To Welcome a Familiar Spirit & Create a Pact

This rite is meant to formally acknowledge a spirit who has answered your call and to establish a pact of kinship and mutual aid between the two of you. Set up any protective measures you would usually use when calling on a spirit and create a Summoning Circle. Gather your supplies: a candle, an offering (preferably different than the one you gave when inviting contact), a symbol of the spirit (an object associated with their signs or form), and a string, yard or cord for braiding (it does not have to be very long).

Begin at dusk, midnight, or dawn—or any time when you will not be disturbed. Light the candle and place the symbol of the spirit in the center of your working space. Set the offering nearby. Hold the unbraided cord to your heart and say:

By star and root, by bone and flame,

A spirit called—a spirit came.

This is the place, this is the hour,

We meet in trust, in will, in power.

Pick up the symbol of the spirit and hold it in both hands. Speak directly to the spirit, aloud or in your heart:

You who heard and answered true,

I greet you now with honor due.

Not as master, not as thrall—

But as one who answered kindred call.

If you would walk this witch’s way,

Let us speak and seal this day.

Take a moment to speak aloud what you are asking of the spirit: protection, guidance, aid in spellwork, companionship, teaching, etc. Be clear and truthful. Then say:

This is what I ask of thee.

In turn, here is what I offer freely:

[Here, name what you will give in return—regular offerings, a place on your altar, shared energy in ritual, storytelling, or anything else sincere.]

Touch the cord to the spirit’s symbol and say:

With this charm, this cord, this sign,

I mark the moment you meet with mine.

Let it hold the bond we make—

Not as prison, but as stake.

One thread yours, one thread mine,

One for trust, in shadow twined.

Braid the cord and tie the ends. Pass it over the candle’s light three times, saying:

Fire bear witness, smoke carry word,

Let this bond be seen and heard.

By will, by word, by breath and bone—

Let no deceit in this be sown.

Place your offering in front of the spirit’s symbol and say:

Be welcome here, in name and fate.

Come when called, linger late.

With every rite and working spun,

May our workings be as one.

Sit with the spirit’s presence a while. Let any feelings, messages, or sensations arise. Speak with them if you feel called to. When you are ready to close the rite, say:

This pact is sealed, by me, by thee.

What is begun, so mote it be.

Candle low, breath at rest—

May both our paths be surely blessed.

Snuff the candle, and place the pact object somewhere safe—on your altar, in your charm box, etc. Leave the offering outside or at a natural place the spirit seems drawn to.