Spirit animal: what it is, how to discover it, animal qualities and more!

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Jennifer Sherman

Do you know what your spirit animal is?

Discovering which is our spiritual animal is a determining factor when we think about truly connecting with our essence, our ancestry and the universe. This spiritual guide and protector animal shows us, besides a path to our purpose, our main characteristics.

The animal that rules as your spiritual mentor and brings in its energy characteristics that influence your personality and behaviors during the various stages of life. It is possible to identify your behavior patterns being associated with the characteristic behavior of your animal. So, to understand more, read below this complete guide about the qualities of spirit animals!

Understanding more about the animal spirit

The human being, since its emergence, understood that he would need the help of animals to grow and develop, whether the strength of a horse to go further, the help of the wolf to hunt, or even further, the cow and the chicken to feed themselves. Fact is that the human being is a kind of animal that, in its antiquity, was part of the Earth's ecosystem.

Over time, the human being was detached from his nature and thought himself superior to the harmony of the planet, leaving behind his natural interaction. But the truth is that we are still part of a whole and knowing the animal, plant, mineral, aquatic energies, etc. can help us to have a much more balanced and prosperous life.

Discover, in the following topics, a little more about these forces, about how to discover your animal spirit and what qualities it has!

What is it?

In interacting with animals, ancient peoples began to observe their main characteristics and learn from them. For example, hunting techniques were learned from wolves, the act of foraging in the snow was taken from elk and more.

Thus, this interaction created a spiritual connection between the human being and the animal being. In this way, each human began to manifest a power animal in his spirit, which guides and protects him during his life.

The most important fact you need to understand about the subject is that we all have our guardian power animal, that spirit and energy that rules us during our passage on Earth. However there is the energy of other animals, which we can access to reach a desired degree or a divine blessing.

The union with animals in order to access their strengths and abilities has existed for millennia, even before the human being existed as a society, and lasts until today. In ancient times, most noble families had in their coat of arms a protective animal and some even carried it in their surname.

Origin of the study of the animal spirit

Moving to a human thought point of view, more recently, the "animal spirit" has been a work of study and introduced in philosophical, psychological and even economic theories. The first use of this terminology was described by Descartes and even Newton, correlating the human personality and way of acting with animals, as a primitive form.

Book "The General Theory of Employment

In 1936, economist John Maynard Keynes used the term "animal spirits" in his book The General Theory of Employment. He used it to describe the instincts, inclinations and emotions that ostensibly influence and guide human behavior. This theory is applied economically, to understand the manner of consumption and the correlation between markets.

What does the animal spirit reveal about you?

Discovering your spirit animal helps you firstly to connect with your natural energy, which brings you into harmony and balance with the forces that are around you at all times. Furthermore, the act of discovering your spirit animal is an excellent self-reflection, as you can understand its main characteristics and adjust to them.

So imagine that you act like a lion all the time: you fight for everything and want to get attention and get things through fighting. But your power animal is actually an owl: your essence is not combative, but cunning and wise.

In this way, using your spirit animal form or not, you can get to the same place but the way you are going to use it will be different and more fluid for you, if you know better who you are.

How many animal guides can you have?

You have an animal that rules your spirit and your personality, but you are not the same person all your life: you evolve and so do your needs. So, depending on the phase you are going through in life, you can connect more with the energy of another animal or of several other animals, as needed.

In addition, you can also invoke the energy of a specific animal for a particular purpose. If you need more stamina, you can invoke the lion; if you need more wisdom for your studies, you can invoke the elephant, and so on. Therefore, knowing the energy and strength of power animals brings you a new range of spiritual help.

Totem of 9 animals

Big, powerful, strong and fearless. Surely, some of these words come to your mind when you see the image of a totem. These are representations of a much greater energy than just a decoration or an ornament. Totems represent the 9 animals that some cultures believe you carry with you.

Thus, a totem represents the symbolism of the forces that are carved there and are used as a form of visualization and gratitude. Hunters and warriors of ancient civilizations represented their prey on the walls during ceremonies, to bless and ensure a good hunt, and to thank for the spirit of the animal that was being slaughtered. Next, learn all about the totem of 9 animals!

What is it?

An animal totem is a representation of the power animals that accompany you. In some Shamanic cultures, an individual has 9 animals that accompany him during his life. Each animal assumes a position on the totem and has its meaning represented by the power and area of life it rules, protects and guides.

Thus, the first position is destined for your guardian animal, the one that accompanies you in your essence and ancestry. This animal rules your emotions and your personality and also commands all the other 8. In practice, the other animals will bring their personalities and energies, but always within the field of your main animal.

Totem of 9 animals

The animals that represent your totem have a reason for being represented in each position, for it is through these positions that they represent the area of life and the energies that govern. This representation comes from the seven directions: north, south, west, east, above, below and within you. The other two walk beside you, right and left.

North: It gives us discernment of when to listen and speak and reminds us to live in gratitude.

South: Responsible for protecting our inner child and giving the astuteness to understand who to trust and when to trust, as well as focusing on our humility.

West: It brings confidence in our inner knowing and attention to tasks that have goals.

East: It is always connected to spiritual challenges, being a guide at such times.

Above: Linked to our dreams, he is ruler of this astral field.

Below: He guides us within his personal path, keeping us focused on purpose.

Within : Guides us on a personal path that makes us happy. This is the protector of our "sacred space" or personal space - the place that is never accessed by anyone unless invited.

Right side: Protector of the male side of the body, which is responsible for courage, focus, strength, action, doing and movement.

Left side: Protector of the feminine side of the body, which is responsible for flow, receiving, motherhood, relationships, being and intuition.

Totem by type of animal

Power animals are grouped within 4 main types, and your evocation can be done to these types directly, rather than a single specific animal, if you don't already have the knowledge of which animal accompanies you or which one belongs to which category.

Check out each of the categories below:

  • Protectors - They are connected with strength, energy, warning of danger and strategy. An animal that represents this group is the lion.

  • Teachers - With a strong ancestral energy, they are linked to the need to access their inner wisdom and enlightenment. The eagle is an animal linked to this type.
  • Healers - Linked to the need for mental, physical, emotional and spiritual healing. The snake is an example of an animal that represents this group.

  • Advisors - This type are called for moments of choices, decisions, paths, guidance and direction. A representative animal is the fox.

How to discover your animal guide

To discover your power animal is to open the door to a new understanding of yourself. Many issues can be observed through your power animal and your complete power totem. In addition, you can understand how each of the circumstances in your life can have help and the resolution aid you to invoke a specific animal.

It is worth mentioning that knowing your power animal is one step, but the full journey is when you align energetically with the natural forces of the universe and become part of a whole in communion with the sacred. Remember that you are part of the natural forces and give a little of yourself, to receive in return.

Therefore, the most effective way to discover which is your power animal is through a Shamanic Experience, in which the Shaman will guide you through a spiritual and transcendental journey, so that you activate your power animal and connect with it. As this is not possible for everyone at the moment, there are other ways that can help you. Check them out!

Pay attention to your dreams

When you are connected with the universal energy, it will begin to communicate with you in many ways. One of the most subtle ways is through dreams: when you search for answers, be aware of the messages that appear in your dreams and don't take everything 100% for granted, because your anxiety about an animal can influence it. So just feel it little by little.

Think about your previous connections to animals

Meditation is one of the best ways to find yourself spiritually, so do a meditation, trying to pull into your memory the encounters with spirit animals that you have had that have stirred you.

Sometimes these encounters may have been through a program, a drawing, a dream or something face-to-face. So go about remembering and feeling each experience.

Keep a journal about the animals you are attracted to

In a specific moment of reflection, take a notebook and begin to imagine each animal spirit that you can identify with. Then write down in your notebook the teachings that each of these animals would share with you. After that, leave these notes for a while and when you return to read, see which of these teachings touch you the most.

Take a test

With the ease of the internet, today, you can find the test of everything you can imagine, including to discover your power animal. Of course, the effectiveness of these tests is low, but you can still measure your reaction to each result and how it impacts within yourself. Thus, you can further sharpen your intuition, which helps you arrive at the answer.

Qualities of the most common spirit animals

Knowledge and intimacy is the most assertive way to connect with the power animals. Therefore, whenever possible, besides living the spiritual experience, also dedicate time to study, as this will help you a lot to generate a connection with this energy.

See, below, the qualities of some power animals and do not forget that nature is vast and that these listed in the next topics are just some main ones, compared to the existing variety. Follow!

Bear

Being the great guardian of the west, the spirit of the bear is related to healing, priority, warmth and especially the inner. This animal invites you to introspection, to find inner wholeness. Moreover, the bear's energy helps you to find inner healing and self-realization and inspires you to become master of your inner cave.

The bear is an animal that helps you digest the events of your day and your life. It works the physical in the form of structure, helping you build the foundation for your growth, whether in the energy of prosperity or physical healing. In addition, it brings warmth with the powerful bear hug, helping without judging you and giving you the care and protection during the change.

Butterfly

Transform, transmute, overcome, react, evolve, develop and experience - these are the qualities and the teachings that the butterfly, as a power animal spirit, brings. It adds to your life the very experience of renewal that it undergoes. So, like a caterpillar that enters a cocoon and comes out as a beautiful butterfly, this is the capacity that it brings to you.

Transformation is overcoming. Thus, it helps you to move beyond paradigms, limiting beliefs, traumas and everything that is preventing you from growing. It truly helps you to transmute your being, not leaving aside or throwing problems under the rug, but in a real and lasting way, bringing the struggle and victory over your negative self.

Cat

The cat is an animal spirit which brings into your life the ability to understand the occult, increases your intuition and helps you in the magical arts. Its energy carries the talent and strength of a true magician. Besides having as a quality the freedom of the spirit, to assume the cat archetype means to free yourself from imposed chains and to assume your true self, independent and strong.

Deer

A powerful animal of spiritual elevation, the deer brings to your life grace, delicacy, sensitivity and a lot of protection. Who has a strong relationship with it will hardly witness a moment of discomfort in your life because it adds this kind of protective energy. In addition, it can also adapt very easily to any kind of external change.

Dove

The dove is the spirit animal that assumes the archetype of peace and tranquility in your life. It helps you find mental clarity and gives you a lightness, even in difficult times. This energy is very good for insomnia, stress and irritability problems, calming your thoughts and bringing you back to the right magnetic axis.

Dolphin

Contemplative and divine joy - this is the power that the dolphin, as an animal spirit, brings to your life. It is the pure and subtle joy that provides you with inexplicable happiness. The dolphin invites you to make an inner dive and listen to the sounds that your inner self brings, being an animal of great intelligence that radiates you, to leave your energy fluid and harmonious. Therefore, be a dolphin andenjoy the divine joy.

Elephant

With greatness, wisdom and longevity, the elephant animal spirit energy is connected to the mystical energy of ancestry. It gives you the power to access this wisdom and helps you to be a great storehouse of wisdom, in general. The elephant is great at everything, so take advantage of this greatness of love, intelligence and protection and use it in your life and with your fellow human beings.

Toad

The energy of the frog as an animal spirit is a powerful energy of spiritual cleansing, of your astral field and the environment in which you live, removing and purifying all negative energies. In addition, the frog stimulates your creativity very strongly, bringing new ideas and many insights and increasing your creative and out of the box process.

Besides creativity, the Frog brings in itself the energy of purification, the full spiritual cleansing of your mind, body and spirit and the purification of the environment and the people around you. Thus, it is a natural protector against the influence of external negative energies that hinder your growth and evolution.

Fox

Cleverness and subtlety are two characteristics of this great power animal: the fox. It brings the energy of flexibility and cunning, to get out of difficult situations and adapt to the environment, besides bringing the ability of quick thinking, finding solutions to almost everything and always evaluating what the best way or way to do something in a strategic and intuitive way.

Horse

Having the horse as a power animal spirit represents accessing the energy of freedom and happiness. Be a horse running through an endless forest and you will understand and feel what that freedom is. Besides, this spirit brings intuition and clairvoyance in a strong way, because it is an animal extremely connected with the astral. Therefore, get on the horse and go towards freedom.

Falcon

Belonging to a reliable and precise messenger, the Falcon's vision is short and objective. It brings you sensitivity to see the small details and leaves you alert and very intuitive. It is in these small details that he communicates with you in a subtle way and transmits the messages that the universe wants to give you.

Lion

Confidence, power, majesty, leadership and firmness of purpose - these are some of the energies that the lion as an animal spirit brings. It helps you to be firm in your purpose and to solve those situations that you know are challenging. In addition, the lion also brings the energy of full prosperity in all areas of life.

Mouse

The energy of the rat as a power animal is a strong energy in the field of details and life methodology. It brings a greater attention and, with it, the ability to enjoy the moments with more quality, because it is dedicated to the now. Thus, besides being a spirit animal of great intelligence, the rat will guide you through the best paths and solutions.

Owl

The owl provides divine revelation. It is a nocturnal animal spirit that explores often unexplored fields. This is even how this animal acts in the psyche: accessing psychic powers and revealing that which is hidden behind intentions, such as some information that is hidden in a contract or something that is not what it seems.

The owl is considered among the natives as the nocturnal eagle, which guides you and shows you the path to be followed in the night, it is the animal that intuits you to look with your tail to see what is lurking, connects you with your intuition and leaves you on alert, but an alert much more related to the hidden intentions than the direct threat.

Peacock

With contemplative energy and great beauty, the peacock as animal spirit helps you in the energy of subtle sensuality and is a great psychic protector. It brings a protection against manipulation and mental oppression, invoking the courage to face your fears and anxieties.

In addition, it also gives you the ability to admire that which is beautiful in a divine way. Beyond aesthetics, your eyes will wander to inner beauty.

Turtle

Involving longevity with quality of life, the power of the tortoise is the realization of life, the fulfillment of goals and the achievement of your objectives. This animal spirit also directly represents Mother Earth and this connection force is very strong. Thus, it is an animal linked to the ancestry of the being and presents a full and secure life.

Tiger

The tiger, as a strong opportunity-hunting animal spirit, brings the attention and vibration of being prepared to take advantage of opportunities that appear in your life. It also brings those opportunities into your life and helps you to see clearly, as well as ward off intrusive energies during your planning and important life decisions.

Wolf

The great guardian of the South is the animal that brings protection, healing and guidance in a loving and welcoming way - the wolf. This animal spirit is the energy that takes your inner child in its lap and cares for it, so that it is always well. Its energy welcomes people, always having as a priority to teach the spiritual for evolution. Thus, it listens and acts with cunning and lightness.

With the energy of the great teacher of the tribe, he blesses relationships and affection. The wolf is wise, he is the leader who influences others through example, and this energy invites you to care about others and to transmit your knowledge so that others can evolve and develop.

What are the benefits of knowing your animal personality?

To know your animal personality is to know yourself - it is to reach what, energetically, brought you to Earth. Through this clarity, you can better identify your life purpose and how you should be and act. To know your animal personality is to understand why you came to Earth, and being in harmony with that personality brings wholeness.

There are people who are so "poor" that the only thing they have is money. But each of us has a "why" and "why" to exist. Simply being born, growing up and dying is very little, and most people just do that and spend their whole lives with a void that could be filled with connection and love - connection to the sacred and love for everything around them.

So, knowing and relating to your animal personality can not only fill that void, but also help you conquer everything you've ever dreamed of. The answer, many times, is right next to you and even within you, but you spend so much time looking for the answer that you ignore every time it comes up.

Therefore, connect with your animal and the divine and live the fullness of your personal and spiritual evolution!

As an expert in the field of dreams, spirituality and esotericism, I am dedicated to helping others find the meaning in their dreams. Dreams are a powerful tool for understanding our subconscious minds and can offer valuable insights into our daily lives. My own journey into the world of dreams and spirituality began over 20 years ago, and since then I have studied extensively in these areas. I am passionate about sharing my knowledge with others and helping them to connect with their spiritual selves.