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Animal Spirit Guides

Kingfisher

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some people call them spirit guides, or totems, or medicine guides.
there are actully several kinds of guides and animal guides, and spirit guides are just one of them. i am interested if anybody else has connections to a spirit guide or animal guide.

these are personal guides, an animal that you form a relationship with. not a pet or companion, but a spirit that will stay with you throughout your life. they are deeply personal, they are friends and mentors, they both lead you and follow you. they help you achieve clarity and understanding, they connect you to the earth and animals, and other people.

i am not talking about simply feeling a connection with certain animals, or thinking "i really relate to or like this animal." you do not choose you spirit guide, and they are not nessecarily your "favorite" animal. in fact, sometimes they come to you as an animal you dislike or are repulsed by, to teach you lessons in humility, compassion, understanding, and acceptance. spirit guides are not always easy and comfortable to understand. they are not about a carefree happy animal that runs along your side. they are powerful guides, teachers, they reflect your self, your real self and not just your perception of your self.


anyway, i am interested to hear what other people have to say about animal and spirit guides. jump in if this is something you know much about, or have an interest in.
 

Scott N Denver

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Hmmm, yes. What to say? I have moments where I have intuitive flashes or moments of clairvoyance where I see an animal spirit guide or power animal, and usually "feel" its message. I also have moments where I feel visited by other, human, spirit guides. Usually I try to stay "open" to things, and I often have moments of intuition, clear thought, unimpeded focus etc, and often during those things [ideas, things I should, alternatives to situations, etc] will come to me. Some of those things may be coming from spirit guides or whatever else.
 

Antimony

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Oh okay. I have some stuff on this. I have my 7 animals I actually know of, 9 total (two I do not know), all the ones I know of I ironically connect to. I love medicine cards. I am slightly Native American, but the cards work very well for me. Normally I am very skeptical of such things, but the animals fit me quite well. My animals are:

East: Skunk- Reputation. Basically embodies charisma and such. Is well known, typically very charming, full of energy. Persuasive. Highly convincing.

South: Butterfly- Transformation. "It is the the mind, the ability to know the mind or to change it. It is the art of transformation".

West: Swan- Grace. Connected with dream time I guess, and is a lot of intuition. I like the idea of being graceful, in anything.

North: Mountain Lion- Leadership. Enough said. Ability to lead, to take responsibility, and be honest.

Above: Wolf- Teacher. Finds paths. The moon is the power ally, and is a symbol of psychic energy. Great intuitive properties.

Below: Mouse- Scrutiny. Observing things at a close point, and picking out the details.

Within: Lizard- Dreaming. Basically psychic. "Shadow side of reality" where things are dreamt before manifested.


What I find ironic about all this is swan, lizard, and wolf all rely on some very heavy intuition, and I am a very intuitive thinker. Hardly sensing at all.

The way I have developed all these years is in a way that fits the animals. I am a great leader now, like mountain lion, I am very charismatic and "followable" in the words of a strong willed INTJ, like skunk. It is highly interesting how one can connect with all of this. I am interested to hear more from other people.


It really amuses me to think that someone like me gets interested in something like this. However, the accuracy and "coincidences" which have occurred cannot be denied, not even by me.
 

Scott N Denver

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Oh, some animal spirits are permanent for life, some are only temporary. Just like other spirit guides. So I am told.
 

Scott N Denver

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I've done shamanic journeying where I saw LOTS of animal spirit guides. One particular animal came up a lot and I think I've been told its a guide for life, as is another animal for me.

Kingfisher, perhaps you have things you'd like to add here in addition to simply starting this thread?
 

Kingfisher

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well i am not sure exactly where to start or what to say, it is a pretty big topic.

one major part of animal guides is that no one can choose them for you. and it is not something you even choose, they come to you. you do usually have to be pretty open to it.
sometimes they are animals that you have an uncanny or unusual ability to draw to you. if for instance you frequently have butterflies around you, or people comment that pigeons follow you everywhere, or you have had more than your fair share of javalina sightings. if there is an animal that keeps coming up again and again in your life (and not just because they are common), that may be a sign it is significant to you.

also, childhood can be a pretty good indicator sometimes. if you had an unusual experience with an animal as a child, or a big interst in a particular animal, that could imply some significance.
for example, when i was a kid i lived in L.A. and once when i was playing out in the front yard a black bear came into our neighborhood, came right down our street and just sat down. i was pretty terrified, i was a little kid and there were no adults around. but this bear did not care about me at all, it just casually looked around, like it was taking an afternoon stroll. i couldn't help but stare at it i was so afraid, but at some point it made eye contact with me and there was this big release. we looked at each other for a moment and then it just got up and left. i was still afraid, terrified, but i felt there was a connection made.
that is one of the things with animal guides, they are not always comfortable. sometimes they fill you with fear or dread, and come along with bad news or misfortune.
but anyway, for me, the black bear is one of my spirit guides.

Oh, some animal spirits are permanent for life, some are only temporary. Just like other spirit guides. So I am told.

yes, spirit guides are usually "for life", but many other animal guides are temporary. sometimes an animal guide will appear to you for a very short time, and then leave you. sometimes they come with a message, something that they are bringing to your attention. once you have understood that message (or at least absorbed it to chew on and understand later) they dissapear. these are called Messengers, or messenger guides.

i know a lot of people are skeptical about this sort of thing. usually you do have to be somewhat open to the idea of animal guides for them to come into your life, especially with spirit guides.
but here is a more ordinary example. lets say you saw an otter playing in the water, and were amused/entertained by it. pretty ordinary. but maybe that otter is a Messenger, and his only message is "loosen up, have fun!"
 

Kingfisher

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I've done shamanic journeying where I saw LOTS of animal spirit guides. One particular animal came up a lot and I think I've been told its a guide for life, as is another animal for me.

do you feel like that animal is significant to you?
meditation, shamanic journeys, vision quests, those are the classic ways of finding a spirit guide. if a certain animal kept coming up it is probably important in some way.
 

Amargith

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*raises hand*

But you prolly saw that coming already :blush:
 

jenocyde

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I was gonna say the same as Jock. Except cats hiss and growl (?) at me. One even hides when I come in the room and when I walk past, she swipes at my ankle with her talons. Dogs like me though. I just don't like them back so much.
 

Amargith

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Find the animal that's always fascinated you and constantly resurfaces in your life. The one you identify with. Whose images you collect or shows you follow in tvl. The one you can learn a lot from. Take a shamanic journey through visualisation or retreat to nature for meditation and contact with the local wild-life basically (also known as a vision quest). The one that haunts you time and again, is yours :D
 

jenocyde

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I don't identify with any animals and none of them follow me around. Does this mean that I have no spirit guide? Like I said, dogs generally like me, but they seem to like everyone.
 

Amargith

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For some it takes longer, yes. It is believed that everyone has a spirit guide by most traditions. According to Norse lore, it's part of your soul, and Native Americans, if I remember correctly, believe you to have several totems throughout life and at least one that will stay with you during your entire lifetime. Not being aware of them doesn't mean you don't have one :)

But I wouldn't dismiss dogs so quickly if I were you...I've often found that ENTPs remind me of those dogs they use for hunting game. Beagles, golden labs, sometimes even huskies tend to be dogs that often pop in my mind when talking to ENTPs..:)
 

Fluffywolf

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Animals tend to be attracted to me. Dogs and cats tend to seek me out and proceed to constantly cuddle even though they don't show the same behaviour to other people, and I don't noticably treat them differently.

It's kind of cute.

I do identify myself sometimes with a wolf. I really like wolves. They're definatly my most favorite animal.

No idea what spirit guides are by the way. :p
 

JocktheMotie

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Well I like tigers and falcons. But I don't know any tigers or falcons :cry:

Jeno I may have to talk to your Shaman friend about a journey.
 

Amargith

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Spirit guides are those spirits that help us through daily life, that inspire you and teach you those things you need to walk your path in life. They can be guardian angels, ancestors, deceased familiars (= looks like a pet, but is more than that and helped you out in your life when still alive as well), animal spirits (= ethereal animal spirit with a specific name), power animals (= the archetype of an animal species for example 'Bear' instead of kolya the Bear), geometric shapes, etc etc.
 

Fluffywolf

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Spirit guides are those spirits that help us through daily life, that inspire you and teach you those things you need to walk your path in life. They can be guardian angels, ancestors, deceased familiars (= looks like a pet, but is more than that and helped you out in your life when still alive as well), animal spirits (= ethereal animal spirit with a specific name), power animals (= the archetype of an animal species for example 'Bear' instead of kolya the Bear), geometric shapes, etc etc.

Well, the reason I like wolves is because of their social behaviour in packs. It's something I see, not something I feel. They're intelligent, honest and fair.

Many things inspire me, not just animals.

And I help myself through daily life much more than anything else in life.

*shrugs* :D
 

jenocyde

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Jeno I may have to talk to your Shaman friend about a journey.

I think he may be in Chicago, but if he's in town, I'll ask him to swing by on Sunday... (incidentally, we will be in the same park where I actually met him many years ago... trip out.)
 

jenocyde

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But Amar, if they don't actually speak to you, how do you know for certain what they are communicating?
 

Amargith

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Wolf may just teach you how to handle yourself in a pack though. Actually, Wolf is known to the Native American tradition as the 'Teacher'/'Mentor'. A wolf can take care of himself and has his alone time as well, but they do realize there's strength in numbers and work out a complex hierarchy system to make sure everyone benefits from being part of the pack. You'll find the animal quite useful if you spend some time researching how and why it operates the way it does. As for you helping yourself, I have no doubt this is true. I also have no doubt, considering your clearly strong attachement to this animal, it influences you more than you realize ;)
 
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