Animal Totem

Becasue the idea of the Animal totem is so imporant to the Native American traidition, here we can all share in the power of animals. Post stories of your personal experince with aniamls that have moved you or shaped your life in someway. Or share a little about your own personal totem animal. Give information about the wisdom and power of certain animals, or request information about the traits, qualities, etc.. about a specific aniaml.

Here we will embrace in the animal spirit.

This is a story that has always stuck with me, and was an experince that was like nothing I have known before. So I thought I would share this personal story of mine.

I was up in Lake Tahoe, in the Mountains, staying at this cabin, a family tradidion, we do every summer. It was early in the morning, and I was out in the woods like I enjoy spending much of time there, particuarly early in the day, when I saw something at the cabin acorss the one we were staying at. It was perhaps some 50ft away.

I thought at first that it was a large dog, as I only saw that back half of it, but then it looked up, and it was a bear. It looked right at me, but I did not feel any fear, but almost had a sense of calm and peace. It was as if for that moment time stopped as we both stood just looking at each other. And I felt the strong sense of understanding pass between us.

I knew in that moment that he was not going to hurt me, and he knew that I was not going to hurt him. And then he just looked away and continued to walk on his way.

Crane:

Long revered in Oriental culture as a symbol of good fortune and longevity. Graceful and fluid in movement the Crane is a reminder for us to be aware of the beauty and potential within our own physical bodies. To juxtapose this grace, the Crane is a vicious fighter when defending its young or territory. This trait was also admired and observed in martial arts. And so, with it's capability of vicious defense along with it's grace and beauty, the crane is a perfect symbol of balance.


Crane Totems Facilitate:

Appreciation of our physical bodies and consciousness of physical movement
Knowledge that both ferocity and gentleness are both available to us along with the knowledge of when/how to use each of these facets
Acknowledgment our ability to balance our lives deftly and gracefully

Eagle:

It seems like the eagle pre-dates all other deities and totems, and it still ranks as one of the most auspicious of animal symbols. No wonder, because the eagle represents divine power, and enlightenment. With it's ability to rise above the landscape, the eagle teaches us the importance of seeing the whole pattern (or big picture) in lives. Along with coaxing us out of our obsessing over little mundane things, the eagle gently asks us how we connect with our higher power. Also incredibly powerful, the eagle stands for a symbol of strength, virility, and stamina.

Eagle Animal Totems Facilitate:

Ascension
Clarity of thought, broader focus, and return of focus on what is really important in our lives
Encouragement on the path of higher understanding, enlightenment & spiritual growth
Access to our inner strength and stamina
Keen ability to cutting out the "fluff" to get to the heart of matters in our lives
Strength and courage when dealing with spiritual matters or struggles

Beaver:

Ingenious builders and also creatures of water, Beavers represent the architecture (development) of our subconscious thoughts (dreams). Beavers are diligent workers and attune with their environment, and thus serve as a model for us to set goals while still maintaining flexibility.

Beaver Animal Totems Facilitate:

Clearer understanding of our subconscious thoughts and dreams
Ability to mold our thoughts more constructively to suit our needs
Determination to follow our dreams
Diligence to keep and reach our goals
Balance and flexibility concerning ourselves and our expectations

Frog:

Due to the fascinating transitions the Frog goes through in its life, it is a symbol of metamorphosis. Furthermore, the Frog's dual time spent on land and water represents duality of the soul. The Frog also symbolizes creativity and forward thinking.

Frog Animal Totems Facilitate:

Patience in undergoing life transitions, clarity of thought during transition
Embracing of personal transformation, welcoming internal morphing
Jump into creative thought, and leap out of habitual thinking patterns
Acceptance of our diversity and celebration of our opposite poles found in personality and lifestyle

Otter:

This animal symbol represents female energy, and her elements: water and earth. The Otter also symbolizes healthy play, balance and "go with the flow" attitude. Those with an Otter as an animal totem attract love, harmony and grace into their lives.

Otter Animal Totems Facilitates:


Understanding deeper subconscious messages or interpret dreams more clearly
The ability to hone in on psychic or spiritual messages
Encouragement to bring play to our every-day lives
Living life openly and joyfully, setting aside jealousy, envy or mind-games.

Salmon:

Famous for doggedly swimming through seemingly insurmountable conditions to reach their home waters to spawn, the Salmon symbolizes indefatigable spirit, oneness of purpose, and perseverance. The great journey back to its home waters also notates the uncanny ability for the Salmon to trace its roots, and beckons us to utilize our own internal navigational skill set.

Salmon Animal Totems Facilitate:

Never, never, never give up
Courage and strength to pursue our goals
Dependence upon our own internal navigational skills or intuition to guide us to our destinations
Ability to keep our eye on the prize, and keep aiming for it, regardless of the odds

Whale:

Large and lumbering, the Whale is a force to be reckoned with in its native sea surroundings. Ironically, in spite of its size, the Whale has a calm gentle nature, and as a water creature, it reminds us to take effort to calm our subconscious minds. Most remarkable is the Whale's use of sound frequency as its method of communication. This communication symbolizes telepathic power.

Whale Animal Totems Facilitate:

Awareness of our massive spiritual beauty and how greatly we are loved by spirit
Ability to delve into our own oceanic subconscious and calm our troubled mind
Cultivate our telepathic ability and create finite frequencies for healing

Deer:

Gentle and swift, the Deer represents spiritual growth, specifically the ability to soften our hearts in order to allow growth to occur. Additionally, the Deer is acutely aware of its surroundings and thus serves as a model for our own awareness.


Deer Animal Totems Facilitate:

Sharper sensory awareness (development of clairaudient and clairvoyant)
Spiritual growth through softening and humility
Gentleness, peace and internal assurance

Lynx:

A consummate stalker, the Lynx represents silent power, and secret knowledge. Keen instincts and perfect hearing, the Lynx reminds us to listen to our gut feelings and follow our intuitions.

Lynx Animal Totems Facilitate:

Silence the incessant chirping of the ego mind to tap into the calm resources of spirit
Tap into spirit to intuit or better understand things of a mysterious or ethereal nature
Obtain a commanding presence: powerful and noble, without being overbearing

Porcupine:

The porcupine has the medicine of purest innocence because it has so few enemies. It's appearance makes us speculate the quality of our own innocence. The porcupine moves and goes about it's life with unquestioning faith and assurance that all things are exactly the way they should be. This animal totem meaning is perhaps the most profound of all totems.

Porcupine Animal Totems Facilitate:

Trust in the higher powers that be, never questioning if the sun will rise, simply trusting that it will
Reaquaintence with our innocence - letting our guard down occasionally
Understanding that vulnerability is an art form.
Realizing that fear, doubt & worry are useless to us

Rabbit:

Reflexive, tentative and fast, Rabbits represent decisive action tempered with good judgment. Rabbits are one with Mother Earth, and therefore are very grounding symbols. As social creatures, Rabbits also remind us of the importance of friends and family.

Rabbit Animal Totems Facilitate:

Clear judgment to quickly act on and resolve a nagging problem
Nesting or homing qualities that bring about a grounded peacefulness in our being
Encouragement to seek the comfort and safety among friends and family
Ability to be soft, gentle, and forgiving with ourselves

Raccoon:

Clever, fastidious, curious Raccoons represent child-like qualities such as the need for play and "out of the box" thinking. With its tell-tale masked face, and tendencies for thievery, Raccoons masters of disguise and mischief.

Raccoon Animal Totems Facilitate:

Buoyancy of spirit, playfulness, light, airy fun feelings
Cleverness, unique perspective of thought that will lead to unique solutions to problems.
Luck and fortune, including ease in the search for finding what you desire

Weasel:

This animal totem meaning relates to alacrity and observation. The weasel's power of observation is tremendous, and not much goes unnoticed to those who have this totem. The weasel encourages a higher level of observation - where observing and intuition combine to provide the observer with qualities of prediction of outcomes. Weasel animal totems are also quick as winks, and symbolize quick-witted characteristics.


Weasel Animal Totems Facilitate:

Quick wit, forethought, good mental acuity
Encourages intense observation of life situations
Ability to analyze these situations and deduce probable outcomes

Snake:

Universal symbol for rebirth due to the obvious shedding of skin, the Snake is a hugely powerful sign of fertility in its many forms. Agile, sleek and lightweight, Snakes encourage us to reach our maximum potential through the simplest most economical means. Often feared due to misunderstanding, the Snake reminds us we must be our own source of encouragement when the outside world may shun us.

Snake Totems Facilitate:

Slough off extraneous fluff in our lives. Get back to basics, live sleekly, effectively, with maximum effectiveness
Acceptance of dormant times in our life with the expectance of re-growth
Focus of fertility – be it concerning areas of wealth, health, or spiritual rebirth
Self-acceptance, self-reliance, and innate understanding that you are beautiful, and powerful regardless of what the outside world may tell you

Butterfly:

The Butterfly represents transformation into something better and higher. The butterfly shows us that we are able to create new realities in our life through conscious change of thought. As we go through the process of consciously changing our thoughts, we are in the caterpillar state. As we see the beginnings of our realities change – we are in the cocoon – still nurturing our thoughts to positive outcome. As we reach these outcomes, we at last emerge as brilliant butterflies.

Butterfly Animal Totems Facilitates:

Patience with ourselves as we explore and determine the realities we want
Making order of one's thoughts and consciously taking steps for desired results in our lives
Understanding that rest time (cocoon time) is necessary to bring our results
Ability to receive the abundance, joy, and freedom that we call into our lives

Dragonfly:

A creature of the wind, the dragonlfy totem represents change. It's iridescent wings are incredibly sensitive to the slightest breeze, and so we are reminded to heed where the proverbial wind blows - lest we run into stormy weather.

The Dragonfly lives a short life, and it knows it must live to the fullest with what it has. This lesson is huge for each of us. When you see a dragonfly, be aware of the gifts it has to offer by keeping its animal totem meanings in mind.

Dragonfly Totems Facilitate:

Greater attention to the nuances and subtleties around us
Awareness & gratitude of inner beauty
Awareness of outer beauty, and ability to share it modestly with the world
Knowledge of life's brevity, and understanding the importance of making every minute special

Here is another story of an animal ecounter of mine, and a connection made which left an impression.

I am not the kind of person that is in the least bit wearry around dogs, and normaly I will go up to any dog and pet it withut a thought. I was on my way up to the post office and teatherd near this store that was just before the post office, was this dog, it looked to be only a young pup, and was just laying there calmy, and I stopped when I saw it, and on a noraml occasiaon I would not have thought twice about just petting it on the head, but though the dog gave no signs of aggression or hostilty something stopped me, it was like I felt a certain vibe, and so first I just held my hand out for the dog to sniff at, and still he did not apporach me, or growl or anything like that but seemed to be fine, and unbothred and gave no verabal or body langauge to suggest aggression, but something spoke to me, and told me not to pet the dog, which is very unlike me. So I just pulled my hand away, and as soon as I moved, the dog jumped up and sprang twarod me barking.

The Bobcat

Foremost, the Bobcat animal totem is a sign of patience. Bobcats are superior hunters, and they incorporate stealth, strategy and wield a great deal of patience in their hunting excursions.


In this way, the Bobcat sends us a clear message that in order for us to get what we want, we must be willing to plan, adapt, and above all, have the patience to see our ideals manifest.

When dealing with social settings (friends, family, work) the Bobcat reminds us to be fully aware. We must be mindful to extend our respect, love and consideration with others.

As the Bobcat is primarily a solitary creature, we may take its presence as a sign for us to step back from the company of certain people in our lives. Or, the Bobcat may be trying to tell us that we need some time to ourselves. Alone time is time for us to reflect, and regain our energy. The Bobcat intrinsically knows this, and may be trying to tell you to take a break away from the public eye.

Bobcat animal totems encourage us to be more playful in our lives and more flexible. As they are very opportunistic themselves, the Bobcat asks us to reach out for more opportunities, break out of our molds & routines.

The Bobcat animal totem is also about creation, and developing our abilities into a higher level of value. Additionally, the Bobcat is also about the unseen and silent aspects of our inner selves.

This deals with our connection with creation as the Bobcat will ask us to deeply consider the innermost parts of ourselves that we don't normally recognize. The Bobcat encourages us to delve deep into our hearts and minds and shed light on our potential.

Additionally, when Bobcat appears to us, we need to consider some passions that we have been keeping a secret. Now is the time to unleash our hidden desires - unlock our inner secret wisdom & talents.

As you can see, Bobcat has much to share with us, but we must be willing and open to receiving these messages.

The Bobcat is a very advanced teacher. Those with the Bobcat animal totem are usually young with old souls. Often these people are mistaken for having "chips on their shoulders," or thought to be "bearing grudges." This often isn't the case.

Bobcat serves as a teacher to these younger people because they have so much to philosophically sort out. These people do this on a higher level of intellect, and often cannot find outside support to help them with their learning process. As a result, these old souls tend to feel a little resentful at having to learn some tough lessons on their own, and usually feel isolated.

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/bobcat-animal-totem.html

The Hummingbird animal totem is a messenger of hope and jubilation.
Hummingbirds are signs of:

energy
vitality
joy
renewal
sincerity
healing
persistence
peace
infinity
agility
playfulness
loyalty
affection
It is not commonly known that the fluttering wings of the hummingbird move in the pattern of an infinity symbol - further solidifying their symbolism of eternity, continuity, and infinity.

By observing the Hummingbird, we see they are seemingly tireless. Always actively seeking the sweetest nectar, they remind us to forever seek out the good in life and the beauty in each day.

Amazing migrators, some Hummingbirds are known to wing their way as far as 2000 miles to reach their destination. This quality reminds us to be persistent in the persuit of our dreams, and adopt the tenacity of the Hummingbird in our lives.

The most profound questions the Hummingbird asks is:

"Where is your joy?"
"Is your happiness found within, or do you seek it externally?"
"What is the source of your joy?"
"What must you do to increase your joy?"
The Hummingbird animal totem most important message to you is:
"The sweetest nectar is within!"