No Dinosaur Ghosts? 👻 Animal Spirit Discussion!

[MeganB]

I shared a meme over in the meme thread that got me thinking about how we view the spirits of animals once they pass on or cross the rainbow bridge. I wanted to explore this idea of animals, their spirits, and how this relates to different cultures and religious beliefs around the world. I also want to open this up for discussion for other people to share their thoughts and opinions.

Since this post and discussion deal with pet death, please be mindful of the discussion and manage your triggers accordingly. While we may not all believe the same thing, we can all be respectful of one another beliefs and act with compassion.

Without going too in-depth into any specific religion or culture. Here is a fairly simple breakdown of different beliefs across the world as it pertains to animals and their spirits.

Beliefs about the spirits of animals that die vary widely across different religions and cultures. Here are some perspectives from various traditions:

Animism

A belief that stems from the natural world rather than religion, animism holds that everything in the physical world has a spirit or the potential to have spiritual energy. Those who hold animistic beliefs may believe that animals have a spirit or soul that remains in the physical world after death. This spirit can then interact with the living world, manifesting in whatever way they choose.

Pagan Animism: Exploring Gods, Beliefs, and Practices

Hinduism

In Hinduism, animals are considered to have souls, and their spirits are subject to the cycle of samsara (rebirth). The treatment of animals by humans is guided by the principle of ahimsa (non-violence), and animals can be reincarnated as humans or other beings based on their karma.

Buddhism

Buddhism shares the concept of samsara with Hinduism. Animals are sentient beings capable of suffering, and their spirits are also part of the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Compassion for all living beings is emphasized, and animals can be reborn as humans or in other forms.

Christianity

Christian views on the afterlife of animals vary. Some denominations believe animals have souls and that they go to heaven or a similar place after death. Others view animals as not having eternal souls but acknowledge that they are part of God’s creation and will be restored in the new creation.

→ Christian Witchcraft – An Interview

Islam

Islam teaches that animals are part of God’s creation and should be treated with kindness and respect. While there is no consensus on whether animals have eternal souls, they are considered important in the natural order and will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment to testify about how humans treated them.

Judaism

Judaism traditionally teaches that animals do not have eternal souls like humans, but they are still considered important creations of God. The treatment of animals is guided by the principle of tza’ar ba’alei chayim (preventing animal suffering).

Shinto

In Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, some animals are seen as manifestations of kami (spirits or gods). When animals die, their spirits continue to exist and can influence the living. Shrines and rituals often honor animal spirits.

Spirit Animal Quiz: Find Your Spirit Guide!

Native American Beliefs

Many Native American tribes have beliefs that include the existence of animal spirits. These spirits are often seen as guides or protectors and are respected in rituals and storytelling. The belief is that animal spirits continue to interact with the living world after death.

African Traditional Religions

African traditional religions often view animals as having spirits that play a role in the spiritual world. These spirits can be ancestors, protectors, or part of the natural balance. Rituals and ceremonies frequently honor these spirits.

Taoism

Taoism views animals as part of the natural world and the Tao (the way or path). While there is less emphasis on individual animal spirits, the interconnectedness of all life is recognized, and animals are respected as part of the cosmic order.

With all of that said, the meme in question really makes me think! In case you have not seen the meme I shared, I will share it again here.

If animals have spirits and souls that have the potential to stick around after they have passed on, why then have we not encountered the spirits of dinosaurs? What makes an animal’s spirit stay in the physical world? What might influence the spirit of an animal to leave and go elsewhere?

It may sound funny, but I ask this in all seriousness. I have my own ideas but I want to hear what you think, first!

[Mystique]

This has me wondering if they have their own world. Kind of like the Fae. They have their own place they stay in most the time. They don’t like humans very much and stay away as much as possible. So now I’m wondering if the dinosaur spirits have their own place where they hide out and nobody has ever thought to call on them for assistance.

[Satans_Helper]

Very interesting

[Satans_Helper]

I’d be interested to know. I loved dinosaurs when I was little I used to have dinosaur toys

And land before time

[tracyS]

I’ve never been sure about animal spirits and how it works for them, so I’ll share my personal experiences.

During my Psychic session, a cat appeared to the psychic. A fat cat (my mind went to Sweep). Apparently her spirit visits me and I feel a weight on my chest. The psychic didn’t know I had cats in the past as they’ve been dead a long time. Nor did she know that I experience sometimes in the night, a dead weight on my chest.

I get visited by the spirit of a black dog, I can see it out of the corner of my eye. It looks like a doberman. I’ve only ever had one doberman, Max. It just appears, then disappears and looks like a shadow. This has gone on for years.

I also get visited by a couple of rats. They run across the frontroom, this freaks me out a little, and at first I was convinced I had rats in the house. When noone else in the family could find the rats, I realised it must be spirit. I’ve had many rats as pets as they’re one of my favourite animals. Other family members have seen the rat shadows adding weight to the fact these spirits must be real and not just be my mind.

Thinking on dinosaurs, and my own experience, I feel that maybe we don’t see dinosaurs in spirit because we have no connection with them. They maybe out there, somewhere, but they have no reason to visit us. Just my thoughts

[Satans_Helper]

Thanks for sharing lovely. Neat

[bj1]

I was reading Lisa Peschel’s book A Practical guide to the runes: their uses in divination and magick and found this passage rather thought provoking:
“The occult writer Dion Fortune once said that what we may consider “gods” are really artificial thought-forms built up over long periods of time by the worship of successive generations. Another writer, Itzhak Bentov, quoted in Rune Games, describes a hypothetical way in which a “god” might be created: “He imagines a rock in the desert. This inanimate (yet not “dead” as we perceive it) object has a very low level of consciousness. Its threshold of conscious awareness is stimulated by contact with various small animals in the area who regard the rock as a safe haven against predators and the elements. When a human being who is sensitive to vibrations travels through this stretch of desert, he may sense something “different” about this particular stone. If he is of a faith which accepts the idea of animism and spirits, his awe of the stone may turn into homage, and then worship of it, thereby boosting the rock’s embryonic consciousness even further and eventually the spirit in the stone is transformed into a god.”
This is course takes a very long time. The making and charging of talismans can by no means be equated with creating a god-form, but it works on the very same principle and does not take nearly so long.”

Soooo, why have we not encountered the spirits of dinosaurs? Well, there were no human beings around when the dinosaurs lived, so there was no one to sense the vibrations of a dinosaur. If there were human beings on the planet at the same time as the dinosaurs, I am sure they would have be in awe of them!
I tried to find some books by Itzhak Bentov on Internet Archive, but most have been removed, and the website is acting weird today. His book Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousness sounds like an interesting read.

I find this an interesting subject because I am studying the Sami and other Northern cultures that had animistic beliefs.
Thanks for the post! .

[Satans_Helper]

There were cavemen around when dinos were around tho right? I don’t remember

[bj1]

Once the dinosaurs died out, there was a period of about 65 million years before humans appeared on earth.

[Mystique]

Very interesting

That sounds like a pretty interesting idea of why we can’t contact dinosaur spirits. It makes a lot of sense.

[MeganB]

@Mystique

now I’m wondering if the dinosaur spirits have their own place

That’s definitely one way of looking at it! Would that then imply that the dinosaur spirits were otherworldly entities?

@tracyS

because we have no connection with them

Oh, that’s a really interesting theory… it makes me wonder if archaeologists would be more connected and possibly feel or see these spirits!

@bj1

so there was no one to sense the vibrations of a dinosaur

Hmm… that’s also an interesting theory! So in this theory, we would only be able to sense the spirits of beings who had been around humans at one point in time?

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From my perspective, I think it’s just been way too long for us to experience the spirits of dinosaurs. Millions of years have passed since the extinction event and, with the belief in reincarnation and the fact that their spirits may have been too “young” at the time to understand the way time works outside of the physical realm, they may have simply moved on to a new life.

To my knowledge, no one has tried to contact a dinosaur so we don’t really have a foundation for their spirits, if that makes sense. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to contact a dinosaur spirit, though!