People often ask, “what is your spirit animal?” Some don’t know what a spirit animal even is but those that do know that a spirit animal is there to guide you and to help you. If you work with your spirit animal, then you will see that they can share wisdom with you and speak to you when you need them.
Power Animal
There are different terms for a spirit animal and some call them things like power animal. This is the same thing it just depends on the culture as to what they are called.
Your spirit animal is there to help you with specific situations or to assist you in your everyday life. They can show up when you need them the most or they can show up just when things get hard. It doesn’t matter what kind of animal or insect there is, any of them can be a spirit animal.
What is a Spirit Animal?
A spirit animal is there and can come when you call on them. They are there when your soul needs them. Seeing an animal in a strange place can be a sign that your spirit animal is there to help you. The changes that you need to make will be guided by your spirit animal.
Some animals will teach you that it is okay to live the life that you are living, and others will tell you that it is time to make changes.
Spirit Animal Humans
Humans are considered animals so they technically can be a spirit animal to you. You might meet someone that comes to you right when you have a need like your tire needs changed on the side of the highway. This can be your spirit animal.
You might have a teacher that guides you when you need it most or one that will encourage you in the hard times. This kind of relationship is probably a one-time thing or something that is short-term. Once they do the work that is needed, they move on to help others.
Life is full of changes and tasks, and you will likely have multiple spirit animals in your life. Be open-hearted and see how many spirited animals you see along your path.
Knowing Your Spirit Animal
Here are some ways that your spirit animal shows it is close to you:
- In dreams.
- In strange places.
- When you meditate.
- On pictures or ads.
- With your senses of hearing, smelling, touching, tasting or an impression.
Dreaming about an animal over and over again can be a sign that this is your spirit animal. They might even give you a message in your dream. When you wake up, write your dream down so that you can remember what message you got.
The spirit animal can come at a different time in your life. You might have one that comes into your yard like a gopher or a bird that is unusual. These spirit animals are often different looking and exciting to have near you. Maybe you keep seeing the same animal over and over.
This kind of encounter can be a warning for you. If you are hiking and you see an animal, this can mean its time to turn around and to be cautious. Your spirit animal can be guiding you that something dangerous is ahead of you.
When you meditate and you see a picture of your spiritual animal it can mean that the image is there to show you that something unexpected is going to happen.
We love pictures and images and so if you see your spirit animal on television or in a magazine, this can be a good thing. This can mean that they are there to guide you and help you.
Another way you can see your spirit animal is through your senses. You might hear a bee buzzing or smell a flower that a butterfly has landed on. The sense that you have can guide you to your spirit animals.
What is the Message?
Your spirit animal will give you a message that is personal to you. It will come to you, and you will be aware of the signs that it is trying to give you. Maybe your spirit animal needs to protect you or guide you, you will know.
The messages that you get can be symbolic or they might even have a religious idea behind them. Figure out what is going on in your life and how the message resonates with you. No matter what is going on, if this is new to you, meditate and read more about the spirit animal that has come to you.
After you figure out what the message is from your animal, take time to think through the message and see if you need to take some kind of action or if you need to wait until you learn a lesson.
Remembering Your Spirit Animal
Your spirit animal will come to you often and if you find that the animal leaves before you have gotten through your situation, chances are that you have not shown respect, or you didn’t show appreciation. You can fix this, but you have to figure out what you did wrong.
Your spirit animal may also leave if they have to let another guide come to you. Spirited animals will do this so that you can get the help that you need from the animals that can give you the most help.
Some spirit animals will come for a season and then leave such as a beaver that might come in the summer or a deer in the winter. This will depend on the reasons for the visit and how long you need your spirit animal to stay.
Other animals will come to you to wish you a happy birthday or to even just say congratulations for something good that you did. Enjoy the energy that they send you.
Sometimes there are animals that will work with other spirit animals to help you to be protected in all the corners of your life. The contact that you have with these animals will depend on the situation. There are some animals that cannot work together like a cat animal spirit with a bird animal spirit, and you have to honor this with all of our guides.
If you have a spirit animal or more in your home, you need to make sure that you are taking each lesson and energies as they come. A frog, for example, will tell you words while a bird might be there to offer you peace. Be careful when you communicate with your spirit animals that you are listening and paying attention to.
What is a Totem Animal?
A totem animal is another kind of spirit animal. This is a belief in Totemism and is not a religious idea. This is also not a time where you will worship your ancestors through these guides.
What is Group Totemism?
This is an animal, bug or plant that comes from a different kind of clan or tribe. This group can be a totem animal that comes from your family or a community. You may have grandparents that believed in this.
The totem animal has certain powers to help you and to keep you safe. They are able to shape shifts and are able to give you symbols and other things. This is considered a myth to some and not everyone believes that this is real.
What is Individual Totemism?
This is when you see a spirit animal connected to you. This can be power that is given to the animal and works as part of the ego. This is a soul contract between a person and an animal. If you find that you love a certain animal for a long period of time, this can be your totem animal. You might even be able to find out what your totem animals name is.
Some cultures and tribes believe that there is an existence between being born and having a totem animal from birth. When this happens, they show you what they need from you, and you will need form them as well.
There are also Aboriginal people that often give their totem animal to their children, and this is known differently by culture. Sometimes the poem is illustrated in different rituals and in different ways. It could be transferred by parents or even through a Medicine man. The energy of the totem animal is there to teach you a lesson and to be a companion to you.
Children that have totems from New Guinea will have them for their whole life. They might dream of different ancestors that will give them the name of their totem animal. People in India believe that the totem animal and the person will have similar personalities and the totem is meant to be a protector.
A person doesn’t choose their own totem and it comes to them when the time is right and when the universe decides this.
Power Animal
A power animal is seen in different societies such as some Shamanic societies. This is a guide that is there to protect you. This is often seen as a spirit animal and there are symbols that connect people with these animals.
The power animal will come during meditation and is a physical animal or symbol that has a meaning. This can also be an animal that will shape shift.
You might want to use insect energy and you need the strength of that animal at this exact time and it can come to you even if your animal isn’t normally an insect. You might be afraid of things and need an animal to come and give you peace and bravery and this can happen with a power animal.
It is important to honor the power animals, and this comes across in different cultures. Being thankful is one of the best ways that you can honor this, and you will keep your spirit animal as long as it is needed.
Being Thankful
Make sure that you are thankful for the help of any type of spirit animal that comes to you. This is important and it will be noticed by your spirit animal, and it will make them love you even more.
History of Spirit Animals
Spirit animals have a history that show you that they come from the spiritual world and different beliefs and religions. This is something that has been around for years and is the stories of folktales and oral traditions. Animism is when the spirit helpers come as power animals, totem animals or more.
No matter what spirit animal that you have, they are souls that are there to guide you. The universe sends these things when you need them the most and they will guide you and teach you what you need to do and where you need to go.