Animals and Magick

Intro

I am posting this here as a kind of collective information gathering session about your experinces with animals and magick (along with a little story of my experiences.

I have found over the years that although familiars are spirit based, many animals have a deep connection with practicioners (possibly one of the reasons many people think that a witchs' cat is their familiar) and wanted to hear what your experiences were with animals and magick.

Storytime:

When I began to practice magick, around 2006 I would read and sit outside with my grimoire and write. Around three maybe four years later a family down our street got two kittens. Everytime I would sit outside and write in my grimoire, one of the kittens called Toko would find me, no matter where I was sitting and watch me as I wrote.

At first I thought this was just a coincidence, an outdoor cat finding someone was no big deal, right?

As the years went on I would sit in more and more obscure places to write in my grimoire and he would poke his head around, meow at me and come running up to watch me write. So I decided ro tun some experiments: everytime I wrote regular schoolwork in a regular notepad he wouldn't come, but everytime I wrote anything magickally inclinded, no matter what the book he would sit and watch.

Still I thought it was just something he liked doing, and I left to go to university and didn't think anything more of it, but when I returned home with a lot more magickal items and a lot more passion for the subject, I found him suddenly knocking on the back door wanting to come inside as though he has lived with us his entire life, meowing at me everytime I was outside and even found him sitting outside my bedroom door when all the doors and windows of the house were closed.

Not sure what you think of this one guys but Toko is deffinitely wanting something and I would love your opinions.

So what are your magickal related animal stories, I would love to hear them.

Uhhhhh....

Physically, no. I can't say I really had an experience with any animals.

Spiritually, there are a couple animals that draw my eyes. On a more religious level, lions and dogs are sacred to the deities I honor. There are more, but those would be the ones I actively use in worship. And there are other animals involved in my upg.

Maybe Toko wants to keep an eye on you? Or feels the energy coming out of you when you are doing something "magical"?

Huum I don't know whith cats, they always seem so intelligent and present. When I was young, cats would follow me around all the time without reason and even more when I was playing with my "unreal" friend Johva. I was scared of cats so that wasn't that practical ...

I had some strang experiences with crows as well, it happened a few time that they were watching for hours thrue the window inside the living room, somtimes they would even knock with their beak on the window. They wanted attention but I don't know why. Some swedish beliefs are saying that crows can be dead relatives trying to communicate.

Ravens used to always be around me, especially during times that I'm making a large change of residence (such as moving to a different state). But as I become acquainted with my new place, they begin to leave me be.

They don't tap on my windows or anything, but they do seem to fly above me and land somewhat near and then just stare at me.

I would say this was just a coincidence, but considering that they only stick around when I move, I'd like to think that they are their to make me feel comfortable; Odin is watching out for me.

I haven't had much in the way of animals for a while simply because I haven't really been in a place where they would also be, so it's impossible. I hope to live near a woodlands again...

But anyway, I haven't had deep connections with much of anything due to how nomadic I am, but I did see a Rabbit under some portable metal crate thing outside near the track at my school, I'd never do anything magickal when I was out there walking the track, but It seems like I was the only one that'd notice the animal under the crate. He dissapeared after a flood(probably flooded him out of his burrow home) but I would think a lot about magickal things when I had walked the track (nothing else to do lol)

But it would be nice to have a friend sit with me while I do certain things.

I tend to cross paths with animals a lot, no matter where I am. I remember when I was living in the city, a couple of deer were just watching me from the side of the road like they weren't in the middle of a college campus surrounded by concrete. I have a few stories of running into different animals at odd times, all of which happened after I started practicing.

Ever sense I have been practicing magick, I always see spiders near me. If I am thinking of energy transferring into and out of my body, a spider would be near me. When I wake up at night, a spider would be above my head. My family noticed this and was creeped out. My family took me to a pet store and I wanted to look at the spiders. I put my finger near the spiders cage and it walked up to it and brushed it's body near my finger. Ever sense my mom sprays spider killer in the house to keep them out, but they always seem to find me.

I recall when I first saw my Purple Butterfly, spirit animal. I have phobia of most insects INCLUDING butterflies. But after I saw my Purple Butterfly, I seen and understood butterflies differently, with new eyes.
Every time I walk on streets I see at least one butterflies. There are days I see a whole swarm, or even more, flying by my side, above me, around me. I simply love it, and each time it happens, feel an even stronger connection.