| “ | Portia: I'm a familiar. Dean: A what? Sam: Companion to a witch -- some witches. Split their time between human and animal form. |
” |
— Sam describing what a familiar is
in Man's Best Friend With Benefits. | ||
A Familiar is a supernatural being that serves a witch.
Characteristics[]
Portia in her familiar form.
By all appearances, a familiar seems to function as a servant to his or her witch. However, the familiar must find their witch, rather than the other way around. Once chosen, it appears they cannot leave their master and find another one, as Phillippe LeChat stayed with Spencer Wallis, despite his abuse. Familiars spend half their time as animals, and the other half as people, although it's not revealed which half they start out as. A familiar has free will, and can voice their own opinions, but cannot disobey a direct order from their master.
Philipe in his familiar form.
It is claimed that a familiar and their master share a special bond and would die for each other. This proves to not always be the case, as Spencer kills his familiar without a second thought. Not all witches have familiars, and the fact that Dean didn't know about them suggests it's actually quite rare. They also die as easily as an ordinary human and seem to be quite weak.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Shapeshifting - Familiars can shapeshift at will between their animal and human appearances.
- Telepathy - Familiars can telepathically communicate with their masters. However, this can be blocked if the master chooses to.
Weaknesses[]
- Mortality – Familars are mortal creatures and can be killed with standard weaponry.
Known Familiars[]
- Portia
- Phillippe LeChat (deceased)
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- It is a taboo in the St. Louis witch community for a familiar to be sexually involved with their witches. It is unknown if this is a universal attitude or not.