Familiar Spirits and the Feline Mystique Oracle Deck
Have you ever felt an inexplicable bond to an animal or pet? A deep-seated spiritual shimmering, a sparkling recognition of something familiar, yet unspoken, or, to quote Emily Brontë’s famous words from Wuthering Heights, a feeling that “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”
While this quote relates to the book’s (and recently released movie’s) protagonist Catherine’s toxic and star-crossed connection to Heathcliff, the transcendental and positively haunting bond we’re referring to here involves another kind of Heathcliff…of the feline variety.
Cartoon Heathcliff is no Jacob Elordi, but, instead, is a scrappy orange alley cat that lived by the beat of his own drum through decades of comic strip antics like raiding garbage cans, antagonizing the neighborhood dog, and answering to absolutely no one. And, he perfectly captures the more feral qualities of our fine feline friends, who are the stars of this particular essay.
When a feline chooses to befriend you, especially for those who have cats and feel that inexplicable bond, there’s a transcendence that’s hard to put to words. Being picked, picking them back, and recognizing that you don’t own this creature so much as you’ve been chosen by it and that you’re sharing your home with something simultaneously domestic and utterly wild is its very own mystical experience.
This wild and mystical link between cats and humans is unlike any other domestication story in the historical record. While dogs were actively bred and trained by humans over 20,000-40,000 years ago, and shaped into companions through our deliberate intervention, cats, true to form, domesticated themselves.
If we travel back in time to around 10,000 years ago in ancient Egypt, we have the first visions of cats choosing to live alongside us on their own terms while maintaining their autonomy. They were sacred to the Egyptians, and revered as divine protectors, embodiments of the goddess Bastet, who is considered the protective deity of home, and fertility. To kill a cat was punishable by death, and when a cat would cross the proverbial “rainbow bridge” of current nomenclature, they were mummified and mourned like family members. This veneration speaks to something humans have always recognized in felines: an otherworldly quality, paws and claws in both the mundane and the magical.
It’s this quality that made cats the ideal candidates for what Europeans in the 16th and 17th centuries would later call “familiar spirits,” animal companions imbued with magical power who share a psychic bond with their human counterpart. It’s worth noting here that the European concept of familiar spirits is distinct from the sacred Indigenous tradition of spirit animals in Native American cultures, a term that deserves reverence and should not be casually appropriated or conflated with Western magical practices.
The archetype of the feline familiar has played out in myriad ways across pop culture: Jiji, the adorable black cat who accompanies young witch Kiki on her journey to independence in Kiki’s Delivery Service. Salem, the wisecracking former warlock trapped in cat form who serves as Sabrina’s magical advisor (and comic relief). Even Dr. Claw’s M.A.D. Cat in Inspector Gadget plays with this trope as the villain’s ever-present companion who seems to understand their master’s schemes with uncanny precision.
But the concept extends beyond just cats. It’s about a bond that transcends ordinary companionship, almost like a telepathic connection of hearts. Think of Elliott and E.T., linked so deeply that Elliott feels his pain (and even his drunkenness) across physical distance. Or Bran Stark and his direwolf Summer in Game of Thrones, who share dreams and consciousness, seeing through each other’s eyes.
These relationships suggest something we as human beings intuitively understand, even if it may not be entirely rational. This type of metaphysical link shows that certain bonds aren’t purely logical, they’re emotional, spiritual, and, perhaps, operate on frequencies beyond the limits of language.
In our forthcoming oracle deck, Feline Mystique, artist Amelia Rose and I attempt to tap into this frequency and offer a playful way to explore the realm of feline familiar spirits with accessible whimsy and the magic of incantations that invoke the qualities we most need in relation to the cards we are dealt (literally and figuratively).
Working with the energy of familiar spirits can be considered a form of sympathetic magick, which holds the notion that like attracts like and symbolic connections can create real, tangible energetic shifts. In sympathetic magick, you intentionally align yourself with the qualities you wish to embody by invoking, honoring, or symbolically calling in those traits. When you work with the archetype of the cat, for instance, you’re not admiring their enigmatic grace from afar, but, instead, you’re calling that energy into your own body, your own life, your own subtle energy fields.
For example:
Say you pull our “Hang in There” card. The breed we’ve highlighted here is the Selkirk Rex, a curly-coated cat known for its plush, tousled fur and remarkably calm demeanor. This card reminds you to stay neutral even during chaos and to, quite literally, hang in there. The feline energy at hand invites you to tap into your survival instincts, persist even through precariousness, and remember that if you stay confident and trust your natural gifts, you’ll certainly land on your feet. You can hold this card and meditate on these ideas, while also catching a smile at the adorable artwork as a reminder not to take things too seriously. Remember, this too shall pass.
Or perhaps you’ve pulled the “Magic” card, our homage to the marvelous and magical Mr. Mistoffelees from Cats and the classic tuxedo domestic shorthair. This card taps into the sweeter side of chaos and the power of words to create worlds, reminding you that you can spell your reality into being by leaning into the great expanse of imagination and possibility. The quintessential Abra-CAT-abra card to remind you that as you speak, so you shall create!
Maybe you’ve pulled our “Protection” card, paying tribute to the orange Domestic Longhair (AND Jonesy from Alien and Buttercup from The Hunger Games). This card acknowledges how much you’re appreciated for being a protective energy in the lives of those you love, while also reminding you that you, too, are protected. Not all heroes wear capes, and while selfless acts may not always be recognized in the moment, they’re certainly felt. Remember, a cat can’t thank you with words, only meows and purrs, but their actions – even if that means a dead mouse as a “gift” or making biscuits on your belly – speak volumes.
Overall, The Feline Mystique oracle deck invites you to recognize that the bond between human and familiar, whether a precious pet or archetypal form, is a very special type of magic. It will guide you to remember that you, too, can choose your own terms. You, too, deserve to be chosen back. And whatever your soul is made of, there’s a familiar spirit out there made of the same ineffable shimmer.
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Feline Mystique
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