Merry meet!
Thank you once again to all those who joined in for last week’s Weekly Witchy Challenge - Casting with Candles 
October’s arrival brings a season of spirits, when the veil is thin and many find it easier to connect with other beings and other planes.
The theme for this week’s challenge is inspired by the spirits of the season and is…
Spirit Animals 
Animal guides, otherworldly messengers, symbolic entities, and more-
What animals are important in your practice?
The topic of “spirit animals” comes up often in witchy spaces - you may have heard the term in a forum discussion, mentioned in a magickal book, or perhaps noted in a spiritual course. The more you see it mentioned, the more you’ll likely see how it can be used in different ways - what defines a “spirit animal” can differ from one witch and one practice to another, and that’s okay!
In this challenge, we’ll explore some common examples of spirit animals: such as otherworldly guides, spirit messengers, power animals, totem animals, etc. For the sake of this challenge, a spirit animal can be any non-human entity that assists with, guides, or inspires a spiritual practice 
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This week’s challenge is all about spirit animals - how you choose to take on this theme is up to you.
So are you ready? Because it’s…
CHALLENGE TIME!
Picture from Spells8: Familiar Spirits and Power Animals
STEP 1 : Our Animal Guides
This challenge is all about spirit animals - but as always, feel free to explore the theme in a way that aligns with you and your unique practice.
Still not sure where to begin? To help you get started, here are a few ways in which a witch might approach this challenge.
Please make sure you are logged into your Spells8 Account so you can view all of the resources shared!
From deities to guardian angels, there are many entities a witch can work with in their practices. Spirit animals (sometimes called totem animals or power animals) are one such presence. These are usually one or more specific, non-human beings that have their own name, identity, and/or representative purpose.
Do you work with a spirit animal in your practice? If so, feel free to share about it! If not but it aligns with your practice, consider reaching out to connect with and meet a spirit animal guide this week.
Related discussions and resources:
- 🐈 Familiar Spirits and Power Animals: What is the difference?
- How to call your spirit animal
- Lion spirit guide after my self dedication (Wicca)
- Do you know anything about Spirit Guides?
While a spirit animal may be one distinct creature who guides you, a spirit animal can also be a universal energy - the inherent nature of a type of animal. The energy of this animal may inspire, guide, or simply call to you in a deep way.
Is there a type of animal you encounter over and over? Perhaps you have a type of animal that resonates strongly with you? Feel free to explore it this week!
Related discussions and resources:
- Exploring Spirit Animals
- Find Your Fylgja (Spirit Animal)
- No Dinosaur Ghosts? 👻 Animal Spirit Discussion!
- Spirit Animals 🐦
- Question about Animal Totems and Intuition
Some deities take the form of an animal or display animalistic traits. Other deities send animals as Their spiritual messengers, or to represent Them in the physical world.
Do you work with a deity associated with animals? Is one of your favorite animals associated with a deity or powerful spirit? Feel free to do some research or spellwork and share it as your challenge entry this week.
Bast: The Cat Goddess of Egypt
Goddesses of Wild Animals and Nature
Horus: Egyptian God of the Sky
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… And More! 
The suggestions above are just a few ideas to help kickstart your creativity- if you feel called to explore spirit animals in another way, you are welcome to do so!
As always, all witches are encouraged to embrace their own unique practice with how they explore the challenge theme 
Diana’s Deer Symbol from Diana: Goddess of the Hunt
STEP 2 : Share Your Experience 
Click here for a note about challenge inclusivity
Everyone is welcome to join the challenge by practicing magick in line with the current theme. For lurkers and those who don’t feel comfortable sharing, it is absolutely okay to follow along with the challenge but keep your entry personal. Feel free to join in spirit and do what feels most comfortable for you! 
That being said, please know that if you would like to receive a prize and a public shout-out, it is required that you share your experience.
Getting Your Credit 
In order for your entry to be counted, all you have to do is write/share about your experience and label it as your challenge entry. There is a lot of chatting here (which is awesome- chatting and discussion are very welcome!) so please clearly write that it is your entry so I know to count it! 
Where Should I Share My Entry? 
Click here to learn where to share your challenge entry
You are welcome to post it right here- just click “reply” 
to this post and write your experience in the text box that pops up!
Alternatively, you could create a new post in the forum (this is good for when you have a lot to share and/or would like to discuss aspects of your entry not related to the current theme)
Note : If you do choose to create a new thread, please add the “challenge-entry” tag and/or add a hyperlink back to this post so that it can be easily found- thank you! 
Deadline 
This challenge will close in 6 DAYS
To join in, please share your experience by:
Tuesday, October 8 at 7:00 AM EDT (Eastern US Time)
2024-10-08T11:00:00Z
(Note that the time zone is ET- if you don’t see your time displayed above, you can use this time zone calculator to check for your time zone!)
Prizes 
For their efforts, all participants will receive a special shout-out and a small prize!
Acknowledgments will be given in a Props and Presents Post that will appear in the forums on Tuesday.
After the challenge closes, you are still very welcome to post but please be aware that no additional prizes will be given. This discussion will remain open for about a week after the challenge finishes.
A warm reminder that the challenges are designed to be very open- everyone is encouraged to participate in a way that honors and reflects their unique practice 
If you have any doubts about if something is acceptable to post or say, please double-check with the Forum FAQ and/or reach out to your friendly Moderator Team.
And for those new to challenges- welcome! 
Know that the goal of these activities is to help you further diversify and strengthen your abilities and to bring together the Spells8 forum family to inspire and support one another in creative ways 
Me? Love birds? Never.