Since the beginning of time, animals have always held some sort of magnanimous significance. Whether it be their beauty, their oddities, their moment--they have always somehow enthralled us and draw us in. In many civilizations, there is the belief that specific animals are your 'guide' to helping you through your life. Native American culture, more specifically, believes that there are nine animal spirits that create your 'totem'. That totem stays with you, protects you, gives you council. After spending the last hour or so researching about this, I've come to a conclusion to trust my animal totem as well. No, more importantly, I've decided to trust one above all.
Now, it's very hard to know what your totem animals are...Sometimes it's just a feeling, a sort of pulling sensation you feel from them. One of your totem animals may just be your favorite animal--whether it's a fox, a giraffe, even an ant--the reason why is because your totem animal has the power to draw you in. You feel safe with this animal, and it captivates you.
There are ways of finding out specifically what your totem animals are...there are people you can call and they can give you a reading if you so desire one. After all--there are nine of them, and SO many animals to choose from, it's impossible to figure out which of those nine stack up to be your spiritual totem.
In a way, I guess you can say I've cheated--because I've DECIDED that the Octopus is one of my animals. Don't get me wrong, however. I've decided this for a number of good reasons. Shall we begin?
Firstly, In the last few months, I've become extremely fond of the odd creature. I'd never given it much thought before, but when I began, I quickly became somewhat obsessed with the animal--even to to the point of wanting to own one(which I still hope to do).
Secondly, are all the attributes and things that octopi symbolize:
-Intelligence
-Regeneration--the ability to grow from the ashes, so to speak. To learn from past mistakes and continue onward always carrying that knowlege.
-Wisdom
-Flexibility--the ability to take things as they come, go with the flow, and let everything play out and be able to adapt to them still.
-Intuition
-Creativity
-Emotion
-Infinity
-And avoiding danger and bad luck--many sailors used to wear Octopus medallions to ward off bad luck, in fact.
And then, of course, there is the connection that the Octopus has with the moon and the number eight--which specifically links to myself because I'm a Cancer. The moon plays a prominent role in a Cancer, and the eight legs of the octopus represent the eight phases of the moon.
At the website that I researched most of this on, it talks about finding ways to connect with your totem animal, and one of the ways that I've decided to do that is, why of course, get a tattoo! Ha! <3 I got an octopus medallion just the other day, and I'd like to model my tattoo around that..
If any of you are interested in learning about your own totem animals, here are some websites you can visit :)
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-totems.html
http://www.linsdomain.com/totems.htm
:D
