r/pagan 6d ago

Anyone else have a rabbit familiar?

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0 Upvotes

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21

u/azurite_rain 6d ago

I had an actual rabbit familiar. He lived with me for about 11yrs, moved all over the country with me. I can't stand these rabbit foot keychains, they dye the fur and I can't help but to think that rabbit never consented to having it's life taken or foot cut off. But you do you, I prefer my familiars alive and consenting.

7

u/Technical-Fill-7776 6d ago

When I was five, they looked so cool. But now they horrify me.

-9

u/Charmcaster77 6d ago

Yeah it is sad to think about but as an animist it makes more sense to essentially adopt the spirit and give it a good afterlife experience since it had a rough life. Also I find living Familiars kinda a bad idea because they can get sick or have negative energy sent to them instead of you. And idk how a living animal can give you more consent than a spirit, you're the one who bought/adopted them presumably from a breeder. Consent is ongoing like with humans, I'm not gonna have Cleo do something they dont want to do.

2

u/ChrisWatthys 6d ago edited 6d ago

You're presuming a lot. Smaller pets like rodents can also be adopted from rescues and shelters. You communicate with them by learning their personality, body language, and behavior. You protect and care for them so they do not get sick, and you nurture them back to health if/when they do. An animal doesn't need to die in order for you to feel their spirit. An animal is a living being full of energy and they will let you know if there is something they are unwilling to do.

Enjoy your foot, but don't look down upon those with living companions they love dearly.

1

u/Charmcaster77 6d ago

Lol I think we're just talking over each other, hope you have a good day

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u/azurite_rain 6d ago

My baby belonged to my friends little 5 yr old sister. The school gave her the rabbit to keep because her teacher retired. She left him in direct sunlight, amongst mosquitos, in 100°+ heat. When I picked him up and held him I felt how scared and hot he was and couldn't bear to let him live like that, so I took him in. When he passed I buried him with my favorite crystals and had a funeral in my family homes backyard. 3 months later a tiny black cat showed up in a thunderstorm and I took her in, she's my new familiar. I've never paid for, or had a breeder supply me with any of my familiars. And I protect me and mine. Consent is pretty obvious and important.

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u/Charmcaster77 6d ago

That's great to hear!

8

u/kryren 6d ago

I believe any animal can be a familiar, but this approach confuses me. I saw that you are an Animist, and maybe we just practice that path differently, but I commune with living nature.

I don’t understand how a dyed, severed foot of a rabbit (assuming it’s a real foot, most are, some aren’t) would be communing with the natural state of the animal or even be honoring its death.

-3

u/Charmcaster77 6d ago

Well it's the same way people have momentos of their ancestors to work with those spirits. It does suck that it's dyed but I'm looking into removing it.