Nine Totems?

[-Sky-]

While searching for totem animals i found the below information and it surprised me since i thought that we all have 2 or 3 totem animals and not 9.But it is a very interesting theory.What do you think?



The Nine Totems

Each person has nine animal totems that walk through life with them,
teaching and guiding them.
These animals are found in 7 directions around your spirit:
East, South, West, North, Above, Below and Within.
The last two animals are walking beside you at all times;
your Right Side (male) and your Left Side (feminine).
They are your protectors.



The East totem guides you through spiritual challenges.
It guards your path to illumination.
The South totem protects the child within and reminds you when to be humble and when to trust. It also helps heal your inner child.

The West totem leads on your path to personal truths and inner answers.
It shows you the path to your goals.

The North totem gives wise counsel and when to speak and when to listen.
It also reminds you to be grateful for each blessing each day.


The Above totem is the guardian of the Dreamtime
and gives you access to other realms and dimensions.
The Below totem shows you how to stay
on your life path and how to stay grounded to Mother Earth.

The Within totem in the protector of your sacred space.
It teaches you how to find your life's joy.

The Right totem protects your Male side
and it is your Father protector. This animal carries your courage and warrior spirit.

The Left totem protects your Female side
and teaches you how to nurture yourself and about relationships and mothering.

[fangedeshana]

There are a few different theories. From the perspective I learnt from, you have two totems that stay with you constantly (guardians and guides), a shadow totem (representing your fears, etc) and other that come to you to help you learn specific lessons, or overcome periods of hardship and spiritual growth.

But like I said, I believe there are many theories. If you're interested in totem animals, try it out and see what your theory on it is. Perhaps some people need more totems than others. Who knows ;)

[-Sky-]

a shadow totem (representing your fears, etc)

I've never heard of a shadow totem before but it sounds interesting.Can you tell me more about it?

[Agaliha]

Here are some threads on here that might help, they're all helpful and have some good ideas and opinions.
animal totem (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=2271&highlight=totems)
animal totem (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=25658&highlight=totems) (they're different)
Totem animals? (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=130480&highlight=totems)
Animal Totems, Familiars, Power Animals,What are they, is there a difference? (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=118862&highlight=totems)
animal spirit guides (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=31252&highlight=totems)
How did you find your animal spirits/totems/guides/shadow animals? (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=111169&highlight=totems)
9 animal totems? (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=110425&highlight=totems) --many links in there

This might help too:


FROM: http://herbalmusings.com/animal-totems.htm
Animal Totems
Animal Totems are sacred, spiritual totems that guide one through life. Each has a different skill and teaching ability.
A life totem accompanies an individual throughout his/her life. An individual may have one or more life totems, but they are generally a reflection of that individual's core spirit.

A journey totem will come to you on and off over the course of a period in your life to guide you during that time. This may be weeks, months or a year.
A message totem will appear to deliver a spiritual message or initiate a self-growth experience. The message is usually unique and typically leaves a lasting impression on an individual.
A shadow totem is a conflicting totem that comes to challenge an individual. One must face the challenges before the shadow totem will come to assist. A shadow totem often represents an individual's own fears; by facing and conquering those fears one makes the journey from shadow to light and the shadow totem becomes a spirit totem, and often one of an individual's most powerful ones.
Source: Witchipedia

Answer these questions to help you discover the Animal Totems in your life. For Journey and Message Animal Totems you will have to often ask yourself the same questions. Remember that you may not currently have a Journey or Message totem. And finding out your Life animal totem is not always easy. When answering these questions you may have more than one answer per question, just don't start listing out all animals - only the ones that are really important to you. Follow your instincts when answering the question - when in doubt, don't.

Life Long Animal Totems
When you were a child, what animal did you collect or obsess over that you are still attracted to today?
Of all animals if you could have any animal as a pet or companion what would it be?
When going to the zoo, which animal do you spend the most time with or are drawn to?
If you could be any animal what animal would it be?
What animal is in your dreams that you have had since childhood?
What animal are you afraid of that you have no idea why you are afraid of it?
Of all animals what animals are you most attracted to?
When you are out in nature, do you often seem to run into the same animal?
What animal have you bumped into over and over throughout your life?
What animal have you watched for hours?
Does art work or jewelry with a certain animal always attract you?
Your Life Long Animal Totem will be the animal that you answered at least three times out of the eleven questions. The more times the same animal is listed in your answers the more important and stronger it is in your life. The one that appeared most is your current Animal Spirit totem.

Journey Animal Totems
What animal have you started to see occasionally that you never saw before?
What new animal are you attracted to?
Are you dreaming of an animal lately?
Are you thinking about an animal lately?
In the past two weeks what animals have you seen or dreamt of several times?
If you have a Journey Animal Totem you will have answered at least three of the questions with the same animal. Blessings on your new path

Message Animal Totems
What animal surprised or startled you today?
What animal that you don't usually see, have you seen a couple of times today?
What animal entranced you today?
If you answered the same animal to two question then this animal is your Message Totem with a very important message. Heed it's word quickly for the message is for now and today. If you only answered one question then this is a message you should still consider.

Shadow Animal Totems
What animal attacks have you been in?
What scary or traumatic animal situations have you been in?
Does seeing a certain animal bring up feelings of fear?
What animal do you run from?
What animals do you have reoccurring nightmares about?
Does just watching TV with that animal appearing scare you?

Answering two questions with the same animal means you have a Shadow Totem you must address. Remember that the Shadow Totem will continually test you and work against you for you are it's prey. You must embrace the lesson of the animal totem and conquer your fear, accept the power of the Shadow totem, and bring it into the light as your spiritual totem.



Besides that Yahoo has tons of sites about Totems.

:)

[Morgandria]

http://www.witchscauldron.net/blackbriar/project.htm

[fangedeshana]

I've never heard of a shadow totem before but it sounds interesting.Can you tell me more about it?

Check out the links provided, there seems to be a lot of informatoion there. Happy reading :)

[Psycmoe]

Your original post sounds like someone paraphrased the Medican Cards.

[Whitewolf]

Thanks for the information. I never knew there were different types of totems. My main one is Wolf. The others are Unicorn, Horse and Raven. Lately I've been having dreams about birds of prey [a Hawk or Eagle of some kind]. They possibly could be my Journey Animal.

[fangedeshana]

Your original post sounds like someone paraphrased the Medican Cards.

Mine? Or Sky's?

[Psycmoe]

Mine? Or Sky's?

Sky's.

I've been using those cards since I was a wee girl... 'bout five or so. Cheesy as they are, I prefer them to tarot. But they are chitzy, very 'newage'.

[Teresa]

Sky's.

I've been using those cards since I was a wee girl... 'bout five or so. Cheesy as they are, I prefer them to tarot. But they are chitzy, very 'newage'.
Those cards are based on the theories.

[Psycmoe]

Those cards are based on the theories.

The theories of....?

Do you mean a generalized Native American concept of spirit animals, or something else? I don't know what you mean by "the theories".

[wolf]

You have as many totems or guides as you have. There's no rule about how many, or what form they take.

Some guides are more permanent than others, some stop by to teach a particular lesson and move on.

The "9 totems" idea really sounds more like the structure for some type of in-depth reading.

[TheWomanMonster]

just reviving this thread a little,

I never really got in to the whole idea of totems,
but recently was told I do indeed have them,
nine of them (one for each of the nine directions of your spirit).
I figured it out through an automatic writing experiment not the cards.
So yeah, apparently nine is more common than I really thought...
I was very suprised to see what some of them ended up being too.
I was also told that there are totems that guide you only when you need them. I figure I'll see what they all have to teach me.

Monster