Do animals play a role in your spirituality?

[MonSno_LeeDra]

As one who walks a shamanic inspired pathway it becomes apparent that animals form a significant facet of that pathway's guidance. We view them in many forms and a multitude of positions and influences.

Regardless of where the practitioner has drawn their inspiration from animals form a major facet of it. If one looks to the Indians of the America's they find animals are used to form many of the clans or warrior societies. If one looks to the moon cycles you find animals stand as guardian over different facets within the mythos. Even many of the god figures themselves are based upon either animals or anamorphic human / animal combinations.

Even many of the means of understanding the world are derived from knowing the medicine of the animals about us. Yet not only the physical but also the influences upon us via Spirit Animals, Power Animals, totems and guides. Creature's that inspire us look after us or serve to teach us.

The worldview we possess influenced by the notion of the two legs, four legs, winged ones, and water ones. The animals that many people see and view as the other people of the planet. Not only seen but also considered by many to be our equals in many instances.

For me my spirit animals are Dragon and Snow Leopard. My guides are Heron and Dragonfly (damselfly). I fall under the house of Wolf clan medicine and stand before Spirit as a Wolf Dancer with influence upon water.

Like the green people and stone people, animals have a significant influence upon my spiritual worldview. In my day to day life they are equally present in the form of the wildlife living around me. They are also the animals that are my pets and companions. So yes on all facet animals play a role in my spiritual and physical life.

Do animals play a role in your spirituality?

[daphnerose]

Yes they do. Of course where I live does have influence, animals have always been guides for me. I do live in a rural area. Nearbye there is an albino peregrine falcon that has some meaning. Also Ravens are significant, and a few other species of birds. I have had alot of interesting encounters with hummingbirds. :) Animals for me are a great representation of Spirit and I suppose its the shamanistic leanings in me that make me seek purposes for encounters that may occour. I seem to have most of my spiritual encounters involving birds, but I do have a wolf that visits when I meditate from time to time. Its more of a guardian type tho.
Anyway, yes, animals play a good part in helping me in my spiritual path.
daphne

[BearDancing]

My parents shared their love of animals and nature with our whole family..............right from a very early age, I would say that animals have played a very huge part of my spiritual path.
My first major spiritual experience was with an animal, that was 22 yrs ago and today she is still with me daily. Over the years I have specifically called on the spirit of a particualar animal to share their gifts with me so that I might learn from them. Not just animals but with all of the nature around me. Trees, plants, rocks etc I find the many spiritual gifts they have to share are very pure, it is much easier for me to work with nature for answers because in my experience their gifts are purely of spirit.
I used to hunt big game without reverance, since I shot a huge Cinnamon bear and she became my power animal I have hunted very different.....I prepare for the hunt spiritually and the hunt is for spiritual reasons now. Quite a few years ago I was haunted about wanting so badly to kill a whitetail buck..........and in my mind it was for the horns, so I prayed for 2 years pleading for an answer as to why I could be so shallow when I cared so deeply for the animal.
I had an awake vision one day..........the spirit of the whitetail buck came to me........he was magnificent and brought tears to my eyes......I explained that I did not understand my shallow attracttion.......the spirit told me that the reason I am being called is that their is a stone in his stomach, a healing stone..........and that this stone is for me on my healing path. He said I will have lived my life and my gift to you is my death and the stone that will be in my stomach....this stone is for you. He continued to say, You will only ever see me once and you will only see me by using your intuition.........today I still hunt this buck.............I have not shot a deer since this vision, I prepare myself every year and when the time is right, my intuition will lead me to my dear friend..........I have seen many bucks during the hunting season yet I have not had the *feeling* or *knowing* yet.
It is so much fun and very exciting to watch these animals when they are in rutt................it is not so important anymore to kill a deer, it is just so much fun watching nature from sun up to sun down........when and if the time is right, I will recieve this healing stone.........it is implanted in my heart now.

[Adelphos]

Animals make up probably the most significant part of my practice.

Whenever I have dreams, or some unusual circumstances that seem powerful, the inclusion of an animal generally deepens my understanding of what message was trying to be sent.

They are excellent guides and message bearers.

[Erebos]

Yes, I have two animal spirit guides who assist me when I meditate or go on a trance journey.

[CatsAreGods]

Cats are it, for me. They have literally saved my life (reducing my blood pressure by calming me and turning me onto a spiritual path) and continue to teach me new things every day. I'm not talking about spirit cats, but real cats, although I now know that some of them have powers I never dreamed of.