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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Thank you so much for this article. I’m currently working with two of my spirit animals–the spider (I’m a writer and when I have dreams and visions of the spider, I know that the Universe is encouraging me to write) and the sea turtle (a symbol to stay true to my path and to let go of the things that are weighing me down). I hadn’t thought of using essential oils to strengthen my relationship with my spirit animals. Thanks again!
I was reading this article wondering what my spirit animal could be when a cat purred nearby. Upon reaching the 20 types of animal totems, the cat perfectly matched my best qualities: curiosity and independence.
I performed a dream ritual to meet my spirit animal, and it’s still one of the most awe-inspiring moments I’ve ever had. I dreamt that I was in a space that was dark as night, and there was a light white that poured from above and started to form a shape. It started to move on its own, and when we met, it was a tiger, looking just like the picture below. Whenever I think about how it managed to find it’s own path in the dark by manifesting light and how confident and self-assured it was, it inspires me to become more confident and self-assured myself.
I feel like my spirit animal is a cat, I’m not quick to warm up to people, I’m independent, self sufficient, loyal and enjoy solitude within nature. I have lived with cats in my life since I was born, I live with six now, sometimes when I’m around new cars they act weird around me I always thought it was the jumbled scent on my clothes but maybe it could be something else at work. I love your articles :)
Ah, the noble cat. One of my favorites! Thanks Joshua.
I recently learned that my spirit animal Is a red panda.. Do you have any insight you could share with me on this spirit animal? It doesnt appear to be as common as the 20 listed above in your article. Thank you :)
Hi Nikki :)
The red panda has a gentle energy (plus I love how fluffy it is!) Its lessons seem to be that of balancing the inner and outer world (i.e. the world of the mind and the world of the senses), therefore, its message seems to be that of balance and equanimity.
Hello Aletheia,
Thank you for your insight. I agree! I think the red panda is just adorable.. :) And, this explains a lot. My life has been quite a challenge, thus far. Not to mention, I’ve been very much alone, confused and misunderstood by many for most of my life. For these reasons, I too, have been a loner, trying to find my way. I’ve somehow stumbled across your blog, and wish to thank you for all your advice and support. I’m now reading your book on “Old Souls.” :) I’ve also recently discovered that I too, am a healer. I’m exponentially grateful to finally have a purpose in life as I journey on this new path. It’s so reassuring to learn that I’m not alone, that I’m not crazy, and to be finally be connected to others very much like myself. Thank you. :D
There are three totem animals who have been with me for many years, and numerous spirit animals
just passing by. All my totems and spirit guides are living, breathing, on my skin. Tattoos! As I say.
some of them were done long ago, before becoming mainstream. “Nice” people did not have tattoos.
I would take to the shop, a picture. One guy would do the drawing on my skin while another did the
needle work. I was charged half price because I presented an artistic challenge! My totems, fox.
turtle and black panther, appear very often on my skin, while my spirit guides appear way less
frequently. There are between 150 and 200 flora and fauna tats of all (well, not all, my beloved
animals. Oh, I must admit, there is one itsy bitsy, (really almost minuscule pink butterfly) tattoo, named
Pink Floyd! Apologies for my digression. Thanks for the great article.
In my tradition there are 2 spirit animals that are the essence of your being, that hold a lot of wisdom and can teach you much about who you are. One animal representing the light side and one representing the dark side, also often the male and the female energy, the passive and the active; where you mostly feel closer to one of them more than the other because it is the stronger part of your being. These animals mostly stay a life time and only change when you experience a major change in your life. Besides that there is a totem in your company, an animal spirit outside of yourself that isn’t you but their own being, that is like a closest friend and mentor that never leaves your side from your birth to your death. Other than that animal spirit guides can appear throughout your life, to help you in a certain time or teach you a lesson, they can stay a day or many years. That is what I’ve been taught and found to be right in my life. It’s so interesting to read about other takes of the topic. I wonder if this is maybe different for everyone and these 2 sides appear as something else for other people and if maybe my family just has a very close connection to the animal realm.
In my experince mythical animals like dragons, gryphons or unicorns can be spirit animals as well but are very rare.
Thanks, Arianna. I´ve been just wondering about these things as I feel connection to three animals, and feel that at times there is a connection to some other. And you have just wrote something that makes sense to me:) Have a nice day!
Thanks a lot Arianna. I’ve been encountering foxes very frequently, both consciously and in my dreams as well so I started reading about spirit animals. So after that I thought fox would be my spirit animal but then I started having dreams about a snake and actually saw one 3 weeks ago while hiking in Spain. Even though Im still a newbie having 2 spirit animals is a new concept to me yet it seems just right. Can you please elaborate on this or could you recommend any good books covering this topic?
Thank you for the great article. I’ve known my totem animals for many years. Two of them came to
me in dreams. Don’t remember how I met the third, it’s such a part of me. At another time in my life,
lived with live turtles, land and water. One day our veterinarian called asking if we would take in another turtle! When we moved to a different climate, found excellent homes for them. Black panther
does not domesticate, so black cats live with me, have since my birth still do. Read somewhere “the cat is the only domestic animal that has not been enslaved by mankind.” Over the years, beginning before
tattooing was acceptable, I acquired very many tattoos of my favorite flora and fauna. My first tats were done at the time people who got tats were mainly sailors, etc. I would take a picture in, and one person would draw and another would do the needle work. Because I presented an artistic challenge, I was charged half the going rate! I love all my animals very much! Oh yes, I do realize that cats have a totally different energy from black panthers! I might have a wee bit of feline dna (kidding). I really
look forward to your future articles on spirit animals. I like and respect insects also, except for the disease carrying ones. Animism forever!
I remember being in class and I had a vision, I was in first person and I was a wolf. I remember running up to a deer and sinking my teeth into its neck and then I was back to being in class. I can remember it like yesterday
Back when I was in college a very long time ago, I had taken a Primitive Religion course as an elective. It was actually considered to be a senior course and covered many different religions and their rituals and suspicions. I think the Professor really wanted us to come to some opinion about the content of the course. I gave one but he didn’t like my opinion for some reason. He wanted to be shaman..He preferred opinions that were shallow. In any case, we had a day long project where we all tried to meditate on having visions and seeing if we had spirit animals. I had tried it on my own at home so the class was just an extension. The animal in my vision was a white horse, and the landscape was rocky. There was moss and a creek/river that we cut through. But we spent most of our time in the underworld which was rocky covered with frozen ice. A blue gray environment. Soothing. There were tons of catacombs that were all entombed with thick ice. The horse took me all through it like a maze. We finally went back to the middle world with the trees, moss and river, and then on up…. When we were in the class, the Professor asked the person that we were sitting close to – to summon a vision on their neighbor. The women how did mine said that she come up with a huge pink elephant with green polka dots as my guide. But the end of the day I was pretty disgusted with the class. But I can still remember the peace of the vision, that I needed at that time. I don’t know if I believe that I have a spirit guide. But I am very visual and tend to think in pictures/images. I don’t if it was real, but it doesn’t matter because something doesn’t have to be real to be effective.
Sounds beautiful.That moment was real.Amazing visual expression.
Yes, a lot of spirit guide seeking is a product of confirmation bias and active imagination. Although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it does take away the legitimacy of such a practice to many people. I used to be one of those skeptical, linear-minded people who needed solid proof of everything. That was until I went on my own shamanic journey and met a spirit guide I never once suspected would be mine: Pan.
At the end of the day it all comes down to authentic experience, which I believe you might have had.
Thanks for reading. ;)