Shamanism ~ Animal Totems & Spirit Guides
Discovering the Shaman Healer Within: Apprentice Course
Aho! Take a journey and an exploration into the worlds and the way of the
Shaman. Come and sit down before the fire with the Shaman as you calm your mind
and open your heart to the teachings of the Elders. As you walk the path of
this course, you will re-member many skills, talents, places and people from
your past that you have forgotten. Welcome to the reconnection to your purpose
as healer. Let the Shaman Elder take the talking stick and listen to his words.
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The Shaman Way: Are Spirit Guides The Same as Totems?
By Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls
Spirit guides may or may not also be totem animals. I have a spirit guide who
comes to me as a white pelican. I have an elephant who is strictly a totem and
not a spirit guide. A spirit guide is a teacher with something to teach you. A
totem animal is often a protector, a mate to travel the Inner Worlds with who
knows its way around and can get you in, to your destination, and out again
safely. I can ride my elephant right into the Under World and he will stop at
exactly the place I need to be to affect someone's healing. When I have the
healing, I climb back on and he brings me right back. If anything untoward
appears, he can step on it with out effort and so he protects me completely.
That is a totem animal.
Why an elephant?
An Elephant represents royalty, strength, ancient wisdom, patience, education,
confident and is careful. No wonder I have an elephant as a totem. He represents
me. Notice too that he is not a Native American animal. That means something,
too.
Your totems choose you. You meet a totem animal, usually in the Inner Planes but
sometimes it is an animal you have a special affinity for or have seen a lot
lately. I prefer to meet them on the Inner Planes in meditation or such because
sometimes those animals you see a lot of in this world are bringing you a
message and are not totems for you. It is easy to confuse the two.
Your totem animal can change during your life. As you grow and change, your
totem animals may change as well. You may have several totem animals at once.
But one is a life totem and represents your basic self or personality, your
essence.
Spirit guides are teachers.
Spirit guides come to guide you in your education. They teach you things. They
may have lived other lives. They may be "ascended" beings. They may be
the wind, Father Sky or a guardian angel. They may be your higher self. They may
be God. You decide. They can be animals or plants or trees or people. Here is
another wisdom nugget, everything has three emanations or faces or appearances.
We do and plants do and animals do and everything does.
Three Faces
When I go into the Inner Worlds for a healing for someone, I encounter some
being there who is responsible for the sickness. The first face it shows me is
really goofy, odd or weird and I know that is not what it really is. So I
dismiss that face and ask to see its true face. The next face it shows if it is
a not nice being is some ferocious, grizzly, nasty, scary being who tries to
bite me or otherwise scare me. But I am not scared because I know that is not
its true face. I may have to fend it off or punch it or step on it or catch it
but I am not scared of it. I dismiss it and ask to see its true face for the
third time. The third time I see what it really is and if it is a not nice being
it usually looks weak, small and very lacking in every department. This is the
being I negotiate with.
So I know that everything has three faces. Another example is when I sit with a
rock and it turns into a lily, then it becomes a butterfly and flies away. When
I sit with a river and it becomes a meadow and then it is a bear walking away.
So my totem is an elephant, a white elephant and it does not change its face
around me. Why? Because it represents me! It is one of my own faces! How cool!
A totem is one of your own many faces. That is why some people call them
"familiars".
Can we have more than three faces?
Yup! Some people have hundreds of faces. But everything has at least three. And
usually the three represent a plant, an animal and a sky creature.
Your spirit guides will help teach you intent, emotional control, knowledge and
impeccability if you allow them. Remember it is always your free will to learn
or not to learn. But don't travel to the Inner Worlds if you have not mastered
the skills necessary to be safe there and to do your work there. And never go
there just out of curiosity. There are too many discarnate beings waiting for
you to come there unaware so they can get what they can get from you. They can
be tricky and sly and even devious. Even one bee is enough to stay away from.
It doesn't take a pack of grizzly bears to kill you.
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