Hello and welcome to Episode Thirty-One of Page Turn: the Largo Public Library Podcast. I'm your host, Hannah!
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The English Language Transcript can be found below
But as always we start with Reader's Advisory!
The Reader's Advisory for Episode Thirty-One is The Yield by Tara June Winch. If you like The Yield you should also check out: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, and The Round House by Louise Erdrich.
My personal favorite Goodreads list The Yield is on is Modern Mrs Darcy Podcast Lists.
Happy Reading Everyone
Today’s Library Tidbit is about familiar spirits.
It’s fall Halloween was just a few days ago and seemingly spooky things have been on everyone’s mind. So on today’s tidbit I’m going to dive into what familiar spirits are, their history in different cultures, and why you should never appropriate a different cultures terminology and understanding of them. This last little bit is the reason why I will be using the term familiar and familiar spirit throughout this tidbit as I am mostly European and it is the pan-European term for this concept.
I am not going to be going into the practice of witchcraft or be discussing if familiar spirits are real or their morality.
A familiar spirit is an entity, animal, plant, or other natural thing, that you form a special bond with. This connection is not a light bond but rather a bond that you feel connects you to something on a spiritual or soul level. This idea is something that exists in cultures and time periods across the world. These familiar spirits exist to guide a person, either teaching them specific magics or guiding them through person life dilemmas and through personal growth. A non-religious familiar might be a centering touchstone that someone finds comfort in because it reminds them of attributes that they share.
European traditions mostly use the term familiar or familiar spirit.
Native and Indigenous groups have multiple different words but English speakers typically use the word totem to describe all of them. It is important to remember that different tribes will have their own word for this concept.
Totem poles are specific to the Pacific Northwest area of the continent of North America, from Alaska to Washington and British Columbia.
Spirit Animal is another term used by Native tribes to describe tutelary guides. Totems are one type of spirit animal but used specifically by the Northwest Pacific tribes. However, most of the information about totems that I have just said also applies to spirits animals. In other words, spirit animal is a Native term and should be respected as a Native term.
In Norse culture there exists the fylgjur plural, fylgja singular.
Across Mesoamerica exists the belief in the nagual and the tonalli or tonal. Some sources will say that they nagual is related to a spirit guide, however, they are more therianthropy. In other words Naguals are shape shifting witches. Tonals, on the other hand, are familiars that are assigned at birth. Tonals are attached to the Aztec horoscope calendar and are guardian spirits.
Other words for familiar in other cultures that either have very broad definitions or have characteristics that don’t fit into my tidbit today are spirit, spirit guide, doppelganger, personal demon, spirit companion, ayami and syven.
Familiar spirits are deeply personal and often important both religiously and culturally for different people groups. Because of this it is insulting to use language from a culture you are not a part of casually. Unfortunately, due to colonization, most people are too comfortable using words and concepts for themselves that are not part of their cultural heritage. I would encourage everyone to research into their own ancestry and pick a term that is part of their cultural heritage.
