Animal symbolism, or totem, or spirits, they are every where, isnt it just releaving when you see them near.
What has made me come up with this quick discussion is that I wanted to share an experience, and maybe inspire you to share your own. I know many people do ask about them, are they just coincidences? Do they mean something? Oh yes they do. And what better way to prove it than reading those experiences yourself.
As I had begun a japanese culinary workshop, my ambitions to become a chef became greater, but my fears, my young fears were in fact getting the best of me. I was praised by the cooks, for my excellent patience, food handeling, and cleanness. But was this really luck? Or was this my turning point to confidence.
As I waited along with the many people who took the course with me, to obtain our diplomas, my name was not called out...Amistake, obviously, but I cried inside. This mistake was my sign, I said to myself. But the lizard, oh that lizard changed it all, as it stood staring at me securly on that wall, that no one else but me could see.
Lizards,
Lizard medicine is the shadow side of reality where your dreams are reviewed
before you manifest them physically.
If you have a Lizard totem, listen to our own intuition above anyone else's.
Pay attention to your dreams for they show us
what we do not perceive when awake.
Dreams are shadows showing your fears and hopes.
Make a dream log and record your dreams.
Look for your symbolic and reoccurring dreams and study them carefully.
Lizard can also teach you to become more detached in life.
Sometimes it is necessary to separate yourself from others
to accomplish what is necessary.
Lizard helps you awaken the ability for objective detachment.
It can show you how to break from the past.
What more did I need? The answers, to my questions. Follow what you want, and stop worrying that you parents say it is not a real career. :)
I'm replying to this post as I would like to bump it back up again as I think it may be of some vaule to some newer members of late who may wish to find out about there totem/spirit animals.
Throughout my childhood it has alway been the Tiger and Wolf for me even though I didn't know they where my totem animals at the time.
The Tiger is still constant with me just now and I think it always will be.
The Wolf has now took a backseat for the moment to make way for the Crow in my life, but the wolf is still there if needed.
Although my name is OpalRaven my totem is the Crow and not a Raven.
Over the last few months it has made it's presence very clear to me, There is now a murder of Crows nesting in a tree very close to where I live, the most strongest message I would say I got from them is on my birthday I seen 7 crows settle down on the ground near where I was walking at 3 different times during the day, Which I find the most bemusing is the fact of the old verse that says to see 7 Crows is the devil himself, for the fact that I dont and never have associated Crows with the devil or evil, I find the Crow to be a very spiritual creature that teaches us about birth, death and rebirth.
Also the day I seen them was the day I went to book an appoinment with a tattoist to get 2 kanji symbols for my birthday present from my son, which are the kanji symbols for Crow and Tiger which I find very appropriate that I will be getting then on the day before Samhain.
I have reincluded Sesa's link as I find it to be the best link for the variety of totem animals it gives descriptions for.
There is different ways to know, It may be through the connection or affinity you have with a certain type of animal, or that the same type of animal might keep crossing your path in a number of different ways... Or you can find it through meditation there are guided meditations you can do similiar to this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=I3ppUi06y3Y to help aswell, but for me it was down to my intuition mostly and the crossing of my path a lot lately.
