What is your power / totem animal?

[Dee Ell]

How did you discover / connect with it?

And how do you connect with /channel it in your divinatory practice?


(apologies in advance if this isn't the right place for this thread! I can't access the Spirituality forums where I'm guessing it might go as I can't afford to renew my subscription... sorry )

 

[celticnoodle]

I have a few power animals.

The first one I ever "met" was the black panther/jaguar. I found him (I always refer to it as a "Him") through a shaman, who lead me in meditation to find my power animal. When I met him, he never gave me a name to call him, so I always refer to him as "black panther". However, I have often "felt" him with me--and I mean literally "felt" him. I can feel his fur at times--when he is standing right next to me!

I have connected with him mostly in meditation and astral traveling. The funny thing is he has also shown up for other people reading me--in their readings. Some were quite surprised to have a black panther come to them!

I also have the Tiger as a power animal, and other animals I have had come to me many times were the crow/raven (I can't be sure which it is), an eagle, and a horse! The Tiger also came as a result of a shamanic meditation that I did. I also had a hummingbird for awhile--as I am not sure the hummingbird is a power animal that is staying with me. It has shown up a few times--and again, has also shown itself to a psychic reader I went to for a reading. That reader also picked up on the panther and also saw the phoenix for me--but I have never connected to the phoenix myself that I can recall. The phoenix did have a message for me delivered through that psychic--and I can't recall what it was now--but when I was told it, it made perfect sense to me then.

Some power animals will only be with you for a short time--as they are here to help you with something- a lesson perhaps and then when that is over, they can leave you. But I do know that the black panther is with me for the rest of my life and I think the crow/raven probably is too. I also feel red tail hawks are a power animal for me as I see them often in my meditations too--as well as in real life.

If I know that I need guidance or help in a particular area, I may call on a specific power animal to be with me and to guide me on the right path. Or, I sometimes just luck out and the right one comes when needed. Sometimes I have not asked for any help/guidance and then in my meditation--they appear to me. Sometimes when I'm doing a psychic reading for another person/doing my spirit work--(calling on the deceased)--or whatever.

Are you interested in finding yours, is this the reason you are asking these questions?

 

[Tychis]

My wife is very oriented to the animal spirits and has a strong connection to them in her dreams and meditations. I usually pick up on them when I see a lot of unusual repetition or something in my path that shouldn't be there. I.e., dragonfly made itself visible to me a few years ago, and mediums began drawing them when doing readings for me.

I think a little bit of the process can somewhat dependent on the receiver's place in life and how the spirits can interact with them, allowing the discovery of each totem to be a journey unique to its partner. She can channel them fairly easily while they have to beat me over the head to be noticed (like..."hey that was a really weird animal to be crossing the road!")

 

[G6]

Turtle. I haven't done any of that work, but if I did this would be my power animal.

 

[Padma]

My wife is very oriented to the animal spirits and has a strong connection to them in her dreams and meditations. I usually pick up on them when I see a lot of unusual repetition or something in my path that shouldn't be there. I.e., dragonfly made itself visible to me a few years ago, and mediums began drawing them when doing readings for me.

I think a little bit of the process can somewhat dependent on the receiver's place in life and how the spirits can interact with them, allowing the discovery of each totem to be a journey unique to its partner. She can channel them fairly easily while they have to beat me over the head to be noticed (like..."hey that was a really weird animal to be crossing the road!")

Yeah - that is pretty much how it is, as far as I have experienced it! You see the animal *a lot* and frequently in unusual places or times. Or during really important happenings. That's a pretty good indication right there...

ETA I don't use mine in divination practice. Not yet, anyways. But growth is always occurring!

 

[Disa]

I always thought mine would be an eagle or a wolf just because I'm drawn to them and find them beautiful. So when I went to a retreat and was led in a meditation to journey to the center of my intuition and meet totem animal what appeared was a black panther with yellow eyes. This was a very important thing for me as it was the first time I had done meditation and also the first time I was able to visualize anything since I blocked my abilities when I was 18. At the time of this experience I was around 30, I think.

I did not see black panther again until years later when I was having a really difficult experience and I was asking for protection and guidance and confirmation form the universe/Great Spirit that everything would be okay. And it was

 

[Jen P]

How does one find out about one's own totem/power animal?

 

[Padma]

How does one find out about one's own totem/power animal?

read posts 3, 5, and 6! And CN's post, too there are many ways to discover it, but usually, it just shows itself to you over and over in daily life, in places where it shouldn't be (i.e. a bunny crossing a road in the middle of downtown, then a bunny on your front steps when you get home, then a bunny pic on a card someone mailed you...that kind of thing).

 

[Dee Ell]

Mahalo for your replies Tychis and G6 (I'm curious why you're so positive it's a turtle for you G6?)

I have a few power animals.

The first one I ever "met" was the black panther/jaguar. I found him (I always refer to it as a "Him") through a shaman, who lead me in meditation to find my power animal. When I met him, he never gave me a name to call him, so I always refer to him as "black panther". However, I have often "felt" him with me--and I mean literally "felt" him. I can feel his fur at times--when he is standing right next to me!

I also have the Tiger as a power animal, and other animals I have had come to me many times were the crow/raven (I can't be sure which it is), an eagle, and a horse! The Tiger also came as a result of a shamanic meditation that I did. I also had a hummingbird for awhile--as I am not sure the hummingbird is a power animal that is staying with me. It has shown up a few times--and again, has also shown itself to a psychic reader I went to for a reading. That reader also picked up on the panther and also saw the phoenix for me--but I have never connected to the phoenix myself that I can recall. The phoenix did have a message for me delivered through that psychic--and I can't recall what it was now--but when I was told it, it made perfect sense to me then.

Some power animals will only be with you for a short time--as they are here to help you with something- a lesson perhaps and then when that is over, they can leave you. But I do know that the black panther is with me for the rest of my life and I think the crow/raven probably is too. I also feel red tail hawks are a power animal for me as I see them often in my meditations too--as well as in real life.

If I know that I need guidance or help in a particular area, I may call on a specific power animal to be with me and to guide me on the right path. Or, I sometimes just luck out and the right one comes when needed. Sometimes I have not asked for any help/guidance and then in my meditation--they appear to me. Sometimes when I'm doing a psychic reading for another person/doing my spirit work--(calling on the deceased)--or whatever.

Are you interested in finding yours, is this the reason you are asking these questions?

CN you always give such wonderfully detailed feedback

Yes, I've been thinking about it for myself - it's something I've thought about for many years as I wasn't sure if there was just ONE you had connected to you personally and others that are just companion travelers along part of the way so to speak...

When I was living in a very abusive/stressful environment as a child/young adult I would always dream of strange spiders - like unusual, giant, archetypal spiders, not ordinary ones. I've never been scared of them in real life but these come to me during bad PTSD night terrors usually and I feel I have to run away from them. But I always felt like I needed to learn from them so I wasn't sure if they were just Messengers or some totem connected to me personally. I'm inclined to think Messengers because although I appreciate the spiritual energy they represent of weaving /creation, I don't feel a kinship with them. Then again that may just be their uncomfortable aspects/aesthetics influencing my personal preferences

Interestingly enough, I have always felt an affinity with hummingbirds, dragonflies, the platypus, and *most especially* the black jaguar and the phoenix (It never occurred to me that mythological creatures could be our power animals).

But I think some of those are just sort of aspirational qualities I admire (like the hummingbird) while others like the black jaguar and phoenix FEEL like me. So I don't know what that means in the bigger picture but I'd love to connect with my *lifelong* power animal somehow...

 

[Jen P]

read posts 3, 5, and 6! And CN's post, too there are many ways to discover it, but usually, it just shows itself to you over and over in daily life, in places where it shouldn't be (i.e. a bunny crossing a road in the middle of downtown, then a bunny on your front steps when you get home, then a bunny pic on a card someone mailed you...that kind of thing).

Thanks Padma! I will try to think about it/reflect on it.