Sunday

You do not choose a Spirit Guide as your personal spirit guide. The Spirit chooses you and they decide to whom they will reveal themselves and make their friend.

 Do not fall into the trap of saying, “Gosh, I think the wolf is a smart, good looking and powerful animal, so the wolf will become my animal guide.” It does not work this way.

Each Animal has its own Medicine which is unique to that specific creature as gifted by the Great Mystery and its spirit cannot be chosen like the color of your new car.

Discovering who your animal guides are is a process of paying attention to the spirits around you and following the signs. It is a process of developing your inner knowledge and spiritual understanding.

An individual can not be assigned a spirit guide by another person, regardless of who that person maybe, no more than another person can say how or when the Great Mystery of Life will be known to you.


What happens if you want an animal spirit so bad you can taste it (not literally) and one has not come to you? There are two suggestions for this case.

 First, pray about it. Second, be satisfied with whatever happens or does not happen. It if comes, then it comes. If it does not, then it does not. End of question.

Recommended Article: The Power Of Animal Spirits


Responses to "Finding Your Animal Totem (Native American Teaching)"

  1. Gabriel says:

    Hello

    I write from Colombia, land of wise indigenous people. I'm not an indigenous people myself, at least not purely, but I've been getting close to that part of my ancestors. I've been drinking yagé (ayahuasca for most people)every month for a year, this has transformed clearly my view of the world, I respect very much the wisdom of our indigenous people.

    I have a question related to this article, in one of my recent yagé ceremonies I had an experience with The Eagle. I saw it, it wasn't looking at me, but it was very clear in my vision. Then the Eagle started flying, as it was flying my pectoral muscles started contracting at pace with the Eagle's flutter, a magic moment, I felt at a point, I was that eagle. The experience was profund yet intriguing. I am not sure of the meaning of that vision, can you give me a hint please?

  2. Anonymous says:

    This is perhaps a question best answered by yourself.

  3. Anonymous says:

    The Wolf Spirits have chosen me.....exactly how WhiteWolf says, animal spirits may pick to choose a person to guide,or teach, etc.

  4. WolfAngel says:

    I was told I had two spirit guides,a rare thing. Especially the two I have. I have a deer, and I have a wolf. I was told they conflict each other, but can become at peace. The deer is for my kids.. I am protective over them like a deer is her fawn. But I am loyal like a wolf, and he is my dominate one.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Two animals have entered my life recently. A rabbit has taken up residence under my house. (It dug a hole.) The other animal I haven't yet seen in person. It likes to nest on the engine of my car (we found nesting materials there). Plus it has been dining on potted plants on my porch - ones the rabbit cannot reach. So I believe it is a rodent - possibly a pack rat.

  6. Anonymous says:

    I have a beautiful, strong White Wolf as my totem. I have seen her walking through the wooded path with me. She mirrors each step I take. When I pause, so does she. She turns her head looking at me, but I am looking at myself. I acknowledge her with a nod and we continue....

  7. Anonymous says:

    I have a Black Timberland wolf as mine it has came to me in many dreams and I have seen it up close and I have even touched it, when I first saw it I wasn't afraid I knew she wasn't going to hurt me just like she knew I wasn't going to do her any harm

  8. Anonymous says:

    What does it mean if you can walk right up to a coyote and pet it in your backyard. It just walked up to me and let me pet it. Waited until I went and got some food for it to eat. At first I thought it was just a big dog, but as I looked closer, it was a coyote. I believe it was sick with the red mange and needed my help. It's skin was really bad. I gave the coyote water with his meal and he laid down in an old dog house we had in the back yard. I went back out later to feed him and he was gone. I have never seen him since, but have always wondered what that might have meant. Thanks for listening. Lynne

  9. Personally, I think people limit themselves by describing 'animal totem' as a singular thing which must exist alone or cannot change etc.
    I've had several Animal spirits who revealed themselves to meat times in my life when I was in need (including the one from which I take my name). Although I must say Wolf has been with me since my very earliest memories. Some will think it silly or perhaps even take offence, but I consider myself a Wolf soul in a human body. Consequently the principles and values that I strive towards tend to reflct those that humans associate with the Wolf - strong sense of family, passing on my life lessons in the hope of helping others etc. Is this the Animal spirit or the human perception of the Animap spirit? Maybe both?

  10. Oops - should be 'revealed themselved to ME', not meat - how did I manage a typo like that :p

  11. Anonymous says:

    I have seen a black wolf and a Raven ..)

  12. Anonymous says:

    How can I be sure. The horse is for me

  13. Anonymous says:

    i had dreams of a wolf and a bear walking along side me in a meadow and something dark came out of bushes in front and the 2 moved in front of me and it ran away. An old Shaman told me they were my spirit guides.

  14. Anonymous says:

    I agree my wolf spirit choose me in my time of trouble , then she revealed herself

  15. Anonymous says:

    Many years ago a large turtle revealed itself to me. Once a turtle, always a turtle? Or do spirit animals change?

  16. Nancy says:

    My assigned Ojibway name (I am non-native) is Red Fox Lady........And I'm trying to learn more about this. The wise medicine man/teacher who gave me my name said that a wolf and a fox struggled with each other for months about me, and fox finally appeared the strongest. Many connotations surround this choice, and I will learn more as I grow.

  17. Anonymous says:

    A grizzly came to me growled over me in a tent during a native american sweat lodge, I am not native , then many years later, this one grandmother told me that they chose me. The grizzly was trying to brake into peoples homes all night so they moved me in with the native grandmothers into a lodge to stay there because people were scared for me, but the grizzly did not eat me, when I heard it growling above me in the tent, I told it that i love it and i went to sleep. I knew going out was a bad idea. Other animals have come to me, in different ways, another Native guy told me they chose you. Once when i Was young I asked the great spirit for my totem and a deer walked out of the bush and stared at me, and I was in a deer area . Can we have many totems, I think I feel connected to all animals. I do not think they conflict, they work with each other taking turns in different parts of life. We are more connected with the animal kingdom then we think, so now this path is just to realize it. We are all one with the animals. they are part of us and we are part of them.

  18. Anonymous says:

    without even asking years ago, a Ojibwa medicine I briefly worked with saw in his dream that the Bald Eagle was my spirit totem. then a couple years later a Sioux Medicine women that we know, told me the same thing and a couple years ago I picked up a Hawk that had been hit by a car and was still alive, but passed before I could get him to the Vet. My dear friend, a Seneca Iroquois medicine women and I prayed and cried and she gave me the Hawk for my second spirit totem...I know they are within me and were given to me and prayed for me...I have been within 10 feet of a coyote and we just stood there and looked at each and I felt at peace with him, I have taken a bumble bee out of out office by my hand knowing that he nor I wouldn't harm each other, a hawk flew in our office door and I retrieved it and holding it saw deep into those black eyes and it cawed to me telling me he reached my soul...I let him go out side after he talked to me...

  19. Anonymous says:

    when I was 6 I was visited by a great white wolf that looked dirty. seen it only twice It first was facing west about 20 feet from my bedroom window not moving. I believe a day later or the next thunderstorm I cant remember because it was so long ago. I saw it again facing me I hid and looked back up and it was nearly in my face out side my window. I was very scared and I still am of it. for many years I didnt and still dont know fully what it wanted or what it was. I know I was not sleeping as I remember waking up to see it. I have not seen it since but strange things happened in 2012 that I dont think I will ever understand. its really frighting to me. maybe someday I will understand.

  20. Anonymous says:

    I have been through alot this past 2 years and for the longest time I would have a wolf show up in my dreams we are usually at a crossroad it would either be sitting next to me or pulling me in one direction as if to say no that is the wrong way sometimes I just hear it howling in my dreams and other nights it silent.

  21. Anonymous says:

    I have had several dreams. The first dream involved a cougar following me wherever I went. The second dream had the cougar walking next to me on one side and on the other side a wolf walked next to me. The only thing I can figure is that I have 2 spirit animals, because now they are always with me, if I need them, they come in m dreams.

  22. Anonymous says:

    the chipmunk is my spirit guide....... the wolf and bear are my protectors and the raven is my friend. I knew this when I was young. when I met my husband I was surprized that he the wolf and people call him the dancing bear. he did not choose the name it was given to him. the great spirit is all giving all will give you what you need when you are ready.

  23. Anonymous says:

    My first encounter with a wild animal when I was alone, was a wolf. i was about 6 and out running my grandparents fields and trees. I climb over a fence and as I turned around the wolf was standing there. We looked eye to eye for a few seconds, he made a low growl but never come toward me. I climb that fence again faster than the first time and he turned and ran too.. I have been fascinated and have loved wolves ever since that day. I fight now to stop hunting and trapping of these beautiful animals.

  24. Anonymous says:

    I believe that each animal I encounter leaves a spiritual mark on my soul. I love and respect all living things. I am especially drawn to the octopus, the dog, the fox and the horse. These animals specifically are drawn to me as well and seem to know exactly what I am thinking.

  25. Anonymous says:

    For several years now I have seen a hawk on a daily basis, once in the dead of winter, raining almost ice, it was on a power line watching me, it even turned around as I went past........another time I stumbled on one inna parking garage........

  26. Unknown says:

    For many nights as a child growing up, maybe 2-3 nights a week I'd have this 1 same dream .. I was in my house alone, I go to the kitchen and look outside into the garden and house is surrounded by gray and black wolves then I went outside feeling safe with them then they seperate and in walks this amazing white, pure as snow wolf with sky blue eyes, just insanely gorgeous! He spoke to me and said, there's a little girl that's needs you to help save her and I agree to help I blink and then I'm in this massive dark house I go to room to room looking for a chill and then I find her in a dark corner I reach out to grab her hand and get an inch away and wake up .. It's was the same every time but last year I had to have an abortion PLEASE DONT JUDGE, IT DESTROYED ME and I no longer have this dream .. I miss this dream, you think the wold is my animal totem? Think the little girl, could of been mine? .... Just in need of some answers �� Please help xx

  27. Unknown says:

    I was a truck driver for many years. I do not remember the exact year, but I was driving along I 24 in Tennessee and suddenly there was a huge pure white wolf that ran across in front of me! It was running in slow motion, it's feet never touching the ground, time seemed suddenly suspended. As it reached the opposite side of the road, never stopping, it looked back directly at me. I drove a few miles further and then I became sleepy so I pulled into a rest area to sleep for a while. I ended up sleeping almost 14 hours!! I understood why later when I got to Kentucky and saw all the overturned trucks and devastation from a huge tornado that had went through the night before. Had I not stopped and slept I would have been right in the middle of it. Many times in my driving career I have had this white wolf appear and forewarn me of something ahead. I have always listened. I believe this is my spirit guide talking to me.

  28. Amy Noel says:

    My spirit animal is the Owl . . . But the wolf walks with me . . . The wolf is from the other side . . . It protects me . . . It is always there . . . But I am the owl . . . I fly above the wolf . . . He follows me everywhere . . . He lays beside me . . .

    Even in the day . . . I feel him . . .

  29. Unknown says:

    I keep having this nightmare im walking through the forest when i i see a wolf its not a beautiful wolf or a passive one it looks horrible its fur is pitch black its claws are sharp its eyes are red its teeth are showing as i keep walking it keeps walk towards me when we are finally face to face to my surprise its a mirror in the middle of the forest what does this mean

  30. Horses have been inside me ( not literally- lol) ever since I can remember... So perhaps they are my totem? Not as exciting as a wolf or hawk, but that's my passion. Also I know little about totems and am just making a calculated guess.

  31. Anonymous says:

    I have an affinity with all birds & cats. That's some combination. lol.The birds are stronger though.

  32. Unknown says:

    The orcas have always been with me in my dreams.

  33. RachelJ says:

    If I have one it is an earthworm. They resonate with me, they care for the soil, I care for them particularly. I am a gardener, and if I have a spirit animal, this is it.

  34. Anonymous says:

    I had a blooming aloe plant outside my window, everyday for about 3 weeks, I would glance up out the window and see a hummingbird feeding from it right at that instance.....I didn't have any other flowers or plants or feeders it just showed up at the exact moment I was looking out the window....weird.

  35. Unknown says:

    I noticed a White Mink watching me on my 55th Birthday last month. My only daughter currently lives on Mink street. The property was once a Mink farm. My Greatgrandmothers name was Whitecloud from the Penateka Comanchee. My Chinese zodiac sign is the rat. Am I on to something?

  36. I felt a very deep connection to, of all things, a ferret that was my best friend in my darkest hours. Now, I feel he became a part of me. I feel his presence within me, and he still gives me strength... and makes me laugh.

  37. Do people with spirit animals share any physical characteristics with them? Anyone have any experience here?

  38. Anonymous says:

    So how do I?

  39. Anonymous says:

    I think I accept Gray Wolf now, at least, somewhat. Gray Wolf is the only animal to have been there mostly all of my life. I didn't choose Gray Wolf. Gray Wolf terrifies me. I thought Gray Wolf didn't accept me: "You don't belong to me." Didn't want me: "Go." Never would. Always pushing me back to places that frighten me. But then it's Gray Wolf that comes back to me. I see now that I was the one who never accepted Gray Wolf.

    I tried to tell my story, but something went wrong and I hadn't saved the text in time. I don't believe in spirits or gods, but I understand the importance and power of symbols. I'm an orphaned white man who belongs to no one but this land, descendant of those first settlers who recognized themselves as belonging to this land. But I was not freed from the Kings and Queens when my southern brothers declared their independence. They will say I still belong to the Crown. Their laws say I implicitly consent to being their subject, but I belong to no one but this land. This Gray Wolf has insistently repeated to me all my life, that and that much blood was spilled because of that fact.

    Today I will accept whatever name you would give me, even if it's the pessimistic fantasy name I chose for myself, because I feel like accepting that too is important to Gray Wolf. Gray Wolf still terrifies me though I want to chose Gray Wolf. I think maybe what I was ever the most afraid of is that Gray Wolf would accept me, that Gray Wolf does accept me, and that hurts me SO MUCH because of all of what MY SO-CALLED PEOPLE HAVE DONE to this land and to those who are its people in their hearts and soul truly.

  40. Anonymous says:

    I see that Gray Wolf is strong and wise. Even as I wrote that I felt it. Still I have not learned my lesson, I was confused and felt like I needed to choose a color. I get emotional speaking of this, it brings me back to key moments of my past. I never before told anyone this, IRL only rarely. I don't know much about Wolf but I this is what I can say.

    Gray Wolf isn't called this way because of color. Gray Wolf is grey, white, red, brown or black. Gray Wolf has many coats. Gray Wolf isn't "he" or "she" to me, Gray Wolf is "you". Gray Wolf is not an IT. Because I can't always tell, and because Gray Wolf has been both to me, It feels wrong to talk about Gray Wolf as an it like this, but mostly he's a strong mature male, even though at times she will come at me like my mate... as I get older I feel more like her clumsy cub, dumb little clumsy cub. Gray Wolf is well... Gray Wolf. What more can I say?

    I love that "It if comes, then it comes. If it does not, then it does not. End of question."
    So about that name... can I ask the Pack to find a name for this little clumsy cub?

  41. Anonymous says:

    I've been reflecting on when the animal shows up in my life. Insomnia, opening the floodgates to buried memories and lost feelings will do that. The more I think of it the more I can remember all the times a sight or an image would evoke my totem, but nothing of big impact. I was raised by my mother's grandfather, near where the Madawaska river meets the Beautiful River, Iroquois and Maliseet reservations weren’t that far away, but I remember very little of them. I grew away from the native culture and let a thick skin grow over my heart, very rarely have I let myself go back there.

    I had an Alaskan Malamute from very young, a female that came to the family she was hardly as big as a cat. But she became very strong and I looked at her as if she was Gray Wolf's little cousin, sent to keep me company, because you know ... little white boys can't actually be raised by wolves. We would use each other as pillows wasting away the summer days under the shade of a tree. She was my snowmobile during winters. And a very good friend.

  42. Anonymous says:

    Mine is the Lion, of the tribe of Judah, the alpha and the omega, the creator of all things. Not joking, lion has come to me and says this. His word is alive sharper than any two edge sword judging the thoughts and intentions of a man’s heart. He says a lot, I am the resurrection and the life he that believes and me though he were dead yet shall he live. The lion is white and has blue eyes and a crown on his head. when he comes to me in dreams he sits with me overlooking all he has created I always lay my head in his Mane and we talk he gets upset when things pull me away from him, He loves people whom he created, he says and wishes only that his children knew him more spent time with him because he loves us, not no but know with a deeper understanding of who he is and why we are here. The lion eyes are intense almost like they can see through me, like he knows every thought before I can speak. Sometimes sadness is on him when we visit, he loves his people so much but he cannot force free will, he says they must choose, to walk into truth and have life and I give abundantly, or choose to walk away in that case I can do nothing to help them, for they have condemned themselves to death. As a parent he has done all he can do for us, it is up to us to search and seek out truth. He says there are dark spirits that lie and hinder the truth and deceive people from following what is best for them, which takes them away from the truth away from him. The great lion is a father and as a father he cares deeply what happens to his children, who is mankind.

  43. Anonymous says:

    idk whats my animal totem is how can u tell or know what it is?

  44. Anonymous says:

    You only have to ask an animal to be your guide..I have been fascinated with wolves since I was very small and see my guide often in meditation. The Animal Speak Book is a great way to find your guide.

  45. Anonymous says:

    How do I select an Animal Spirit,or does the Animal Spirit select me. How do I find my way, or path? please email me and let me know at dreamer02231990@yahoo.com

  46. Anonymous says:

    I was visited by the wolf during a sweat lodge sesson with an ex girlfriends brothers they were part native American. During the sesson the wolf came to me and told me my journey thru life will be done alone not as part of a pack i wS told that im not a pack animal i will be one with him a sinhle lone wolf traveling thru life but i can call my brother wolf at tines of need. And i have found that what the wolf told me is true i am able to get thru things better by myself another person can complicate things then i get upset and even angry.

  47. Anonymous says:

    When I went to the zoo I was paying attention to the animals I saw and I noticed that there was two animals that found interest in me. Some of the animals only paid attention to me because of food but these two animals didn't care about the food I had with me. These two animals were a black bear and a white wolf. Could this mean something or not, if you think it means something then please let me know.

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