Your Animal Spirit Guides

Your Animal Spirit Guide

Which Animal Spirit Guards Your Life Path

At the core of all Native American spiritual thought is that the earth is a living, sentient creature which must be revered and treated with the utmost respect. Without Mother Earth, humanity could not exist. Contact with the Spirit World is also an important quality of Native American spirituality.

Many Ancient American Indian tribes believe each person must carve out his or her own individual life path and this journey will teach them many valuable lessons. Spirits may guide this path to varying degrees to help ensure that we gain the experience we need.

Because Indians see man as being a part of Creation, they have enormous respect for the environment, believing everything in nature has a rightful place. In ancient cultures it was believed that everyone had an animal spirit from birth. The characteristics and symbolism of the animal guiding a person's path would signify the lessons a person may need to learn in life.

Your animal spirit might come to your in your dreams. It is believed that people are naturally drawn to the spirit energy of their animal spirit guide.

Take a look around your home and you might be surprised at the animal images within. Some cultures believe your animal spirit guide is with you all your life, others believe spirit animals can change throughout your life's journey depending on your needs at differing times.

Relax, close your eyes and let your spirit animal come to you. If you feel drawn to a certain animal, what message might this bring? Here's a brief description of the characteristics of spirit animals:

Ant - Brings the ability to get a team together to work for the good of all

Bald Eagle - Brings insight into spiritual truths, strength, dignity and courage

Cat - Brings insight into spiritual realms

Crab - Brings a need to protect home and family and strong maternal/paternal instincts

Chimpanzee - Brings help with solving problems and physical dexterity

Dog - Brings love, loyalty and companionship through life's relationships

Dolphin - Brings harmony and balance into life and helps communication skills

Elephant - Brings a strong connection with ancient wisdom and deep loyalty within the family

Fox - Brings persistence, caution and ability to keep secrets

Giraffe - Brings the gift of communication and ability to see beneath the surface

Hedgehog - Brings a need to protect oneself through taking care of health and emotional well-being and through accepting your limitations.

Tiger - Brings strength in the face of adversity

Wolf - Brings psychic perception, intuition and a strong sense of cooperation

Shamans would connect with their spirit animals in their rituals, wearing masks and clothing made from animal skins. This was to enable them to connect with their animal spirit energy and to possess the same mystical energy as their animal spirit guide.