Totem Animals

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The practice of using animals is of Native American, shamanic, and tribal origins. Shamans believe that animals are messengers of the Great Spirit. They are on Earth to teach you something. The Great Spirit shares information with you through visions and dreams using animals torepresent what you should do. More and more witches are adapting this concept to their witchcraft practices. This is so because humans have always lived fascinated with animals and their abilities and cunning.

Totem/Power Animals

Witches cannot always work with physical familiars due to many reasons. Perhaps the most common one will be space limitation. Let's face it, who can keep a tiger in their house? Therefore, many witches work with their totem animals in the astral.

Totems are not specific animals but mystical powers. Totem animals are sought in the astral world. Witches choose those power animals that closely represent their higher selves. In other words, power animals are chosen by their affinity to the witch.

Power animals are used for specific purposes too. For example, a witch may choose the animal that lends to a specific kind of magick. Maybe the spell needs some "medicine" from the Snake. Some animals are associated with the quarters. Sometimes these energies are activated with the quarter calls. Totem animals are great advisor's.

Most new witches and pagans ask me how many totem animals can one have. Our personality has many facets, so you're likely to have more than one power animal. However, I suggest that you begin to work with one power animal at the time. Visit the animal in the astral world and "talk" to it for a while. Once you get acquainted with that one, move to the next one.

Bare in mind that totem animals may come and go out of your life as you grow. So do not feel bad if you see the Bear spirit disappear from your life, and instead the Fox spirit appears. There are those power animals that might stay with you for the rest of your life, but others may come and go as need be. Welcome those that come to you for the new experiences they will bring into your life.  

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List of Totem Animals
*Keep in mind this is a short list and animals have different meanings in different cultures.*

Alligator: Maternal power, revenge, quickness, aggression, basic survival instincts

Ant: Determination, industrious nature, hard-working, following a group mentality, action, patience, being a team player

Anteater: Lethargy, curiosity, nosiness

Antelope: Action, agility, sacrifice, jumpiness

Armadillo: Safety, boundaries, medicine shield, being grounded

Badger: Courage, aggression, healer, energy conduit, earth knowledge, having problems relating to others

Bat: Rebirth, longevity, secrecy & initiation, good listener, viewing past lives, letting go of our fears of or misinformation that no longer serves us

Bear: Watcher, world-guardian, giver of strength, courage/willpower, self-preservation, introspection, going inside yourself for answers, studying the importance of dreams, instinct, healing

Beaver: Overseer, strong will, determination, builder, protector

Bee: Organizer, productivity, wisdom, fertility, defensiveness, having an obsessive nature

Boar: Exemplary of the life-giving energy of the sun

Buffalo: Abundance, gratitude, strength, prayer

Bull: Insight into the past, fertility, rushing into things without proper preparation

Butterfly: Balance, transformation/metamorphosis, successful project, grace, ability to accept change

Caribou: Traveler, mobility, preference to be nomadic, adaptability to adversity

Cat: Hunter, meditation, independence, quick recovery, freedom of thought, seeing that the physical and spiritual realms are one

Cheetah: Swiftness, insight, focus

Cougar: Leadership, loyalty, courage, taking responsibility for your life, foresight

Cow: Movable wealth, value, providing for daily needs, the power of community sharing

Coyote: Stealth, mischief, recognizing your mistakes, ability to laugh at yourself, bedevilment, clowning around, enforcer of karmic laws

Crane: Solitude, justice, longevity, vigilance, intelligence

Crocodile: Ensuring your emotions are displayed accurately/appropriately

Crow: Justice, balance, releasing past beliefs, greed, resourcefulness

Deer: Compassion, peace, gentleness, sensitivity, kindness, unconditional love

Dog: Loyalty, friendship, nobility

Dolphin: Wisdom/happiness, depth of emotions, playfulness, harmony, intelligence, communication, helper with dream interpretations, childlike, sexual

Dove: Cross-world communication, spirit messenger, peace, gentleness, love

Dragon: Riches/Prosperity (can be intuitive/spiritual rather than material), knows the answer to riddles, ancient wisdom, longevity, infinity

Dragonfly: Instruction on breaking through illusions (especially those that are self-created), gaining power through dreams, imagination, higher aspirations, carefree nature

Duck: Water energy, helper of seers, can clearly see/deal with emotions

Eagle: Rising, sun-circling, potency, freedom, illumination, connection to the soul/creator

Elephant: Importance of discernment, affection, loyalty, caring for young/old/sick, peaceful strength, wisdom, royalty, regality

Elk: Power, majesty, pride, agility, honoring your gender

Falcon: New beginnings, adventure, leadership, healing the soul

Ferret: See "Weasel"

Fish: Gracefulness, slyness, open-minded, quick to change one's mind

Fox: Cleverness, discretion, cunning, quick wit, camouflage

Frog: Emotional healing, cleansing, peace, change, adaptability, jumping from the material to the spiritual, water energy, poor character judgment

Gazelle: The soul, aggressiveness

Giraffe: Communication, intuition, attaining the unreachable, seeing the future

Goat: Sure footedness, stubbornness, independence, diligence, lack of foresight

Goose: Demanding of ones self, reliable, rigid, love of home, safe return, ever-searching nature

Gorilla: Family-oriented, intelligence, strength, environmental protector, keeps peace through aggression

Grouse: Personal power, self-teaching, intuition, enlightenment

Hawk: All-seeing, observation, truth, awareness, perceptiveness, representative of primal life force

Hedgehog: Defensiveness, self-preservation, abrasive personality, possessing a solitary nature

Horse: Freedom, beauty through strength, movement, mobility, stamina, mobility, message-carrier, astral travel, sharing power with others

Hummingbird: Fierce warrior, pleasure, feathers bear love magic, job, ability to see beauty, easily distracted

Iguana: Patience, understanding

Jaguar: Chaos, shape-shifting, psychic empowerment

Lion: Royalty, sun-symbol, courageous guardian, protector, pride, leadership, wisdom, power, family, the power of feminine energy

Lizard: Vision, letting go, self-protection, brings forth subconscious hopes and fears, conservation, letting go of the ego, dream recall, hidden defenses, knowing when to back off

Llama: Comforting others

Loon: Serenity, good orator, judgmental, can come across as uncaring or unsympathetic

Lynx: Secret-keeper, guardian, guide, listener, manifestation of spiritual force and controlled power

Manatee: Gentleness, loving, childlike

Monkey: Ability to change the environment, health, success

Moose: Headstrong, longevity, steadfastness, wisdom, self-esteem

Moth: Transformation, movement into shadows, finding the light

Mouse: Eye for detail, noticing the little things, scrutiny, organizer

Nightingale: Soft-tempered, easy demeanor, soothing speaker, graceful movements, keeper of the night

Octopus: Protection through distraction, intelligence, getting past negative barriers, multifaceted, skilled in many areas

Opossum: Diversion, deceit, strategy, sensibility

Otter: Joy, laughter, Lightness, dynamic energy, playfulness and the importance of playtime, freedom from jealousy or suspicion, feminine power and nurturing

Owl: Wise, watcher, fate-seer, riddler, silence, vision, insight, seeing hidden motives in others, clairvoyance

Ox: Sacrifice, self-denial, chastity

Panda: Importance of slow, determined pace, adaptability

Panther: Protection, hidden emotions, introspection, caution, careful decisions

Parrot: Communication, beauty, guide for wisdom, mockery, thinking before speaking

Peacock: Immortality, dignity, self-confidence

Penguin: Father-nurturing, patience, astral projection, sexes working together, family orientation

Pig: See "Sow"

Polar Bear: Solitude, overcoming adversity, rebirth, patience, spirit communication, strength, breaking through emotional barriers

Porcupine: Innocence, trust, companionship, humility

Possum: See "Opossum"

Prairie Dog: Swiftness, industrious, constructive, preparedness

Puma: Companion on journeys to other worlds, grace, silent power

Quail: Group-work, team play, creator of harmony and group tolerance, protectiveness (especially toward children)

Rabbit: Fertility, fear, timidity, humility, hidden skills, borrower

Raccoon: Curiosity, cleanliness

Rat: Fertility, stealth, scavenging, intelligence, enjoys luxury

Raven: Trickster, introspection, self-knowledge, wise in oracles/omens, messenger, mystery, otherworldly travel, watcher for the gods, need to make changes in the way you perceive things

Rooster: Vanity, likes to be showered with gifts and attention, early riser, settling for nothing less than the best

Salamander: Hidden things or traits, camouflage in the face of adversity

Salmon: Determination, persistence, pride, intensity, trusting but not trustworthy

Seagull: Versatility, loud, easy-going nature, creativity, laziness

Seahorse: Confidence, grace, male energy, good at dealing with emotions, courtship posturing, beauty of the ocean

Seal: Contentment, lucid dreaming, protection from danger, creativity, listening to our inner voice, gentleness, adaptability, talkative, playfulness

Shark: Survival, hunter, adaptability, power, danger, senses injury, ever-moving

Sheep: Group comfort, warmth, patience, fertility, rebirth

Skunk: Presence, reputation, self-respect, expression of the self without ego

Snail: Perseverance, tender nature (sometimes despite a cold façade)

Snake: Transformation, sexual potency, prophecy, life-force, letting go the things that no longer serve you, impulsiveness

Sow: Earth magic, intelligence, things sacred, ancestral knowledge

Spider: Fate, creativity, seeing how things you do in the present affect your future, balance between past and future

Squirrel: Anticipation of future, planning ahead, being prepared, swiftness

Stag: Forest-lord, masculine regeneration, giver of bounty and beauty, mystical signs

Stork: Messenger of rebirth

Swan: Guide into dreams, handling change with grace and dignity, dream interpretation, divination, spiritual growth

Tiger: Passion/sensuality, silent solitary power, heightened sense of touch, valor

Toad: Altered state of consciousness, changing luck, adversity, longevity, courtship via the use of sound

Tortoise: Feeling at home anywhere, grounding, patience, peaceful nature, ancient wisdom, feminine energy and healing, psychic protection

Turkey: Generosity, sharing, patience, attentiveness, following the group, challenge

Turtle: Shyness, nurturing, mother energy, protection, healing, knowledge, grounded, earth magic

Unicorn: Making dreams come true, virtue, beauty, weather patterns, connection with the woodland and the beings within

Walrus: Trickster, solitude, appreciates individuality and creativity, can be disrespectful of others

Weasel: Seeing beneath the surface for intent/meaning, ingenuity, paying attention to inner voice, keen, tricky, revenge, cunning, playful, observant

Whale: Wisdom of the ages, provider, intelligence, kindness, gentle nature, highly psychic and intuitive, telepathic, clairaudient, record-keeping

Wolf: Pathfinder for the human spirit, knowledge, teaching skill, helping in finding the life-path, loyalty, cooperation, free spirited, mating for life, facing death with dignity, perseverance, fighting only when necessary, taking advantage of change

Woodpecker: Sensitivity, protection, devotion

Yak: Ancient wisdom, understanding of higher purpose, self-doubt, lack of control over emotions

Zebra: Seeing things in stark contrast, certainty, individuality amidst a crowd, balance, trusting your path  

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Ways people contact their spirit animals.

1. A particular animal feels good to you.
2. Your own affinity with an animal.
3. Medicine cards
4. Read books on Native American culture and shamanism, and other books on animals and their symbolism in different cultures.
5. Perform your own ritual
6. Dreams
7. Meditative state
8. Vision quest  

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Different types of Totem Animals and a few ways to contact/recognize them.

The best ways to find your Totem Animals are to keep your eyes open to new animals that come your way in everyday life and through meditation. Meditation can be a very powerful asset when meeting and working with your Spirit Guide and other Totems. Find a quiet place, get comfy, close your eyes and open your mind to the animal and hear what it has to say. If you open yourself to them, your Totems will find you.

Here are some questions to help you discover the Animal Totems that are in your life. Follow your instincts when answering, just don't write down every animal that comes to mind.

Life Long Animal Totems

* When you were a child, what animal did you collect or obsess over that you are still attracted to today?
* Of all animals if you could have any animal as a pet or companion what would it be?
* When going to the zoo, which animal do you spend the most time with or are drawn to?
* If you could be any animal what animal would it be?
* What animal is in your dreams that you have had since childhood?
* What animal are you afraid of that you have no idea why you are afraid of it?
* Of all animals what animals are you most attracted to?
* When you are out in nature, do you often seem to run into the same animal?
* What animal have you bumped into over and over throughout your life?
* What animal have you watched for hours?
* Does art work or jewelry with a certain animal always attract you?

You Life Long Animal Totem will be the animal that you answered at least three times out of the eleven questions. The more times the same animal is listed in your answers the more important and stronger it is in your life. The one that appeared most is your current Animal Spirit totem.

Journey Animal Totems

* What animal have you started to see occasionally that you never saw before?
* What new animal are you attracted to?
* Are you dreaming of an animal lately?
* Are you thinking about an animal lately?
* In the past two weeks what animals have you seen or dreamt of several times?

If you have a Journey Animal Totem you will have answered at least three of the questions with the same animal.

Message Animal Totems

* What animal surprised or startled you today?
* What animal that you don't usually see, have you seen a couple of times today?
* What animal entranced you today?

If you answered the same animal to two question then this animal is your Message Totem with a very important message. Heed it's word quickly for the message is for now and today. If you only answered one question then this is a message you should still consider.

Shadow Animal Totems

* What animal attacks have you been in?
* What scary or traumatic animal situations have you been in?
* Does seeing a certain animal bring up feelings of fear?
* What animal do you run from?
* What animals do you have reoccurring nightmares about?
* Does just watching TV with that animal appearing scare you?

Answering two questions with the same animal means you have a Shadow Totem you must address. Remember that the Shadow Totem will continually test you and work against you for you are it's prey. You must embrace the lesson of the animal totem and conquer your fear, accept the power of the Shadow totem, and bring it into the light as your spiritual totem.

There are several ways that witches and pagans use to find their totem animals.