Animal Totem

Our relationship to animals is indelible. Our instincts correlate to symbolic and literal animal figures. They become symbols of the soul and can communicate aspects of our psyches, shepherding our paths. 

We have related to animals in various capacities. We eat, feed, adopt, herd, hunt, train, breed, nurture, play, use, think, and grow with them. And they can also link us intimately with purpose, meaning and identity as individuals and as a collective.

My college mascot was a lion and I too am astrologically a leo. This regal creature as appeared in dreams and holds a big symbolic component of my paternity. The bear, likewise, is the emblem of my home state and has also appeared in dreams as a soul totem connecting me to the maternal. My relationship to these mammals connects me to my instinctual nature, loyal, protective, and relational.

How do you link to the wisdom of animals, both literal and figurative, in your life?