Welcome to Gaia! ::

i think the most important thing is to wait until
1. they show themselves
2. you get some sort of sign
or 3. you are in dire need of your spirit guide or ffmilliar
and at that point they will probally show themselves

Can a dream signify a new familiar moving into your life? I may have an astral otter bouncing around right now, as well as a hummingbird. They've both been in my dreams for the past week or so now. I've had both dreams interpreted since then, but they were SO real, I dont' want to dismiss them as messages from my unconsious.

Someone told me to ask to see my spirit guide before I fell asleep and I would see them in my dream. Well, tried it, and either my spirit guide is a character from my favorite video game or I need to ask better. xd

Though I did see my friend's spirit guide all throughout junior high, which was when she was going through some bad stuff. I didn't know if it was hers, but he came to her in a dream and named himself, so I assumed it was. I didn't even really know about spirit guides then. That's when I started looking a few things up.

well, my spirit guide so far is a white wolf. He's actually sitting here right now watching me type this. He's been in my dreams a lot lately. He doesn't talk too much, but I don't think talking is realy necessary, is it? He helps me stay strong and down-to-earth when I need to be, but he's also reminded me how much fun it is to run and play without any thoughts, like I used to when I was little.

Hello! I searched the word "occult" in the Guild Searchie thing, and this is one of the guilds that came up! The name grabbed me, so I went ahead and clicked and read the first page. I thought it was something interesting to look at, so I went to the forums, and this is the very first thread that I clicked on. After reading the whole thing, I'm like, "Hey! I want to join this guild!" So yeah, but the discussion also sparked an unanswered question:

I've read the definition that you gave about the differences between familiars and spirit guides, and I was wondering what mine was? I have this chestnut colored horse [her name is Chestnut] that comes into my dreams once in a while [if I really need her, I'll go to her directly, but that's another story] when I need her, but I was wondering if someone could help me figure out if she's a familiar or a spirit guide. I've always thought of her as my spirit guide before, but now I'm not too sure. I'll be happy to talk about her more in detail, but I just wanted to know if someone wanted to talk about it first.

Well, I'm of to send in an application! xP Chao!

Thanks! I actually noticed that I'd be the 50th member if I was accepted. I sent you a PM thanking you too. xDDD

I'd be more than happy to tell you about her! [I like to brag about her a lot, it's my thing. xP] I wrote this about my first experiance with her and posted it in my Myspace blog on Nov. 1st. It actually happened before that, but I was moving to Colorado at the time, so I didn't have any computer access. But I brought my journal along, and recored everything about the 6-day trip. xD

I climb a small ladder and open a trap door above me. It opens into the most beautiful forest I've ever seen. I climb out, close the door, and replace the tuft of grass that I've disturbed overtop it. I reach a cave entrance, where there's a low-rising apple tree. I pick off an aple, shining it on my shirt as I walk through the entrance. Magically, it seems, the cave changes into a lush forest again, a winding path lining the ground. I follow it until I reach a small clearing, circled by trees. In the middle is a small pond and a rock big enough to sit on. I call for Chestnut. Sometimes, she comes right away, other times I have to wait. When she comes, I give her the apple, and we talk.

I named her Chestnut for her color. I love her color. I wanted to name her something more original, something more creative and elaborate, but she told me that Chestnut was just fine. So that's what she's called. I remember her calling me once by the English translation of my Wiccan Craft Name. She called me 'Shadow'. In Pourtugese, it's 'Sombra'. But because of a recent forgotten dream, I thought of changing my name to something more suitable, but I forget my reasoning for it. Guess I'm still Sombra for now. <3

My craft name has changed since then, it's Pineberry now. Pine trees are my fave, and the berrys on them are awesome [Bet that sounded weird. ^-^]

I think she first came to me when I became seriously depressed about moving to an entirely different country [I lived in Canada.] and leaving my best friend behind, the one person who fully respected me and my beliefs. Anyway, at the time, I'd been an avid cutter, and I don't think that sat too well with her. So one time, [This was in another lucid dream.] she let me climb on her back [For the very first time!], so I took advantage of that and kept demanding [I'll admit, not in the nicest way I could've.] for her to just ride, far away, so I could get away from all the pain I felt. I was screaming, crying, kicking, and having a big tantrum like a little child but she wouldn't move. Unfortunately, I was also pulling on her mane, which probably hurt her, but she didn't show it. She just stayed calm, and eventually just outright sat down [Can you imagine a horse sitting? Lol.] and I slid off her back and plopped into a big puddle of mud.

She wasn't even angry with me, which was kind of surprising. I stopped screaming, and just cried for the longest time and nuzzled her snout. WHen I calm, she talked things over with me, and eventually I felt better about the whole thing. The move really wasn't as bad as it felt. I got to see Tiana [Best friend.] during the summer, over MSN, phone, letters, e-mail, etc. She was never too far away. And when school started, I made a whole bunch of friends, figured out my, ahem, 'sexual orientation', and even got a boyfriend. All in five months.

So yeah, she's really helped me through a lot. All of it in lucid dreams. But sometimes I also wonder if I'm just making her up in my mind, giving myself advice. What do you think?

EDIT::
I was over at my friend's house tonight, and we were talking about our familiars/spirit guides and I learned that she had a tiny dragon that often pershed on her shoulder, or hopped down if there was space to take it's larger, true form. I couldn't see him, but she said he appeared on her shoulder and I got to talk with him. [She had to translate, of course wink ] The first time I asked him if he knew a horse named Chestnut. He said no. Then he disappreaed again, and when he came back, I described her in a little more detail, saying she was a chestnut colored mare, with an elongated white diamond on what I guess would be called her forehead. He said yes, but he was not sure if Chestnut was her real name. His name was Wise Dragon, or that was what he was called. He still hasn't revealed his true name [If he has one.] to my friend yet. So it made me wonder if Chestnut has a name that she didn't tell me about. I kind of named her without asking her what her name was. I asked if I could call her Chestnut, and she said that was fine. It sort of makes me wonder. I'm also going to ask her if she knows a certain 'Wise Dragon'.

^__^ That is funny.

I might've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again; Familiar is an animal on THIS plane of existance who helps you out with magical workings with their energy. A spirit guide is an animal guide (or a person/fairy/dragon etc) that exists solely on the astral plane and is literally a guide of sorts, appears in dreams, gives guidance, etc. That's the way I see it, anyways.

I find your stories of your Chestnut interesting. I'd call her a spirit guide.

And dragons perching on peoples shouldrs is always entertaining. (the dragon on my shoulder says hi, by the by)