Animals As Spirit Guides
Animals often act as our spirit guides. They show up when we need a message, appear in dreams to remind us of our true nature, and cross our paths just at the perfect time. We all are born with a main spirit guide that stays by our side throughout life, and we also have an animal guide that does the same. We are deeply connected to this animal, even if we have never had an encounter with it before.
First, what is a spirit guide?
Before you came to earth, your soul decided what experiences and lessons it wanted to have. To assist you in these life lessons, you also chose spirit guides to help you navigate different seasons and situations along your life’s path. We are all born with one main guide who stays with us throughout our entire lives and have many guides throughout life that come, go, and show up on an as-needed basis.
Spirit guides come with their own personalities, skill sets, and ways of assisting us. Our spirit guides are like the best friends in spirit that we never knew we had. We can call on them at any time to assist us with life’s struggles, relationships, self-confidence, and even to expand our intuition! Learn to connect with your spirit and animal guides here!
Animals can be our spirit guides too!
Just as we are born with a main spirit guide, we also have an animal totem. An animal totem (to me) is a spirit animal with which you share many qualities and one that can help you with your life’s path. To identify your animal totem, you can take inventory! What animal has repeatedly shown itself to you throughout your life? Have you had recurring dreams, or do people always give you the same type of stuffed animal? You can also identify your animal totem if you’ve always been fascinated by a specific species.
Your animal totem has a way of presenting itself to you, and if you choose to tune in, you can learn so much!
My animal totem is a dolphin, and most of the time, it’s my power animal too! I’ve had dreams of talking to dolphins since I was little. Any time I need a boost, I will ask to see a dolphin. I always do whether it’s a random pod at the beach or my nana calling me to ask me if I want a small dolphin statue that she’s had in her bathroom for 45 years. (Yes, that actually just happened the other day.)
Dolphins represent playfulness, wisdom far beyond the physical, intuition, harmony, and also strength. I can distinguish the message being given to me by my spirit animal depending on how it shows up to me…especially in my dreams!
Animals acting as your spirit guides bring you “medicine” to work with.
When you call on your spirit animal, it can assist you with different things in your life. Shamans have long worked with spirit animals and guides to provide “medicine.” This “medicine” is wisdom, guidance, and direction.
The different types of animal guides
Shadow animal guide
When your shadow guide first appears to you, it might drum up a sense of fear within you. This animal guide may be with you for a moment, a season, or throughout much of your life. It is dependent on your lessons and how quickly you learn them.
Shadow guides are there to show you just that…your shadow side. They want to help you navigate what doesn’t serve you and often appear as an animal that might not be so cuddly wuddly to you.
Journey guides
This animal guide can help you with a particular situation or season in life. Much like the shadow guide, it comes when needed and leaves when the job is done. Call on your journey guide to help you navigate, making your next moves!
Messenger animal guide
Okay, I may be a little biased, but next to animal totems, these are my favorite simply because they are easy to spot and work with! Your messenger guide comes to deliver specific messages directly to you.
You can identify a messenger animal guide when you start seeing the same animal over and over. It could be that it crosses your path, pictures of it keep showing up, and a documentary of the animal is on your tv unexpectedly. Spotting this animal spirit guide will be pretty undeniable unless you’re complexity oblivious to spirit signs. Your messenger spirit animal will show up with a specific message and guidance for you once you realize and absorb that message; it will leave again.
Recently mine was an owl. I had never in my life seen an owl in person until one showed up as my guide. When I needed an answer to something, I started seeing the owl everywhere, including two feet in front of me midday on a walk! Then there were times when I needed help staying grounded, being kind, and finding ease. During these times, I would see deer everywhere! I would see them on walks, by the side of the road, in meditation, you name it!
Each animal guide comes with its own set of messages, guidance, and interpretations. I could dedicate an entire website to this subject, but this site and this one have already done that for us!
To find out who your spirit animals and guides are, just ask!
This is the ancient practice shamans have used forever! Simply get into a meditative state (this meditation is great) and ask your spirit animal, power animal, or animals totem to reveal itself to you!
If you don’t have the time to look up the message of the animal right away here is a good rule of thumb:
Birds often represent transitions, loved-ones, yearning for freedom and space, and guidance.
Land animals represent groundedness, intuition, listening to yourself, and taking action.
Water animals represent the deep subconscious, your spirit, deep wisdom, dreaming, and virtue.
Call on your spirit animal to use its “medicine.” To get closer to animals and nature as a whole, simply sit and listen. Sit outside to listen …really listening to what they are saying. Listen for what can not be heard, only felt. We are here with these creatures for a reason, and if we listen, we can all learn from each other.
With so much love, Ashley
