Familiar: According to ancient lore, a spirit from the Otherworld was believed to dwell within the physical body of an animal or creature. The traditional vessels for such spirits were the cat, mouse, ferret, hare, bat, snake, hound, or bird--particularly a raven or an owl. The lore surrounding the Familiar spirit indicates that a Witch received one following initiation into the Witches' sect.

(See also: Familiar, Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Familiars:

Animals supposedly used by Gothic Witches and others to help them with their magic; often believed to be incarnated spirits or the messengers of noncarnate ones.

(See also: Familiars, Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

FAMILIAR: a magickal equal but animal partner, it shows unusual psychic & intelligent qualities with its human counterpart. Not merely a pet. And sometimes a created Being from the Will of the person.

(See also: FAMILIAR, Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

In early modern English witchcraft, a familiar spirit, commonly called familiar (from Middle English familiar, related to family) or imp is a spirit who obeys a witch, conjurer, etc., and serves and helps that person. Although they may not be as intelligent as their masters, they are often as intelligent as the average human. Familiars often perform domestic duties and help in farming, but also aid the person in bewitching people. If they look like ordinary animals, they can be used to spy on their masters' enemie ...

Read more here: » Familiar spirit: Encyclopedia - Familiar spirit

The term witchcraft (and witch) is a controversial one with a complicated history. Witchcraft is viewed differently in different cultures around the globe. Used with entirely different contexts, and within entirely different cultural references, it can take on distinct and often contradictory meanings. Each culture has its own particular body of concepts dealing with magic, religion, benevolent and harmful spirits, and ritual; and these ideas d ...

Including:

• Witchcraft - Practices typically considered to be witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Etymology
• Witchcraft - European witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Middle Eastern witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Ancient Middle Eastern and Near Eastern beliefs
• Witchcraft - Witchcraft in the Tanakh Hebrew Bible Old Testament
• Witchcraft - Witchcraft in the New Testament
• Witchcraft - Jewish views of witchcraft
• Witchcraft - African witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Theories of Neopagan witchcraft
• Witchcraft - Additional Reading

Read more here: » Witchcraft: Encyclopedia - Witchcraft

Ægir is a giant and a king of the sea in Norse mythology. He seems to be a personification of the power of the ocean. He was also known for throwing massive parties for the gods. In Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál Ægir is identified with Gymir and Hlér who lived on Hlésey. Gymir, it may be noticed, is the name of the giant father of the beautiful Gerðr wooed by Freyr. Another link between the Æsir and the sea giants is found in Hymir, who is said in Hymiskviða to be father of Týr. Ægir is said to have had ni ...

Including:

• Ægir - Familiar forms

Read more here: » Ægir: Encyclopedia - Ægir

Iðunn was, in Norse mythology, one of the goddesses. According to the Prose Edda she was the custodian of apples which allowed the Æsir to maintain their eternal youthfulness. She was the wife of Bragi, god of poetry. As related in Haustlöng Iðunn was at one time abducted with her apples by the giant Þjazi, who used Loki as a stooge to lure Iðunn out of Ásgarðr. During her absence, the Æsir began to age without the rejuvenating qualities of her apples, prompting them to press Loki into the task of rescuing her. Borrowi ...

Including:

• Iðunn - Familiar forms

Read more here: » Iðunn: Encyclopedia - Iðunn

William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) (November 20, 1731 – April 25, 1800) was an English poet and hymnodist. One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. He suffered from periods of severe depression, and although he found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity, the source of his much-loved hymns, he often experienced doubt and fears that he was doomed to eternal damnation. However, his religious mot ...

Including:

• William Cowper - Life of Cowper
• William Cowper - Major Works
• William Cowper - Familiar Quotations from Cowper

Read more here: » William Cowper: Encyclopedia - William Cowper

In Norse mythology, Ullr‡ is a son of Sif and a stepson of Thor. While extant sources are scant he appears to have been a major god at some point. Ullr - The Prose Edda. In the Gylfaginning part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda there is a brief description of Ullr. Ullr heitir einn, sonr Sifjar, stjúpsonr Þórs. Hann er bogmaðr svá góðr ok skíðfœrr svá at engi má við hann keppask. Hann er ok fagr álitum ok hefir hermanns atgervi. Á hann er ok gott at ...

Including:

• Ullr - The Prose Edda
• Ullr - Skaldic poetry
• Ullr - The Poetic Edda
• Ullr - Gesta Danorum
• Ullr - Other evidence
• Ullr - Rydberg's theories
• Ullr - Familiar forms

Read more here: » Ullr: Encyclopedia - Ullr

The Uncanny Valley is a principle of robotics concerning the emotional response of humans to robots and other non-human entities. It was theorized by Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970. The principle states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached at which the response suddenly becomes strongly repulsive; as the appearance and motion are made to be indistinguishable to that of human being, the emotional response becomes positive ...

Including:

• Uncanny Valley - Valley of familiarity
• Uncanny Valley - Effects of movement
• Uncanny Valley - Escape by design
• Uncanny Valley - The significance of the uncanny
• Uncanny Valley - The Uncanny Valley in film
• Uncanny Valley - Uncanny Valley as an analogy outside AI

Read more here: » Uncanny Valley: Encyclopedia - Uncanny Valley

Can may refer to: A usually cylindrically shaped object used for storing other materials, especially liquids and foodstuffs. The most familiar examples are the aluminum beverage can (or aluminium drinks can) and the tin can for storing food. The latter normally needs to be opened with a can opener (or tin opener). The buttocks. A toilet. A musical band with the name Can

Read more here: » Can: Encyclopedia - Can

See text. A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is not a bee, sawfly, or an ant. Less familiar, the suborder Symphyta includes the sawflies and wood wasps, which differ from the Apocrita by having a broad connection between the thorax and abdomen. Also, Symphyta larvae are mostly herbivorous and "caterpillarlike", whereas those of Apocrita are largely predatory or parasitic. Most familiar wasps belong to the Aculeata, a division of the Apocrita, whose ovipositors are modif ...

Including:

• Wasp - Characteristics
• Wasp - Families

Read more here: » Wasp: Encyclopedia - Wasp

The chemical composition of a substance refers to the chemical elements of which the substance is composed. For example, common table salt is composed of sodium and chlorine, but this familiar chemical compound is also found in halite. See also: chemical compound Other related archiveschemical compound, chemical elements, chlorine, halite, sodium, table salt

Read more here: » Chemical composition: Encyclopedia - Chemical composition

Mandrake may refer to: The plant Mandrake Mandrake (pesticide), a pesticide for wheat, commercialized by Bayer. Mandragoras, familiar demons (mandrakes). Leon Mandrake, magician (1911 - 1993). Mandrake the Magician, a comic strip character Mandrake Press. Tom Mandrake, a comic book artist - his web site - his biography The Mandrake, a play written by Niccolò Machiavelli. Mandrake, an album by Edguy, released in 2001. Mandriva L

Read more here: » Mandrake: Encyclopedia - Mandrake

"Bapak," meaning "father in Bahasa Indonesia, is the familiar form of the more polite, more formal "Pak" which is given as a courtesy title to all older men in Indonesia. To people participating in the Subud spiritual movement it is applied especially to their founder, Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo. Category: Indonesian society ...

Read more here: » Bapak: Encyclopedia - Bapak

An album by KJ-52 featuring a wide variety of familiar names of Christian music, and newcomers, such as Donnie Lewis, a former member of the band Raze. The re-release includes a message to VH1, another duet with Thousand Foot Krutch vocalist Trevor McNevan and a song dedicated to (the movie) Napoleon Dynamite. Other related archivesDonnie Lewis, KJ-52, Napoleon Dynamite, Raze, Thousand Foot Krutch, Trevor McNevan

Read more here: » Behind the Musik A Boy Named Jonah: Encyclopedia - Behind the Musik A Boy Named Jonah

Cobble is a geologic term for a rock or rock fragment with a grain size with dimensions between 64–256 mm (2.5–10 inch). Rounded cobble sized rocks are used as a construction material for road and street surfacing: see cobblestone. A cobble is also a shallow bottomed, low draught fishing boat. A coble is also a familiar term for the Hawfinch. ...

Read more here: » Cobble: Encyclopedia - Cobble

Brain fingerprinting is a technique that measures recognition of familiar stimuli by measuring electrical brain wave responses to words, phrases, or pictures that are presented on a computer screen. Brain fingerprinting was invented by Dr. Lawrence Farwell. The theory is that the suspect's reaction to the details of an event or activity will reflect if the suspect had prior knowledge of the event or activity. This test uses the Memory and Encoding Related Multifaceted Electroencephalographic Response to detect familiarity reaction. It ...

Including:

• Brain fingerprinting - Background and terminology
• Brain fingerprinting - Justification
• Brain fingerprinting - Criticisms
• Brain fingerprinting - Ethical considerations
• Brain fingerprinting - Conflicting evidence
• Brain fingerprinting - Current uses and research

Read more here: » Brain fingerprinting: Encyclopedia - Brain fingerprinting

Cannaceae Costaceae Heliconiaceae Lowiaceae Marantaceae Musaceae Strelitziaceae Zingiberaceae The Zingiberales are an order of monocots, including familiar plants like bananas and ginger. They are also called the Cannales. There are eight different families: Zingiberaceae (e.g. ginger, cardamom, turmeric, myoga) Musaceae (e.g. banana) Strelitziaceae Lowiaceae Heliconiaceae Costaceae Can ...

Read more here: » Zingiberales: Encyclopedia - Zingiberales

In linguistics, an addressee is an intended direct recipient of the speaker's communication. A listener is either an addressee or a bystander. Second-person pronouns refer to an addressee or a group including an addressee. An inclusive first-person pronoun refers to a group including both the speaker and the addressee, while an exclusive first-person pronoun refers to a group including the speaker but not the addressee. A speaker can show politeness, familiarity, or a difference of social status to the addressee. This is called an ad ...

Read more here: » Addressee: Encyclopedia - Addressee