Totems

Telling someone what a totem is can be tough but it can be said that one’s totem animal speaks to them in some way throughout their life such as through dreams and meditation. I personally believe people have one totem in their life and one can be helped by other animals like totems that help one in a certain period of time for a number of reasons, they are called guides.

I still go to school and do drama as a class, to which earlier in the year there was a student-teacher (a student who is teaching under the supervision of an actual teacher to gain experience in order to become a teacher). This student-teacher did something with us students, to lie down on the ground and to think of the behaviour of the first animal that came to mind. After about a minute or two the student-teacher asked for the students to behave like the animal to the best of one’s ability which lasted about another minute or so. What happened next was that the student-teacher got students to think of a simple act that would give a clue or two to the rest of the class what animal they thought of.

Once the acts came along there was amusingly several wolves all from males and several domestic cats all from females. What does it have to relate to totems? The fact that with totems wolves and domestic cats seem to pop up a lot, but not only that, but what animal came up for each and every person tells a little bit about the person. What totem one has tells about the person, too, so I would imagine that this exercise I did at school could potentially be used on more of a spiritual level.

Working with totems as I see it is a great way to learn something new, even working with guides can teach a thing or two of significance. A raven may teach of the power of intellect and creativity, even trickery.  While a horse on the other hand may teach the power of freedom, power and stamina.

What I have to suggest in meeting one’s totem is alike of many others, sleeping and meditating, even a nap during the day could give you a dream telling you of your totem. One could also show dedication in meeting one’s totem, such as offering incense and a prayer of wanting to meet one’s own totem before meditation, which will encourage your totem to show your seriousness in meeting. Offering a gift to one’s totem or guide for helping in whatever problem is what I see as an honourable act, I see it as courtesy as one might give to another person for giving help. After all, people give money for their help, ‘services’ many call it.

There are also totems that would cause fear in the person for whatever reason it may be. One may have a vulture as a totem, perhaps it is the spotted hyena. But it is neither to fear, both can teach us about accepting darkness as it is all around us. It is Yin and Yang around us that is opposite but needed. While Yang is the light, the positive, the one that is bright, it is Yin who is the needed opposite, that needed darkness in the world to bring balance.

There is however many lessons to be learnt, everyone has certain lessons to learn. Every animal has something to teach, it could b to accept something or it could be to use one’s creativity more often. The sharing of knowledge is what makes learning worthwhile, as a single strand of knowledge can give a single person much needed help or a great idea.