- but this special spiritual relationship is not limited to members of pagan faiths or to any particular species of animal.

Here's what I personally believe about our familiars:

When you connect to an animal and she becomes your familiar, you elevate her spirit to the human sphere of consciousness. You know the ones you've done this with -- they stand out clearly among your pet/owner connections -- they become more human than animal. You willfully -- by your divine grace and choice -- lift the soul of your animal companion up to our level.

As a kid it always disturbed me that Christianity said animals did not have souls. There can be no doubt that if there are souls to be had, at all, period, by any living entity, then your familiars have souls -- a different kind of soul than a wild animal.

Like a spirit guide, ancestor, or guardian angel does for you, you become the sponsor or patron of this creature's spirit. Unlike a human child who emerges or breaks off from your physical body, but has an independent soul -- and so only requires a temporary dependence -- you bring your animal familiar into your spiritual body -- your aura. You lend a piece of your spiritual bubble to her -- she actually becomes part of your soul.

This is why you can't be technically alone with another human in the room, yet your familiar can be by your side, with you, in your most private physical space. When she leaves her physical body behind, she literally will not "go to heaven" because she is tethered to your aura and will remain with you, for good.

You are here to experience and learn how to love unconditionally. Your animal familiars are the most obvious, visible form of "guardian angels." They may even be the only kind of guardian that manifests a physical form you can easily perceive.

Our animal familiars are pure, unconditional love incarnate. They are the "sure things" in your god posse. Anyone -- no matter your physical appearance, personality, handicaps, abilities, talents, or human qualities -- can have this relationship. It transcends judgement.

The miracle you have manifested with your familiar in this lifetime is one of your A+ love lessons learned. You've already created it. It will never go away; it can't be reversed. She is on your Team for good. What she can continue to do for you one day will change -- but then she will become a small piece of your love -- your power -- that is not bound to the physical world.

There are certain tasks that my different guides and guardians are best equipped to handle for me. When I am asked to send my thoughts and prayers for someone's animal companions, I literally send my departed familiar Cera to deliver those messages. This is a kind of magic she is especially qualified to execute.

In honor of my familiar Cera's passing June 25, 2004, this week I'm exploring the phenomena surrounding the Animal Spirits in your God Posse with a brief series of articles:

• The passing of a pet -- a life loved to completion

• Euthanasia -- the flower of life blooming in reverse

• Shifting your perspective on the Angel of Death

My love for my familiar taught me so much about how the relationships with my guardian angels and spirit guides work... I can't dump the richness of familiars in one post. It has taken me three years to process the experience and control the emotions enough to revisit my fifteen year relationship with Cera and celebrate her as my "angel with fur."

Seek Wisdom -- Practice Love