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All my life I have been drawn to animals and have desired to communicate with them, but did not know how. Over time, I learned about the power and totem animals prominent in Native American spirituality. I began reading work by Lynn V. Andrews, Jamie Sams, and other medicine people that led me to form a new bond with animals through communicating with animal spirits the way ancient and contemporary people still practice. Recently I began working with animal omens (signs) and medicine card divination (David Carson and Jamie Sams’ Medicine Cards deck), and I have devised my own process to help others to connect to their animal guides. I would like to share with you what I have learned about working with totems. First, everyone has totem animals that add strengths and weaknesses to his or her personality depending on how that animal operates in the person’s life. Sams says that humans have at least nine totems, and designates how they work with humans. I have met shamans who claim that they have hundreds of totems that assist them in moving through alternate realities. I, personally, have found that the more deeply I go into shamanism, the more animals appear. If you wish to connect with your totem animals, the first thing you need to do is to reclaim them, and there are several ways to do this. A shaman or medicine person can retrieve your totems, or you can find them on your own by asking yourself a series of questions: What animals appeal to me? Do I possess any personality traits that can be attributed to any particular animal? For instance, one of my totems is Crow, and Crow is about telling the truth, even if it upsets the status quo. Before I knew of my Crow totem and her attributes, I would blurt out the truth at the wrong time and be fired from a job. I have since learned how to work with Crow energy so that it no longer backfires on me. Other questions you can ask yourself are: What animal keeps appearing in my life? What animals were drawn to me as a child? What animal(s) come to me in my dreams? The second thing you need to do is to build a relationship with your animal(s), and it is best to work with only one animal at a time. Follow your intuition and find your own way to bond with the animal. You can light a candle and place a photograph of an animal next to the candle, then meditate on its essence. You can perform a dance in which you move like the animal, or you can simply pray to the animal's spirit for assistance. Make sure you cleanse your space and ask the spirits for protection before proceeding. If you need further suggestions for how to connect with your totem, pick up a copy of Ted Andrews' book Animal-Speak. The author provides many good examples of connecting to totems, and includes an animal dictionary that describes attributes of various birds, insects, mammals, and reptiles. You might even be able to identify your totem by reading the list of attributes in Andrews' book. Once you connect with your animal, remember to always honor and respect it. This might sound like obvious advice when dealing with the spiritual world, but it is also easy to forget in the stress of everyday life. For instance, do not dismiss the advice the animals give to you just because it appears outlandish, unless of course, you have a trickster (Coyote, Raven, Spider or Crow) for a totem; then you need to more carefully discern the advice given to you. Also remember that each totem has specific powers and attributes that can assist you in specific situations, so you must discern which animal’s advice is best to seek given the subject matter. For instance, if you need help with camouflaging yourself in the world, do not call on Moose, but instead call on Fox, the master of camouflage. You wouldn't call a doctor for a legal problem, and it is the same with the totems. Call forth the best totem for the job at hand. Lastly, when you connect to your totems, you also connect to nature and the spiritual realm. In respecting your totems, you must also respect animals and honor nature. For instance, I bless the animals that I eat, and I do not litter or destroy nature. I constantly give thanks to my animal spirits for their assistance in my life, and I watch for animal signs as I move through the world. I believe that totems exist to assist us in connecting to the spirit realm and the natural world. I have found that my totems have empowered and healed me. They have instructed me on how to care for my body, and even informed me of events that are happening around me. Lizard and Bear have assisted me with dreaming, Fox has cloaked me when I have needed to be invisible, and Armadillo has taught me how to set up appropriate boundaries in my life. Working with totems does not substitute for therapy or medical attention when a situation calls for them, and having knowledge from totem animals does not make a person superior to other people who have not connected to their totems. Many people brag about the special qualities of their totems in order to get attention, but this is a form of disrespect to the totems and a trick of the ego. Everyone has totems, whether they know it or not, and all of them are equal; Eagle is not superior to Weasel. I compare this to human occupations. As far as Spirit is concerned, a celebrity is not more important than the individual on the street. Totems come forth for everyone who asks for their assistance. By working with totems, I have found a way to communicate with animals, and the gift is priceless. Patty-Lynne Herlevi is a tarot reader and Medicine Cards consultant, writer, musician, and filmmaker. She will be teaching a workshop, "Finding Your Animal Wisdom," at East West Books on Tuesday, July 16, 2002, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Patty-Lynne is also available for private sessions and can be contacted at <pherlevi@yahoo.com>. |