My Totem Experiences

During our life time I believe our totems change, they change as our lives progress. At present a male blackbird is my today totem, he daily frequents my back garden. He was an orphan and I guess I now look after him daily with fresh feed. In the past I have had a fox and a deer, both keeping a watch from the field to our back. Yes I have no doubt they are sent to us for a reason, that reason we should take note.

That's lovely Vanilla2


What is your favorite book or internet connection to find meaning to your totem?

Dont have any specific favourites, I just look for the ones that most match to its meaning, as there are many different interpretations.

Link to one I used for my Deer....

http://www.spiritsjourney.net/t689-the-deer-animal-totem#3359

http://www.linsdomain.com/totems/pages/deer.htm

Can a totem be an animal that constantly appears
in dreams or is it always alive .
Thanks
Stephen

in my opinion it must be alive and wild.

Thanks Vanilla2.
I am totally ignorant of totems and what role they can play.
I will do a search on this.
Stephen

There is a lot of info out there, of which you may find this link of some use....

http://everythingunderthemoon.net/forum/animal-totems-t20756.html

Thank you.

You and I both love this site http://www.linsdomain.com it's where I go 90% of the time.

Never heard of this one; so thank you http://everythingunderthemoon.net/forum/animal-totems-t20756.html

Thanks Deb I will look up those sights too. I need to know more about these Totems!

I'm confused I just spent 6 hours putting a post together for this page and my Internet connection went down for 1/2 hour, I was able to get it up and I saw the post but looks different and no photo so now it is not here.???

lost in space?

Can't find it. I'll post it again tomorrow. I'm tired

Let's see if this post goes through ok.

Vanilla2 wrote:in my opinion it must be alive and wild.

From my own personal experience I've seen a few of my totems in a dream.


THOSE I HAVE SEEN IN DREAMS:
OWLS.....2 WHITE, 1 BEIGE,
SNAKES
BUFFALO
I wonder of a Big Foot counts as a Totem?

I'm just finishing this post and deciding if I can find some pix to attach and all of a sudden I feel cold air on my right arm. I'm wearing sleeveless blouse and no one else in house. Had to go turn on the heater. It was only cold on my right arm.


BISON (pix)
3/22/11 I had a dream. I was standing next to a woman with long blonde hair. I'd seen this woman that night on TV on Auction Kings. She was bidding. In my dream I was standing to her right and we both were looking at a delivery truck. The back door was rolled open and sitting on the end of the truck bed were two huge brown male bison. Their hooves were hanging out the edge of the truck. I felt like I needed to protect this woman when I saw the two bison start moving to get out of the truck. So I stood in front of her. The bison were now on the ground walking towards us; they nudged me away from her and they had me walking backwards as they were walking towards me. I was confused as to what they wanted. They were big bison! No wavering from their mission. I asked them to stop; they didn't and I sort of yelled it.......STOP!!! And I woke up.

IN A READING 1-14-12
"You have two guides; you also have a Native American Guide with you, and yours is White Buffalo Calf Woman. She’s been with you your whole life. She never leaves you; and you have to call on her."

I already knew I had StarHeart who is Apache Indian and rides a bear and have seen her a few times. Could this be the same guide I wonder. Because in my 2 hr reading July 2009 he told me I had StarHeart and that she changes her looks with the seasons. Crone in winter and young in spring.

DRAGONFLY (pix)
7-21-11 I had a red dragonfly land on some twigs in my yard. It got up,flew around my SUV three different times and landed back on the same twigs and long enough for me to take 75 photos of that dragonfly. I was also able to put my finger up to it without it flying away.

Another time I had gone outside and all of a sudden hundreds of butterflies came flying and hovering over my driveway where I was standing...If that's not a hint. They all left in about 4 minutes except a small group who still flew around.

I just found my file that I tried once to list all my totems. It's 35 pages long.
I'll start from the top; may not be in date order yet.

Some of my Totems

Bear: The Power of Introspection
Buffalo: Abundance
Snake: The Power of Creation
Turtle: The Great Mother
Crow: Keeper of Sacred Law
Mountain Lion: The Power of Leadership
Buffalo: The Great Spirit
Owl: The Power of Illumination
Squirrel: The Gatherer
Dragonfly: The Art of Illusion
Rabbit: The Fear Caller
Frog: The Power of Water
Dolphin: Sacred Breath of Life
Bat: The Power of Rebirth
Hummingbird: The Power of Joy

ANTS: (no photo)
In 2009 I had so many ants in my house that summer.
Ant: The Power of Patience (year I was laid off......maybe spirit was trying to get me to be patient so they could get my spiritual enlightenment going???
Teaches a sense of community, social structures, industriousness a sense of provision. Ant shows how to create by planning and discipline and patience with endurance. Shows a promise of success through efforts and hard work together as a whole? Are you adding new things to life in some way? Do you have patience to endure? Ant can give you skills needed to be successful.

CROWS
• 01-05-10 – Crow flew 20 feet above me and did two circles and few off.
• 07-10-10 - On way to a James Van Praagh event a crow landed right next to my rolled down window at McDonald's on the trash can. He was chattering. Unfortunately I don't understand CROW!
• 12-03-10 – That day there were a couple dozen crows in my yard. Yack Yack Yacking.
• 8-27-11 – Writing this totem info I looked out my window and a crow landed on the phone lines while at the same time a falcon landed on top of the telephone pole. Falcon did not stay as long as crow.
Last year a crow turned the corner with me and flew down the road aprox 15 feet in front of my car as I drove.

BEAR (BROWN)
Prior to the next date I had a couple young bear hanging around my front yard; climbing the one tree. The parents would tip over my 1.5 yr trash bin weekly for food.
1-31-08 This one bear kept eating the dog food outside in the bowl. This is the first photo I have of the bear with his head in a metal 55 gallon trash can. It stored my dog food. I opened the kitchen door to snap the photo and he was young but scared that I caught him and with his bright golden eyes from the flash of the camera he took off. He was darker. But later I think he came back.........

BEAR
4-24-10 A larger bear (maybe same one) with a scar on his right eyebrow was at the kitchen door again. I saw him twice. I stayed up because it would not come to steel the food until my lights were out and he thought I was in bed. So I would grab my digital, and very fast open the door and take a photo with a flash at the same time. If I can fine the original photo (not the one in my doc; I'll attach it) He eyes were like "HUM! You caught me! That photo was at 2:09 am. And there is an apparition at the top of the photo.

TURTLE (Pix)
7-5-08 This may have been my daughter's totem because we live next door to each other and it was walking from across the street from the fields under the barbed wire towards her house. This turtle fit almost half way across the front of my small SUV. He weighted 100 lbs they said.

4-05-10 I had a dream. In this dream was my husband's aunt (Native American) who's still alive today. She and her son who's alive walked up to me in this room and said....."Debbie" my son has carved this turtle for you. When you finish healing it will be complete" This was a multicolored brown and beige stone turtle with no head. In the background of that dream was Ian; who gave me treatments in alternative medicine. I thought to my self.....why's Ian in my dream; I haven't seen him for several years. The next day I called my Chiropractor where Ian worked and I asked Renee; is Ian still working for you? She said no; I said; "Oh, when did he leave"? She said; he died last week of a massive heart attack.
I thought to myself. Ian was in my dream and he was dead! That never happened to me that I am aware of. I felt really bad that Ian had passed. He was standing in my dream against the wall; like he was obeying someone, and he looked very worried. I wonder why my husband's aunt didn't say anything about him standing there. Surely she felt his energy, both of them. Maybe it was a test. Remember this was only 2010 and I'd only had a year of spiritual awakening. That was an eye opener. I immediately told Renee that I saw him in my dream. I told her that maybe it was a message then from Ian for us to let his family know that he was ok; survived death and all. I asked her since she knew Ian's family if she would tell her. She said she couldn't. A month or so went past. I tried searching but I had no name of the wife. Finally at my next appointment I got the widow's name from her and I searched. I found her, left her a text message and it must have been gosh 10 months when she finally responded. I gave her my phone number and she called that evening. She was so happy to hear that Ian was ok in spirit. But by the time my message got to her she had already seen him in a few dreams. Way to go Ian. I fine it fascinating that spirit knows who to contact when they want a message passed on. Probably my spirit guides helping him. Ian was pretty cool. I liked him but when I had appointments with him his red face reminded me of a heart attack ready to happen. He was really red. I've never seen Ian again in a dream. I'll have to tell you about the sheriff I saw in a dream also

So......that turtle dream with my hubby's aunt.....I felt compelled to make her a turtle quilt out of native fabric. I out shapes free-hand shapes for the head, legs and oval body and tail and put nine of them together to make her quilt. She loved it. I even told her about my dream with her and her son in it. She just laughed She is the one I just saw at my brother in law's funeral a few weeks ago and I thought her face was covered with spots until I saw her again upon leaving and her face was ok then. Not sure what those meant. That was my first quilt inspired by Spirit! I made another turtle quilt smaller squares, same technique but I raffled it off.

OWL
8-12-10
We have barn owls around here in the summer and they were out one night looking for little critters and I snapped a photo of one. There were at least 9 visible orbs flying around with it and the other owls. Owl is definitely one of my totems. And I have seen one in a dream....
8-23-97 7:30 PM - night before son passed - huge all white spirit owl
4-15-99 5:00 PM - night before husband passed - another huge all white spirit owl.
few months later - beige one following me up the street in dream (beige)
6-2011 grandson saw a white spirit owl, smaller sitting on the fence while he emptied the trash, then it jumped down and just stared at him. He said it was all white.

Here is a poem I wrote about my Owls.

My Owl Poem

Wings of white that soar through twilight
Grace the lives of those in fright
Tradition has it as one must fear
The white winged beauty that appears so near

Messenger of wisdom sought, for love, whether birth or death
Native voice would often speak, of owl’s intention that followed deep
Future holds what’s in the mind, of any soul whose thoughts run wild

Superstition and fascination, all within the mind of creation
Messenger of love or death, is it fate or is it myth

Thoughts run deep in the minds of soul
Give me strength to hold my own

White owl seen in my sight
Eight-twenty-three, nineteen hundred and ninety seven
Presents it’s self on road one night
Swooping down from high above, leading me north on my way home
No sense of fear is felt, peaceful reassurance near
What’s this messenger here to say, the night before my child’s life has gone?
Several months will have gone, six months shy of twenty-four
Again, appears another owl swooping down within same longitude

White owl seen in my sight
Four-fifteen, nineteen hundred and ninety nine
Back again to lead me home, wise owl here to reassure
And again owl was right; another left my side of life
Coincidence or was it fate, owl checks in to state my fate
Time’s gone by and I survive, but now owl’s back to state his fact

In the night I dream of owl, not in front like all before
He swoops behind me as I drive, presenting himself to my side
On my right he glides at height, as I look he peeks to look inside

Past encounters were their souls and now he’s back to guide me through.
As I believe what I have seen.

COUGAR/MOUNTAIN LION
JULY 2000 One day I went up the canyon with Joanne, a tribal elder who was a friend of mine.(she has since passed on) As I was driving, a really big mountain lion ran right in front of my husband's truck. (Tom had died in 1999) Then at our destination Bear Canyon, we both saw a bear, it was running after us in the truck and I could not back up fast enough to get down that harrow road. And we also saw a really large eagle right before that.
8-14-11 I fell asleep on my couch, had front door open, screen shut and my house cats ran across me like they were scared. Come to find out a young mountain lion was sitting at my screen looking in at dinner. Half asleep, I slowly reached over grabbed the door and as I slammed it shut I yelled at it scaring it away. Not a dream.

Sept. 2008 when I was working at our Fire Dept. before getting laid off.....I went outside our single wide trailer/office for a break. Right away a hummingbird flew in front of my head from right to left for then still looking at me for approx. 45 seconds.

May 2009 we had out here in the boonies an infestation outside of rats. They got into my SUV and ate all the wiring from front to rear to my lights.
RAT MEANING: Rat medicine will teach how to be resourceful I the midst of environmental and emotional changes. They will give strength and trust in the process of current changes and lend security in overcoming worldly ideals. Have you accumulated too much mental and emotional baggage? Rat will aid in examining what is not needed any longer and allow truth to come forth in the midst of worldly illusions. Is it time to let go of thoughts, ideals, perceptions or people and places? Rat medicine will instill self assurance and transform fear into abundance. There is much wisdom in how Rat moves, watch and listen.

RATTLE SNAKE (PIX)
8-10-10 Most ever summer we get them here. This year a pair showed up at my door.

BLACK WIDOW SPIDER (NO PIX)
4-24-10 Not sure if this date is exact. It's on a spider web photo I took outside my place that was beautiful! But my totem was not in a web like this. In a dream I was walking outside of my kitchen door (the famous bear door) and in the dream as I walked out I saw this huge black widow spider hanging there. It was about 8 inches around. That morning when I got up, I walked outside and my subconscious; remembering that I'd seen that spider in my dreams....I looked up and there was a normal sized large BBS just hanging there. If I had not looked up it may have landed on me as it was descending !!! I don't like spiders whatsoever.


--------------------------------

The Buffalo/Bison
Meaning:
Buffalo/Bison Power Animal, Symbol of Abundance

Rumbling like thunder o'er the prairie,
Great herds of abundance, sharing with man,
I need your knowledge to meet life's challenges,
To survive and move on with my plans.

Buffalo/Bison's medicine includes manifestation, protection, earth creativity, feminine courage, abundance, knowledge, generosity, hospitality, sharing work, courage, strength, challenge, survival, giving for the greater good, formulating beneficial plans.

Those with buffalo as power animal must walk a sacred path, honoring every walk of life. Buffalo will assist you in establishing a deep connection with Mother Earth and Father Sky. and will ask that you help the endangered species in the world. Pray/meditate/focus on harmony and peace amongst all beings. Ask the universe for help, and be thankful for the gifts brought to you. Don’t be forceful or pushy, follow the easiest path. Buffalo will bestow you with strength of character and an free independent spirit.

Buffalo teaches us that true prosperity comes when we are grateful for what we have and when we live in harmony and love with every body and being contained within the universe. You will live like buffalo when you know that abundance is present and when ALL relations are honored and known as sacred, when you express gratitude for all parts, all aspects of creation.

The story of the White Buffalo Woman originates from the Lakota people, she taught them that all things are inter connected and that it is not necessary to struggle to have abundance. The one thing that is necessary, however, is to be connected with Spirit. Buffalo's relationship to the Native American People of the USA highlights these lessons. Every part of this animal was used, right down to the hooves, which were used to make glue. Buffalo gave others the gift of life by sacrificing its own. Food and hides for clothing and shelter were provided. Prior to a buffalo hunt, prayers of gratitude were offered up to great spirit by the tribes. Post hunt, ceremonies were performed that honored the buffalo's spirit. Without the buffalo these tribes would not have survived the harsh winters. This is just one lesson of abundance - use whatever resources are available. On a deeper level, one must appreciate what one already has. How often do you focus on what is lacking in your life rather than counting your blessings? How much richer are our lives when we are truly thankful MEANINGFULLY for what we have? This sends out a powerful message to the universe.

Our beliefs and attitude towards our connectedness to every-thing also sends out powerful messages to the universe. When we realize that we are all part of a One, each individually unique, each absolutely necessary for the whole, but a drop in the ocean, we will realize that abundance - which refers not only to health, happiness, friendships, and much more - does not have to come from our individual striving. Once we are open to receive, miracles can come from the most unexpected sources. Buffalo shows us how to stop focusing on problems and how to instead concentrate on how much we have and on how rich we are in terms of our connectedness to every-thing.

Buffalo's have large heads that symbolize intelligence of a higher order, their strong bodies ground them to the earth. They are the uniting force between things earthly and unearthly. Both the male and female buffalo possess horns and humped shoulders. In humans, the shoulders store our personal energy which expresses itself through our hands. Anything we physically touch or hold on to is linked to our personal energy. Shoulders bear responsibility as well as positive or negative emotions. Whatever is felt inside is projected to the outside. I'm sure you are familiar with the saying, and maybe have even said it yourselves - ‘I feel like I'm carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders.’ There is often truth in old sayings… buffalo will show you how to free yourself from your burdens by focusing your energy in a balanced way. The horns grow toward the sky, hinting at a connection with a higher intelligence. Humps are often symbolic of stored energy kept within the body.

When protecting themselves against danger, the females will form a defensive circle around the calves, and the males will form a circle around the cows. This symbolizes the buffalo's mutual respect for all, their communal family sense, and their natural instinct to protect, defend and honor life.



Here are meanings of animals totems in brief.
Eagle: The Power of the Great Spirit
Hawk: Messenger of the Gods
Elk: Brotherhood and Sisterhood
Deer: The Gentleness of Spirit
Bear: The Power of Introspection
Snake: The Power of Creation
Skunk: The Power of Respect
Otter: The Power of Women
Butterfly: The Power of Transformation
Turtle: The Great Mother
Moose: The Power of the Elders
Porcupine: The Power of Innocence
Coyote: The Great Trickster
Dog: The Power of Loyalty
Wolf: The Power of the Teacher
Raven: The Power of Magick
Mountain Lion: The Power of Leadership
Lynx: The Keeper of Secrets
Buffalo: The Great Spirit
Mouse: The Power of Scrutiny
Owl: The Power of Illumination
Beaver: The Power of Unity
Opossum: The Power of Diversion
Crow: Keeper of Sacred Law
Fox: The Power of the Unseen
Squirrel: The Gatherer
Dragonfly: The Art of Illusion
Armadillo: The Power of Boundaries
Badger: The Power of Aggression
Rabbit: The Fear Caller
Turkey: The Give-Away
Ant: The Power of Patience
Weasel: The Power of Observation
Grouse: The Sacred Spiral
Horse: The Gift of Power
Lizard: The Power of Dreams
Antelope: The Power of Action
Frog: The Power of Water
Swan: The Power of Grace
Dolphin: Sacred Breath of Life
Whale: The Record Keeper
Bat: The Power of Rebirth
Spider: Weaver of Fate
Hummingbird: The Power of Joy

The group photo would not attach, too large. I'll try again.

Oh, I guess I didn't submit a query so it did not attach.
This one is low quality so it would attach, hope you can see the apparitions above the bear.

* I have moved photo for a better quality.

It worked!!! It's tiny but just click on the blue text that says
"GROUP TOTEM PIX.JPG" and it will open for you.

Thank you ever so much for all the hard work Deb.
Fascinating stuff.
Stephen

Testing a better photo. Last one was low quality.
Third time's a charm.

Just to let you know. All these photos are mine except for that rattle snake; although I have one somewhere I did catch. And the buffalo are not mine.

I took the red dragonfly, (my hand in the photo) the crow at McDonalds, the bear tipping over the can at my kitchen door, the other bear tipping over the dogs bowl and the close up of the same bear with orbs on top. And that's my red SUV with that desert tortoise resting.

skfarblum wrote:Thank you ever so much for all the hard work Deb.
Fascinating stuff.
Stephen

You're welcome Stephen. I'm no pro at Totems, only what I experience.
I'm not sure why my photo disappeared.

Deb

I see the photo now.

This am while driving to work a huge coyote ran across the street in front of me.
Must have seen a rabbit.


Coyote teaches us to laugh at our mistakes so we won't get mired in the pain of life's
lessons. Coyote comes into our lives when we need to understand the balance of wisdom and foolishness.

What an interesting topic,Deb. I have never known much about Totems but have an interest in the Native Indians subject.

We have a Native Indian on another site and he often posts about it.
In fact I think he registered on this site but haven't seen him for a while on either.

I like that photo very much. Please tell us more....

Joan x