Animal Spirits
Signifies immortality and resurrection. Represents diligence and tireless effort and the sweet love of the Mother Goddis. She was used as a model of human society. |
 Watcher, guardian of the World, giver of great strength of body, courage, and power of will. Native American |
Ancient mythology from ancient Greece, Persia, Ireland, Gaul, and elsewhere counted the bull as magical and sacrificial. Cattle were the primary measure of wealth, and the bull symbolized ownership—strength, virility, swiftness, in anger. |
 Spiritual rebirth, happiness, and joy. The symbol for the human soul since ancient times. Butterflies bring dreams. |
Beyond the love people, today have for their feline friends, cats have always been associated with the ability to see into other orders of existence. The Egyptian cat-headed goddess, Bast, was the Daughter of Ra and one of the Eyes of Ra. Protectors from evil spirits and otherwise invisible beings. |
 Dogs have lived and worked with humans in so many roles that they have earned the unique sobriquet "man's best friend." |
Dolphins are invariably viewed as helpers of humankind. Kindness, play, the leaping, transcendent joy that can swim in the waters of the world, dancing in both worlds for the sheer pleasure of it. |
 Helpers of humankind. He was associated with the Mother Goddess Apollo and the preservation of life. Icade, the son of Apollo, was saved by a dolphin who returned him to land where he founded the city of Delphi. |
Doves (esp. white doves) are traditional Christian and Jewish symbols of love and peace. In Christian iconography, a dove also symbolizes the Holy Spirit. |
 In Celtic mythology, the dragonfly is often the transitional home of the soul between one life and the next. Its flight and aerial acrobatics capture our attention and inspire our hearts. |
A medicine bird throughout most cultures. The bald eagle is the symbol of the United States. The eagle is the swiftest and most mighty bird of prey, greatly respected for its power and sheer grandeur in flight. Eagle’s eyes are the eyes of the divine spirit within each of us. |
 Traditionally considered a symbol of wisdom, fertility, protection, and good fortune. |
The fox is associated with quick mental and physical responses, magic, and cunning. |
 Heket was the Frog Goddess of ancient Egypt, the Goddess of Childbirth. She was a symbol of life and fertility, and women often wore amulets of her during childbirth. Frog magic is the magic of fertility, the fertile creativity of the natural world, reborn eternally in the spring. |
Hares and rabbits are fertility symbols of antiquity. Since they gave birth to large litters in the early spring, they became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox. Hares chase each other in a circle with ears connected in a threefold rotational symmetry, as in the Triskellion and Triquetra. |
 The high soaring spirit of the hawk symbolizes keen vision. In Lakota traditions, he was called Ceton and was associated with the east, new beginnings, and the idea of creating a new day. What Hawk seeks, Hawk finds. Horus, shown as a hawk in Egypt, has an all-seeing eye. |
Represents dynamic power, wisdom, and intellect—a prophetic animal with psychic and magical powers. Medieval and Renaissance Europe saw horses as noble animals and treated them accordingly. |
 The hummingbird was sacred to the peoples of South America, Quetzalcoatl’s nagual, or animal totem. Hummingbird is a messenger, a time stopper, and embodies optimism and sweetness. Hummingbird magic is the magic of joy, living utterly within the beauty of the iridescent moment. |
Lions have been associated with royalty and the sun, perhaps because of their tawny manes and extraordinary grace and power. Courage, determination, nobility of character, leadership, and ferocity are the lion, and they also identify with grandeur and generosity of spirit. |
 The octopus represents the struggle of life between the Sun and the Waters. Extremely intelligent, creative, and adaptable, with the ability to reason and strategize. Symbol of grace, agility, and flexibility. |
They are associated with wisdom, the goddess Athena in Greek mythology, and the totem animal of the ancient Sumerian goddess Lilith. The Owl Woman of the Plains Tribes is the keeper of a bridge that souls must cross on the way to the afterlife. Totem of clairvoyants and mystics. |
 Like the Jaguar of South America, Puma is a powerful nagual, a spirit helper. Puma is a fierce and stealthy hunter and can help the seeker (and shaman) in their quest to find knowledge and vision. Puma is also a great protector. |
A central figure in West Coast traditions from California to Alaska. Benefactor and trickster to humans; the tales of him are numerous. Associated with the Morrigan in Ireland and Bran in Wales, the raven speaks of war, wisdom, and the other world to the Celts. |
 The rooster represents Pride, Honesty, Courage, Vigilance, Arrogance, Strength, Watchfulness, and Flamboyance. It is one of the 12-year cycles of animals in the Chinese zodiac as a symbol of honesty and physical and moral fortitude. It is of the yang attribute and signifies fortune, luck, fidelity, protection, and bossiness. |
The snake is the universal symbol of transformation, and the shedding of the snake’s skin represents life, death, and rebirth. The Pueblo Indians equate snakes and lightning with rain and fertility. This particular configuration is St. Patrick’s Cross because he drove the snakes out of Ireland. |
 In many indigenous cultures, the Stag King was revered as a symbol of the sacred male force. In Celtic mythology, the “Horned One” is a god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the underworld. He is born at the winter solstice, marries the goddess at Beltane, and dies at the summer solstice. |
Many myths and animal legends hold the Tiger as a Sister to the Moon, reflecting the polarities of light and darkness, representing the two complete phases of the New and Full Moon. Tiger Spirit Attributes Yin/Yang Principle, Passion, Insight into Boundaries, Sensuality, Will & Power, Devotion, Stealth, Psychic, Adventurous, Strength, Solitary, Ambitious, and Lunar Magic. |
 Native Americans call the American continent Turtle Island: Mother Earth. Turtle survives, knowing when to withdraw into its shell and when to go forward with patience and determination: informed decisions, planning, and adaptability. |
Lord of the Sea, revered for its size and power, was considered a sacred brother to fishermen and sailors. |
 Wolf Loyalty to family and clan, courage, perseverance, teamwork, and a deep connection to the powers of nature characterize Wolf. Wolves are great hunters, and wolves are regarded as pathfinders and teachers. In the Zuni tradition, the wolf symbolizes the direction East. |