Spirit Animal?

The sparrow and the deer/doe picked me. I have had reoccuring dreams of a sparrow since I was a young girl, and they've always come unnaturally close to me, nested near my windows specifically, etc etc. The doe has always had a calling to me as they are naturally frightened of people in this area but it came right up to me, just inches from my face where we watched each other for a while before it ran away.

 

I talked to a Native American man and he told me that one's spirit animal is the animal that's supposed to guide us.

 

I've grown up with things that I always thought were 'normal' and everyone experienced them. I don't even think twice really. For example, waking up every single morning to beautiful music - or following little orbs around when I was small, and still seeing them wisp away from me sometimes. I've seen things that I don't tell people, and I've talked to spirits in my visions. Ever since I was a little girl a Bear presented himself to me. I would tell my parents every now and then that he came and they would always call me baby bear. That name always stuck!

When I was 16, I went to see a physic who focused most of her craft in Animism, She told me my animal totem was a Bear. Recently, last Black Friday I went to see a Shaman and without asking or saying anything - she indicated without a doubt a bear is "one" of my animal totems.

I've always felt a connection with bears, ever since the bear visited me in my dreams when I was little. Even though i've never touched one, I'm lucky enough to live in a country with thousands of bears - but I never have had one approach me. They really are true and caring animals. They were always meant to eat berries!

I would like to also mention one more thing. I grew up and still live next to a Chippewas of Mnjikaning First Nation reserve. I am of irish-canadian decent, and have ALWAYS been travelling 30 out of town to buy my smudge sticks, crystals, hand-made dreamcatchers, etc. Many Natives here know their spirit animal and there is even gatherings held there in the warmer months to celebrate. They are so accepting of others, (no whitey term ever mentioned) and I am lucky to be close to such an amazing community. Nobody here has told me that I'm "wrong" in thinking my spirit animal is a Bear. Going into the wilderness starved is one option, but its not the only option.

:daisy:

 

The animals that I always get along with are crows, dogs and fish.

So I'd assume my spirit animal is a wolf, dragon or a great white shark.

 

Crows and cats and whales and elephants. maybe....although a deer almost ran me over a few years ago....He was running and missed me by only about an inch. That was awakening for quite awhile.....

 

I forgot my salamander spirit animal friend and possum, too...LOL

I am sure there are others.....cannot pick just one spirit animal...It is definitely not the dog.....

 

we all have spit animal guides we are born with,that will say with us for life ,but we have other animals guides that come and go depending where we are in life, it can change from month to month.the only ones that say with you throw life are your birth guides,but all your guides are important .even your shadow Animal ,which comes to challenge you,the choose is not yours,thy most come to you,if we knew what we were looking needed in life ,we would not need a guide,and if you cant see what is missing how can you pick the cure ,
all the Animal guides are important and bring you diffident things in to you life,and very seldom are the animals we love most the guide we need,but thy hold the teaching we
need in our lives, many will say there animal guide, is Wolfe.bear,eagle because that is the one thy wish it to be ,who would say the mantis or pig ,can not we learn from them too.
many tribes find it disrespectful ,to them and the true guides .most guides will come to you in dreams,and often its still not always clear for often you see throw there eyes because thy want you to see something,and the animal sill may not revile its self for some time,it could be an animal you fear,or one you thank very little of,the key is to respect all life,
my guide is uncertain at this time,but have had many throw out life and respect the lesions i have learned from them all.we are not the creator of the web of life but a single thread and whatever we do effects the hole web, all things are bound together

 

The bear, even tho I am afraid of them and respect them, I love them and sometimes I feel like I could fight like a bear. Not necessarily physically like one even tho if someone tried to take me physically I am sure I would put up a pretty good fight, did years ago when a guy tried to rape me. I think I told that story before here.

If it wasn't the bear first it would be the wolf. They are sneaky, sly and get what they need often in groups, meaning team players IMO.

Cats and dogs I can relate to as well.

 

Crows for sure. I encounter them ever so often and I think they are beautiful nevertheless.

 

I sat down wth myself tonight and explored the inner being of me.....and know what I found....? a little bunny rabbit.....hiding.....and all this time, I thought it was a cat....ok, maybe it is a kitten.....

 

this makes me smile. i'm a lot like cats in many many ways. principally in my not needing as much social contact as humans. even needing a great deal of time to myself. but still able to share and appreciate affection.

spirit animal i take to mean something else, the spirit of a species as a kind of mentor. someone you meet when alone and fasting and away from human distractions, in their habitat, where they might more readily come to you.

to me this is separate from the spirit within, that is an aspect of you own true self. which is not to say they can't be the same species. just that these are two different things.

i don't know much about bunnies, or rabbits (different subspecies more readily classify as on or the other, at least subjectively), but i've met them (and yes, i mean the non-human ones), along with a lot of other different kinds of four legged people. growing up in the woods as i did.

 

Exactly! I hear you on that one, my practice, even if it's including similar notions (such as the spirit animals), has nothing to do with traditional Native American shamanism. It would feel very alien to me to follow a path that's originating from a different culture, I'd feel like an imposteur or something. Being of middle eastern descend, I naturally turned to ancient Persian and Sumerian tribal beliefs instead of Native simply because I relate to it, it speaks to me if I can say. Call it the call of the origins if you wish, this might be right, but this belief system is far more appealing to me than any other without any other logical explanation than the one I mentioned previously. I guess it's normal to go back to your roots and your origins when you go on a spiritual journey, after all isn't it what usually feels the most natural? For example, a "whitey" ancient tribal belief system could be Druidism and looking at the high percentage of people with Irish and Scottish backgrounds in North America, I'm not really surprised it's so popular over here.

 

But the Druids left no records and a bunch of these so called modern Druids talk like they are in a direct lineage to the old ones... They wish they were, but they can't be. I studied modern Druidism, Asatru and their variations, I also studied some Native American through books... Then I ended up just finding my own path.

 

Indeed they can't be, at least not directly, that'd be very surprising to me also to be honest.

And this is exactly what's supposed to be. Don't follow the path, make the path.

 

Yes, mine are the Hawk , the owl and horse.
long story about how I came to learn who they were..but yes, I know who mine are without doubt.

 

My friend here came to me three years ago. He is still with me.

 

Are you sure it wasn't a Fisher Cat?

 

Did it look like this?

 

Birds




Here's one now sitting on my wreath at the front door.

 

I'm a bear of course.