Power animals?
 

I've done some digging into various spiritualities that involve animals, and one thing that popped out to me a vast amount was "power animals" within shamanism. This may seem an odd question (or few questions) but do you often work with this topic? Like is it something that is well known?

I'm really curious to find out what my "power animal" is. I've read up on meditation and will be trying a session tonight, but an outside opinion would be, I believe very beneficial. If anyone could possibly give me some insight on the topic at hand, that would be lovely.

It's strange that this specific thing speaks to me clearly. I think something like this is the start to what I'm looking for. There is something inside me and a spirit of some sort is pushing me to find out what it is. At least, that's what it feels like. Could that "spirit" or feeling be my power animal?

Best wishes.

Power animals usually come to you in dreams and meditations. You may notice a particular animal showing up in different ways in your life, too. Try to be aware of the animals that show up. Power animals usually enter our lives when we're supposed to learn a particular lesson, they don't always stay for life.

Fight Club (1999) had a scene involving the discovery of a power animal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYycJ8O0Gq4
it seems important to allow it to present itself, and not get hung-up on
preconceptions of how it ought to portray itself. [don't beat yourself up
during the process! lol] not all of the totems are the thunderbird;
each has it's place in the whole.
:smile:

What's with the double posts?! And now my main, original post has disappeared! Holy totem animals! ;-) I'm sorry for that. I have NO idea what's going on. Plus, this site keeps signing me out automatically. I'm new here and it's all rather disconcerting to say the least! Clean up on Aisle 7 --the Pagan board! Aye yi, yi!

I'll have to carry out a 'do-over' later when I'm up to it. Totem animals are a highly special subject to me and one which I know a lot about. Or, I can just PM you if you wish?!

I'd like to add that Ted Andrews wrote about power animals. Animal Speak is one and Nature Speak is another. I keep those two books as part of my library and maybe it'll help you find your power animal as we do have one for our entire life and others come and go as the need arises.

I often work with power animals, and from what I understand it's very well understood in the history of shamans and their related communities. Power animals are a bit like the Familiars of European-descended witchcraft, though they often serve a more involved role. I have a handful of guides - mostly animals but not exclusively - whom I frequently interact with, and have one as a primary at any given time.

The person I learned the technique of shamanism from - a live one - also mentioned her spirit guides in this way, as did the person she learned from: Michael Harner, who wrote The Way of the Shaman and who provides a lot of really good details on the history and techniques of shamanism. I really liked it since it came from a standpoint encouraging firsthand experience as validity for the art, as opposed to being written to convey a message of "This is reality because I say so". If you're feeling drawn to shamanism, I recommend at least reading that one. From the few other shamans I know - very respectful, down-to-earth people - it's a good basis for getting started on the path.

It's entirely possible it's your personal power animal or guide that's drawing you towards learning about that path. It may also be a part of your own spirit - or a memory of a past life - that feels familiarity with the topic.

At this time I don't have a lot of free time, but if you still would like someone to do a reading to compare notes with regarding your guide, I'd be willing to do one in the near future.

yep..........................................

yep....................................... :D :D

Hi StuckandSearching

About the topic in general.
If one is a passionate anti-cultural appropriation warrior, then it is tempting to just buy into the group-think-script and start to regard all these quests for totems and ‘power animals’ of non-natives as New Age nonsense and ridicule them as well as call these authors writing about the subject - frauds:
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=209.0
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index...sg1519#msg1519

But where does this leave a genuine seeker, who is looking for some real ‘Earth Spirituality’ connections?

Here is a youtube link, which might be useful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6E1jjzc3Rk

To my mind, the man in the video sounds quite genuine and he does bring up some valid points.
Such as how Spirit communicates, and 4 different kinds of ‘power animals’:
1. The totem animal.
2. The journey animal.
3. The messenger animal.
4. The shadow animal.

BUT. What he says about totem animals might be akin to Native American beliefs (I don’t know), because to my knowledge this is NOT Shamanism, and I am starting to appreciate what many Native Americans say: “Shamanism is not the same thing as Native American Spirituality”.

As far as I know - in Uralic and Siberian Shamanism, we are descendants of an Animal Ancestor (& in our case) either the Bear or the Moose/Elk, which divides us into 2 totemic clans that are further divided into sub-clan totems and these ‘moieties’ “define peoples roles and responsibilities, and their relationships with each other and creation.”
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e3/ca...7eec64c676.jpg

Often matrilineal, these moieties are usually exogamous, i.e. you must marry into the opposite moiety (The Bear marries the Moose):
https://rgdn.info/assets/uploads/ima...il_perm-2-.jpg

This somewhat parallels Australian Aboriginal kinship system, where you also marry into the opposite moiety totems and perhaps the American Northwest Coast peoples moiety systems, such as among the Tlingit (Raven and Wolf moieties).
So if Tlingit or other Northwest Coast peoples call their Spirituality ‘Shamanism’, I wouldn’t question it or call them 'frauds' since there seems to be parallels - some similarities found with Siberian Shamanism.


Of Altaic or Turco-Mongol power animals – The Eagle, the White Horse (as in Tulpar, Hiimori) and the Wolf come to mind first and foremost and these specific traditional Spirit Entities also overlap with Uralic beliefs.
(When the Thunderbird-Eagle initiates/empowers you & you have a “shamanic death experience” – the Eagle gifts you with the power animal – Hiimori, so that you can *shift* and journey up and down on the World Pole of the 3 Worlds).

Hiimori:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFTNWNgP-gk

So, if a person does not have Altaic or Turco-Mongol ancestry, it would be very strange for people to take those beliefs of power animals on as their own or beliefs of belonging into a specific moiety.

I find what you've said here very interesting.

You are talking of ancestor animals correct? In many Native American cultures, this is the purpose totems, or totem animals serve. Totem animals are just that- tribal ancestor animals, I am unaware, if many actually know this.

An example from a website lists some possible Abenaki- tradition I am of- tribe totems:


Abenaki - Wolf, wild cat (black), bear, snake, beaver, caribou, sturgeon, muskrat, pigeon, hawk, squirrel, spotted frog, crane, porcupine.

Thing is this site lists all these totems and the meaning of them specifically to spirit guides, and guardian animal spirits.

What many seem not to even realize is in many Native beliefs some of these certain animal totems of theirs are regarded indeed as ancestral animal spirits.

There is another thing. The power animal itself. Many do not realize, this isn't just a spirit guide.

In traditional view the power animal is not just a spirit guide animal. This is your soul. An animal representation of one's soul.

This is how I have learned to view it in my tradition.

There is more as well. But it isn't fluffy enough for here.

Many do not realize let's put it this way- just why it is so important that if you know your power animal, not to reveal this to any others, even among other Natives.

Just wanted to post to say I have found your sharing Of Uralic and Siberian beliefs, interesting.

Thank you for sharing.