#spirit family

[atheneum-of-you]

Khaire!

I was wondering how finding spirit companions worked from you/a rundown on how you view them and what they are!

Also congrats on priestess hood! It sounds like you’re having lots of fun!

Blessed be!

Khaire friend! Thank you for your congratulations and of course! I actually haven't updated my spirit companions/family list in a bit, and we have a few new faces!

My family is a bit of a ragtag group, honestly. 2 of them found homes with me with the passing of one of my dearest friends, the others approached me themselves with the help of 2 very very trusted conjurers, and the unadded friends were conjured by me personally!

There's a pretty wide range of them in terms of "species" (almost all humanoid except Clad who's...special) but they all have different jobs within the family including maintaining the wards (I'm forgetful and almost never renew them so they do it for me), helping me with my school studies, helping run my business, grounding the household, keeping any invited spirits in check, etc. That said, they don't always work and most of the time they're hanging out with me or with each other or doing their own thing (especially Lars who's got a very cat-like personality).

When it comes to their wellbeing and happiness I like to give them offerings and they feed on whatever they need to. Whether that's my energy, offerings of my food and drinks, 2 of them eveb recieve blood offerings when I'm able (animal blood from meat when I can or my own in a safe way).

Truly, they're not different than physical people apart from those things, though. They all have varying personalities and likes and dislikes and enjoy their own activities.

I hope this answered your questions!

[ravensmoonlitmagick]

When I speak to my spirit family aka my spirit companions in the morning I light these 3 candles and burn incense. It’s our little ritual to get the day started as we go over tasks for the day and what we wish to accomplish. While also sharing gratitude for them being with me another day and for all their love and support. I try to make our morning conversations as special as possible. And always tell them good morning when I first wake up. What do you do with your spirit family that grow your bond? And to show them love and appreciation? Thanks for sharing!

[crazycatsiren]

Inviting all my beloved spirits to come over and hang out on this shortest day of the year. The house is warm, it's a quiet and relaxing night.

[exception-witch-proves-the-rule]

Some Thoughts on Large vs Small Spirit Families

Back in the day I used to see a lot of people claiming that “if you work with a large number of spirits you don’t actually care about them” or “you can’t just collect spirits” or “you shouldn’t have more than x amount” and whatnot. I see less of that nowadays, but that may be due to lessened activity in Witchblr (or just that I’m not digging around as much).

Anyways, here’s my two cents as someone who works with spirits

This is all highly dependent on context and the intent behind said relationships. I don’t think any sort of hard rule of “no more than x spirits” can ever apply unilaterally. But it is very possible to get in over your head with these things, or to be unfair/unintentionally harmful in these types of relationships. Some things to consider:

What kind of beings are you working with? Are these creatures that are 100% fully and totally dependent on you to exist or thrive? The more active a presence you or the spirit need to be in the other’s existence, obviously the fewer beings you should involve yourself with. Don’t wanna spread yourself too thin or accidentally drop your promised obligations.

What is the purpose of this relationship? Is it strictly business – you provide offerings in exchange for magical assistance? Is there a mentor-student dynamic between the two of you? Is it a romantic involvement? Are you just buddies that chill over drinks now and then? Or is this a spirit you just met in passing and don’t currently have any intention of contacting again? Your level of commitment to a spirit is a key factor in how many you should involve yourself with. Make sure there’s fair reciprocation on both sides and that all parties involved feel they are getting what they want out of this relationship.

To put these concepts into practice –

The majority of the beings I work with are living entities from other realms. Essentially, they are communicating with me, astral traveling to me, or using bilocation in the same way that we in this realm would astral travel to other worlds. So that means that most of these beings have other, physical lives to attend to. They might have jobs, family, or other obligations. They also, most importantly, are having their physical needs met in their home realm. I can offer them food, drinks, energy, or other gifts in this realm, but these beings do not require them from me to survive.

So in cases like these, I don’t need to be paying constant attention to each and every being. We check in regularly, much like how you might visit a friend once or twice a month. Sometimes we plan more in-depth activities on a schedule, but that’s on an individual basis. Amongst these beings, there are a small amount that may hang around me much more frequently, but that’s due to a lack of obligations in their home realm.

On the flip side of things, some practitioners may want to only work with one or two beings, but that’s either purely personal preference (nothing wrong with that!) or because their level of involvement with said beings is enough that adding any more to the group would be unfair or would complicate things. Maybe these beings do require daily upkeep in order to thrive, or feel uncomfortable with too many others being around/overcrowded environments. Just like with our physical friends in this world, some may enjoy large chaotic gatherings while others want an intimate get-together and still others may enjoy either depending on context.

It IS important to note that there are people out there who go about all this in a less-that-desirable way. What sort of attitude do they have about their companions? Are they referred to more as a collectible, like a beanie baby? Or are they treated like a living, breathing person with feelings? It’s fairly easy to spot the red flags if you know what to look for. I personally am wary of anyone who talks about their spirit families in a very transient, shallow sort of way, as if they are looking more to show off what wild and unique creatures they have befriended, rather than just talking about these beings like one would tell a story about a friend/coworker/teacher.

Anyhow, this is a little more rambling than I originally intended, but –

TL;DR no one but you can decide how small or large your spirit family “should” be, and as long as everyone involved is benefitting/having their end of any bargain upheld, that’s all that matters. Don’t gatekeep just because someone’s practice is different than yours; if no one is being hurt or unjustly sidelined then it’s not your business. Have fun out there everyone!

[kenzxo111]

new post!! If you wanna learn about deities, guides, or your ancestors I highly suggest checking out my patreon!!

[erenyeagerenthusiast]

Reminds me of my spirit siblings <3

Siblings by Chris White

[mishmoshfroggo]

Rambles

I was raised Christian... walked that path many years. However I was very interested in other deities and witchcraft. I went through rough things and felt like God wasn't answering. It broke me. I decided "I'm going after what I'm interested in!" I began worshipping other deities and got into witchcraft. For three years, I relished it. I even began working with Lucifer. Then, I went to my childhood church and felt like God talked to me. I was convinced I'd been in sin, that I needed to repent, ya da ya da. I donated majority of the items associated with paganism and witchcraft. [Found more things later that I burned.] Was two years back in Christianity... I was high on this renewed relationship. But I still felt the pull, the call of the occult.

Come October, Lucifer pulled me back. But this time, it wasn't about other deities. It was embracing my "dark" side. I'm seeking to work with demons and go further with astral travel. I want to get into necromancy and vampirism (spiritual). I feel power in me again.

Interestingly, my family has at least two witches we know of [so a heritage thing kinda]. My twin also practices so it's nice to connect with her on it once more. I even had a spiritual companion return, and new ones come along.

I believe in dragons, and godspousing, and being a bad bitch!

[felucians]

Nex Benedict's death wasn't just for being transgender, it was for being native too. 2 Spirits are revered in many native cultures and it is a native-specific identity. This wasn't just a hate crime against trans & NB individuals, this was also a hate crime against Natives of Turtle Island.

You cannot separate Nex's trans identity from their native identity - this is a case of MMIWG2S (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2 Spirits).

Native children being killed at school is nothing new, so it's equally important to talk about Nex's native identity and being intersectional, this is a devastating tragedy for indigenous people, the queer community & especially those of us who are both indigenous and queer.

May Nex rest in peace 🪶

[blueboybot]

Oh My God Another One

Danny: *laughing like a maniac after discovering a new power he could use to torment Vlad*

*Batfam arriving at the scene*

Danny, a bit high on chemicals: HI DAD! :D

Batman: ?!?!?

Red Hood: God not another one.

Red Robin: Black hair and blue eyes combo number four, now with meta powers.

Robin: Father your knowledge of basic intamacy practices needs to be revisited.

Batman: !?!?!?!?!?

Nightwing: Jeez B, don't you have enough already?

Stephanie: Right! It's just getting ridiculous at this point old man, pack it up!

Duke: He just blew up that construction site.

Cass: New brother.

Batman: ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!

[vmkhoneyy]

I think if I could be the kind stranger in someone’s memory, that’d be enough.

[clockwayswrites]

5 Times the JL Learned Batman was Married and the 1 Time They Met the Spouse.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Four.

Clark stood up and positioned himself between the door and his injured teammate before it even opened, though not much before. His own delayed reaction made sense when it opened to show one of Batman’s teammates. While for the longest the League had thought Batman ‘worked alone’, they were now aware of there being a variety of heroes in Gotham, even if they were far from sure how many there might be or who those heroes were.

Nightingale was a notable exception what with his influence on the newest generation of heroes.

The young man flashed Clark a cheery smile and a little two finger wave. The motion almost distracting with the bright blue that marked the fingers.

“Hey Supes, I got notified that B was laid up.”

Clark paused. “You did?”

“Yep, I’m down as B’s emergency contact for Justice League matters. Feel free to confirm it if you want,” Nightingale said and leaned against the door frame with an easy shrug. “That’s exactly the sort of paranoia that B would approve of.”

It really was was, Clark thought. He grabbed the tablet that he had been using and pulled up Batman’s personnel file. It was a sparse file, of course, but clear as day Nightingale listed was next to ‘emergency contact’. Under his name as an alternative was ‘Condor’.

“Who’s Condor?”

“Me,” rumbled the man who stepped up behind Nightingale. He wasn’t as tall as the other hero, but he was broad. His lower face was covered in some sort of sleek gas mask, though Clark’s focus was pulled to the red lenses of the domino mask.

He certainly made for an intimidating figure.

Nightingale rolled his eyes. “Dramatic.”

Condor just shrugged. “I’m here to be the muscle.”

Clark’s brow furrowed. “For… what?”

“Oh, we’re taking B home!” Nightingale, well, chirped and pushed himself off the doorway.

Clark stepped in the way. “Batman needs to stay under medical supervision.”

“We know. We’re taking him to the Batcave. There’s a full medical set up there and we already have Batman’s personal doctor on hand to look him over,” Nightingale said as he smoothly edged his way around Clark. “Not that we don’t think you all have done your best! Just that way we’ll have his status for our files and he can recover at home.”

“Besides, you don’t want you-know-who to get wind that B is laid up like this and come storming the castle,” Condor said and came to take the other end of the medical bed.

Nightingale gave an over-the-top shudder. “Yeah, best to avoid that, he’s not having a good week already.”

“I, no, I don’t know who,” Clark said with a frown, though he did finally step out of their way. He couldn’t really tell them no, they did have control over Batman’s care. Still, he carefully watched them undo the clasps that would let them take off the top of the bed like a stretcher.

Condor lifted his end of the bed. “B’s husband, of course. Guy’s a little protective.”

“A little?” Nightingale asked as he pivoted with his end of the bed so they could start walking. “Calling him ‘a little’ protective is like calling what happened on Monday a ‘little’ multidimensional incident.”

Condor shrugged, the bed shifting a little with the motion, though it barely rocked Batman. “Okay, so maybe he’d rewrite the world for B if it came to it. That’s exactly why we’re getting B back to the Cave where he can be safe and settled before his paramour gets back from dealing with that ‘little’ multidimensional incident.”

“Right,” agreed Nightingale. “Thanks for looking after him, Supes!”

“You’re welcome?” Clark replied as the two heroes left the room, Batman carried between them.

[justalittlestar]

Birthday gift I've made to one of my friends (Narthurox, you're really awesome dude), he's truly a chaotic person, but a really fun one.

[ravensmoonlitmagick]

As my spirit family continues to grow and with it the love I have for them one and all. I’ve decided to create a family sigil to have tattooed on me. As a dedication and representation of my family and our bond. Has anyone else done anything like this? I feel such a deep respect, honor, and appreciation for them that I thought it would be a great way to show that. Let me know what ideas you all have for ways to represent your family in your everyday life. Thanks!

[crazycatsiren]

New Year's Eve celebration idea from Jigglypuff: show up, serenade, put everyone to sleep with your haunting voice and siren song, then draw on their faces with a black marker.

[copalcetic]

What strikes me about Rebels isn't that every single crew member on the Ghost has trauma associated with their family of origin. Traumatic backstories are a dime a dozen. What's different about Rebels is that every single crew member finds some measure of catharsis and reconciliation, too.

Hera and her father are at odds because he prioritizes Free Ryloth, while she ran away to join the wider rebellion--but they make up, and learn to work together.

Kanan loses the Jedi to Order 66--but over the course of the show he learns they're not all lost, and that the survivors believe he's worthy of knighthood.

Zeb believes his entire species is gone--but he finds them, and a home world, again.

Sabine is rejected by her family for speaking out against the Empire--and then convinces them to turn against the Empire in the end.

And Ezra may never see his parents in life--but he's able to speak to them one last time, and learn in turn that they were proud of him.

Yeah, it's a show about found family--but it's a show about family of origin, too. One doesn't replace the other; it complements it. And it's the crew working together that helps every one of them reconnect the bonds that are broken.

[alicent-archive]

Aegon being like "'we should've taken Harrenhal, WHY aren't we taking Harrenhal!?" and Larys cutting in and being like "girl please be serious my castle is so incredibly derelict and haunted you'd be insane to want to go anywhere NEAR it" was so incredibly funny.