Guest Author: Juliet Blackwell + Giveaway

Juliet Blackwell, author of A Cast-Off Coven, has been kind enough to stop by Reading with Tequila to tell us about witches' familiars?

Witches’ Familiars

Thanks, Jennifer, for having me as a guest on Reading with Tequila! But I’ve got just one question – how did you know I was such a fan of tequila?

I guess we all need inspiration from time to time…even witches.

If you’re a really lucky witch, your inspiration might also be your beloved pet. Traditionally, a witch’s familiar is a companion animal thought to enhance and support a witch’s magical powers. Because animals are considered closer to other spiritual realms than are humans, it is believed familiars can assist their witches in communicating with spirits on other planes.

A black cat is the typical image that pops into one’s mind when thinking of a witch’s familiar. But felines aren’t the only candidates: pigs, toads, birds, dogs, and even mythical creatures such as unicorns are also common. Interestingly, the concept of companion animals assisting their magical masters is not unique to Europe: in Mexico and Central America, the concept of the nagual (pronounced na-wall) remains powerful. The nagual is like an animal alter ego, and is most often nocturnal: the owl, the toad, the coyote. Some believe that when one dreams, one’s nagual is traipsing about on adventures.

The protagonist of my Witchcraft Mystery Series, Lily Ivory, is a lonely, misfit witch who, upon arriving in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, realizes she has finally found a place where she feels at home. Her whole life, Lily has been such a loner that she did not even have a familiar. Within weeks of opening her vintage clothing shop, Aunt Cora’s Closet, Lily is visited by a powerful – and gorgeous—male witch named Aidan, who brings her a present: Oscar.

The familiar Aidan foists upon Lily is no cat. Instead, Oscar is a talkative, ever-hungry, shape-shifting critter of indeterminate origins:

I whirled around to find a misshapen creature perched, gargoyle-like, atop an antique walnut jewelry display case. He was small and bent, with a muscular body and scaly skin, a large head, a snout-like nose and mouth, and outsized ears like a bat’s. His fingers were long and human-like, surprisingly graceful, but his enormous feet had three toes and long talons. His voice was deep and gravelly.

“I’m your new familiar,” it said.

“I’m afraid not,” I said. “I’m a solo act. I don’t need a familiar.”

“You’re a witch, aintcha? Ya gotta have a familiar.”

“Says who?”

“It’s in the handbook.”

“There is no handbook. Besides, I’m allergic to cats.”

“I’m no cat.”

“So I’ve noticed. But I’m probably allergic to…creatures such as yourself, too. Besides, I can’t have a goblin in the shop.”

“I’m not exactly a goblin.”

“Gnome, then.”

“Not really a gnome, either….”

“Whatever you are, you’ll scare away customers.”

“Howzabout a pig?”

“A pig?”

With a sudden twist of his scrawny shoulders, he transformed himself into a miniature Vietnamese pot-bellied pig.

(Interesting factoid: after I had decided to name Lily’s fictional familiar “Oscar”, my elderly dog passed away and a neighbor’s green-eyed black cat decided to adopt me, wooing me with his feline ways while I tried to write. The wily critter’s name? “Oscar”.)

When I first told my editor that I wanted Lily’s familiar to be a creature capable of shape-shifting into a miniature potbellied pig, rather than a traditional cat, she thought I was nuts. But she relented after I gave her a little history of familiars.

Pigs have been identified as powerful witches’ companions all over the world. They’re smart, live close to homes in traditional villages, and “go wild” easily even if raised in captivity. Also, pigs “root” in the earth, turning over dirt, rocks, and sod to find their treasures in the fertile soil. According to Judika Illes’ Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, root-working is an ancient form of magic associated with great botanical knowledge: “The term ‘root-worker’…implies power and knowledge and a special relationship with Earth and her protective spirits…once upon a time, it was not considered safe to disturb the Earth, unless one knew proper rituals and had received permission to dig.”

Lily Ivory is gifted in the use of earth magic: she brews potions, specializes in the magical and healing powers of botanicals, and often buries her charms until they mature. Oscar’s mere presence helps Lily with the fluidity of her spells, to maintain her intention, and to slip through the spiritual portals to reach her guardian spirit. Besides, in his talkative goblin-like form, he’s also a great sounding board, companion, and comic relief.

Oscar’s so much fun, in fact, it makes this author rather wistful, wishing I had a familiar of my own….but then again, the neighbor’s cat would like to remind me that I do have an awfully cute Oscar at hand.

About the Author

Juliet Blackwell is the pseudonym for a mystery author who, as Hailey Lind (together with her sister), wrote the Art Lover’s Mystery Series--including the Agatha-nominated Feint of Art and the IMBA bestsellers Shooting Gallery and Brush with Death. Juliet’s Witchcraft Mystery series, featuring natural witch Lily Ivory and her shape-shifting familiar, Oscar, began with Secondhand Spirits, July 2009; A Cast-off Coven will be released June 1, 2010. If Walls Could Talk, the first in the Haunted Home Renovation series, will be released December, 2010.

A former anthropologist, social worker, and historic home renovator, Juliet has worked in Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Italy, the Philippines, and France, and is now a painter in Oakland, California. She was two-time president of Northern California Sisters in Crime.

Juliet loves getting mail! Find her at www.julietblackwell.net, or join her on Twitter, @julietblackwell, and Facebook fan pages for Juliet Blackwell and Hailey Lind

About the Book

Lily Ivory is not your average witch. She runs a vintage clothing store called Aunt Cora's Closet and has the magical ability to sense vibrations of the past from clothing and jewelry. When students are spooked at the San Francisco School for the Arts, Lily is called in to search for paranormal activity. She finds a dead body and a closet full of old clothes with some very bad vibes. 

Reading with Tequila's review of the first Witchcraft Mystery, Secondhand Spirits

 Giveaway

Juliet has generously offered to give one luck reader a SIGNED copy of Secondhand Spirits AND A Cast-Off Coven.

To enter, leave a comment for Juliet with the animal you would want as a familiar. Be sure to leave your email address in case you win!

 

Deadline for entry is Tuesday, June 1st at 11:59pm EST. US and Canada only.