MAT AURYN

Do you work with a familiar spirit?  The familiar spirit is a complex subject. When most people think of the concept of the witch’s familiar, they tend to think of pets that serve as assistants.  This concept is traced back to the witch trial transcripts, where witches allegedly had familiars - most commonly a dog or a cat - but the idea behind this, according to the transcripts, is that it was a special spirit that possessed the dog or cat, and that spirit didn’t necessarily need a physical vessel.  The closest idea, though not quite, to the familiar spirit is that of spirit guides, a personal daimon, a faery bride, or a totemic animal (in the traditional Ojibwe tribe sense, not the modern appropriation of it), and the fetch of Irish folklore. Yet, the familiar spirit wasn’t any of these things, yet similar to all of them.  Today, the concept of the familiar spirit is used by witches when they have a connection to a spirit so strongly that the bond is like being family (hence the name.) I wrote an article about looking at other associated spirits and from there looking at how the familiar differs to try to define it clearly.  “Familiar spirits are also often not static in their forms and appearances. They can appear in various guises, shapeshift, and can also appear in chimeric form. It is common for them to take a predominant form—usually that of an animal—but this is more of a way of interacting, a mask or costume they appear in to interact with the Witch.” - Mat Auryn “Understanding Familiar Spirits For What They Aren’t”  The Witches' Almanac: Issue 38, Spring 2019 to Spring 2020  Image Credit: @joshua_bloodfire Book: The Witches' Almanac Issue 38: Familiars (@thewitchesalmanac)

From Nostradamus to John Dee. From Marie Anne Lenormand to Marie Laveau. From Rasputin to Edgar Cayce. From the Pythia of Delphi to Mother Shipton.  You will find that the most famous names associated with predictions, visions, and psychic ability throughout history had something similar in common despite how diverse they were as individuals; they were all involved in various forms of mysticism, occultism, esoteric disciplines, and/or magickal orders, traditions, and religions.  “Through the years of my deep immersion within both the psychic and magickal worlds, I began seeing how these two abilities not only work together but also how greatly they complement and strengthen one another. You can use magick to enhance your psychic ability, and you can use psychic ability to enhance your magick. I have sought out some of the most prominent and well-respected teachers of magick and psychic ability to study with through the years, and this has only strengthened my conclusion that they’re not merely intertwined—they are two halves of one whole.” - Mat Auryn Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation  Grab a copy of Psychic Witch in kindle, audible, paperback or signed paperback at www.matauryn.com/socials  Image Credit: Asta Kalausyte

One of the most common road blocks with psychics is that they project their own issues, assumptions, and prejudices onto others. I’m often asked how to tell if something is a genuine psychic hit or whether it’s a projection. My answer is simple: meditation. Through a regular meditation practice we not only become more receptive, we learn about our own internal mental processes and how to differentiate between the two.  “By meditating, we learn how to silence our mind. Think of your mind as if it were a pond. If the pond is murky, we can’t see anything beyond its surface. Through meditation, we clear this pond. When the pond is crystal clear, we can see both the bottom of the pond and anything that is reflecting upon the water’s surface. We can then differentiate between what is being reflected in it and what is deep within it. The pond reflects without judgment or bias when completely clear. It is through this clarity that we can accurately begin receiving psychic impressions with the least amount of interference.” - Mat Auryn Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation  Grab a copy of Psychic Witch in kindle, audible, paperback or signed paperback at www.matauryn.com/socials  Image Credit: Nathan Dumlao

“Christopher, you reawakened my passion for witchcraft and psychic ability, and your work has brought it to the next level for me. In many ways, this book is my love letter to The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, a book that completely changed my personal practice in profound ways. Despite being a living occult encyclopedia, you’re able to take very complex topics and break them down in an easy-to-understand manner to ensure your readers and students understand the concepts. Your ability to stay humble and grounded are qualities that I’m continually striving for. You have been a spiritual role model, a mentor, a friend, and an older brother, and I am a better person and a better witch because of it. The friendship and guidance that you provided during the writing of this book is priceless. Xoxotl forever!” - Mat Auryn “Dedication” Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation  Books: The Inner Temple of Witchcraft by @christopherpenczak & Psychic Witch Image Credit: @pricklypoppywitch Grab a copy of Psychic Witch in kindle, audible, paperback or signed paperback at www.matauryn.com/socials

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