I picked this subject from the subjects posted by other people, i did not read the blog that covered this subject since i want to discover it for myself.
You can look at animal totems as spirit guides. The 12 astrologic signs western civilization uses all have a totem counterpart, but there are more totem animals that this.
Humans are supposed to be: co-creators with the Great Spirit of the world we live in. Animal totems support us doing so.
Your totem guide Works with you trough your life. It’s in you surroundings or in your mind when you need it most. A lot of people have only one totem during their life but you can encounter different totems trough life. Either when your First totem helped you solve the problems related to that animal or you choose a completely different path in life, which need different guidance.
All civilizations used to have rites of passage for young women and young men, usually find that place around the age of thirteen, fourteen or fifteen years. There must exist a community relationship among the older members of the community which will assist young people when they are ready for that stage, so that they can understand what it is to a man or a woman.
Today we don't have these rites.
To achieve a level of power you must go through a rite of passage that is always extreme, because it is so strong, so powerful. Totem animals guide you through this process.
Your totem might message or warn you. And often the things your totem tries to teach you feel uncomfortable, and give us fear. But by being bigger than that fear we reach spiritual growth.
As all things in life, they start having meaning to us, if we put time in it.
The Medicine of totem will only come into action in us, when we honor him. The greater our tribute, more important, we place our totem in our lives, the more powerful and effective it is.
Some ways we can honor our totem and involvement in our lives are involved:
Pictures hang of it
Drawings
We know as much about your totem animal behavior to mimic (remember that by your imagination really come into contact with your totem)
Personal
My totem animal is a snake, but i only came across this when my life drastically changed, before that it was a dragon.
I had the life i was supposed to live, and was rather happy, but due to old sore i destroyed it, and i wasn’t reasonable enough to fix it.
Therefore my totem animal changed,
The snake
The Snake live intensely, is impulsive and mysterious and very ambitious. The Snake is determined, but sometimes also very stubborn, jealous and suspicious. Also, the Snake creative and has adaptability.
The snake symbolizes transformation, rebirth.
When the snake has grown out of his own skin he leaves behind.
I am working on letting people, relationships and other things that have no place in my life go. So I’m really sure that this is my totem animal, and I need to learn from it to grow in life.
The thing i had for dragons is huge, and storing them away did mean a end of a period to me. I didn't found out about my snake totem very fast. I happend to come across a LOT of workshops on animal totems but never cared to look into it. My ex who never remembers dreams had a dream of a snake biting exacly where i did, so he was convinced the snake was me, and i was like nah, i'm a dragon.
Actually i'm only aware of it since i started writing this. So i think it's a great expirience already.
I prefer mimic as the way to contact my totem, and i do this by practicing yoga.
But i feel like trying the other ideas i came across, and will try them soon.
With Love, Elizabeth