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Originally Posted by RiversLady
No, you don't have to have a spirit animal. I think everyone has some sort of guide though. My family always said guardian angel, as that concept fit with their religion. Some guardians can be ancestors of yours who for some reason have a stake in how you get on in this life. I know of friends and lovers from a past life watching over their loved one.
People who adopt the Native American religious system and who want to find a spirit animal are usually looking for the one they can most empathize with. Sometimes, they get one they weren't looking for. You can't decline if you ask for one.
Just curious and not asking what it is, but how did you get a Cherokee name?
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I have not adopted the Native American / Indian American religious system; it feels wrong to do so as I have never been of that blood. But there are elements of it that resonate with me. For one instance, I have dealings with White Buffalo Woman.
The story of me receiving a Cherokee name is s strange one. Last year a close friend of mine with a part of her documented heritage being Cherokee, visited the nearest related reservation for reasons of her own. She enjoyed a meeting with the elders who seemed quite interested, and in passing also told them about me. They asked to see a picture of me, and then wanted to see an item I had touched. She showed them a blade I had given her not long before. At which point they said to her they looked at my essence and knew who I was. Someone who had helped the tribe in past lives. And for that reason they decided to gift me with a name, which I treasure. I hope one day to have the funds to visit them and honor the tribe to the best of my ability. As yet, I have not even been in the US. I have spoken with the chief once though when he called my friend while she was chatting with me on the computer.