Aquila

Aquila is the Latin and Romance languages word for eagle. Specifically, it may refer to:

People

Places

Work titles and brand names

Aquila (name)

Aquila is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include:

Ancient and biblical

Medieval and renaissance

Modern

Priscilla and Aquila

Priscilla (/prᵻˈsɪlə/) and Aquila (/ˈækwᵻlə/) were a first century Christian missionary married couple described in the New Testament and traditionally listed among the Seventy Disciples. They lived, worked, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, who described them as his "fellow workers in Christ Jesus" (Romans 16:3 NASB).

Priscilla and Aquila are described in the New Testament as providing a presence that strengthened the early Christian churches. Paul was generous in his recognition and acknowledgment of his indebtedness to them (Rom. 16:3-4). Together, they are credited with instructing Apollos, a major evangelist of the first century, and "[explaining] to him the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:26).

It has been conjectured, in light of her apparent prominence, that Priscilla held the office of pastor. She is also thought by some to be the anonymous author of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

New Testament references

They are mentioned seven times in four different books of the New Testament. They are always named as a couple and never individually. Of those seven references, Priscilla's name is mentioned first on five occasions (as shown in italics in the list below), which is conspicuously unusual for such a male-dominant society. Throughout Scripture, the man is usually mentioned first; e.g., Adam and Eve, Ananias and Sapphira, making the four appearances of Priscilla's name first a notable exception.

Familiar spirit

In European folklore and folk-belief of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, familiar spirits (sometimes referred to simply as "familiars" or "animal guides") were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to the records of the time, they would appear in numerous guises, often as an animal, but also at times as a human or humanoid figure, and were described as "clearly defined, three-dimensional… forms, vivid with colour and animated with movement and sound" by those alleging to have come into contact with them, unlike later descriptions of ghosts with their "smoky, undefined form[s]".

When they served witches, they were often thought to be malevolent, while when working for cunning-folk they were often thought of as benevolent (although there was some ambiguity in both cases). The former were often categorised as demons, while the latter were more commonly thought of and described as fairies. The main purpose of familiars is to serve the witch or young witch, providing protection for them as they come into their new powers.

Familiar (disambiguation)

A familiar is a supernatural entity believed to assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic.

Familiar may refer to:

Familiar (Dungeons & Dragons)

A familiar is a fictional creature in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. A familiar is based on the concept of the familiar spirit or familiar animal, and serves spellcasting characters as a magical companion and servant.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

In both first and second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, a familiar was summoned through the use of the spell find familiar.

Third edition Dungeons & Dragons

Familiars are companions of wizards and sorcerers. A Druid or Ranger cannot summon a familiar, but can summon an Animal Companion instead. Familiars can be summoned once per day. Multiclass ranger/druid with arcane user can summon both a familiar and an animal companion. These can be normal animals like panthers and pigs, but they can also be the strange creatures (Imps, Mephits, pixies, giant spiders, eyeballs, small dragons, etc.) Unlike creatures summoned by arcane or divine spell (Elementals, Planar Allies, Undead...), familiars do not unsummon while player is resting. They remain summoned until they are killed or unsummoned by player. When familiar is killed, his summoner receives some damage but he can summon new familiar, if he rested before combat.