I often identify my animistic nature with that of a wolf, but I feel the need to delineate the romantic attachment that pervades for totem animals. The wolf, whether it be dire, ezo, thylacine, grey, tibetan, ethiopian, etc. is the most direct manifest of my human personae, the totemic bond is universal rather than species based. But this is not the only animal I find myself affected by, I don’t just choose this one because of it’s commonly perceived power or wild energies. I am subjected to any scope of experiences throughout life, and as a lover of new experiences I find myself to be under different environmental, social, relationship, ethical, spiritual, and transitory currents where the psychosomatic bonds with only one animal does not help me. Whether I have met them or not, in the astral or real life is not always important either, and sometimes the lack of knowledge draws me even more to certain types. Here is some animals I feel incarnate at the very least in a mental state from time to time.
Camel/Yak: When I am taking long walks on summer days, like any diurnal creature usually does, the physical exertion tends to expose my physiological capabilities and creates barriers and apprehension of continuing. I think of a camel or yak, who seem to be illimitable stamina conquerors, surviving in the livestock and domestic stage and cultivated by nomads for thousands of years. They are conservative beasts that have some of the farthest ranging territories of macrofauna. They are slow moving, but conscious, as if in a meditational embrace of the landscape. They remind me to slow down my life, or my hikes when needed and overall to not waste energy, where time becomes irrelevant.
Horses: These are for companionship, when I seek someone will just listen I have often met with tamer horses in fields, and fed them. No matter how acclimatized they have become to their masters, they are open minded to meet new people. No matter stuck I am in a routine, I can diverge and create the cleft that lets me explore
Birds of Paradise: The artistic nature and displays of courtship really speak to my social sides. I like to go out of my way to impress people and always show my best qualities to my mate. These birds are also extremely creative nest builders (known as bower birds) and will use found forest items, organic materials and man made objects to create elaborate natural architecture and specialized nests or displays.
Reindeer: So perfectly adapted to all weather and mutually bound in a very unique relationship with many northern Scandinavian and Arctic cultures like the Sami. The reindeer or any species of deer is my travel spirit, they are always moving, and are nomadic. Their territories can range thousands of miles, and they travel in herds just as grand. My inability to stay in one place for very long before seeking new land, after extracting the resources in one is the way in which I can relate to the reindeer. Also the stamina of the deer, especially in northern Finland during their 3,000 mile migration, river crossing, herding, and trotting along open plains whilst enduring cold. I love to take very long hikes, a vagabond of the land enduring the elements and the satisfaction at the end of the journey, which always comes with comfort.
Capuchin monkey (also other primates like gorilla, and chimpanzee)Our biological as well as mental relationship can’t be denied, outside of a totemic sense, Darwin proved this in ‘The Origin of the Species’. I feel obliged as a human being to somehow form a connection to them beyond merely acknowledging them as my closest animal hominid ancestors. When I go to climb trees, I am a primate. My limbs are more flexible and adaptable to the branches contours. I can conform my body to the twisting stature of trees for balance. I spent hours at the zoo just watching the monkeys, and seeing the resemblances in their actions to use. Their mental capabilities, capabilities to remember patterns and solve human made problems are deeply fascinating. I am soon to be making a symbolic adoption of a capuchin being held at a monkey sanctuary and hopefully to become more aware of them. They have the same higher emotions that homosapiens do, they feel remorse for the dead, and have been observed mourning over their kin. They understand play, and rules, and use tools for getting food. I feel when observing monkeys that I establish a deeper sense of non-verbal communication.
Goats: The goats are metaphorical symbols of opposition when taken in a religious context. This is my adversarial nature. They are sometimes depicted as being free from the herd or pertaining to the dark. They are scavengers of resources, and also very helpful to humans since they provide many practical uses as livestock. They are mostly docile when approached but can be vengeful when confronted in the wrong way. My passive aggressive nature is precisely this. I try to avoid hostility and make attempts at being social, but will not let others cross my borders.
And so the totem pole stands it’s ground, and new faces are carved out of it’s emblem.
:aferalspirit: 