Fantasy based question...

I think it's rather a companion that's there always. That's what the word 'familiar' is about, isn't it?

Don't take my word on it, though.

I can't claim any special expertise, but my impression has always been that a familiar (or "familiar spirit") is a particular being that forms some kind of long-term relationship with the magic user. In the KJV of the Bible, there's a reference to a woman who "had a familiar spirit," with the connotation that her state was akin to being demon-possessed (Paul and Silas cast out the spirit, according to Acts, and thus simultaneously freed the woman spiritually and deprived her of her occupation as a soothsayer). Then again, that's the classical Judeo-Christian take on the subject, so it might not be strictly applicable to Tolkienesque fantasy. But I think a familiar is a long-term "monogamous" relationship, generally.

Other magical beings might be summoned for temporary service, but they're not usually called familiars, in the stories I've read.

I thought it was just for a little while. I played a video game and one of the characters abilities was called familier. He called a bird to him to go buy supplies. It was always a different bird though.

I could be wrong though.

In the Greek Magical Papayri, you can summon various "gods" to be familiar daemons. The implication is always a long term relationship of master/servant (from which I believe the term comes), and the spells are distinct from one-shot or limited time conjurations.

Adam_Atlantian said:

I thought it was just for a little while. I played a video game and one of the characters abilities was called familier. He called a bird to him to go buy supplies. It was always a different bird though.

I could be wrong though.

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You can't exactly rely on videogames for factual information, though.

Witches and other magic users sometimes have a familiar, which is basically another set of eyes and ears for them. It is typically the same animal(s), but if something were to happen to that animal they could make another animal their familiar.

Familiars, as far as the witch context, generally are used in a spy-type capacity. No one suspects the cute, fuzzy little cat of reporting back to the evil witch...

You can use the word familiar to indicate any creature that is doing the work of the magician... whether that creature is in the long term service of your magic-user or just for an errand or two. Historically, with enough research, you will find that this is so.

Diana Hignutt said:

You can use the word familiar to indicate any creature that is doing the work of the magician... whether that creature is in the long term service of your magic-user or just for an errand or two. Historically, with enough research, you will find that this is so.

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Interesting.

Would you make a distinction between creatures summoned to perform a specific action, and those who are bound (no matter how temporarily) to obey whatever orders the Magus chooses to give?

zornhau said:

Interesting.

Would you make a distinction between creatures summoned to perform a specific action, and those who are bound (no matter how temporarily) to obey whatever orders the Magus chooses to give?

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I would see no distinction. Remember that the use of familiars is just a means to an end for the Magus, and that time is a very relative concept in magick just as in physics. Whether the use of said creatures is short term or long term is irrelevant to the outlook of the Magus. If a particular creature is more useful, the Magus will keep it around longer. That said, in most cases, the bond that links the Magus to the familiar is love and necessity for the good guys, and domination and necessity for the bad guys.