Spirit Animal(s)

There are a number of different perspectives when it comes to spirit animals (guides, totems, power animals -- whatever you may choose to call them).  Many people that I have met have only one, or at least only one at any given time.   Those who have had more than one spirit animal over time found that, as they grew, their spirit animal changed to accommodate the changes that occurred in their lives.  For many years I was like those who had a single spirit animal.  My spirit animal had made itself known to me before I even began following a pagan path.  It was a part of me -- something that I never really thought twice about -- Wolf was just there to guide me.  

Wolf started off being very archetypal (though I had no clue what that was at the time).  No male/female -- always grey in color.  However, at various times in my life, Wolf has changed.  Instead of being an archetype she is a particular animal.  She is pure white and larger than I would have expected.  The only color on her is her black nose, lips, and black surrounding piercing green eyes.  She appears when I need a "personal" touch -- some one-on-one communication.

But, a few years ago, my relationship with spirit animals shifted.  I no longer only had one.  Over a period of about a year, I was approached by three more.  Suddenly, I had one associated with each of the four directions/elements.  First, a Golden Eagle, next an Otter, and finally a Hare.  While I have not met anyone who has a spirit animal for each direction/element, I have met a few people with more than one spirit animal guiding them at the same time -- but not very many.  Most of the time, when I share this information (which I do less and less) I get a puzzled look.  I know from my contact with others that my relationship with my spirit animals is not "orthodox".  However, it is what has developed over the years and it works for me.  Eventually, I will share more about them -- how I came to know of them and how they have helped or worked with me in the past -- but not just yet.

Do you have one or more spirit animals?  How did you come to be aware of them? 

Resting is good . . .

Too bad I haven't been!  Like many, life has been a whirlwind of activity.  So much so that something had to give and that something was the blog.  It seems that, for me, every year things start spiraling out of control around the same time (mid-August) and then start to slow -- or get manageable -- some time in early to mid-October.  This is a good thing -- well, not the spiraling out of control part, but the settling part.  It is as if there is one final flurry of activity before we settle into the winter time of introspection.

You may have noticed that I am attending a blog party this month.

                            

This is my first so I am curious to see how it goes.  Of course, being the time of year it is, the party theme is Samhain/Halloween.  Personally, I have always loved this time of year, even before it became attached to my spirituality.  At the risk of dating myself, I dressing up and, when I was very young, spending the evening going from house to house in my neighborhood and having a grand ol' time, parents in tow (because the ALWAYS lagged behind!)  When I was older, gaggles of us teenagers would stalk the neighborhood after dark getting the pants scared off of us because once the little ones were in bed, the gloves came of and scaring the snot out of the teenagers was the number one goal!  Well, at least that was the philosophy of the 'cool' houses.

Now Samhain is a more sedate affair.  It is time to prepare for the dark time of the year.  Time to recognize my ancestors, begin to evaluate my path, and formulate my next steps.  Of course, these are things I tend to do throughout the winter months, but Samhain is the jumping off point.  It is the signpost in the road that says it is time to switch gears.  About this time, every year I start to work out what I will focus on for the next year or so and what I must do to prepare myself so that I will be able to meet those goals.

The weather is turning, I am smelling Fall in the air, and I am loving it!