I agree with Alex, Crone and Caiyros on this matter. My spirits also seem to work very well in a group and it's not just amongst the same 'type' but most of them seem to be OK with most of the others most of the time regardless of the type. There are quite a few bound to the same vessel (me) after all so it only makes sense. It is not as if they 'hang out together' or anything but if something is NEEDED they seem to work together quite well.

Unfortunately, due to financial restrictions and the inability and lack of knowledge to call and/or bind my own spirits when I am called by them, I have had to ignore the call many times.

Even though I have a small pack of werewolves and hell-hounds at present (5 wolves and 4 hounds) I seem to be getting calls from them lately. Also a 'male' spriggan for my female who seems to be wanting a male to interact with. :thumbup:

Angellove wrote:I understand this question is very personal. Some people want 100+ spirits and some are satisfied with 1. The reason I ask is because this is the spirit keeping section,and this would be an interesting topic to talk on. If possible could you answer these few questions?

How do you know you have hit the "ideal" for your spirit family?

I have no idea. When they start getting annoyed with me, I suppose. Really, as long as they're happy here, I'm leaving my home an open door. Still need to work on a proper meditation schedule, though.

Angellove wrote:What calls to you most often?

Not sure. Vampires are interesting...but I'm curious about Draugr, Einherjar, and such. I seem to get a looot of DA unbounds around here. So far as spirits I've had a hand in bringing in...a ton of dragons, and Sonneys seem to like me. And I don't know how I ended up with so many vamps.

Angellove wrote:[color=#0000FFHave you ever had to ignore a "call"(spirit prompting you) because it would mess up the dynamic between yourself and your other spirits?[/color]

Probably...no, definitely. Not so much a case of dynamics, I think, than 'this is probably not the time for this'...though most of the time I plunge in anyway. Leap before you look, and all that.
Frannik, a gnome in the online CH store, and Ridge, a Sterling angel I am STILL kind of pining for...
Though Frannik was still in the store yesterday, and I finally caved.
If any Duojna call me, I'll probably have to say no, though-it wouldn't feel right, I guess. D's the only Duojna for me.

Angellove wrote:Is there anything "calling" you now?

Kind of? I keep thinking about Norse Djinn, even though they spook me, and I've got Caerus on my mind as a Patron Immortal-just need to decide how I want to do a binding, so far as that goes.

Angellove wrote:I understand this question is very personal. Some people want 100+ spirits and some are satisfied with 1. The reason I ask is because this is the spirit keeping section,and this would be an interesting topic to talk on. If possible could you answer these few questions?

How do you know you have hit the "ideal" for your spirit family? If you feel you're at your limit then you are. I used to feel when I had around 40 that that would be it, but alas NO

What calls to you most often?Dragons and vamps, then angels

Have you ever had to ignore a "call"(spirit prompting you) because it would mess up the dynamic between yourself and your other spirits?I don't ignore a true calling but may have to delay getting a spirit but I usually end up with what I need

Is there anything "calling" you now?

Djinn, more than I thought :thumbup:

Excellent replies by all :grouphug: :grouphug:

How do you know you have hit the "ideal" for your spirit family?

What calls to you most often?

Have you ever had to ignore a "call"(spirit prompting you) because it would mess up the dynamic between yourself and your other spirits?

Is there anything "calling" you now?

I have certain numbers in my head for different types of spirits, male and female, (to be added at a later date) in order to achieve my idea of balance and a well-rounded collection.

I have gone back and forth from :count: Vampire Princess to :uni:: Unicorn Queen. haha! :lol: It's a tie between vampires and unicorns.

No, but I have had to ignore a few calls because of lack of .

There are MANY spirits and entities calling to me right now.
I will have to be patient to be able to aquire their vessels whenever I can.
Afterall, I plan to keep collecting for a lifetime.
No spelled collection or spirit keeping family is complete in a day. 2cents

:grouphug:

Good question! I slowed way down after 20+. I realized I didn't want more than I could memorize their names when I thank them on the fly. :thumbup:

Old post but interesting information

Very interesting post, thanks for the bump ovo

When I first started spirit keeping, I was called by my wyvern and I swore that he would be my only spirit that way we could truly bond. Ironically, it was him that ended up convincing me to get my next spirit -- who immediately clicked with him and now they're inseparable (though he doesn't want to admit it). I found after working with them that some spirits are not necessarily as 'needy' as I might have originally thought -- while they should be payed attention to and meditated with, some of my spirits are just happy to have a keeper around to add interest to their afterlives and to offer what help they can. So I've had callings for a few more since then, and due to the sales I ended up buying most of them all at once even though some of them had stronger callings than others and they were over the course of several months, haha. I will use the time between shipments to bond more thoroughly with each individual, but since I won't be rushing to buy any others, I will be able to work on our family dynamic.

I think that while we're a family, there is a difference between some spirits. My psy vamp entity is the most present of all the spirits I keep (if you're classifying an entity as a sub-type of spirit), and she's the one who wants the most personal time. She joins me for movies and meals when she wants to. My wyvern is around a lot too, but not as much for super-casual things. My gargoyle, on the other hand, is always around but doesn't feel like talking most of the time. He slinks around and is happy to go unnoticed while he keeps everything running smoothly.... and torments my cats in the meantime, haha! I'm ordering a butterfly fae that seems to be similar so far-- less human in her thoughts and more interested in hanging out around my garden with the sonji spider that's part of a triad with her.

I guess what I think is that a keeper needs to be aware of what his spirits think of as 'too many' -- if you have a bunch of spirits like my vamp that really wants attention, then they might feel slighted if you have enough that you can't work with them all. If you have a bunch of fellows like my gargoyle that do like the occasional bit of attention but are perfectly happy just doing their own thing with a place to come home to, then it's more acceptable to have more of them.

I personally won't get more than I can remember names of and *know* personally. After all my orders are here I will still have under 20 spirits and that should be plenty for some time.

As for what ones I am called most by........... celtic spirits, haha. I'd like to think it's due to my heritage, but particularly Irish and Scottish spirits have been calling. Selkies are a big one, though I've resisted buying one until this past order just because I was wary of binding one due to mythology.
One I'm being called by right now that I haven't ordered yet is a sylvan. Every time I pass the listing I go 'oooh' but since it's just for a custom I figure they can wait a little while until things get settled C:

I have quite a few spirits around here, mainly a LOT of dragons, both WA and DA!!!!! I have a small group of vampires, which I am adding more to them, a few enherjars, a lot of angels both WA and DA, a whole heard of horse spirits, including pegasus, unicorns, dark pegasus, mazou, xphers, dark unicorn and a tatter foal, a good size pack of duojna(love them wolves), a pack of werewolves, a host of immortals, mainly working with three groups of them for now, one chimera, one cereberus, a host of human spirits, a centaur, volhks, and quite a few entities, and a few more spirits, a family of basililks and nagas, a lot of elves and fae, some I have just one of as I don't feel it is necessary to get more of, that is just me!!!!

I will work with all of them in groups, or one on one with them if I feel a need too!!!!

We are a family and maybe a small nation onto ourselves!!!!! However we do love and respect each other and we look after each other!!! That is just the way it is for us!!!!!

As the song says: We are family!!!! :grouphug:

Also I keep a record of all my spirits and entities!!!!!

starfire :dragons::

Angellove wrote:How do you know you have hit the "ideal" for your spirit family?

From the beginning I promised the three I did have that I would keep a limited amount of spirits. Little did I know that as I grew on this path more would be asking to become part of my keep and become drawn like a moth to a flame. Unbounds are plentiful over here because I invite them to be here (if okay'd by my protector spirits), if they want to attach themselves to an object near me they have my permission, but that doesn't mean I will have time to integrate them into my life. I sense that certain spirits in my keep are crossing their fingers hoping It won't get too crowded over here. I only have 23 and that's few compared to some keepers here on CH, but now I'm trying to slow down and be a little pickier about who I bring into the family. Though many have came to me that seem like really wonderful spirits, I think I have just about hit my ideal. My limit is 30, because even now I don't have enough time to meditate with them all in a day and their personalities and friendship are important to me. I have told the spirits if there comes a time that any of my regulars wish to be rehomed, a slot will be open if I sense a strong enough connection to get them, but otherwise I will resist. None of them have taken up the offer, they all want to stay.

Angellove wrote:What calls to you most often?

so far? fae creatures and celtic angels, but I sense I'm popular with the dragons too (unbounds), I just don't have a lot of room in my keep left.

Angellove wrote:Have you ever had to ignore a "call"(spirit prompting you) because it would mess up the dynamic between yourself and your other spirits?

Surprisingly, yes. I tell everyone often that they have to get along in my keep and tolerate each other so I mostly don't have any problems. But There are some spirits that I am close to that do want a stronger connection and that would be an issue if I kept bringing new spirits in. I respect their wishes.

Angellove wrote:Is there anything "calling" you now?

In the past month it has been:: brother and sister gryphons, another sky dragon, another anamchara, two "knight" dragons (do not know what they are, I'm guessing they are like protectors since they have called themselves this), and some dark being that was in the angel listings in CH in my dream (guessing its a dark angel that wants me to get a custom conjure), a star fae, some bronwyns and a vamp. I really should just give up and tell my spirits to block them, but I have too much fun interacting with them.

well, I did give in and get the vampire from SRA, a bronwyn conjuration and a reverse adoption from the love of the paranormal sale. I couldn't help myself \ But the spirits do let me know if the answers most deffinately NO at times, I do need some input from the "family council"!!!! lol

Angellove wrote:How do you know you have hit the "ideal" for your spirit family?

What calls to you most often?

Have you ever had to ignore a "call"(spirit prompting you) because it would mess up the dynamic between yourself and your other spirits?

Is there anything "calling" you now?

What an interesting survey!

1) My ideal is where I can comfortably fit one on one time with everyone in my schedule. Right now, that's three. 8;D In the future, as I learn to bond and communicate with spirits better, I'd probably want about 7. But that could change to 10, 20, or 30 as my abilities change too. Who knows!

2) a lot of water spirits call to me. Oddly enough, i don't have any yet!

3) all the time. I ignore calls because of a lack of money and time to properly bond with more spirits. When there were multiple spirits i had to choose between, i have ignored calls when i thought that their abilities were not my priority at that time.

4) a couple were creatures, a mermaid, a kraken... If only i had the time, money, and skills to properly keep them all!