The familiar is an important recurring motif in the book, appearing in the title as well. A contemporary understanding of the familiar is as a witch’s attendant, a demonic spirit that takes the form of an animal. Walker uses this to trace how Western civilization has misperceived and misrepresented African and Indigenous cultures as mysterious, backward, and superstitious.

Through the stories of Lissie’s many lives, Walker asserts that familiars in ancient times were simply animals who were friends and companions to humans, specifically women. Walker portrays women of these ancient cultures as revered and worshipped, even feared by men. Things begin to change once man begins to dominate; he domesticates the dog, but it becomes a “fake familiar” in that it is not a loyal companion, but a subservient object to man. Man then breaks the connection between women and her true familiars by chasing away all other animals. Later, Western colonizers stamp out all form of goddess worship and turn women’s association and ability to communicate with animals into something evil. This brings to mind ideas of “black” magic, especially in the context of how a witch, who is always a woman, is pictured with a familiar.