Familiar

"Familiars are goblins who have taken on the shape of animals to better serve their witch masters. There's nothing human about them."

A Familiar is a supernatural being that serves a witch. Familiars are goblins who take on the shape of animals to better serve their witch masters. Witches often choose their familiars from a registry book before their Dark Baptism; however, they also have the option of summoning a familiar. According to Zelda, witches often name their familiars, but some familiars name themselves. Familiars are highly useful to witches providing protection from harm and, are often, very useful in the casting of spells and rituals. Also according to Zelda, familiars are bound to their witches, so when their master dies, they die with them from the agony of losing their masters. When familiars die, their goblin form becomes visible, as seen with the unnamed deer familiar and Connor's iguana familiar; however, some deceased familiars, such as Zelda's Vinegar Tom, retain their animal form for reasons unknown. Familiars can be used to control their witch masters, as seen with Leviathan.

Physiology[]

In their original forms it would appear, as shown with Salem, goblins are long, black, clawed, humanoid entities capable of human speech before shapeshifting into an animal form. Some goblins, such as the unnamed deer, have tan skin. While they are physically constrained by their animal forms, they can instantly shapeshift back to their original black forms which possess immense strength and power. This is often to protect their witch from harm or attack, as shown when Salem attacked and destroyed an enchanted scarecrow in the Greendale orchard hay bale maze, showing them to be powerful magical beings.

Charateristics[]

By all appearances, a Familiar seems to function as a servant to his or her witch. However, the Familiar must find their witch, rather than the other way around. Once chosen, it appears they cannot leave their master and find another one. Familiars spend half their time as animals, and the other half as people, although it's not revealed which half they start out as.

A Familiar has free will, and can voice their own opinions, but cannot disobey a direct order from their master. It is claimed that a Familiar and their master share a special bond and would die for each other. This proves to not always be the case, as Spencer kills his Familiar without a second thought.

Not all witches have Familiars, and the fact that Dean didn't know about them suggests it's actually quite rare. They also die as easily as an ordinary human.

Powers & Abilities[]

Shapeshifting - Since familiars are goblins, they have the ability to shapeshift into a specific animal.
Telepathy - Can communicate with their masters. But can be blocked if the master chooses to. They can communicate with their partner even if he is not speaking an understandable language. Familiar can also hear/feel their partner when she is distressed or in trouble.
Superhuman Strength - In their true form, familiars are shown to be strong and can attack and destroy entities who pose a threat to their witch masters.
Magical Knowledge - Familiars are like tiny little librarians who specialize in magic. Although the are not all-knowing they can make mistakes or misunderstand things. They are not limited to a certain area, however, they tend to lean specifically towards the kinds of magic the Witch specializes in. They cannot preform magic themselves unless the Witch has spelled/charmed them. Often you will see familiars with markings, collars with charms, and so on that hold power for the familiar to use. They can store magic in a way that is best described like bundling up electricity, giving the Witch a 'burst' of power at any given time.
Healing Factor - Being that they tend to live very long lives when their bodies shouldn't they become more than a body once the initial bond is made. They have rapid healing and can even grow entire body parts back if it comes down to it. Because a familiar is bonded with you on a level that is magical itself if you become hurt the familiar will feel pain and vise versa. If they heal themselves a part of you becomes healed. Being around your familiar works much like aspirin, you feel better and its a cure all for minor aches and pains.
Enhancement - Abilities the familiars form has often are enhanced naturally. For example if a familiar is a feline they have amazing agility, hearing, and eyesight. This is supernaturally enhanced.

Notes[]

Stolas, Madame Satan’s familiar, is named after one of the demons of the Ars Goetia. He is often depicted as either an owl or raven, and teaches astronomy as well as knowledge on poisonous plants, herbs and precious stones. Also, he is described as a Great Prince of Hell and commands 26 legions of demons.
Hilda mentions that Vinegar Tom died on a November 9th, 1989, the day the Berlin Wall fell.
Werewolves can also be familiars as shown by Amalia, but they are not recommended because they are both too human and not human enough.
The animal shape that a familiar takes is supposed to represent the soul and personality of the witch it's bound to.
In Sabrina the Teenage Witch, familiars are former witches who committed serious crimes.
In the 2014 Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comics, Ambrose Spellman had two cobras as familiars, Nag and Nagaina. She doesn't have any relation to the Gorgon Nagaina from Part 3.
- In the comics, former humans like Nag and Nagaina and Samuel, aka Salem, can become familiars.