a Modern Practitioner for Today's World

THE Uncommon Shaman

What is a totem or spirit animal?

One need not be physically present to receive benefit from a spirit animal retrieval as the shaman may work on their behalf to retrieve the animal and bring it to the person in a specific meditative state. If you feel that you might benefit from the retrieval of your spirit animal or totem, please contact Melissa who will be happy to discuss this with you and journey on your behalf.

Spirit or totem animals are a specific type of spirit guide essential to our well-being. In childhood, we can almost all remember an animal to which we were inexplicably drawn, often one with whom we had no prior connection. A sudden passion for elephants. Many crayon drawings of giraffes, butterflies, or cats.  In most cases, this is a child's first totem animal.  

It is a belief of shamanism that all natural objects within our universe have a spirit or soul. A totem or spirit animal guide is attached to a person either spontaneously in childhood as discussed above can make itself known to a person at any point in their life or can be retrieved for a person believed to have lost their spirit animal. Spirit animals act as guardians or teachers to the person to whom they are pledged. Over a lifetime, one may have any number of totem animal spirits to assist them at different times and for different

reasons.   A totem animal represents a person's connection to all of life, the qualities of the animal's character, and their inherent power.  They serve as teachers, guides, and protectors.

Sometimes we become cut off from our spirit guides, and this includes our totem animals. This can manifest in different ways for different people. Some find that they have lost touch with their creative abilities which might indicate a disconnect from their power animal. They may be suffering feelings of fatigue, weakness, or other physical symptoms that have been found through diagnosis with western medicine to be without a diagnosable cause. Or, there are times that one just might want to connect with their totem out of curiosity and a desire to walk through life more fully.

A spirit animal retrieval is a staple of shamanic practice. If a person reaches out in request to obtain their spirit animal, the shaman works on their behalf by journeying, a specific type of shamanic meditation, in which the animal for the person on behalf of whom the shaman is working must present himself to the shaman in a very specific way. Once the power animal has been determined, it is then brought back to the waiting person, and the information on this animal is then given to them.

Spirit animals come and go over the course of a lifetime.  It's up to us to maintain our relationship with them, as we would with any other helping spirit, in order to ensure their happiness and willingness to continue working with us and providing guidance and support.