Animals as Guides
Native Americans often use animals to open their sacred circle. Where we use the Archangels, Native Americans use animals. When calling in the animals into the sacred circle, Alberto Villoldo, a well-known Native American shaman, calls in the salamander in the south, the jaguar in the west, the hummingbird in the north, and the eagle to the east. They also often use bird feathers as their divination tools. Now, I’m not Native American and not a shaman…at least not in this lifetime, but I honor and respect their practices. They have a lot to teach us about respecting the animals and the Earth. They also say that we have anywhere from 9-13 power animals at any point in our life. Some are temporary and only help us through a specific situation and/or are with us for our entire lives. We can even embody a power animal that has a characteristic that we want to embody, such as embodying the lion when we need some courage. Just ask the animal, in this case the lion, to embody its specific characteristic, in this case courage, that you want to embody.
Other animals may pop into to our lives to give us a specific message. For instance, about a month ago, I had a lot of slugs on my outside patio. I had maybe seen one or maybe two at any given time; however, one day there were at least 10, possibly more. That definitely got my attention. I thought about what the slugs were trying to tell me and it occurred to me I was losing energy and needed to beef up my energy practices. Once, I received the message, I thanked the slugs, and went to pull my energy back. The next day, I noticed the slugs were gone and they haven’t come back. As One of my mentors often says (paraphrased) once is a coincidence; twice, possibly a coincidence, but is starting to get my attention; and three times I pay attention. It is a message.
In addition, if an animal shows up that seems out of place, such as the groundhog I saw in my apartment complex, that is also a message. The groundhog is a symbol of boundaries and harmony and was telling me I needed to restore balance in my life.
To determine what an animal is trying to tell you:
1) Think about the characteristics of the animal and what that animal means to you as each animal and each message is specific to you; take the animal into meditation sake add what their message is for you.
2) Do a Google search for the “spiritual significance of (insert animal)”;
3) Use books such as: Animal Spirit Guides by Steven D. Farmer or The Book of Beasties by Sarah Bamford Seidelmann to look up the animal and see what they represent and what resonates;
4) Use animal Oracle cards such as The Spirit Animal Oracle by Colette Baron-Reid or Archangel Animal Oracle Cards by Diana Cooper and see what resonates.
5) See what resonates for YOU and that is your message. Not all the messages will resonate in the Google search or in a book or Oracle card.
Just trust your intuition and see what resonates with you.
