karenjo
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Otter.
You may already know that many Native American tribes believe in animal spirit guides. Sometimes these are combined with the medicine wheel, which uses the directions of north, south, east, west, above, below, and within to describe certain attributes of a person. For instance, "above" pertains to my relationship with the Great Spirit, or the Creator. My "above" animal spirit is Jackrabbit, who represents (among other things) an ability to listen carefully and respond, as well as a healthy amount of fear. That fear can become unhealthy, though, and I have to be vigilant about that.
Otter is my "within" spirit. Otter is playful, but also ferocious if cornered. That is my essential, instinctive nature.
It took me about a year to discover my animal spirits after I started working with a Cherokee woman who was very in touch with her heritage. I am part Choctaw, but she told me that all people have spirit guides and can find them through dreams, vision quests, meditation, reading, communing with nature, and other methods.
Also, the points on the wheel may represent different things to different tribes. My teacher told me that spirits make themselves known in different ways to different individuals and different cultures. Find a good teacher if you can, but ultimately you have to discover your own meanings.
Below are a few good websites. The last one (quizilla) is not definitive by any means, but it's fun. |
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