Spiritual animals, totem animals and power animals have all been used for centuries by shamans, native tribes, and regular people like me who believe in the magic of their powers.
A spiritual animal is one that we call on when we need extra help, support or love. Power animals are accessible by looking within for the strength or courage needed to handle any situation. Totem animals represent what we are made of, for instance some Native American tribes believe there are nine totem animals who make up what we are during this life journey.
The nine totem animals represent the four directions; East, South, West, and North, along with above, below, within, our right side, or male side, and our left side, our female side.
My Eastern totem animal is a fox and I have a foxy story to tell. On a Saturday morning, like I do most mornings, I decided to go on a bird walk. Fall, winter and spring are migration times for birds, and every fall, winter, and spring the trees are full of different warblers and vireos, while the yard is full of sparrows and robins, just to name a few.
On this particular morning the weather was nice and cool and I had my hat, binoculars, iPad, camera, water bottle, and my old fishing boots on. I was ready to go. I began clopping my way down the driveway when I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye.
I glanced over to the meadow to see a fox passing me by. There was absolutely no way he did not see me, let alone not hear me. My big old fishing boots don't allow me to gently or quietly tiptoe down the drive, but because poison ivy is still around, I wear them for safety.
I stopped immediately and watched as the fox leisurely cruised down the mowed path in the meadow, not paying me any mind, acting as if he was alone. I have many wildlife cams and I get lots of pictures of foxes but usually at night, very rarely do I see them during the day.
He couldn’t have been more than twenty feet from me when I noticed he was making a turn in the direction of the driveway. He was ahead of me now as I had stopped, so I grabbed the camera and started recording. He came out of the weeds along the drive, briefly paused, looked at me, continued on, stopped and looked at me again. It was awesome. It was obvious he had no fear of me.
First I thought maybe he was comfortable because he or she has grown up on the property and knows exactly who I am and what I am doing, but when he stopped to look at me, I remember we are kindred spirits as he or she is my Eastern totem.
According to some Native American tribes and Mayan traditions, and as described in Jamie Sams and David Carson’s book, “Medicine Cards”, the Eastern totem animal “guides you to your greatest spiritual challenges and guards your path to illumination”.
If that is what my Eastern totem is here to help me with, well count me in, I’m on board. According to the “Medicine Cards” book, the fox represents camouflage, and how many times couldn’t we all use a little camouflage. The ability to blend into your surroundings and exist practically unnoticed has always intrigued me.
On this particular morning, the fox wasn’t camouflaged at all. He or she made it perfectly clear they were there and didn’t have a problem with me being in their realm. As I too was not camouflaged we both in a sense were naked. Me in my birding garb and this beautiful Florida Grey Fox on a morning stroll, two kindred spirits hoping the best for each other.
Carpe Diem Spiritual, Power, and Totem animal searchers.