A favorite thing I like to say is "It is all about perception". So if certain individuals feel that their ferret, cat, bird, dog or any other critter they have befriended is in connection with the occult then for them it IS a reality. I do not really like the word "occult" personally. It is like the word "witch", it has almost, but not quite, as bad of a rap as the word "Satanism". How many people cringed at that word just now?! See what I mean? So if we look into the word occult what does it say? Certain definitions say that it is a word that means "not revealed; mysterious; not able to be seen or detected; of or relating to supernatural agencies, their effects and knowledge of them". What is "supernatural"? "Of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe." How would electricity be seen back in the early days? It would be seen as a "supernatural" force and someone that knows how to make electricity is a person that is into the occult because they have this "mysterious power". Basically the supernatural and the occult are things that people do not understand so they put this taboo label on the unexplainable in their eyes and now we can have a barrier. Labels, words, they can set up barriers for humans. Now I have 4 cats and 3 ferrets. I have noticed that in my personal experience that different animals, just as different people, react and respond to different energies and frequencies. I have one cat Yanna that loves when I do hatha yoga. Another cat Masek that loves being close to me when I do power yoga. Then I have another cat Methos that cannot get enough of me when I am meditating/praying/doing ceremonial work or whatever you wish to call it. I have recently found that my one ferret Taranis when I brought him to a Native American Pow Wow that loves to be smudged with sage and watch the drumming and ceremonial dances. So as far as "familiars" go I suppose it could be looked at as I have several. But then I prefer to see it as different animals are attracted to different energies. As far as thw witch who lost her ferret. No amount of energy directed out in the universe is going to help when you are a crappy parent. There is one group I have discussed things with pertaining to "magick" and they said basically, now mind you I am chopping this all up so please forgive me! I will give an example to explain instead. When you want to obtain something, such as a promotion in a job. You first do the mundane things to get yourself in the position to have the boss consider you. You be a good worker and excel at what you do in that job. THEN you perform whatever type of "magick" or direct whatever energy in prayer out into the universe so that it increases your chances to get that promotion. If you do nothing, such as be late to work every day and be lazy in your tasks at that job, then no amount of ritual or prayer is going to help. So please do not label all people that are working with ritual as negligent critter parents! They are not all bad really! I don't know too much about tarot cards save for I think they started at first by being just plain playing cards that you would use in a poker game. So really there are so many varieties out there, it is just about preference now. They all do the same thing, no matter if it is a ferret on them or vampires. That is about all I personally think about tarot cards period. I personally don't use them, but I know some people swear by them. Another path you might want to look into concerning ferrets, or generally weasels rather, is the Native American stories. Totem Animals and Power Animals are something that I personally have the strongest pull towards. A book I personally highly recommend if you are interested in this is "Animal Speaks" by Ted Andrews. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/ 0875420281/002-6398310-4282443?v glance Otherwise look up on the net "Power Animals" or "Totem Animals". Here is one site that has interesting feedback on ferrets. http://www.sayahda.com/cyc2.html Here is a cute weasel story. Something I have been learning is every tribe is different and every story varies. And this is the internet after all, so being I did not hear it from an elders mouth I will enjoy it as I do any story. As we all know everyone has a different interpretation of how stories go. Looking at the Bible shows us that. But once again it is a nice story on why weasels are so jumpy! http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/temple/1451/na/page38.html I am sorry for being so lengthy. You just hit a subject that interests me greatly! Bridgette Don't Believe Everything You Think... http://www.proudpickers.com [Posted in FML issue 4350]