Types of Animal Guides and Finding your Animal totem

-Marti

TYPES OF ANIMAL GUIDES


Symbolic of the four sacred directions, four seasons, and the four colors of man, there are four basic types of animal guides.


Whether an animal spirit comes by dreams, signs and symbolic events, or actual events it is important to first determine if the guide is a Messenger Guide (Totem), Shadow Guide, Journey Guide or Life Guide.


The meaning and lessons an animal guide brings will differ according to the type of guide it may be. Learning to differentiate between the four types of totems is critical to knowing how to react and the actions you will take when an animal totem makes itself known to you. All guides are powerful.


A Messenger Guide quickly comes into your life and then leaves once a message is understood. The time a Message Guide stays in your psychic is relative to you seeing and accepting the message. The message itself can be spiritual in nature, or it can be a warning. The message may deal with a seemingly mundane aspect of your life or it may be a wake-up call for some important action you must make. Sometimes the animal messenger will come during an unusual event and make a powerful statement and others come on the wind as a whisper. A messenger guide can cause you delays or some unforeseen help in your life. They can be both negative and positive in nature for they are totally impartial.

A Shadow Animal Guide is one that invades you with fear. Its purpose it to teach a lesson you have not learned from repeated mistakes because of anger, avarice, greed, insecurity, or other negative thoughts. A Shadow Guide will return again and again bearing strong feelings of fear until its message is acted upon or a change in lifestyle or actions are incorporated into your life. The Shadow Guide is powerful. It can help you to overcome fear by bringing truth and turning fear into a helper animal guide or spirit animal guide. However, if ignored the Shadow Guide can become dangerous and its powers will have a negative affect on your life. The Shadow Guide lives in the spirit world and usually arrives during a time of testing.

A Journey Animal Guide appears at the fork in the road of your life. When a decision is made to follow a certain path in life, the Journey Guide is there to serve as a guide along the way. It represents a path that may take months or years to complete. It can be a friendly traveling companion if the path is right. If you become lost along the way, the Journey Guide is there help lead the way back. Unlike a Messenger Guide who comes and leaves quickly, the Journey Guide remains at your side until the current cycle in your life has changed. appears at the fork in the road of your life. When a decision is made to follow a certain path in life, the Journey Guide is there to serve as a guide along the way. It represents a path that may take months or years to complete. It can be a friendly traveling companion if the path is right. If you become lost along the way, the Journey Guide is there help lead the way back. Unlike a Messenger Guide who comes and leaves quickly, the Journey Guide remains at your side until the current cycle in your life has changed.

A Life Animal Guide is also called a Spirit Guide as it remains a part of you throughout life and reflects your inner-spiritual self. You may have more than one Life Guide and new ones may come during an expected time. Usually a Life Guide does not move away or disappear but remains an integral part of your life, however, there are instances when a particular Life Guide is no longer needed and is replaced with a new one. Its powers are always there for you and serve as a constant reminder of your inner powers and oneness with nature. If for example your Life Guide is Bear, you should be a person who is a solitary dweller, a seeker of knowledge and well grounded. A Life Guide will often call upon other animal guides found within its domain to assist in giving you special messages from time to time.


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MEETING YOUR ANIMAL GUIDE


After you understand what type of animal guide has come into your life, it is necessary to educate yourself fully as to the nature of the animal. Learn about its habitat, life cycles, what it eats, physical characteristics, special skills and traits, social and mating habits. Go to places where your animal guide can be found in real life. Study it in nature. Gaining insight into the nature of your animal guide will help you to better understand its messages. Meditate on this knowledge and discover its power and medicine.


After you learn various ways to work with the medicine of you animal spirit guide, the medicine becomes a gateway to connecting with other spirit guides found within its domain. Your animal spirit guide (or those spirits who choose to reveal themselves in the form of an animal) will teach you how to align with other spirit guides and beings.


Remember: The spirit guide chooses the person. The person does not choose the spirit guide. A person cannot simply select an animal and begin communication – the results of which are often frustrating and unsuccessful. A spirit guide must be harmonious with the person.


Communication with your spirit guide requires reverent respect and knowledge of the ways of the animal guide. You must find ways to honor your spirit guide. The more importance you give to the spirit guide the more they respond to you. Most spirit guides do not immediately acknowledge themselves to the person as they are leery of your intention and knowledge. A spirit guide is sensitive to moods, current events, and a persons path in life. They must first trust you and learn your needs and wants. You must learn to trust them and understand their needs and wants. It takes time, patience and practice.




FINDING YOUR ANIMAL TOTEM


You do not choose a Spirit Guide as your personal spirit guide. The Spirit chooses you and they decide to whom they will reveal themselves and make their friend. Do not fall into the trap of saying, “Gosh, I think the wolf is a smart, good looking and powerful animal, so the wolf will become my animal guide.” It does not work this way.

Each Animal has its own Medicine which is unique to that specific creature as gifted by the Great Mystery and its spirit cannot be chosen like the color of your new car. Discovering who your animal guides are is a process of paying attention to the spirits around you and following the signs. It is a process of developing your inner knowledge and spiritual understanding.

An individual can not be assigned a spirit guide by another person, regardless of who that person maybe, no more than another person can say how or when the Great Mystery of Life will be known to you.

What happens if you want an animal spirit so bad you can taste it (not literally) and one has not come to you? We have two suggestions for this case. First, pray about it. Second, be satisfied with whatever happens or does not happen. It if comes, then it comes. If it does not, then it does not. End of question.


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MENTAL OR SPIRITUAL?


American Indians see Spirit Guides or totems as powerful guardians of the land or spirits of living animals. Some psychologists conjecture that a vision or message from a Spirit Guide may be certain aspects of the human psyche resurfacing from the pre-conscious ancient human mind. For example, fish living in the sea are associated with the unconscious mind and symbolize a deep mind.


Another example, by meditating on the various qualities of reptiles and their mythical associations, it may be possible to access the reptilian aspects of the mind that correspond to the limbic system in the brain, which deals with sensory impressions, pleasure and pain. Likewise, by meditating on various mammals, a path is opened to the mammalian aspects of the human psychic corresponding to the thalamus and the hypothalamus in the brain associated with the emotions, a sense of community, and instinctual wisdom.


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THE POWER OF ANIMAL SPIRITS


The natural power of animal spirit guides has not been lost. The knowledge and power of animal guides is alive and can be effectively used to improve our lives and all creation. American Indians call the process of connecting with animal guides and other parts of creation as being ‘One with Nature.’

Connecting with your animal guide will make you a better person. You will be healthier physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You will see the world and all things in it with more clarity and understanding.

Animals are wondrous happy creatures. There is no doubt that animals have beautiful, balanced emotions. They love and defend one another. They feel sorrow and melancholy. Yet, there has never been a war between animal species. They know nothing about greed, envy, and hate. They live their entire lives without sin.

They have many amazing powers and use those powers only to benefit their kind and not to overcome their opponents. There is a reason why the Creator put all of us together on the same planet. A part of that reason is to learn from one another.

Animals are here to teach humans. They have many powerful lessons to give. They remind us that we are only a small part of creation; that each part of creation has a place; that each creature has its own skill and wisdom.

For the learning process to begin we must develop a relationship with one or more animal guides and this requires time and patience. This does not mean you must be with the animal physically. But instead, will learn about the traits, habits, skills and spirit of the animal from afar. As with any new knowledge, practice is important to hone learning into a useful skill. The rewards will be understanding, love, light energy, skillful knowledge and wisdom.

Moreover, the reward is having a powerful spiritual friend.

Both domesticated and free animals offer an immense heritage of myth, folklore and symbolism. As we learn about animals, it is important to know their symbolic meaning as a point of reference and comparison, however we must keep in mind that symbols are cultural in nature and differ from place to place, from time to time and may not reflect the nature of the animal as you feel it. Give time to the study of their characteristics, habitat and position in the eco-system.


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ANIMAL WORSHIP AND NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS


Since the beginning of mankind, people believed in the extraordinary powers of animals. This belief originates in animism – the idea that animals possess souls and consciousness. Early people around the world honored animals for having a spiritual life similar to their own and the spirit of the animal existed after death.


They recognized their dependency upon the animal and respected the animal's superior strength, speed, and other qualities. Some cultures held the animal sacred because it was an important part of their lives. Various types of animals, especially snakes and birds, were held in great esteem by early peoples around the world and many cultures adopted prayers, rituals and built temples in which to worship them. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Hindus, Buddhists, Aztecs and other cultures venerated and worshiped various animals, birds and reptiles.


However, there is an important distinction between these cultures and North American Indians. Most North American Indians were careful not to worship any part of creation, but held the whole of creation sacred. They constructed no idols or temples to worship animals, birds or reptiles but made fetishes, art and others works honoring their animal cousins.