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A late-16th-century English illustration of a witch feeding her familiars. In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (strictly familiar spirits, as "familiar" also meant just "close friend" or companion, and may be seen in the scientific name for dog, Canis familiaris) were believed to be supernatural entities, interdimensional beings, or spiritual guardians that ...
Familiar – Animal servant; Far darrig – Little people that constantly play pranks; Farfadet – Small (some half-meter tall), wrinkled, and brown-skinned helpful sprites. The Fates – Three time-controlling sisters; Faun – Human-goat hybrid nature spirit; Fear gorta – Hunger ghost
Salawa – the "Typhonian Animal," a slender, vaguely canine-animal that is the totemic animal of Set; Sigbin – is a creature in Philippine mythology (Philippines) Sky Fox (mythology), a celestial nine-tailed Fox Spirit that is 1,000 years old and has golden fur (Chinese) Shug Monkey – dog/monkey creature found in Cambridgeshire (Britain)
The name Huay Chivo combines Spanish and Yucatec Mayan terms. Huay or Uay comes from Waay in Yucatec Maya, meaning sorcerer, spirit or animal familiar, while Chivo is Spanish for goat, literally meaning sorcerer-goat; it is also known as the Chivo Brujo, an entirely Spanish phrase meaning the same thing.
In almost every animal there is some way to connect it to a lesson from the church or a familiar religious story. With animals holding significance since ancient times, it is fair to say that bestiaries and their contents gave fuel to the context behind the animals, whether real or myth, and their meanings.
It became a custom to take care of these animals when they were found within the area of the shrine. Normally, each kami had only one animal familiar, but sometimes, there were some exceptions where a kami had more than one. Even some of the "Seven Lucky Gods" like Daikokuten (a mouse) and Benzaiten (a snake) had animal familiars. [5]
It is helpful to be able to understand the source of scientific names. Although the Latin names do not always correspond to the current English common names, they are often related, and if their meanings are understood, they are easier to recall. The binomial name often reflects limited knowledge or hearsay about a species at the time it was named.
Chenoo (Mi'kmaq/Algonquian) – Giant, human-eating ice monsters; former humans who either committed terrible crime(s) or were possessed by evil spirits, turning their hearts to ice; Chepi (Narragansett) – Ancestral spirit that instructs tribe members; Cherufe – Volcano-dwelling monster