Healing Arts
An ANIMAL TOTEM is an important symbolic object used by a person to get in touch with specific qualities found within an animal which the person needs, connects with, or feels a deep affinity toward.
You can have several animal guides through out your life. Sometimes an animal guide will come into your life for a short period of time, and then be replaced by another depending on the journey or direction you are headed toward. When you find an animal that speaks to you through your dreams or feel drawn by one in a physical plane is guiding and protecting you as you learn how to navigate through your spiritual and physical life. Animal guides can help you get back to your Earthly roots, and reconnect with nature by reminding you that we are all interconnected.
If you don't know what your Animal Totem companions are, there are several questions you can ask yourself. All of the questions below are designed to get you thinking about a prominent animal in your life. There are no right or wrong answers. Only you can truly know which Animal Totem(s) are right for your journey.
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Since we are drawn to that which resonates with us, what animal, bird, or insect are you drawn to?
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When you go to the park, forest, or zoo what animal are you most interested in seeing?
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What animal do you most frequently see when you're out in nature or in the city?
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What animals are you currently interested?
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Which animal do you find most frightening or intriguing?
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Have you ever been bitten or attacked by an animal?
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Is there a recurring animal in your dreams or do you have one you have never forgotten.
Still Uncertain? If you are still uncertain which animals are your totem, here a few exercises you can do to come closer to the answer. You must not try to force the animal energy to come. Being patient and doing the following exercises will draw your animal totem to you.
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Ask yourself what animal has played a meaningful part in your world? If you're unsure, make a list of animals that have drawn your interest or have left a deep impression on you from paintings, photographs, stories, movies, carvings, etc.
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Which animal shows up in your life most frequently? Keep a journal of the animals present in your dreams or that you encounter through the day for the next month. How did the animal behave? Did you interact with the animal?
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Don't give up, sometimes your animal totem is nearby watching to see if you're serious about connecting with it. Keep doing the above exercises until your animal totem makes itself known to you.