How connected are you to your spiritual self? Do you know what animal aligns with your spirit in this life?
From health care to mental health, spirituality plays a big role in the quality of our lives. One of the most poignant ways to invite heightened spirituality into our lives is to figure out our spirit animals.
But what is your spirit animal? How do you find it?
Read on to learn more about how to find your spirit animal, and how knowing yours will change your life for the better.
What Is a Spirit Animal?
A spirit animal is the animal representation of your spirit guide. We all need spirit guides in our lives, and there are many different types we might come across throughout the span of our lifetimes.
Spirit animals can also teach us things about ourselves that we couldn’t tune into without their help. They might show you weaknesses you’re struggling with, or point you in a certain direction.
They’re here to protect your spirit and guide you toward your true path in life. Everyday life bogs us down and makes us forget our primal, animalistic roots in life. Your spirit animal exists to remind you of your roots and reconnect you to your life.
That’s why it’s essential that you figure out how to find out your true spirit animal in life. Only our true spirit guides can lead us down the path we’re meant to walk!
The History of Spirit Animals
Today, the term “spirit animal” is often used as cultural appropriation to describe a resonance one feels to a certain person, meme, or internet trend. In reality, the concept of spirit animals is much more vast and steeped in Native American history.
Native Americans and Australian Aborigines founded the idea of spirit animals as part of the Animism and Totemism belief systems.
Animism, which is still held as a view by Pagans and Buddhists across the world, believed that everything has a spirit—and that includes plants and animals.
Animism is the foundation of Totemism, which believes that every single human on earth has a connection to another being of a different species, namely an animal or a plant.
This is how the concept of spirit animals was born. Once Native peoples realized everything had a spirit and that each of us is connected to one specifically, the search for the right spirit animals began.
Finding Your Spirit Animal
If you’re tired of Googling “what is my spirit animal?” and getting only online quizzes in return, keep reading. You’re the only one capable of finding your spirit animal. Here’s how.
Pay Attention
Step one of finding your spirit animal: pay attention to the world around you.
Sure, if you live in Florida, you’re not going to see a moose wandering the street. If you live in Vermont, you won’t catch a pelican flying over your head.
You should still keep your eye out for animal sightings and encounters that seem to happen frequently or resonate with you specifically.
Do you constantly hear owls at night, regardless of where you are? Do you see imagery of stags everywhere you go, even if you don’t see them in person? Does it feel like you can’t look at a body of water without seeing a fish jump, or a dolphin swim by?
Pay attention to the animal encounters you experience in life. Your spirit animal may be looking for you, too.
Consider Your Dreams
Most frequently, our spirit animals present themselves to us in our dreams. It’s often hard to pay attention to them there because, well, we’re asleep. Dreams fade fast in the harsh morning light.
Keep a dream journal by your bed to document any animal encounters you had while you slept before they slip away. You don’t have to tediously write out the entire dream. It’s more important to jot down a few quick notes that you can refer back to later.
You don’t even have to write in full sentences. Your dream journal entry might look something like this:
- was in my house
- walked outside, saw a fox across the road
- got into the car and a foxtail hung from the rearview window
See? Sticking to quick notes will ensure you keep up with your dream journal. The goal is to be able to look back over past entries to look for trends in animals that appear, not to document the entire narrative of your dream!
Mine Your Past
Take a few minutes to meditate on your past. Did you ever feel a strong, unexplained connection to an animal as a child?
For instance, a little girl once started a “Manatee Club” for manatee lovers at her elementary school. A few kids joined, and later in life, she saw manatees every time she walked near a body of water near her hometown in Florida. Their tough, gray backs would peek out of the water at her for just a moment before they’d descend again.
Take particular note of the types of animals you liked to keep as pets as a child. Were they reptiles, birds, or mammals? Even if a cat isn’t your spirit animal, these preferences can help us determine the category of animal that our spirit animal resides in.
Get Introspective
This one requires some inner strength and reflection, but it’s a highly effective way of helping to hone in on your spirit animal.
Consider your weaknesses in life. The areas you’ve always seemed to struggle with. The journey you want to embark on to become a better version of yourself.
Now, consider a few potential spirit animals you think might match. Maybe you’re seeing lizards everywhere you turn, or can’t go through a day without seeing imagery of a sloth on your social media channels.
Now, consider the strengths of those spirit animals. Do any of their strengths strongly parallel your weaknesses? Often, our spirit animals come to us to help guide us on a journey.
If you’re a workaholic who needs to slow down and can’t stop seeing sloths everywhere, it might be a good sign that your spirit animal is trying to teach you the value of slow living. If you’re struggling with self-discipline and worker ants invade your home, they may have come to share some of their productive energy with you.
Spirit animals aren’t always permanent. Some come to use for a short while as spirit guides. Tune in, and then out, to find yours.
What Is Your Spirit Animal?
Finding your spirit animal can enrich your life immeasurably. Your spirit animal can help you see the path to a better life, and a better you.
By Janet Webster
