In 17th-century England and early modern Europe, “consorting with spirits” was an actual criminal charge for which many, often women, were tried, sentenced, and executed for allegedly collaborating with familiars and demons. While many were undoubtedly innocent people swept up in the Church-fueled hysteria of the witch hunts, there is evidence in surviving grimoires, manuals, and testimonies that some were indeed trafficking with spirits.

A witch’s familiar was a companion, a teacher, and an assistant in her magical work, acting as both a protective entity and a guide from which she drew spiritual and divinatory insight—not unlike the Greek concept of the Agathos Daimon (the “Good Spirit”). An intermediary spirit between worlds, it was understood as a guide associated with fate, inspiration, and genius. Daimon, originally a neutral term encompassing a wide range of spirits—from lesser divinities to intermediary beings between gods and mortals—later became the “demon” so feared within the Christian framework.

Art: Messengers (2012) by Anne Siems