As with most things, the process of identifying your totem animal is a personal one. It is a process of opening yourself up, being patient, and understanding the qualities of said animals. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers in this process. Others may "read" your totem animals for you, but in the end you are the only one who can identify for certain which animals you afflilate yourself with. Animal totems are symbolic and are used to help a person understand qualities found within these animals that are also in themselves.
**Here is a link to the various animals: http://www.spellsofmagic.com/read_post.html?post=358262**
Some ways to identify them:
Much like a dream journal, start a "totem journal". After meditation, write down and record experiences related to this. Come up with a list of questions that you seek to answer. Here are some examples of questions you might ask:
Which types of animals do I feel drawn to?
What animals do I find myself interested in?
Do any of these animals reoccur in my dreams?
Take a piece of paper and write out qualities/traits you have (and be HONEST). You may ask your friends/family to list a view things as well. Once you have a fair amount- you may look for animals that share these traits.
Meditate. Find a quiet and relaxing environment. Set a direction, or goal, in your subconscious to seek your totem animal. Focus on your intention.
In your dreams or meditations, pay attention to detail:
What did the animal look like?
What was it doing?
What type of environment was it in?
Don't give up or quit if you see nothing the first few times, sometimes it takes repeated effort.
Set aside time for reflection and observation. On both yourself and the animals you are interested in. Research or invest time into diving into studying your animals. The more you look into these things, the more they may become clear to you. Again, it may take time. Patience, here, is key as it varies from individual to individual.
Suggested Books:
"The Druid Animal Oracle: Working with the Sacred Animals of the Druid Tradition" by Phillip and Steph. Carr-Gomm
"The Once Unknown Familiar" by Timothy Roderick
"How to Meet and Work With Spirit Guides" by Ted Andrews
This, as well as your other totem animal post, is just great information.
A suggestion I would make for anyone who is interested in seeking out their totem animals would be to use a tribal drum beat while meditating.
This doesn't have the same effect on everyone, but for me, the sound of this beat in particular tends to send me straight into a trance to meet with my Shaman guide and see what new animals pop up to help me along my path.
I first experienced this when I was 16 at a holistic convention during a seminar and Shamans and spirit journeys. Slipped right into a trance for a good hour and met my guide as well as what Nox's other posts call my "Life-Long Animal Totem".
As usual, everyone will experience something different...but sometimes a little suggestion helps ;)
Re: Finding Totem Animals By: Nyktos
Post # 3 Nov 08, 2011
I've never used a beat but I'll definitely try that now. Thank you.
