Animal Totems
Animals have been around longer than mankind. Understanding your totem animal can help us discover our true self. The strengths and weaknesses of an animal totem are a mirror reflection of our inner being. We are all part of the tapestry of life and have gifts to share. Discovering your personal animal totems provides you with the insight necessary to align yourself with the Creative force.
How do you find out what your animal totem is?
There are many books on the subject and people far better than me on the subject, but I will tell how I have found mine.
I was first made aware of animal totems some years back by a shamen friend of mine and someone else who doesn't believe in luck and that everything happens for a reason, my first real totem animal (other than a Hippo) was a badger, now I don't know about you but I have never seen a real badger other than TV and road kill!, well one night in 2005 I had one come into the garden, pass me and head the the fallen plums on the grass, it looked round at me and carried on, the sauntered off without any worries, absolutely amazing sight and never forgot it so the badger became my totem animal.
Late last year I was pottering around the garden and could see rustling in the bushes so went to investegate, on looking I found a Woodpecker caught up in the brambles, again I was taken aback, I have never seen one before, I helped it untangle it's wings and off it went, I was suprised at the bright colours and how small they actually are, so the woodpecker became my totem animal.......so below have posted the woodpecker meaning.
WoodPecker Totem
Their flight patterns are unique. Woodpeckers fly up, coast down then fly upwards again. Those with this totem often find that their path in life wont always conform to society's standards and that their personal unique rhythm needs to be honoured. Woodpeckers teach us to honour our personal truth and move through life with perseverance and inner strength. By staying grounded in our pursuits our goals can be obtained.
In spring the loud calls of woodpeckers often augmented by drumming on hollow wood are the sounds of males holding territories. Woodpeckers defend their territory aggressively. Those with this medicine need to be in control of their personal environment and will not tolerate others trying to change it. Although personal space is very important for woodpecker medicine people control issues can sometimes be a problem and flexibility needs to be learned.
The woodpecker is known as the Earths drummer. Drumming is the heartbeat of mother earth and is associated with shamanism and the ability to move into other dimensions at will. For those with this totem the woodpecker represents self discovery. As they peck into and through trees and dead wood, hidden layers of ones psyche are revealed. Those with this medicine are good analysts and have strong mental capabilities. They make excellent psychiatrists and psychologists. Woodpeckers are active birds so caution is advised to maintain balance when reviewing any situation or issue. Too much analyzing can result in procrastination.
I haven't yet had a further new animal enter my life so assume the woodpecker is still current, animal totems change as we change, this is my view, someone else may see it differently.
If you have had an unusual animal encounter let me know and I will post your animal meaning too.
12 comments:
From what I've read of your life and work on this blog, the woodpecker certainly "fills the bill" (bad pun intended :-D).
OK, when I first read about totem and/or power animals years back I immediately knew one of them: Horse. I have loved horses ever since I can recall, they were one of the first things I drew when I could hold a pencil, and for much of my childhood I collected horse figurines. And to this day the sight of a beautiful horse moves me deeply.
Then very soon after that realization I had a dream about three baby tigers and that very next day received a mailing from a group helping to save the Siberian Tiger. As I read the literature, I recalled how a friend would always refer to me as "Tiger" and, voila, another totem animal for me: Tiger in general, and Siberian Tiger specifically. I also realized the three tigers in the dream were my babies: Dreams, Tarot and Poetry.
Both Horse and Tiger show up in my dreams, always in some important capacity. Horse usually warns me I need to move forward in my life. And Tiger usually addresses fear or other intense emotions. On one occasion, though, Tiger was trying to get me off my butt and into action. LOL!
Hi Roswilla, the horse sounds like your Life Long Totem Animal and the Tiger is likely to be your Journey Totem Animal.
Your Life Long Animal Totem works with you throughout your entire life or until such time that you no longer need that animal totem. It is always there when you need it's powers. Always reminding you of your power and connectivity. You may have only one or a few Life totems. They may become your Life totem at any time. Your Life Totem is always there for you and generally reflects your inner spiritual nature.
A Journey Animal Totem reflects a period of time. Not just a day but weeks, months, or maybe years, the time it takes you to walk the path that the Animal Totem is reminding or guiding you on. During this journey you will find that this animal is always showing up in your life or that several animal totems will appear in your life all to guide you on the path.
For roswilla........
Horse - The horse will teach you how to communicate with other realms as well as this one. It is the message carrier.
Horse represents freedom and power. Horse people are wild spirits that cannot be broken. If Horse comes to you, look for safe passage into the new. We must synchronize our motives with that of others so we can quickly and steadily reach our goals.
Tiger - The tiger represents passion and sensuality. The sense of touch is heightened with the tiger as a power animal. The tiger also brings forth silent, solitary, power.
As the Tiger Soul grows, matures and evolves, a balance is found between releasing their indomitable energies and maintaining an awareness of the feelings of those around them
3/22/07
This is the second morning I've had a woodpecker on my roof, pecking at the aluminum gutter! It sounds like a jack hammer. The first day I thought someone was rude for the noise so early in the morning, untill I went to my car and looked up. I'm waiting to see what comes of it. I"ve always tended to be TOO GIVING to people in my life, to the point of my needs not being met. We shall see!
Hi Anonymous I found this in my Animal speak book by Ted Andrews:
"If a woodpecker has drummed out a song for you, then you should ask yourself some specific questions. Are you looking at aspects of your life rationally? Are others around you not discriminating in their activities? Are you? Are you or others in your life just jumping into situations with little or no analysis".
Sometimes the woodpecker will just show up to stimulate new rhythms.
Sometimes it is easy to get wrapped up in our daily mental activities that we neglect the phyical. This can be when woodpecker shows up. It may also reflect the need to drum some new changes and rhythms into your life.
Oh, how delightful to have found such a spot :) Wonderful blog.
Ahhhh...horses. First thing I learned to draw too. But I was always "animal crazy" anyway. Adored the zoo, studied EVERY possible book I could and (still) can name most anything by sight.
Today, I was brought a male Indigo Bunting. I live on a migratory flight path, so it wasn't a surprise to see one this time of year. But when you consider that I work inside a hotel and the mode of delivery of the Bunting was inside someone's cupped hands...well, unusual to say the least.
Poor Bunting was just tuckered out I think. Found a smallish size covered box for him to rest in..about 10 minutes of Reiki later, he looked & sounded much better. I was tempted to let him go on his merry way, but decided that it couldn't hurt to have the Bird Sanctuary take a look at him. I wish wee little bird well..such a sweet little thing :)
Last month it was a Brown Pelican...no, it wasn't brought to me--I went to it :-D
One had injured itself and a hotel guest brought it to our attention (kind person--thank you!) While someone else hunted up the Bird Sanctuary person on the telephone, I went out to comfort/guard the Pelican until help arrived.
They look rather plain, but once you get really close--Brown Pelicans are quite pretty. I enjoyed hanging out on the beach with it...sending Reiki while we waited for help to arrive.
For someone who has much Cat Medicine (out of 4 possible feline Medicine Cards, I have 3 in my animal totem spread of 9 cards!) it's interesting to see birds come around for help. Glad they don't see me as having "predator" energy!
I was very touched by the Indigo Bunting today..sensing the vastness of Purity, Joy & lightness of Spirit within such a tiny body during the Reiki session. What a wonderful gift to be able to assist each animal, and I am grateful for their gifts to me.
bastet, that is a wonderful story thankyou so much for sharing it here.
Scruffyhippo
Just was working on my diary writing a difficult entry regarding the denial of a truth in my father’s family. I decided to take a break and go out to the store as I’m having a hard time concentrating. On my way home there was a really big wood pecker in a tree which I stopped to try to take a picture of as it was so beautiful. When I return home I looked up the totem meaning of the wood pecker which is teach us our personal truth and to move through life with perseverance and inner strength. Yes, this is the meaning of truth, no matter how difficult it is to face, it does bring inner strength. So appropriate for my today.
thanks for this section!
I have had yet another pride losing battle with friday night and as i walked the woods today i sat and listended to the earth.
I hear a rustle and looked up- a bird was landing on a tree not 30 feet from me. I then was entranced by his red top- a large woodpecker!
Always heard here but rarely seen. There he was right next to me, I repositioned and thanked him for sharing himself with me.
We both were there about 10 minutes.
I came in to see what they might hold for me and this site came up first- an absolute fit for my current situation and exactly what I was thinking and feeling and reanalyzing about my life!
The woodpecker is on my totem somewhere and even though I've read about totems before, I haven't known my animals yet.
Nice to meet you Woodpecker!
Two years ago a woodpecker suddenly appeared in our neighborhood.On one website he signified change.My husband got a new better job he had been trying for.A month ago he was back when my cat dissapeared for 3 days.The cat came back but died of some kind of poisoning two days later.Two days ago the woodpecker was back,louder than ever.I had a three day headache and today it was gone,but I felt uneasy like something wasn't quite right.Tonite someone set fire to my grandmother's house that had been abandoned for a year since her death.I have been seeking a new job or to go back to my old one.This woodpecker seems to know when I need to be told something,like to turn up my intuition.Everytime I hear him now I wonder what he's trying to tell me....
Thanks for your post. I happened upon this site when looking for meaning about an indigo bunting sighting. I tend to have unusual (not often seen) animals come into my life at certain times. When I look up their symbolism, I tend to understand that sometimes they carry a specific message about what we are going through at the very moment. I saw that someone did post about the Indigo Bunting, and I was curious to find out its symbolism or personality trait. I haven't seen a bunting in about 3 years, and today my husband saw him. I put out his favorite treats in hopes of his return. Any insight on I.B. would be appreciated. I do have a wren that now dwells and returns to my yard every year. He used to come just when I needed to hear his song, and during times of great strife for me. It was always my sign to stop and take time to appreciate life and enjoy the present.
I do have another question for you. I have always loved the fox. Last year, we had a beautiful red fox in our area. Then, he developed mange. He surprised us all one day. In the middle of the day, he walked up to our small fish pond, and took a drink then walked by my husband, myself and our two kids, and disappeared. I used to dispatch at my local pd, so I called for the fox rescue number and discovered that he had many fans. The following day I drove to the rescue to get medicine to inject frozen mice to treat the mange. The day after I returned, I found him dead under our pine tree. (Of all places, he chose our home for his final resting place.) I believe that a groundskeeper in the area poisoned him because he was sick. It broke my heart, but I believe that my fox totem was teaching me something. I just don't know. I recently went to a zoo and locked eyes with a beautiful white fox. The connection is still there. Anything you can offer on the Indigo Bunting or Fox story is greatly appreciated.
Thank you. I apologize for the length.
As a child I had always had a great fondness for cats. Specifically black panthers/jaguars. From time to time I have had animals make themselves known to me when I had something particular happening in my life. Had coyotes, butterflies, pigeons(at one time an almost completely white one), and hawks.
Glad to know what it meant when a woodpecker makes its presence known to you. Today I had an experience where I sat on my bed heard a chirp at the window by my bed. I opened the blinds and there perched up on the bricks along the side of the house by the window was a woodpecker. It looked at me chirpped a couple of times and then flew off. Thank you for posting your experiences. :-)
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