"Totem Animals, Plain & Simple: The Only Book You'll Ever Need (Plain & Simple)

117 Pages·2016·3.42 MB·English

by  Celia M. Gunn

Copyright © 2010, 2016
by Celia M. Gunn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from Hampton Roads Publishing, Inc. Reviewers
may quote brief passages. Previously published in 2010 as Simply Totem
Animals by Zambezi Publishing Limited, Devon, UK.

Permission to quote from Barbara Hand Clow, The Mind Chronicles, Bear &
Co. 2007, is gratefully acknowledged.

Illustrations © Bigstock.com and may not be reproduced without permission.

Cover design by Jim Warner Interior design by Kathryn Sky-Peck
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.
Charlottesville, VA 22906
Distributed by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC
www.redwheelweiser.com

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ISBN: 978-1-57174-748-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request
Printed in The United States of America
MG
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents
Introduction: What is a Totem Animal?
1 Totem Animals Around the World
2 Your Totem Animal
3 Working with Your Totem Animal
4 Strengthening Your Connection
5 Your Child's Totem Animal
6 Totem Animals A through Z
Conclusion
Index of Totem Animals
About the Author
Dedicated to Wolf, Crow, Buzzard, Blackbird, Bee, Dragonfly and Owl,
honored guides; and to Anthony, Cindy, Grethe, Jane, Helen, Paul, Tipi,
Doug, Trish and Paul: true friends at a special time.
Ask the animals, and they will teach you; or the birds of the air, and they will
tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; or let the fish of the sea
inform you.
Job 12:7–8

INTRODUCTION
What Is a Totem Animal?
Deeply ingrained in the tradition of North American Indians, who have
protected the concept of totem animals to this day, the word “totem” is
attributed to the Ojibwa tribe. According to the dictionary, a totem is an object,
usually an animal or a plant, that serves as a revered ancestral emblem of a
family or clan. Totem animals are used for personal guardianship as well; in
this guise, however, totem animals are not passed down through the family or
clan but are chosen individually.
To the Athabascan Indians of Canada, medicine is the art of connecting with
a guardian or totem animal spirit. In the Athabascan tradition, this process is
usually undertaken around the age of five years. The ritual is in the form of
some sort of deprivation, such as a fasting quest, and the first image that comes
to the child is the guardian spirit that will never leave. It might appear in the
form of an animal, a bird, an insect, a reptile, a plant, or another spirit guise,
and a bond is formed between the child and the guardian spirit that involves a
certain interaction, with rights and duties. The totem is said to carry special
influence over natural or magical forces, enhancing personal power, healing,
and understanding. For the rest of his or her life, the child wears an item
representing the guardian spirit: a piece of fur, a feather, a tooth, a symbol cut
into wood. Without the guardian spirit it is believed that a person will die.
While this first connection is of primary importance, other guardian spirits
might be acquired throughout a lifetime.
Although the word “totem” is associated with North American Indians, the
concept is found in some form in nearly all cultures. The idea of spirit guides
speaking to and assisting humans through animals and birds is prevalent
throughout the world. While some people might be more comfortable with the
term “guardian angel” than with “spirit guide,” others connect more strongly
with the idea of animal energy. Many people, however, flatly dismiss the idea
of having an animal or a bird as a personal spirit guide. “A fantasy;
superstition,” they might say. “We know better because science has told us that
we are conscious, rational beings, and animals are not.”
Yet, the idea that humans are superior to animals seems to have come at a
great price. Having set ourselves apart from the natural kingdom, we have
alienated ourselves from the very planet that we live upon. Having judged the
instincts of animals as somehow inferior, we have come to distrust our own
instincts. In so doing we have lost our own inner knowing, the knowing of
intuition. Inner knowing is what helps us be truly creative and to make the leap
beyond worry, fear, and pain; otherwise, we must make a rational decision
about every step we take in life.
As well as helping you personally, coming to know and work with your
totem animal will help you live in a harmonious relationship with the natural
world and will link you to a long, rich tradition that connects us all to the sacred
web of life.