Skye Alexander - The Secret Power of Spirit Animals: Your Guide to Finding Your Spirit Animals and Unlocking the Truths of Nature

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Skye Alexander is the author of more than thirty fiction and nonfiction books, many of them about metaphysical and healing topics. Her stories have been published in numerous anthologies internationally, and shes also written for magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV. She divides her time between Texas and Massachusetts.

IN ANCIENT TIMES, people in many parts of the world believed spirit animals lived in an invisible realm that intersects with our own physical one. These spirit beings helped our ancestors in countless ways, from providing protection to offering healing wisdom to predicting the future. Early humans considered these animal guides and guardians as types of deitiessomewhat like angelsand paid homage to them. Anthropologists believe the famous paintings on the Trois Frres cave walls in Montesquieu-Avants, France, which date back some 15,000 years, may have been put there by Paleolithic peoples to petition the aid of animal deities in the hunt, or to thank them for providing food and shelter.

Youve probably heard of totems. The term refers to an animal, bird, reptile, fish, or insect with which you feel a strong and perhaps inexplicable affinity. A totem is your primary spirit animal guardian, or the guardian of your family or group. Some indigenous tribes in North America carved totem poles depicting the various animals that protected their people and brought blessings to them. Archeologists have discovered animal figurines buried in tombs around the world, perhaps placed there to guide human souls into the spirit realm.

Different people hold varying ideas about exactly what spirit animals are. Some traditions say that animal guides once lived on earth as physical creatures, and passed over into the spirit world after death. Your beloved Fluffy may have taken off her cat suit, but shes still nearby in spirit. Other views suggest that spirit beings never actually existed in the fleshalthough their earthly counterparts may embody the spirits energies. Still others tell us that spirit animals can assume the forms of physical creatures when they want to and can move between the worlds of ordinary and nonordinary reality at will. A deer that darts across your path and then disappears might be a real deer, but then again

People who study and work with spirit animals generally agree on one thing, however: These entities willingly offer us their help, and they do so whether or not we realize it. If you learn to recognize their presence in your life and understand their unique abilities, you can tap their special powers and use them to intentionally enhance your own well-being.

How many spirit animals can you call upon for help? Most researchers and authorities believe you have at least one totem that serves as your guardian, teacher, and guide. Your personal totem may invite other animals to assist on occasions when you need a little extra help or when youre facing a challenge that requires the special characteristics of another creature. Lets say, for instance, your primary spirit animal is the bull and you usually charge ahead into situations with great force. But now a circumstance needs some finesse. Your bull totem might invite a fox to serve as a temporary guide, helping you cleverly maneuver through the intricacies of the matter.

Some sources say you have a single, primary animal guardian throughout your life, although other beings may show up from time to time as needed or to bring you messages. In Siberia, indigenous people believe that each member of a tribe has his or her own reindeer guardian. Other metaphysical researchers think that you have several spirit animals that direct different facets of your life. In your initial forays into the realm of spirit animals, invite your primary animal guide to make itself known to you and try to sense its presence. After youve established a rapport with this entity, you might attempt to connect with other creatures too.

Celtic and Old European clans believed that certain animal deities oversaw entire groups of people. Irish clans called their members griffins, wolves, deer, etc., and individuals took their names from these animals. MacCon, for example, means hounds son. Animal guardians performed numerous functions for a clan, including protecting its warriors in battle. The legends of King Arthur tell of Oweins band of ravens fighting against Arthur. Sometimes men wore animal skins or affixed horns to their helmets to solicit help from their totems during combat. Others carried flags depicting these creatures, or painted images on their bodies to bring them success. Many family crests or coats of arms include animals, and those animal symbols convey distinct meanings. A bear, for instance, represents protection; a lion equates with courage; a dog signifies loyalty. The crest of the Rothschild familyone of the most powerful families in the worldfeatures a lion, a phoenix, and a unicorn.

We see a version of this expressed today by our athletic teams. The Denver Broncos, the Boston Bruins, the Miami Dolphins, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Chicago Bulls are just a few of the dozens of animal-named teams found among the professional leagues. Wouldnt you rather have a magnificent animal as your teams mascot instead of a pair of red socks or a net?

Throughout time, in cultures around the world, deities have taken the forms of animals, birds, reptiles, and even insects. The ancient Egyptians pantheon included lots of gods and goddesses who appeared as animals, birds, or hybrid creatures, among them the cat goddess Bast, a jackal-headed god named Anubis, the falcon-headed Horus, and Sekmet, the lion-headed goddess. The Chinese recognize four gods of heaven and earth: the dragon, phoenix, tiger, and tortoise. Quetzalcoatl, or the Feathered Serpent, was one of the Aztecs most important gods. Ganesh, the elephant deity who helps humans overcome obstacles, is a popular figure among the Hindu gods and goddesses. The Aboriginal Australians worship a deity known as the Rainbow Serpent, and in Japan the god Ryjin is depicted as a dragon, whose servants include fish and sea turtles. Among the indigenous peoples of North America, many animal spirits show upoften as trickster figures, such as the Coyoteand deities frequently shapeshift from spirits to animals or birds.