What is Your Spirit Animal?
In many cultures, a spirit animal is a spiritual guide embodied in an animal that best represents your true self. It is believed that your guide presents itself in a way that speaks to you and in a way that you are willing to accept, which is often easiest in animal form.
Your spirit animal helps guide you through life in many ways, keeping you on the right path. These creatures navigate you through decision-making, your actions, and finding your purpose in life.
They are there to protect us and help us find the answer to all the questions we ask ourselves daily.
Your spirit animal will show up when you are struggling to help you find inner strength.
How to Find Your Spirit Animal
Unfortunately, you can’t just pick your favorite animal and decide it is your spirit guide. Your guide will be in the form of the creature that best relates to you.
Sometimes spirit guides will make themselves known in a big way, taking all the guesswork out of it. But some come in subtle ways, requiring you to do some soul-searching to find them.
Luckily, you can do a few different things to help speed up the process and begin connecting with your spirit guide.
Jot Down Your Dreams
Spirit guides like to make their appearance in dreams. When searching for yours, the unconscious state can be a good place to start.
Start jotting down which animals appear in your dreams and take note of the one that shows up the most; this is likely your spirit guide.
What Animal Do You Feel a Deep Connection With?
Think back to your past. Is there a particular animal you really loved visiting at the zoo, watching at a wildlife preserve, or bonding with at home? Sometimes your spirit animal will come to you in life, and you feel an instant connection with the creature.
Maybe a specific animal sits on your porch and waits for you to come out every morning, or you have a pet in the past that you felt closer to than any other pet before or after.
Meditate About it
If you can’t think of any specific animal that you truly feel a deep connection with but are desperate to find your spirit guide, you can always try to use meditation to connect with them.
Take a minute to clear your mind and simply ask your guide to appear. You can also use this time to question yourself to help you better understand what it is your guide could be helping you with, using the answers to match each animal.
Some questions to ask while meditating include:
- What lessons would my spirit animal want to teach me?
- What are my inner strengths?
- What are my weaknesses?
- Where do I need the most guidance?
- Which animal characteristics match up best with my own?
Take notes during each meditation session and see if you find any reoccurring themes. This is a great way to determine which animal is best fit to be your spirit guide.
8 Common Types of Spirit Animals and Their Meaning
Sometimes the easiest way to determine which animal is your personal spirit guide is by choosing the one that shares your same characteristics. Like humans, every animal has their own natural set of awareness, purpose, and intuition. Which one of these spirit animals best represents you?
The Bear: Courage, Strength, and Leadership
The bear symbolizes power and strength, not just in size but mentally as well. This spirit animal represents leadership and the ability to face adversity. Often the bear will seek solitude to gather its thoughts but is devoted to those they care about and is a loyal and fierce protector.
The Owl: Wisdom, Knowledge, Clarity
The owl offers clarity and insight into any rough situation you may be facing in life. People who have an owl as their spirit animal tend to work best at night and take comfort in the dark.
This creature means taking a step back, seeing where changes in your life are necessary, and learning from mistakes by gaining insight and knowledge from many sources.
The Horse: Drive, Confidence, Productive
The horse symbolizes many positive traits, such as high self-esteem, confidence, and being undeterred by negative comments or criticism. This spirit animal provides a significant driving force, allowing you to overcome all obstacles and help you identify how to handle yourself through adversity.
The Mouse: Survival, Balance, Detail Oriented
This spirit animal represents order, adaptability, and intelligence. It is known for discovering secrets and maneuvering through obstacles quietly. This guide will help you stay grounded and appreciate the little things in life.
The Lion: Pride, Heart, Authority
The lion represents the need to protect and lead. Those with a lion spirit guide have the strength to go for their goals and will never let anything stand in their way. The lion depicts assertiveness in every situation and is known for its independence.
The Turtle: Adventure, Peaceful, Understand
If your spirit guide is a turtle, you are probably adventurous and willing to go the distance to find peace, truth, and wisdom. The turtle represents persistence and a carefree way of living. This ancient creature is known for being wise, slowly moving through life, and never rushing to make decisions.
The Wolf: Freedom, Impeccable Instincts, Intuitive
The wolf represents deep connections to survival instincts and relies on them to solve any life problem. This creature imposes self-confidence, intuition, and determination. The wolf depicts loyalty at the highest level, caring for their loved ones without fail.
The Butterfly: New Beginnings, Transformations, Joy
The butterfly symbolizes renewed life and massive changes, most often internally. With a butterfly as your spirit guide, you will move through this journey with joy and grace. You will move through life effortlessly, taking time to see the beauty in the world.
What is Your Spirit Animal?
Although we provide you with a great list of common spirit animals and what they represent, there are so many more out there and many ways to interpret each one. Choose the spirit animal that you feel the strongest connection with and listen to what they have to say.
