KEEPING YOUR POWER ANIMAL NEAR
An image of your power animal may belong on your altar (or somewhere in your house), either in picture or statue form, and it’s also a nice idea to have pictures on your wall. Animal calendars, for example, are easy to find, and the photographs are often lovely and frame-able. Since one of the purposes of our power animals is to remind us of who we really are, wearing or carrying images of them can be a particularly effective form of reminder.
In terms of finding out what your animal totem is, you can know by many different ways:
1. One way may be thinking about what animal you have always felt a special connection to. You may feel like you act or think like a specific animal, which may be your animal totem.
2. You can meditate to see what animal may be trying to teach you something or trying to enter your life and make you aware of it’s presence.
3. You can do an animal reading with cards. The ones that I use are Shapeshifter Tarot (available in our Mail Order section).
4. You can watch and observe your surroundings, listening to the intuitive messages that you are given to find your animal.
5. There are many animal totem books out there to read and other references to research, like Animal Speak, Animal Magick and The Once Unknown Familiar is also an excellent book to order).
The position of Within symbolises your “main” animal totem. Know that you can have one specific animal with you all your life. This animal may or may not change, it depends on what lessons or experiences you need to learn at certain points in your life. You may also have different animals enter your life temporarily, while your “main” totem takes a backseat until it is ready to enter into your life again.
Try writing your own animal visualisation and see what types of journeys and lessons you can learn from this personal experience!
MEDITATION FOR A FAMILIAR
The first thing to concentrate on during meditation is relaxing the body.
Begin with the toes and feet. Mentally tell the muscles to relax. Slowly move up through the body relaxing the muscles as you go. Don’t strain at this. Take as long as necessary. Spend more time working on the muscles of the shoulders, neck and jaw as these are the ones we tense almost constantly.
When you are relaxed, surround yourself with white light. Breathe it in; wrap it around you. Now visualise a well before you; you can also use the image of a pond or river, if you like. Mentally take all the problems that are bothering you and drop them into the well. If the problems won’t stay in the well, visualise a lid with a stout lock to keep them inside. Doing this symbolised to your subconscious mind that these things need to be taken care of. You don’t want to go into meditation carrying negative feelings with you.
Visualise scenery around you. This can be forests, jungles, deserts, whatever, but picture a place without buildings or other humans. You may be surprised to find yourself in a place you didn’t have in mind at all. Accept whatever scenery is shown and begin a leisurely walk around. Be very observant for any creatures that appear.
If a creature approaches you, try to communicate with it. Watch what it does and how it responds to you. Since this is the astral plane, it is possible to communicate with any creature you see. Communication is commonly by telepathic conversations within the mind. You may be told that this creature will be one of your astral familiars or that it has come to make you aware you have need of some of its traits. You may find yourself communicating with several astral beings before you are ready to return to this plane of existence.
When you have wandered through this landscape, and perhaps through others, and observed several astral creatures who show an interest in you, thank them and begin to pull back to your physical body. As you think of your body, slip gently back into it and slowly open your eyes. Move your arms and legs slowly to get the circulation going before you try to stand up.
An image of your power animal may belong on your altar (or somewhere in your house), either in picture or statue form, and it’s also a nice idea to have pictures on your wall. Animal calendars, for example, are easy to find, and the photographs are often lovely and frame-able. Since one of the purposes of our power animals is to remind us of who we really are, wearing or carrying images of them can be a particularly effective form of reminder.
In terms of finding out what your animal totem is, you can know by many different ways:
1. One way may be thinking about what animal you have always felt a special connection to. You may feel like you act or think like a specific animal, which may be your animal totem.
2. You can meditate to see what animal may be trying to teach you something or trying to enter your life and make you aware of it’s presence.
3. You can do an animal reading with cards. The ones that I use are Shapeshifter Tarot (available in our Mail Order section).
4. You can watch and observe your surroundings, listening to the intuitive messages that you are given to find your animal.
5. There are many animal totem books out there to read and other references to research, like Animal Speak, Animal Magick and The Once Unknown Familiar is also an excellent book to order).
The position of Within symbolises your “main” animal totem. Know that you can have one specific animal with you all your life. This animal may or may not change, it depends on what lessons or experiences you need to learn at certain points in your life. You may also have different animals enter your life temporarily, while your “main” totem takes a backseat until it is ready to enter into your life again.
Try writing your own animal visualisation and see what types of journeys and lessons you can learn from this personal experience!
MEDITATION FOR A FAMILIAR
The first thing to concentrate on during meditation is relaxing the body.
Begin with the toes and feet. Mentally tell the muscles to relax. Slowly move up through the body relaxing the muscles as you go. Don’t strain at this. Take as long as necessary. Spend more time working on the muscles of the shoulders, neck and jaw as these are the ones we tense almost constantly.
When you are relaxed, surround yourself with white light. Breathe it in; wrap it around you. Now visualise a well before you; you can also use the image of a pond or river, if you like. Mentally take all the problems that are bothering you and drop them into the well. If the problems won’t stay in the well, visualise a lid with a stout lock to keep them inside. Doing this symbolised to your subconscious mind that these things need to be taken care of. You don’t want to go into meditation carrying negative feelings with you.
Visualise scenery around you. This can be forests, jungles, deserts, whatever, but picture a place without buildings or other humans. You may be surprised to find yourself in a place you didn’t have in mind at all. Accept whatever scenery is shown and begin a leisurely walk around. Be very observant for any creatures that appear.
If a creature approaches you, try to communicate with it. Watch what it does and how it responds to you. Since this is the astral plane, it is possible to communicate with any creature you see. Communication is commonly by telepathic conversations within the mind. You may be told that this creature will be one of your astral familiars or that it has come to make you aware you have need of some of its traits. You may find yourself communicating with several astral beings before you are ready to return to this plane of existence.
When you have wandered through this landscape, and perhaps through others, and observed several astral creatures who show an interest in you, thank them and begin to pull back to your physical body. As you think of your body, slip gently back into it and slowly open your eyes. Move your arms and legs slowly to get the circulation going before you try to stand up.
