Animals as Totems, Guides, Healers and
Teachers.
The aim of
this class is to foster a deeper appreciation of the animals that you may feel
a bond with, or that you may sense, spiritually, with yourself or others.
Spirit
works with animals in providing us with messages, and through such symbolism
our own relationship with spirit is enhanced as we learn to interpret the
messages.
Those who
have the ability to see Spirit can tell you what animal totem you have with
you. Point being you will have
animal totems as well as Spirit Guides. What the animal is, will give insight
to where the person is or has been -past, present and future. They do come and
go, like spiritual helpers, (Angels or Guides); however, we are born with a
pre-determined set of totem s that effectively works with us.
They
represent our strengths and our weaknesses. They represent our power, connection to Spirit and our soul essence. They also
symbolize our shadow side, or those facets of ourselves we are unwilling or not
yet ready to face. Each totem represents aspects of us in different ways, all
significant and sacred to us as individuals. These aspects embody our fundamental
character and personality, our principles and ethics, our ability to express
our beliefs, our wants, needs and desires; our sense of home and security,
creativity, sexuality and potential; our vocation, calling, hobbies and health,
relationships, legal issues, death, spirituality, religion, education, wisdom
and travel; our purpose and personal power.
What are the animals telling us?
Well,
before we can go into that too deeply, we need to break this massive
'family" into small categories to better understand the energies that
we're working with. So ... instead of looking at them as just 'animals’ let's
look at them as ' mammals’,
'birds’,' aquatics’,’ insects' and 'reptiles'.
Mammals:
(ruled by the earth element) All mammals
represent our emotional self, so any mammal that we witness either in dreams,
in the flesh or symbolically (T shirts, billboards, pictures) are all offering
messages associated with our emotional self or the emotions generically.
Birds: (ruled
by the air element) All birds are associated with the mind and mental self
and “the head”. Birds teach us to see what needs to be done, when it needs to
be done by and how, without allowing ourselves to invest in the ‘what ifs’, or
to be burdened by the emotions that may be triggered in the process. Birds can
also be seen as symbols of the soul. They reflect our connection to the
heavenly realms and Spirit. Birds remind us to strive for greater things,
higher levels of consciousness and awareness, by offering the ability to raise
ourselves above perceived obstacles.
Aquatics: (ruled by the element of water)
associated with intuition; the ability to tap into our inner knowing and to
find answers to questions buried deep within. They speak of meditation, contemplation
and introspection and they allow us to tune into our inner voice and to hear what
our higher self has to say. Aquatics aren't necessarily fish,
though; some are mammals and some are birds' while others are reptilians. It is
important, when dealing with an aquatic that isn't a fish, to consider the
other factors that make up its being. E.g, an otter is an aquatic; mammal- so, it could be asking
us to intuitively listen to how we feel or how our actions are affecting
someone emotionally. Pelicans are aquatic birds, so they could be asking us to intuitively
override what our mind may be asking us to do and to listen our gut or ‘animal
instinct’, when it comes to some decision that needs to be made.
Reptiles:
(ruled by the element of fire) all require
the heat and warmth of the sun for motivational purposes. They look to the heat
for energy and they symbolically channel it into passion, desire, drive, adventure,
enthusiasm, excitement, ambition and will. They teach us to explore our ability
to be still, instead of acting irrationally and making rushed decisions.
Reptile energy allows us to sit, dream and vision the future' once we know what
we want our future to look' feel' taste and sound and smell like, the reptile
energy adds the most appropriate fuel to the fire in the belly and encourages us
to move forward in a practical, purposeful, passionate way.
lnsects: (ruled
by the element of spirit) including spiders, ticks, scorpions.... They journey
us into our inner worlds, the spiritual realms hidden deep in our psyche. From
the art of stillness to the wonder of personal and spiritual transformation,
insects speak of all aspects of the inner self and connection we all share with
spirit. Once we've considered that these categories might mean to us on a symbolic
level, we need to take an even closer, more detailed look at how they come into
our life and why; whether they're endangered, dead, alive or representational in
form or if they're animals we love or fear.
The wisdom
of the animals can be gleaned on any day in a multitude of ways sometimes they
will appear physically, while at other times they may appear in abstract ways'
The secret lies in knowing where to look and how to integrate their messages
into your life.
Consider this…
1.
When out and about you experience an animal in
an unusual setting' unusual circumstance… consider that the animal in question has
been "sent to you" by your Earth Mother in response to a question or
issue plaguing your mind at the time.
2.
What have you thoughts been about… when you
spot an animal…or take notice of a particular animal that you would have taken
for granted otherwise.
3.
When you find yourself pondering a particular problem
and you find yourself stuck as to what to do, simply widen your vision to the
animals that may be trying to make themselves known to you in obscure ways.
Once you see a pattern, same animal reappearing, considers its meaning.
4.
An allergy to a particular animal may actually
be the physical manifestation of a severe subconscious block set up to save us from
ever having to deal with the real reason that lay hidden with the animal’s symbolism.
An allergy to cats, for example, may represent the inability to acknowledge sexual
abuse or the grief associated with never seeing justice done or the perpetrator
ever taking responsibility for his or her actions.
