can u have more that 9 totems?

[yukiperv]

as the title says is it possible to have more than 9 animal guides?..someone that i met had told me she had discovered atleast 13...0o?...just curious..i mean for me iv only discovered 3...but 13!....um i am quit intruigued lol

[HetHert]

Sure. There are many different guides that one may be called and call upon in ones life. So far your friend has encountered 13 and you 3. You'll meet who you need to meet when you need to meet them. IMO we all walk a seperate path to get where we need to be...some people need more guides than others to walk with them along the way. No one's really keeping count. ;)

[Shanti]

Guides can be with a person for many reasons.
Sometime the person doesn't need any but someone they are in contact with, perhaps a friend, that may need them but is not aware of even such a thing or not interested and the guide/s sometimes work through one to help another.

[Teresa]

Why would you think there is a Set Number that you are allowed to have? Some totems come for certain specific things at a specific point in your life and leave after that issue has been resolved. There is no magic number that one can have at a time. The amount vary from person to person and different phases of your life too! :hugz:

[Shanti]

Why would you think there is a Set Number that you are allowed to have? Some totems come for certain specific things at a specific point in your life and leave after that issue has been resolved. There is no magic number that one can have at a time. The amount vary from person to person and different phases of your life too! :hugz:
:thumbsup:

Not to mention some people work with guides and call on many through their lifetime.
So its a want also. I ask guides to come for many, many different reasons in my working.

I can not count how many guides I have worked with.

[aluokaloo]

yeah i don't see why not, not all of em stick around though.

[Forest Child]

I guess it depends what you mean when you say 'totem'. Does this mean a clan totem or a helping spirit (sometimes known as a guide)?

If the word totem is used to mean a clan totem, the animal spirit your family or clan are associated with then I think there can be only one (I may be wrong here) but if we are talking about spirit helpers then the sky is the limit, depends who comes and what working relationship you have with them. Some Siberian shamans have 100s of tutelary and attendant spirits working with them (see the masses of metal amulets on their costumes), some passed down from their teachers, others gained from their own work.

[Meisopomenos]

Well, I believe in learning about all totems...


When someone comes to me for healing and I ask God to show me the Animal Ally of the person to aid/heal them, I would hope to know the basics if not extensive info. about the ally, and try to establish some sort of acquaintance in case I ever were to come across that Animal.


So as for a set number, no. At times one will come, at others two or more... It all depends on your situation and journey in life. Just be open, willing, and patient.

[Meisopomenos]

Whoops, double post!

[Rick]

can u have more that 9 totems?

Yep

[Forest Child]

I guess, when you look at a 'totem pole' there are always more than one or two animals depicted on them.

http://www.totem-pole.net/images/totem_poles.jpg

[Meisopomenos]

I guess, when you look at a 'totem pole' there are always more than one or two animals depicted on them.

The neat thing about totem poles, is they are based on personal, local, or tribal Animal Guides... Certain Animals may be asked to guard tribe A and another Tribe B, yet in Tribe A, Person 1 may ask one Animal to guide them and Person 2, a different one.

[Shosha]

as the title says is it possible to have more than 9 animal guides?..someone that i met had told me she had discovered atleast 13...0o?...just curious..i mean for me iv only discovered 3...but 13!....um i am quit intruigued lol


Perhaps this is someone who calls all her assistants, aquaintences, and otherworld networking "guides" or "totems."
In practice, you meet many...people... who will work with you, for you, on your behalf, introduce you to others who can help you, put in a good word for you, and pretty much anything else a good strong network can do for a person. Often, these people take the shape fo Animals. Othertimes...not. Maybe that's what she's meaning. It's all the same though. Just how long you've been at it, what you do, etc.

[KoyoteWaitz]

With one totem you begin
That always resides within

Totems three, for each stage
Youth, mid-life, and old age

Totems four, you may call
Summer Winter Spring and Fall

Another totem you may see
When your heart does trouble thee

Those that help you overcome
Task is finished, They are done

And one more shall always be
Guardian of family

[tushka27]

as the title says is it possible to have more than 9 animal guides?..someone that i met had told me she had discovered atleast 13...0o?...just curious..i mean for me iv only discovered 3...but 13!....um i am quit intruigued lol
The more the merrier, whatever it takes to deliver a message to you. Your guardians could be your ancestors, loved ones who have past on or one singular guardian spirit that takes the shape of many things, I would hope there would not be any limitations due to quantity. Even with meditation or other practices that help to clear the mind of the static, sometimes it can be very difficult for us to interpret the messages clearly, so it makes sense to me that your guides could take on as many shapes as needed, and even ask fellow guardians for assistance. Don't worry about the number, but concentrate on the meaning.

[Lupabitch]

The whole "nine totems" thing stems from the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson, which is quite possibly the worst example of cultural appropriation out there. It's a mishmash of random stuff taken from various indigenous cultures, mashed together into "Native American spirituality", thrown together with some New Agery, and presented as an ancient system. IME, some people have no totems, and those who do have no set number--it depends on the individual. The nature of the relationship with each totem varies, too. Don't worry about collecting an entire set--or having too many, either. We work with those who are willing to work with us.