Intro to Animal Totems
In the esoteric tradition, life evolved from vegetable to mineral to animal.
Animals, like us, are conscious. They feel pain, have memories, and are intuitive.
The animal world follows the Universe's rhythms so say the Esoteric schools. Accordingly, as the other conscious creatures, we can align ourselves with animal energies.
We are said by the Schools to be born with life totems. An animal to which you feel a special affinity is probably your totem(s) and you should look into the characteristics of the animal; how and what it eats, its nature, its habitat, its enemies (the Shadow Self in mystic translation), etc.
Some totems come to us for a short while. Seeing a lot of turtles lately? Dreaming about snakes for some reason? Could be the animal medicine is there for you if you take the time to observe it.
Ted Andrews' book Animal Speak is highly recommended if you are interested in finding out more about this.
NORTH TOTEM
wisdom, being grateful for blessings
ABOVE TOTEM
connects one to the Universe
WEST TOTEM WITHIN TOTEM EAST TOTEM
Truth already brings the courage to follow one's heart guides one on her/his spiritual life path
buried within
LEFT SIDE TOTEM RIGHT SIDE TOTEM
self-nurturing mother, how to love gives courage, protective father
BELOW TOTEM
grounding in earth energies
SOUTH TOTEM
trust, balance, innocence; protects
the inner child
This is so interesting! Tigers are my absolute favorite animals in the entire world and I have always felt drawn to them. Now, it is so fascinating to be able to dissect why I feel drawn to them and the energy behind that. Also, to learn what Tigers symbolize.
ReplyDeleteHi professor its Jeanette! After watching this video it took me a while to try and figure out what animal I feel a connection with and I definitely feel a connection to butterfly's and will be looking into why this might be!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting you brought up dreaming about animals! A couple of days ago I had the most vivid dream about swimming with dolphins and a massive sea turtle. Ive been meaning to look up what they symbolize but forgot until I saw this video! Ive had dreams and have seen snakes when I'm dealing with a toxic energy in my life as well. But my overall "spirit animals" would be horses, wolves, owls and cardinals (cardinals I attribute to a visiting family spirit)
ReplyDeleteHi Professor!
ReplyDeleteI have always felt connected to elephants in a way and they are my absolute favorite animal. I find them beautiful and their energy just seems so peaceful. I am glad we are learning about totem animals because I never realized that we could be connected to animals in this way. I definitely plan on researching this more and why I feel a connection with elephants.
Good evening! I find it so fascinating that we have the ability to align ourselves with animal energies. The animal I feel as though I resonate with is a turtle. They are such beautiful animals and are so care free. After looking into their meaning ,they are known to symbolize an easy life with no stress and a clear path. This is something that I have been trying to work on to decrease my levels of stress, especially during school!
ReplyDeleteThis video really inspired me to think. Animals, like us, are conscious which I can see in my personal life with pets. They feel pain, have memories, and are intuitive which is so real in the world we live in today. I think it is amazing how we form connections with them. -Julia Drazin
ReplyDeleteThinking back on my life, I have always had an certain affinity for tigers (particularly white Bengal tigers), wolves, and small black birds like ravens. I have slight ideas as to why I'm drawn to these animals, such as the tiger being representative of my birth year in the Chinese zodiac, but I'm interested in delving deeper into the topic and seeing if there is some deeper meaning to it all. I'm definitely considering picking up Ted Andrews' book that you mentioned in this post to learn more!
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting because I've always had an affinity for slow-moving animals all my life (koalas, manatees, snails, sloths, etc.) I'm not sure what that means for me, but I've never been one for competition and I like to take life as it comes, so maybe that's why I've always loved them. I also recall one time when I was going through some rough/crazy times in my life so I went on a hike by myself on a pretty foggy day and I saw this great blue heron at the lake I was hiking around. It actually seemed to be following me to different parts of the lake as I made my way around. I looked up what great blue herons means symbolically and I found that they symbolize stillness and calmness, exactly what I needed in my life at the time!
ReplyDelete