Ancient cultures attuned to spirits living in all things including trees, plants, rivers, breezes, rocks and animals. In mythology and shamanic tradition animal spirits are helpers, advisors, gift bringers of luck, prophecy, qualities and wealth in both spiritual and material ways.
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Pagan nature worship integrates animal spirituality with everyday life. Ancient people lived close to wild animals in their environment. Evidence of bonding with animals as companions and working helpers goes back to prehistory.
The horse was first domesticated in the bronze age about 3,500 BCE. Earlier yet, donkeys were in human company since 5,000 BCE. The first evidence of domestic dogs appears in the stone age, over 20,000 years ago.
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1. Horse - Travel, Wealth, Work, Freedom
The Horse is a creature of the Sun. Qualities associated with the Horse are travel or journeying, freedom, positive energy, wealth, good fortune, health, society, an eye for detail, beauty, grace and charisma. Horse statues and artwork are fortunate for entrepreneurs and business people.
The Horse is a Yang energy equated with power, work, prosperity and lucky number seven. With Horse as spirit guide or totem, stamina improves and work toward a goal brings satisfaction. An amiable companion and helper, the Horse is quick to spot danger, especially details out of place. A bracelet or charm of horse hair can awaken perception.
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In romance, the Horse is a free spirit. Falling in love with a Horse person is a wild ride. It can be hard for this person to make commitments. Adventure is always in the air. Can the Horse settle into a domestic relationship? Horses have a wide range of personalities. Some attune to domestic harmony. Others will kick up their heels.
The vibrant Sun personality of the Horse is mitigated by Earth, an element of grounding and stability. Horses love to feel the earth beneath their feet whether traveling or not. Balance of Earth and Sun (Fire) is lucky in business and daily life.
Horse is the seventh animal in the Chinese zodiac. Lucky colors include pink, blue and purple. Horse plants include yarrow, rosehip, chamomile, mint and thyme.
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People relating to the Horse animal spirit guide or totem are energetic and optimistic. They tend to be fortunate in life, and generally in good health. They are graceful, well-traveled and educated. Horse people love to explore and learn.
The Horse attunes to arts, performance and athletics. The number seven is especially fortunate for Horse people, sparkling with energy and motion. In Wicca, seven is one of the 'magic' numbers.
Although Horse totem people can be overly dramatic or even paranoid at times, they are solid companions who would rather work smart than work hard. Attractive and charismatic, these freedom lovers have many friends and admirers.
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2. Otter - Play, Rejuvenation, Hidden Knowledge
The delightful Otter symbolizes playfulness, games, youth or rejuvenation, refreshment, crossing spiritual borders, hidden knowledge, strategy and sometimes trickery. The Otter spirit can guide us around obstacles with ease.
The Otter exudes strong family energy. Otters live in family groups with mother, younger and older pups, and sometimes the male.
The pups learn through play and imitation how to fish, hunt, build dens and use tools such as rocks for breaking open clam shells. They are canny hunters who go after what they want. A dream or vision of Otter in water can relate to introspection or hidden secrets.
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In some cultures Otter is a trickster similar to Fox or Coyote. The River Otter is a member of the weasel family. In Northern European myth, the magic qualities of Otter include shape-shifting. In one version of the Niebelungenlied, a medieval Germanic saga, Norse gods mistakenly slay a shape-shifting Dwarf in the form of an Otter.
People with Otter energy tend to have a playful sense of humor, but may also have a dark side. Often highly intelligent, Otter people must be careful not to overthink, and let intuition lead the way.
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The Otter inspires creativity and invention. The dominant Otter element is Water, which brings mental refreshment and rejuvenation, hunches, gut feelings, knowing when to relax and ride the current. As Water can act as a portal to other worlds, the Otter is a canny guide to hidden dimensions in spiritual journeying.
Otter people have quick minds and may also have a store of hidden knowledge, skills or talents. They don't show everything at once and are full of surprises. They're good with their hands.
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As Otters love playing chase, agile swimming or wrestling, an Otter person may be have athletic talent. Social and active, Otter people are fun at parties, and are stimulating friends and partners. While they may seem shallow at first, they have multiple facets and hidden depth.
River otters spend considerable time on land, compared to sea otters who are almost always in water. The river otter has a water-resistant lining of fur under its coat, which keeps its skin dry. If it gets waterlogged the otter loses buoyancy.
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Likewise, too much thinking (water - flood) and not enough activity (solar energy) can drag us down. Suppressed energy can cause health problems. If life has lost its zip, attune to the Otter spirit and learn to play again.
3. Goose - Protection, Abundance, Family
Geese relate to family, prosperity, protection, generosity, faithfulness, life cycles, harmony, marriage or commitment. The Goose takes qualities from all four elements. It's a bird of daylight and the sun, spending time in water, on land and in flight. The Goose spirit brings balance and fulfilment. As a protective energy, few are stronger than the Goose or Gander.
In ancient Egypt, geese appear on tomb artwork, symbolic of souls. They were sacred to the god Geb, an Earth god and the patron of farmers.
Geese are especially associated with seasons of spring and fall, and natural cycles of life. Animal spirits of the Harvest, they bring blessings of abundance. Returning from migration in spring, their airborne calls signal hope for a new year.
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The Goose asks us to be generous and share earthly abundance, wisdom or happiness. We can do so knowing good things are coming our way. Family is important to a person with Goose spirit guide or animal totem. This person may have a large extended family or network of friends.
Goose parents take turns brooding the eggs, which hatch in early May. Immediately on hatching, the goslings can swim and find their own food.
At this stage geese remain in a single protective family unit. Later, they join a flock of several families. The goslings swim together in a nursery environment, watched by two or three geese while other parents take a break.
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Geese in flight call to the wild spirit in all of us. The Wild Goose is a traveler related to spiritual journeying. The Domestic Goose usually has her wing feathers clipped and thus doesn't fly. She attunes motherhood, the hearth and home. People with the Goose animal spirit can show both aspects. They have good navigation skills and instinctively know which path to take when the time is right.
Goose People have bright imaginations and may be artists, poets & authors, travelers, parents, caregivers and socialites. The gregarious goose mingles well with others and is rarely at a loss for words.
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A Goose person can fit into a leadership role on occasion. Geese all know the leader in flight has to bear the most wind resistance. In the wild, a goose leads a flock until she's tired, then falls back and another bird takes the lead.
Goose people fiercely protect that which they hold dear. They are highly creative and can be prolific in the right environment. As a friend or partner, the Goose is loyal, caring, funny and a great conversationalist, and may be prone to flights of fancy. Goose people must beware of making unnecessary sacrifices. If swamped in work, delegate. It's important to take time for the Self.
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