Wildspeak Article - Totem FAQs
Jan. 1st, 2005 12:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonvoiceTotem FAQ
Can Plants and Stones be totems?
In very rare circumstances, yes.
Can mythological animals be totems?
While they are not very common as individual totems, they have been known - or more common - as familial totems. I tend to be very hesitant to believe someone who says 'I have a Phoenix as my totem,' but these times are changing and while I am myself quite traditional in my practice, who knows?
What types of totem are their in Vilturj?
The familial - or family / clan - totem, which is passed down on the father's side (patrilinear), and the personal or individual totem which is not crucial unless the person wants to become a spiritual healer / contributor to the community.
Can I change my totem if I don't like it?
Why don't you like it? Closely examine why. It's usually for these three reasons:
1. It isn't 'cool' by everyone else's standards, or it's 'too cool' (such as resenting wolf for being so popular).
2. You are frightened, intimidated, bored or resentful of the animal.
3. It's not your totem and you got it wrong!
If your reasons fall into the first two, then this is good! It means you have a lot to learn from this animal as you reconcile your 'differences' with it. Learning to understand why you fear or dislike something, or learning to find strengths and weaknesses in an animal that other people don't care about, or learning why a popular animal appeals to you on an individual level, are all great ways of learning how to become a better person, and know more about yourself and your community.
How do I find my totem animal? What meditation will make me find it?
Long story short, no meditation is guaranteed. Even the arduous, long, shamanic initiatory journeys to find a totem don't always work. A totem is generally thought to find you - when you are ready - and this might be now, it might be in fifty years time.
I'm desperate to know what my totem animal is. Please help me find it.
No. Ask yourself, 'why am I desperate?' Why do you need to know? It's not going to stop you from living a fulfilling life. Not knowing is not going to stop you from being happy, or learning about yourself, or being a spiritual person. You can still work with animal energies if you don't know your totem. You can still have animal guides if you don't know your totem. So why do you need to know? Is it just because it's 'cool' or you want another badge as an expression of your own identity?
Simply put - your desperation may be stemming from deeper insecurities, because it's not something that you need to know.
Can you tell me what my totem is?
Many people who practice shamanism are sometimes able to divine the totem animal of other people, but unless we get express permission from our spirit helpers, it is not up to us to tell you what this animal is. It may not be time for you to know, or your animal may not want us to be the vehicle by which you learn what your animal is.
I have no totem animal. Will I ever have one?
The beauty of this question is this: you already have one. The totem is always there, whether you know it or not. The fact that it is there - and able to help you even if you don't know what it is - means that the urgency of 'finding' it lessens considerably.
I have a totem. That means I'm a shaman, right? Does that mean I have to practice shamanism?
Nope. Not at all. A 'shaman', or shamanist, is made through their dedication to the land, their people, their ancestors and the spirits. It is made through their ability to heal and travel through the otherworlds. It is not made through the presence of a totem.
I keep asking my totem for help and it/he/she isn't answering.
This time in your life may be a time for learning how to be independent, or how to depend on your own inner resources. It might also be a time when you've for some reason neglected, disappointed or angered your totem. Continue to make offerings and pay respect to your totem even if you are getting no clear 'answers.'
What sort of offerings can I make to my totem?
Ask your totem what sort of offerings are best, it can be anything from birdseed, to food, to actually giving yourself or your community more attention, to dancing and singing, etc.
Can you tell me about -insert animal name here-? What does it mean?
While I do my totem files, or my animal energy files, the best way to find out what an animal means is to research it, to observe it, and best of all - to simply ask it. If it doesn't tell you, be patient. It may already be telling you through its absence.
My totem was 'mean' to me / plays tricks on me
Well maybe you angered it, or maybe you will learn something from it! Or maybe you simply have a very aggressive totem! Maybe you need to learn how to laugh at yourself, or your totem! Maybe you need to learn how to be aggressive back, or how to be more submissive?
Will my totem ever tell me to do something really harmful? Are any totems evil
Not to my knowledge. No totem is 'evil', and no totem simply seeks to cause gratuitous harm for the sake of harm.
Can Plants and Stones be totems?
In very rare circumstances, yes.
Can mythological animals be totems?
While they are not very common as individual totems, they have been known - or more common - as familial totems. I tend to be very hesitant to believe someone who says 'I have a Phoenix as my totem,' but these times are changing and while I am myself quite traditional in my practice, who knows?
What types of totem are their in Vilturj?
The familial - or family / clan - totem, which is passed down on the father's side (patrilinear), and the personal or individual totem which is not crucial unless the person wants to become a spiritual healer / contributor to the community.
Can I change my totem if I don't like it?
Why don't you like it? Closely examine why. It's usually for these three reasons:
1. It isn't 'cool' by everyone else's standards, or it's 'too cool' (such as resenting wolf for being so popular).
2. You are frightened, intimidated, bored or resentful of the animal.
3. It's not your totem and you got it wrong!
If your reasons fall into the first two, then this is good! It means you have a lot to learn from this animal as you reconcile your 'differences' with it. Learning to understand why you fear or dislike something, or learning to find strengths and weaknesses in an animal that other people don't care about, or learning why a popular animal appeals to you on an individual level, are all great ways of learning how to become a better person, and know more about yourself and your community.
How do I find my totem animal? What meditation will make me find it?
Long story short, no meditation is guaranteed. Even the arduous, long, shamanic initiatory journeys to find a totem don't always work. A totem is generally thought to find you - when you are ready - and this might be now, it might be in fifty years time.
I'm desperate to know what my totem animal is. Please help me find it.
No. Ask yourself, 'why am I desperate?' Why do you need to know? It's not going to stop you from living a fulfilling life. Not knowing is not going to stop you from being happy, or learning about yourself, or being a spiritual person. You can still work with animal energies if you don't know your totem. You can still have animal guides if you don't know your totem. So why do you need to know? Is it just because it's 'cool' or you want another badge as an expression of your own identity?
Simply put - your desperation may be stemming from deeper insecurities, because it's not something that you need to know.
Can you tell me what my totem is?
Many people who practice shamanism are sometimes able to divine the totem animal of other people, but unless we get express permission from our spirit helpers, it is not up to us to tell you what this animal is. It may not be time for you to know, or your animal may not want us to be the vehicle by which you learn what your animal is.
I have no totem animal. Will I ever have one?
The beauty of this question is this: you already have one. The totem is always there, whether you know it or not. The fact that it is there - and able to help you even if you don't know what it is - means that the urgency of 'finding' it lessens considerably.
I have a totem. That means I'm a shaman, right? Does that mean I have to practice shamanism?
Nope. Not at all. A 'shaman', or shamanist, is made through their dedication to the land, their people, their ancestors and the spirits. It is made through their ability to heal and travel through the otherworlds. It is not made through the presence of a totem.
I keep asking my totem for help and it/he/she isn't answering.
This time in your life may be a time for learning how to be independent, or how to depend on your own inner resources. It might also be a time when you've for some reason neglected, disappointed or angered your totem. Continue to make offerings and pay respect to your totem even if you are getting no clear 'answers.'
What sort of offerings can I make to my totem?
Ask your totem what sort of offerings are best, it can be anything from birdseed, to food, to actually giving yourself or your community more attention, to dancing and singing, etc.
Can you tell me about -insert animal name here-? What does it mean?
While I do my totem files, or my animal energy files, the best way to find out what an animal means is to research it, to observe it, and best of all - to simply ask it. If it doesn't tell you, be patient. It may already be telling you through its absence.
My totem was 'mean' to me / plays tricks on me
Well maybe you angered it, or maybe you will learn something from it! Or maybe you simply have a very aggressive totem! Maybe you need to learn how to laugh at yourself, or your totem! Maybe you need to learn how to be aggressive back, or how to be more submissive?
Will my totem ever tell me to do something really harmful? Are any totems evil
Not to my knowledge. No totem is 'evil', and no totem simply seeks to cause gratuitous harm for the sake of harm.
