Recently, I have become drawn to the idea of spirit animals. It was after my close encounter experience in Mexico with a beautiful green sea turtle that I began to consider the signs that our animal friends may be communicating to us, even subtly.
What is a Spirit Animal?
A spirit animal is an animal that is believed to have a special connection or relationship with a particular person. A sprit animal represents the qualities, characteristics, and energy of that animal and can serve as a guide, protector, or source of wisdom for the person. Connecting with a spirit animal is often done through meditation, dreams or other spiritual practices to gain insight and guidance. Common spirit animals include wolves, bears, eagles, deer and domestic animals such as cats or dogs.
Connecting with your spirit animal can provide a greater sense of self-awareness and understanding of your personality, gifts, and challenges. It also allows you to make powerful spiritual connections and develop your intuitive abilities. Having and connecting with a spirit animals also means that you have specific animal-based strengths, instincts, and wisdom to draw upon when you need them. Your spirit animal can also provide a sense of protection and belonging.
Some people believe they have multiple spirit animals that come forward at different times in their lives to provide guidance and support depending on their need. It may be that you have a primary spirit animal as well as additional “allied” spirit animals, in the same way that some people work with a patron deity as well as others.
The terms spirit animal and animal totem are often used interchangeably but some will argue that this is not entirely accurate. A spiritual animal has a deep connection to an individual while an animal totem is a sacred symbol or representation of a group, tribe, clan or community. It represents the shared qualities and energies of the collective.
An example of an animal totem would be the eagle, which is considered a sacred animal totem in many Native American traditions. Its keen eyesight, power and even its moulting is representative of collective values of vision, strength and renewal.
How do you Discover your spirit animal?
You do not choose your spirt animal – it chooses you!
Your spirt animal is likely to appear when you are not in your normal state of mind, for example when you are day dreaming, sleep dreaming or meditation or in a state of relaxation, perhaps during reiki. You could try meditating, perhaps following a visualisation of entering a natural environment and see which animals visit you. Also, read books about animals and see if you notice one that seems to stand out more than the others
Your spirit animal may also visit you physically. Look out for an animal that you unexpectedly see, perhaps somewhere you were least expecting it or watch out for seeing the same animal multiple times in a short period of time. Just place a bit of rational thinking on that latter point – I see sparrows in my garden every day but don’t consider them as my spirit animal. Its more likely that the animal will be doing something unusual that catches your attention.
It may be that you see an animal in physical form and then see it in other places, perhaps on TV, or its mentioned in a song. May be you go into a shop and see a stuffed toy version of the animal, clothing with the animal or its patterns or a beautiful, framed painting/photo that catches your eye.
Perhaps you’ve always had a strong connection with an animal since your childhood for no apparent reason. Perhaps this was your spirit animal introducing itself.
How do you get to know your spirt animal?
Once you know what your spirit animal is, you can begin to make connections with it by learning as much about it as possible. Read books, watch documentaries or even observe it in nature if possible.
Also, reflect on how this animal resonates with you personally :
- Consider the qualities that the animal has and how they relate your life. Do you have the same qualities or are they qualities that you lack or perhaps need to develop?
- Think about how the animal relates to your own life experiences, perhaps things that have happened to you in the past. Did you show the same qualities as this animal or could its qualities provide a means of healing from hurts or traumas?
- What benefits could this animal’s qualities bring to help you grow as a person?
It would also be beneficial to have a physical representation of your spirit animal e.g. a photo, ornament or even a self-created painting or drawing. It could be displayed at home or on your altar or sacred space. This acts as a reminder of the animal’s qualities and of the role it plays in your life.
I hope you find this both useful and interesting.
blessed be
Alan
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It’s a topic that we often see questions about here in the forum, so it’s always a blessing to have good resources for people to explore.
