Spirit Guides/ Totems

[Ijivirus]

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully...

Do you believe in totems? If so, do you know what your's are? Why are they significant to you? Have they helped you at all yet? Do you think you can have more than one?

Well I first discovered I had a totem when I went to my friends house in elementary. He and his family are Tlingit... (I think that's how you spell it) and his mother was a shaman (or at least believed herself to be). After about my third visit there she asked me if the crow was of any significance to me and I said no. She went on to inform me about totems and said I had one and it was a crow. Yadda yadda yadda... Anyway, I later had a dream of a crow, elephant, white willow and koi. This led me to believe that you could have more than one totem. They have since come back to visit me in "random" dreams and, every once in a blue moon, in meditation. I believe that they have all helped me in some way (not going to go into details), and I am grateful that the gods have sent them to guide me through life.

This topic was inspired by 2 others in the forum, but I also created it in hopes that maybe someone else would have more knowledge on totems and their purpose. Their messages are not always clear to me and I wish to better understand them. Anyway, I hope you have fun with the topic! Enjoy.

...as when they do it from religious conviction.

 

[too2sweet]

I seem to have an affinity for hawks and falcons, but I haven't had a whole lot of time to study up on it.  

[The gypsy Queen]

i have a connection with cats i do believe that my old cat luke was my familiar, he was a close companion until he died. i buried his ashes under the tree in our backyard, he like to hunt mice and birds there. i also connect with horses.  

[WitchyBoy]

i notice a lot of woman have cats as there totems...  

[PhoenixMoonStar]

WitchyBoy

i notice a lot of woman have cats as there totems...

Blame Bast in her many forms. ninja

I can't recall all the totems I was told I had.. I wrote it down somewhere in one of my books... but for the most part, Wolf guards my left, cougar my right, and phoenix my center.

I believe there was a dragon in the north, and a lion and a swan somewhere. I'll have to find it and post the correct locations/animals.  

[Ijivirus]

All these totems give me some kind of insight as to what kind of people you all are. Thanks for posting!  

[[LadyRaven]]

sweatdrop
The Raven.
My mother named me well. (Yes, Raven is my given name). But I've always loved it, and Raven and I have a fairly good relationship. (It's odd referring to another person by my own name, but for some reason, with Raven, I don't mind. It's like he's a part of me or something. Maybe, being a totem, he is.)

I'm not sure why Raven is significant, other than he's always there, and always has been there. And yes, Raven has helped me. I usually do a mediation before doing any tarot work, and I ask Raven for his guidance and assistance in bringing through the proper message.

I do belive people can have more than one totem, but for me, I have never found another.

Totems, at least in my experience, are like guides to the spirit realm. When I do Spirit Walks, or Spirit Journeys... what I call 'astral projections'... I always meet with Raven, and allow him to guide me. If I get lost, I call for him, and he finds me, and leads me safely back to the known path. When doing Dream Work... I also tend to find Raven when I need assistance.

But for me, it's more than that. There are times when I can quiet my mind, and just relax, and talk with Raven. (Kinda like talking to myself I suppose). I learn some very interesting things when I take time to listen to the gossip. ^_~  

[WitchyBoy]

ive only got the two but hey they help me greatly. raven pops in periodically to point me where i need to go and stag is always with me to aid in a lot of things.  

[x-Akki-Hime-x]

The fox is one that definitely comes to mind easily, for me. Whenever I'm out driving at night, and the roads are a bit dangerous - or their's a patch of ice up ahead, I will always see a fox trot across the road...

The other three that are definitely close to me are the hawk, tiger, and the wolf.

 

[WitchyBoy]

i found a third totem now, grandma owl, shes cool kinda the old sage of the bunch other then that im not sure i need to get to know her some more.  

[Faerth]

Right now mine is a bear *points to user name* I even named her, it's Maria whee  

[Doxa Theou]

A totem has been described to me by my aunt as an animal that you have a sort of give & take relationship with. There's bound to be more than just this one for me, but for the time being the only thing I'm sure of would be a monkey. Or more specifically a chimp. All the signs have pointed to a chimp since I was even born. Hell the year even points it out. I can climb as good as any monkey, even talk like any ape, but as for the giving, it's been so long that I can't seem to recall what I gave.  

[WitchyBoy]

well for one thing i can think of totems do learn and grow as humans do but they do it vicariously through us and as more experiences build on the totem they to grow, in strength and wisdom.  

[HiddenBeliefs]

I always used to be drawn to wolves then ravens and right now its nothing. sooo yeah i have no idea at the moment, probably because my life is in a stand still at the moment.  

[WitchyBoy]

well perhaps you should call to them to show themselves to you?