Working with Animal Energies  

totem (plural totems)

1. important tribal object: an object, animal, plant, or other natural phenomenon revered as a symbol of a tribe and often used in rituals among some tribal or other traditional groups of people

2. carving: a carving or other representation of a totem

3. symbolic thing: something regarded as a symbol, especially something treated with the kind of respect normally reserved for religious icon

If you described yourself as an animal, what kind of animal would you be? How would your family and friends describe you? How about your co-workers? The answers to these questions are clues to discovering your totem animals, the animal medicine you possess innately.

Connecting with the animal –or animals-within ourselves provides perspective as to how we see ourselves, how others view us, and how we can more easily learn the lessons that face us.  Seeing ourselves as possessing the qualities of a particular animal can make expressing that part of ourselves more easily. Whether it is the fierce lion or the sharp-eyed hawk, or even the defensive badger, recognizing and using that animal’s medicine, or gifts can teach us much about ourselves.

The recurring appearance of an animal in our lives deserves attention. It may be a one-time messenger to us, or it may be a Spirit Animal that teaches us in our next level of development. Some define a Spirit Animal as one that exists on the spiritual plane as well as the physical, differing from a Totem in that it is a short-term teacher. Others use the terms Spirit Animal, Totem, and Animal Guide interchangeably. However you see it, animals represent powerful tools for our development.

When an animal appears to you, either in an obvious, striking way, or when the same animal keeps coming to you whether in different forms (such as live, on television or in a book) then take note of that animal and do some research. Several excellent books and numerous websites enumerate the archetypical energies of the animal, and studying the actual animal in history and nature can prove enlightening. Still, as with all natural teachers, your gut feeling about the animal determines what it means to you personally, whether it means that to anyone else on the entire planet.  So pay attention, and listen to your instincts.