Symbolism Directory - Spiritual Meaning of Animals

[BryWisteria]

Merry meet,

Want to learn the spiritual meaning of an animal? Whether you spot an animal in your tea leaf or candle wax readings or suspect an animal visitor may be a sign from a deity, it can be helpful to look up potential meanings.

This animal symbolism dictionary created by the coven aims to provide a quick overview of common meanings of animals. Feel free to use it to help examine signs or guide your divination readings.

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ANIMAL SPIRITUAL MEANINGS - INFINITE ROOTS COVEN

*Note that animals may have different or even contradictory meanings in different traditions or cultures. It is recommended to also consider your intuition and personal beliefs when making interpretations

Bat - Intuition, transformation, unseen realms
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Bear - Endurance, strength, hibernation, patience
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Boar - Aggression, being rash, strength

Bull - Steadiness, stability, endurance, determination
See also: Taurus season

Cat - Patience, multiple chances, aloofness, curiosity
Associated deities: Bast, Freyja
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Crow - Life and death, transformation
See also: Corvidomancy or Crow Meanings

Deer - Cycles, hunting, grace, gentleness, royalty
Associated deities: The Horned God, Cernunnos, Artemis
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Dog - Loyalty, trust, dependence, companionship, devotion
Associated deities: Hekate, Hades, Artemis
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Dolphin - Connection, communication, playfulness
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Eagle - Grace, strength, independence, majesty, strength, awe
Associated deities: Zeus
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Elephant - Kindness, humility, empathy, strength, wisdom
Associated deities: Ganesh
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Falcon - Focus, vision, perception
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Fox - Cunning, trickery, divine messengers, adaptability, resourcefulness
Associated deities: Loki, Inari
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Frog - Transformation, water, metamorphisis
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Giraffe - Vision, patience, majesty
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Hawk - Vision, perception, purpose, decisive action
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Hedgehog - Grounding, introspection, rythms
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Horse - Freedom, power, community, healing, independence, loyalty, friendship
Associated deities: Epona, Rhiannon, Macha, Poseidon, Odin
See also: Goddess Rhiannon, Exploring Spirit Animals

Jaguar - Fearlessness, navigating shadows, strength
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Leopard - Grace, agility, independence
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Lion - Courage, leadership, self-expression
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Lizard - Resilience, determination, observe, survival in harsh conditions
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Monkey - Flexibility, perseverance, playfulness, community, curiosity
Associated deities: Sun Wukong

Mouse - Stealth, silence, family, humility
See also: Exploring Spirit Animals

Owl - Wisdom, death, change
Associated deities: Athena
See also: Owl Omens, Bird Omens, Seeing a White Bird at Night

Peacock - Protection, pride, flamboyance, royalty
Associated deities: Hera

Rabbit - Haste, courage, fertility, spring

Ram - Aggressive, determined, stubborn, acting rash, fast movement
See also: Aries season

Rat - Illness, infestation, infiltration, cunning

Raven - Life and death, cycles, divine wisdom
Associated deities: Hekate, Odin

Sheep - Docile, domestic, peaceful, group mindset, naivety

Snake - Change, cycles, stealth
Associated deities: Loki, Cernunnos

Swan - Grace, elegance, ferocity

Wolf - The wild, survival, packs and community
See also: Wolf - Inner Guidance
Associated deities: She-Wolf Goddesses

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Additional Resources:
Didn’t find the animal you were looking for above? Feel free to check these other guides:

• Exploring Spirit Animals by Cosmic_Curiosity
• Animal Guides Reference (Source Unknown)

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Please note this directory is a work in progress. If you know a common meaning for an animal and would like to add it, feel free to share them in the comments below.

Blessed be!

[Amethyst]

This is great! I look forward to seeing stuff being added to it!

[georgia]

Cernunnos is associated with the snake and the deer.

Wasn’t Zeus an eagle? Grace, strength.

Hera was a peacock because of honoring the memory of her thousand eyed protector. Thus the peacock is protection as well as pride (nature note: I have seen a peacock display his feathers as an intimidation to protect his hen and chicks. When he realized I wouldn’t harm them, he put his feathers down until more strangers arrived, and then he protected me, too).

Dragonfly was known for curiosity and illusion by some Native American tribes, according to Jamie Sams

From the same book and card set, deer was gentleness, rabbit was facing fear… Trying to remember more…

Brilliant idea, @BryWisteria. Thank you. When we get it more filled out, maybe @Francisco can make a course out of it?

Wolf - Inner guidance and Intuition

Wolf – Inner Guidance and Intuition Symbolism: The wolf represents instinct, loyalty, freedom, and the strength of community. It also connects deeply with personal intuition, self-discovery, and trusting one’s inner voice. Guidance in Meditation: The wolf encourages you to trust your inner wisdom and instincts. It helps you build confidence in your ability to navigate life’s challenges, whether you are walking alone or relying on your pack (community). Find a comfortable spot where you won’t …

[Selena-Paloma]

Love this!

[BryWisteria]

@Amethyst and @Selena-Paloma - Yay! I’m happy you both like the directory I hope it can be useful for you!

@georgia These are wonderful associations! Thank you so much, Georgia, I’ve added most of them in. About the dragonfly, because this list has the potential to get very long very quickly, I’m going to stick to just animals for now. We can potentially open up an additional insect directory in the future if there’s a demand for it. I’ll save the dragonfly notes for then! Thanks again

[tanya]

@BryWisteria I’d like to add a couple to the list, if I may??
I’m not actually sure I even know how to add to the list!! Lol .
Help??

[MeganB]

@tanya

Help??

The post itself isn’t editable by everyone right now, but feel free to drop your additions here in a comment and one of us mods will get it added for you

[tanya]

Oh that would be great!! I just thought they’d go along with the rest of them nicely.
Butterfly - Transformation, Rebirth, Personal Growth, Self discovery, Change and Evolve
Associated deities: Psyche
Horse - Freedom, Power, Community, Healing, Independence, Loyalty, Friendship
Associated deities: Epona, Poseidon, Oden

[MeganB]

Of course! I think Bry was potentially making a different thread for insects, but I can get the entry for Horse added!

[Cosmic_Curiosity]

Exploring Spirit Animals

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? How do you Discover your spirit animal? How do you get to know your spirt animal? What do different spirit animals represent? I hope you find this both useful and interesting. blessed be Alan

Just wanted to post a link back to this that I posted a while back as things can get lost in the forum

[MeganB]

Oh, perfect, @Cosmic_Curiosity Thank you for adding it! I’m not sure how @BryWisteria would want it formatted in the post, so I’ll leave it for her to add

[Rayven]

I can’t remember where I found this but was a while ago and I found this extremely helpful
Animal Guides.pdf (2.2 MB)

[BryWisteria]

@tanya Thank you so much for your additions!

@Cosmic_Curiosity That’s a treasure trove of animal meanings! Apologies I forgot about that resource, Alan - it’s a fantastic one. If it’s okay with you, I’d love to borrow some of your notes there to add to this directory (along with links to read the full blurbs in your original post, of course)

@Rayven That looks like another handy directory! Since it’s so long, rather than try to add them all one by one, I’ll add it as an additional resource folks can reference. Thank you for sharing, Rayven!

[Cosmic_Curiosity]

@BryWisteria

If it’s okay with you, I’d love to borrow some of your notes there to add to this directory

Of course. Feel free to use it in any way you wish

[BryWisteria]

Thank you very much, @Cosmic_Curiosity! I’m in the process of adding the notes and links now