It was bizarre and unexplainable: I kept having recurring dreams for about a month, where I would walk into an eerie, foreboding forest at night with a wolf peering at me through the shrubs. Its stare seemed kind, almost motherly, but very intense … somehow I knew that it was trying to tell me something about the depths of the forest ahead.
I have since had many dreams about Wolves and Dogs. And before I ever knew of my strong connection with the Canis Lupus species, I co-founded and named this website lonerwolf: a creature that to me embodies the spiritual journey.
Have you ever experienced any strange synchronicities to do with animals?
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Do you keep running into the same animal over and over again? Perhaps you’ve had repetitive dreams or have undergone a shocking, rare, or weird situation with an animal you never expected to see.
If you’re confused, need clarity, or validation, keep reading.
(By the way, if you’re interested in getting more help connecting with your Spirit Animal, see my highly-rated Spirit Animal Reading offering!)
Table of contents
- What is a Spirit Animal? (Definition)
- Ancient Origins ( Totemism & Animism )
- Spirit Animals & the Spiritual Awakening Journey
- Spirit Animal, Power Animal, Totem Animal – What’s the Difference?
- 7 Ways to Discover Your Spirit Animal
- 21 Common Spirit Animals
- 5 Ways to Discover Your Spirit Animal’s Lessons (Medicine)
- Spirit Animal Quiz
What is a Spirit Animal? (Definition)
A Spirit Animal is a teacher, messenger, omen, or guide who is there to help you in some area of your life. In shamanic cultures, spirit animals are thought to be the literal spirits of animals that we either inherit, are born with, or adopt during life. However, in various schools of psychology, Spirit Animals are thought to be the archetypal or symbolic manifestations of the primal psyche. Regardless of what philosophy you subscribe to, Spirit Animals are powerful allies that connect us with our Souls and Higher Purpose.
Ancient Origins (Totemism & Animism)
Animals share with us the privilege of having a soul.
– Pythagoras
The notion of having a Spirit Animal draws its origins from ancient Animistic and Totemistic beliefs about the world and our connection to it.
Totemism is a system of belief practiced by groups such as the Native American or Australian Aboriginal peoples who carry the philosophy that each human being has a spiritual connection to another physical being (e.g., a plant or animal).
The Kpelle people of Liberia, for instance, possess animal, plant, and natural phenomena (wind, rain, etc.) totems that are thought to guide and protect their people. Their totems are also thought to be a form of alter ego or second self.
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Animism, on the other hand, is a world view held by many Buddhist, Shinto, Pagan, and Neopagan groups of people, that all plants, animals, and objects have spirits. To the Animists, we are part of nature, rather than being superior to nature, or separate from nature. As such, it’s common to see the inclusion of Spirit Animals within this worldview.
Spirit Animals & the Spiritual Awakening Journey
Spirit Animals are powerful allies on our spiritual awakening journeys as they help us to reconnect with our Souls. As the essence of an animal is raw, pure, and untainted by the issues that human beings undergo, they can help us tune into our authentic, untamed nature.
Spirit Animals embody their Souls (their unique expression of the Divine) completely and utterly. They’re not burdened with an ego that feels small, separate, and defensive against Life. As such, our Spirit Animal can teach us lessons surrounding courage, empowerment, interconnectedness, letting go, learning to love fully, and finding freedom.
It’s common for those beginning this journey of Soul Embodiment to experience synchronicities, spiritual signs, and omens connected with their Spirit Animal.
Spirit Animal, Power Animal, Totem Animal – What’s the Difference?
These terms are often used interchangeably, but there’s a difference. Put simply:
- A Spirit Animal refers to an ally who helps teach/guide you.
- A Power Animal refers to a creature that empowers you.
- A Totem Animal refers to a creature that is inherited (ancestrally or as part of a tribe/clan).
While a Power animal can be invoked or called upon, it’s often thought that a Spirit Animal chooses you (and the same applies to the Totem Animal).
7 Ways to Discover Your Spirit Animal
At this point, you may be wondering, “okay, so how do I discover my spirit animal?” Here are some powerful approaches:
1. Spend more time outdoors
This helps you to forge a greater connection to nature which you’ll need to identify your Spirit Animal.
2. Pay attention to the animals appearing in your life
Do any particular animals keep emerging? It’s said that if a particular animal continuously appears in your daily life, this is an indication that your Spirit Animal is trying to contact you. For instance, a certain animal could repeatedly show up on your daily walks, in the books you read, TV shows you watch, or pictures you glimpse.
3. Pay attention to the animals appearing in your dream life
Spirit Animals are also said to contact us in our dreams. Look out for animals that seem to persistently appear while you sleep – this could be a sign that your Spirit Animal is trying to manifest itself to you.
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4. Be aware of the unusual behavior of animals around you
Does a particular animal run up to you, make strange noises around you, or otherwise display strange behavior patterns in your presence? This could be a strong indication of your Spirit Animal trying to contact or form a connection with you.
5. Think about what animals you have always been attracted to
Are you drawn to any particular animal, either out of fear or adoration? This could reveal an unconscious connection to your Spirit Animal.
6. Try meditation
Our Spirit Animals often reveal themselves during practices such as meditation because the mind because still. If you don’t often meditate, or if you would like assistance, there are many free meditation videos on YouTube.
7. Keep a journal
Record what animals you encounter in your meditations, dreams, and waking life. Look for patterns or recurrences of a specific animal or animals. Learn more about how to journal.
(Bonus) 8. Get a Spirit Animal Reading
There are many intuitive souls out there who are able to help you connect with your spirit animal. I am honored to offer this service myself, and I have done so for many years now. You can get your own Spirit Animal Reading here!
21 Common Spirit Animals
While ther’s nearly an endless array of Spirit Animal guides out there, there are some that tend to continually emerge. I’ll list them below:
- Bear (strength, confidence)
- Butterfly (personal transformation)
- Cat (independence, curiosity)
- Coyote (playfulness, adaptability)
- Crow (vision, intelligence)
- Deer (innocence, gentleness)
- Dog (loyalty, love)
- Dragonfly (transformation, adaptability)
- Fox (agility, awareness)
- Frog (rebirth, renewal)
- Hawk (focus, leadership)
- Horse (freedom, passion)
- Hummingbird (positivity, playfulness)
- Lion (strength, courage)
- Owl (wisdom, intuition)
- Rabbit (abundance, vulnerability)
- Sheep (vulnerability, innocence)
- Snake (healing, transformation)
- Spider (creativity, receptivity)
- Tiger (willpower, aggression)
- Turtle (determination, persistence)
- Wolf (intelligence, freedom)
5 Ways to Discover Your Spirit Animal’s Lessons (Medicine)
Once you have discovered what your Spirit Animal/s is, a common question to ask is “what’s next?” How can you harness the new knowledge of your Animal Teacher to benefit your life? Here are a variety of ways to learn from your Spirit Animal:
1. Discover its symbolic wisdom (or ‘medicine’)
Each Spirit Animal has strengths and weaknesses which are important for you to learn about, as they directly apply to your life. The better you understand the symbolic meaning of your Animal Teacher, the better you will come to understand yourself and what you need to improve or change in your life.
2. Apply your newfound wisdom
Learning about your Spirit Animal will help you to learn more about yourself, and will consequently help you to make important decisions, deal with difficult situations and people, and reach your personal goals and aspirations. Reflect on the three main ways you can apply what you’ve learned to your life (short-term, medium-term, and long-term).
3. Don’t humanize your Spirit Animal
Anthropomorphizing (aka. humanizing) your guide will do nothing but silence their unique way of expressing themselves. To be open and receptive to your Spirit Animal’s message, you’ll need to embrace their exclusive language and form of self-expression first. To be receptive to your Spirit Animal and embrace their authentic being, take some time to observe them. Either observe them in nature (if they live in your vicinity) or watch them online. Take notes if needed.
4. Pay attention to when your Spirit Animal appears in your life
Be aware of dreams, or real-life occurrences in which your Spirit Animal manifests itself. Also, remember that your Spirit Animal can choose to manifest itself in a very subtle way; for instance, in poems, a song, or even a picture in a book or poster in the street. Our Animal Teachers are thought to serve as both omens, as well as messengers and guides. So consider the following question in your daily life:
- What feelings do you experience when your Spirit Animal appears in your life? For example, do foreboding or comforting feelings arise within you?
- What message does your Spirit Animal appear to be communicating to you?
- Is your Spirit Animal trying to lead you in a certain direction?
5. Honor your Spirit Animal
Shamans believe that by honoring and venerating your Spirit Animal, you grow and gain a deeper connection to them. Many people like showing respect to their Animal Teachers by placing objects of the same species around their houses (like feathers, skulls, statues). Others like wearing symbols of their Spirit Animals on their bodies (amulets, pendants, etc.). Simply saying “thank you” and being grateful is sufficient.
Spirit Animal Quiz
If you’d like more guidance and support in connecting with your spirit animal, you might like to take our free spirit animal quiz. This test can help you connect with either your temporary animal ally (who is helping you in this specific period of life) or even your long-term animal ally (who has accompanied you since birth). As always, take it with a grain of salt and have fun!
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Since the dawn of time, Spirit Animals have been summoned to help us learn vital lessons, make important decisions, and grow significantly at a Soulful level. From the Native Americans and their totem animals to the animistic beliefs of indigenous Africans, Indians, Asians, and South Americans, animals have been revered for hundreds of thousands of years.
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All of us have at least one spiritual connection to another physical being such as a particular animal or plant species.
I hope this article has illuminated and inspired you.
If you have any comments, experiences, or opinions that you would like to add, please feel free to share them below.
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As Human Souls, have we not left the animal kingdom?
Which culture of people followed animal guides and were
a highly “enlightened” society?
God and or Holy Spirit are there to assist us on our
evolutionary path upward!
Blessings to all! The ground on which you stand is HOLY
because you are! You are Gods!
The indigenous Americans were not perfect, but they possessed one of the most “enlightened” attitudes towards life I have ever read about. I’m not sure what your definition of God is, but I believe we are all divinity. In my personal experience and observations of the world, the traditional biblical perception of God has actually spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically repressed and regressed us. It does more harm than good.
Then you are misinformed. Buddhism and Hinduism are as enlightened if not more.
I had always been led to believe that my spirit animal was a white koi named Shisui… But then something catastrophic happened. As I continued to meditate my internal environment was becoming desolate and destroyed as if I was at war with myself and our long chats became short quiet visits. He would appear in smaller and smaller waters until he was in a puddle barely big enough for his body. I used my hands to heal him (he was greatly wounded) but could do nothing else. This was also the time where I saw black horses running in a different part of the woods, almost clairvoyantly.I became afraid to meditate in fearing that he would be dead.
It’s been a few months to maybe half a year and I’ve just started again a week ago, using different meditation music, and everything has changed. The forest is lush again and beautiful… But I still feel as if something in me has died. I am unable to find Shisui and cannot find a dominant spirit animal.
I have met a wolf yesterday, and I was not afraid, even though I had morphed into a deer. It was calm and playful. I had an urge to run the path beforehand and with the rest of the pack running on the right side of the path, I think he wanted me to run with him.
Any ideas what happened?
I don’t know what happened, but this was very sad to read, Koi is a symbol of luck and strength I believe, many have them tattooed on legs or arms , I hope you find shisui, maybe he saw you no longer needed him and moved on to assist others who needed him more. I do believe you dominant totem animal will find you. Just keep an awareness of your surroundings :)
shisui is with you no matter what you just have to feel like when you first found shisui and feel that same emotion and do things that make you feel alive in those times wen you met shisui.
I once had a dream that I was in a school and I remember I was in dream so I went in the library it was a wired library so I ran to the back I saw the librarien she had a wolf head so I hid behind a book shelf and bend down and called my spirit animal I felt something sniff I got scared so I looked up and it was a wolf if was brown and I’m pretty sure it had black on it to I can’t remember any questions I asked it then the dream I had in my school court yard and there was poisen ivy I realized I was Kai the fire ninja from ninja go and the guys were making fun of me so I half pretended I steeped in poisen ivy and the I stepped in a bath tub then I came out side and fell my shirt was up so they can see my back lol then they left I got up because I heard voices and I ran and hid behind a tree then the guys came and my spirit animal came running to me I held it in my arms and ran into the school then my spirit animal ran out side and it looked like a dog and the people say it and that’s all I remember I’m think I had another dream but idk and when I woke up and i felt really wired and I went to my room to get close and there was a bee and I wasn’t scared at all and actually I wasn’t really scared of my fears at all so yea can u guys tell me what it means and if the wolf is my spirit animal thank you if u do
Kai is always making a fool of himself in ninjago but he is also protective of Lloyd and Nya. That connects you with a canine.
my first spirit animal experience I found a white wolf with blue eyesand ive dreamed of this animal for years. my first time meeting it was beautiful and relaxing and it it left me with a sense of aWe..but the next night when I went to go visit him and try to get some insight on who it was It wouldnt talk to me… he would just stare at me.. I asked him if he was a spirit of light and he lowers its head, a wall of fire popped up and it dives through the flames and attacked me. I woke up in a panic and felt a pressence in my room the rest of the night.. Whats it mean
I’ve been dreaming of tigers quite often in the last few weeks,and each time they’re chasing me. It’s not a pleasant experience. But even then, is the tiger my spirit animal? And what am I supposed to learn from this sort of dream?
That is hard for me to say Neha. Only you can know what your spirit animal is. It MIGHT be your spirit animal, but then again, the tiger might just be symbolic of something you’re avoiding or running away from in life. This could be a good opportunity for you to reflect.
I’ve met my spirit animals during the labor of my first child. A mother bear and a lioness together with a circle of all my ancestors females. They where there with me/us all the time until she was born.
That is beautiful Luisa. It’s comforting to know that the universe in its many manifestations supports its own!
Just sharing my findings =)
…..
I’ve always noticed how animals appear when I need them but have recently been wondering if I had one dominant animal, in the same manner that others do, such as yourselves with wolves.
To coincide with these thoughts, I had asked Sol previously on one of his articles on death for a second opinion on a psychological phenomenon (or ‘spirit guide’) happening since my early childhood. In his reply, he told me to be aware of what I’m being told.
These series of events all led to the conclusion that the horse may be a possible fixture in my life.
In general every day, I’ve always just brushed it off since the horse is so deeply engraved into human history. Every old culture has particular beliefs for the animal. It’s like I had seen them so often throughout my life, I havent really noticed any thing in particular about them other than general admiration. But it was my friend of some 20 odd years that pointed out recently, that I must secretly love horses as I use them a lot in my creative work. When I day dream often I’m running, either on my own, with a horse or on a horse.
I also named my spirit guide after a horse from a cartoon in my childhood, feeling that the character resonated a lot with him. While reading some other interpretations of the horse totem, one source mentioned that Native American’s believed that the horse was a grounding force for the whispers on the wind, and the horse is sometimes refered to as a symbol for the wind. Something else that really resonates between me and my spirit guide. If I’m the earth, the physical self, then he’s the wind, the unknown self that runs free where ever he wants to go.
So I guess now I can confidently say that I spiritually run with horses =) (lol)
That is wonderful Rook, congratulations. :) I always personally associate horses with the wild spirit of life, with creativity and unbridled personal expression. What a beautiful spirit guide to have!
Thank you for sharing your discoveries here!
https://sarsa85.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/wild-grey-wolf-2/
I am a wolf i feel urge in my vains…maybe you will enjoy my poem?
Very poignant and poetic. Thank you for the share Sara. :D
I recently started meditating on meeting my spirit animal. is it common to have multiple ones because I found my self drawn to three that seems so different though when I looked them up they all seemed to speak to different parts of me and they were three I never would have guessed though I did feel connected to two of them as a child if memory serves.
Yes, it is possible to have multiple spirit guides. Personally, I just have one that I know of at the moment, but the more the merrier!
My indigo friends told me that my spirit animal is a feline.. with dots. So I suppose it’s a jaguar. And then i attend a past life regression seminar and when i meditate, i saw myself as an african warrior who headed to a sacred mountain where the holy spirits are.. and then there’s only one spirit that came to me and it is a holy jaguar spirit. Seriously i still dunno if it is all just coincidence or what lol but I do feel glad to know about spirit animal. Somehow, it gives me confidence. Thank you for sharing this blog.
Congratulations Anthony. Also, spirit animals are not the only types of guides out there (e.g. there are other forms such as anthropomorphic beings, angels, gods/goddesses). Sometimes we share many guides at one time.
Thank you for commenting here :)
What a beautiful thing for you to have the chance to experience! Are you sure it is not a leopard though? Jaguars are native to the Americas, while leopards are native to Africa, which you said was depicted in your vision.