Why Power Animals?
David Richo in The Power of Coincidence says that animals will appear in both waking and dream life to serve as guides or as triggers to transformation. Carl Jung points out that when we become more spiritual, an animal appears. Animals may appear in life experience and in dreams at important times in our lives to accompany or even escort us along our path. Joseph Campbell says that animals are the great shamans and teachers—messengers and personal guardians that come to bestow their warning and protection. Animals will appear synchronously when we need information about our path.
Therefore, the power animal can be a very significant resource to you. It will help you develop an aspect of your instinctual self that has not been dulled by society and civilization. It will retune your instincts. Your power animal will make you alert and give you sense and ways of perceiving the world that you ordinarily do not have available to you.
From earliest times, humankind has used animals as totems and symbols of the highest ideals – the lion as a symbol of strength, the lamb as the purity of God, the serpent and eagle as symbols of the sacred principles of the universe.
Mesoamerican societies worshiped the winged serpent Quetzalcoatl, a god who was master of the winds and the sky, and the protector of his people. In Greek mythology, Medusa’s scalp writhed with live snakes, symbolic of her sovereign female wisdom. The hero Hercules was often depicted wearing a lion skin, which gave him the beast’s cunning, strength, and dominance. In the Bible, King Solomon is referred to as the “lion of Judea,” and Jesus is called the “lamb of God.” In the Hindu religion, cows are held to be sacred. The zodiac has animals as symbols, as does the Chinese calendar.
Cultural identifications with animals are so strong that entire civilizations have taken them as symbols. The mighty lion has long represented England; the industrious honeybee, a symbol of immortality and resurrection, was chosen by both Charlemagne and Napoleon to represent France.
Perhaps the most omnipresent animal symbol of all is the eagle, adopted by both ancient and modern cultures around the world, such as the Greeks, Egyptians, Sumerians, Hittites, and Romans. The bald eagle represents the might and freedom of the United States.
Even automakers use animal imagery to symbolize their products because potential buyers intuitively respond to certain animal attributes. We expect the Jaguar sports car to be sleek, fast, and elite; the Dodge Ram SUV to be sure-footed on rocky terrain.
Four archetypal animals are particularly important to the Laika of Peru. The serpent symbolizes knowledge, sexuality, and the healing power of nature. The jaguar represents strength, courage, and the power of transformation. The eagle (or condor) symbolizes foresight, clarity, vision, and the self-transcending principle of nature. The hummingbird symbolizes courage, strength, and guidance. When shamans open and close sacred space, we invoke these spirit animals, representing the four core principles of life.
Apart from archetypal images, most of us have lost our sense of connectedness to all but the most domesticated of animals. But whether we are aware of it or not, we all have power animals that symbolize the instinctual aspects of our soul in its natural, most unspoiled state.
Many years ago, as I was contemplating what direction to take in my life, rabbit came to me and told me to “lighten up.” He further explained that “lighten up” meant to stop taking things so seriously, embrace life, play with life, enjoy the journey. Rabbit also explained that I needed to lighten up by letting go of old stories, fears, old beliefs, perceptions, and assumptions that weighted me down and discover my light. Recently, mountain goat came to me with the gifts of sure-footedness, steadfastness, and balance telling me that he had come to bring me the ability to move easily and confidently in what for some would be challenging or even impossible terrain.
When we call for a power animal, Spirit provides us with whatever we need – we do not get to choose. In fact, we may retrieve one that is entirely unforeseen, or actively disliked. The animal that comes to us represents an instinctual part of ourselves that we may have become disconnected from – or even find distasteful.
Working with a power animal is an instinctual process about who we are becoming, not about who we would prefer to be. It is up to us to learn its attributes as it reveals its wisdom.
Follow this link for a guided journey to meet a power animal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyTzNidzp_U
*Parts have been adapted from the teachings of Alberto Villoldo and The Four Winds