I am often asked about animal totems, especially due to the fact that I am most drawn to my totem cards for readings. This connection is strong for me personally. I thought I would provide some of the information I have learned with you. As you read on, you will see how each is individual to our own lives. These animals are sacred and the relationship we have with them is most spiritual. My hope is to give you a better understanding of them and how they guide us throughout this lifetime, as long as we honor and respect their spirit. In shamanism, animals are most sacred, giving us guidance, wisdom, insight, spiritual strength, and medicine.
These are types of animal totems, each with their own meanings and life journey association. Among them are Life Long, Journey, Message and Shadow.
Life Long Animal Totem: This totem is just as it says, lifelong. Always there throughout your life, prepared to be called upon. You may recall a specific animal you were drawn to, perhaps as a child, carried in to adulthood. An animal you find most fascinated with, curious about, even loved for so long. Perhaps it is one you collected and/or dreamed of.
Journey Animal Totem: This particular totem will appear off and on throughout your life, and is reflective of a period of time in your life. This can be weeks, months, and maybe years. This animal totem remains with you and guides you during this time. This can be more than one animal, helping to guide you along this journey appearing during this time. Perhaps you are newly drawn to a specific animal in thoughts, pictures or dreams. It is suggested to look into the cycle of the animal to give yourself a better insight of the length of this specific journey.
Message Animal Totem: Also referred to as a wakeup call about self-growth, a possible warning, or a spiritual message. The message can be a life journey interference, meaning a purposeful delay in your timing. This animal totem brings you to the proper placement of time, allowing you to meet up with or run into someone, while unplanned, meant to be. Perhaps you were stopped and then allowed to receive a phone call, or delayed, resulting in avoiding an accident by minutes, or even seconds. Not always meant to bring you a message, but rather to delay life so your path goes forth as it is supposed to.
Shadow Animal Totems: We are tested by these totems. This one you may fear as it represents our inner fears. This is only to learn from. It is powerful and should be faced as it is meant to help us face our inner fears, then, bringing forth great power. Once overcome, and only then, will this become the most powerful of your totems. Without overcoming, it will work against you. The journey with this totem is like predator vs. prey. This is certainly not anything extremely negative or harmful by any means. Merely a part of a life lesson. Perhaps this animal is one recurring in a nightmare, or one you have always chosen to avoid. In the end, once fears are faced, you learn the lessons associated with this animal totem, therefore embracing it as your spiritual totem.
Among these, sometimes not mentioned, is also the Birth Animal Totem. There are a set of native totem animals for each of the 12 moons of a year. We each carry them with us throughout our lives.
We are given animal totems by Mother Earth, according to which of the Moons we were born under, totems of specific animals, plants, colors, minerals, and elements (fire, water, air, earth), and wind directions.
I will be explaining further the differences as I have learned them in animal totem categories in a future article. These are sometimes separated into five categories: Land animal, Water animal, Air animal, Reptile animal, and Insect animal totems.
*If you wish to have a totem reading from me, please contact me at: www.supernaturalwhisperswithdawn.weebly.com. Please let me know at that time if you wish to learn your birth totem and I will include this information for you. Please do not provide me with any personal information at that time. Although I will need a birth month and day to provide your birth totem, I wish to receive this information only after your scheduled reading is complete. Thank you.
