The Spirit Guide Question

Discussion about spirit guides, angels, guardian spirits, and the like.
Locked
NightRose
Banned Member
Posts: 409
Joined: Fri May 01, 2009 8:08 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Michigan

The Spirit Guide Question

Post by NightRose »

There have been a lot of questions lately about spirit guides, what they are, how to contact them, etc lately. So I decided that putting all of the resources in one place would be helpful for everyone. Keep in mind that everyone is going to have different opinions on the subject, but the information I have gathered here seems to be what most people agree on.

On Spirit Guides:
A person can have multiple spirit guides, though many people only have one. The job of a spirit guide is to watch over you, teach you, heal you, and help you grow in spiritual matters. Usually spirit guides appear in the form of a person or human-like figure. They can appear as people you know who have passed on, or simply as a person you do not know. They are reached are communicated with usually during a meditational state, or in vivid dreaming. On very rare occasions, your spirit guide may speak telepathically. Keep in mind, of course, that hearing voices is usually not a good thing, and if the voice is telling you to hurt yourself or others, you should seek a medical professional immediately. Your spirit guide (also referred to by some as angels or guardians) are often parental-like figures, but are not there to police your actions, only to advise and protect.

Animal Guides:
Different than spirit guides, these animals are more of companions than teachers or leaders. These are, of course, different from totem animals, which I will cover in a late section. These guides can change throughout your life, and often reflect what you need the most during certain times. For example, at times of great loneliness, your animal might be a very affectionate animal such as a cat or puppy, at times of great vulnerability, your animal may be a lion or bear. These animal guides will accompany you in the spirit world and help protect you, but will not teach and guide the way a spirit guide will. Of course, some spirit guides can and do appear as animals, which will remain permanent in your life, but many animals are temporary guides.

Totem Animals
These animals are usually related to your culture or tribe. Tribal cultures have multiple totems: one for the tribe, one for the family, and an individual totem. An individual totem is the animal that represents you and guides you throughout your life. The totem chooses you, you do not get to choose it. Your favorite animal is not necessarily your totem, it might just be an animal that appeals to you for some reason, no spiritual reasons involved. The totem plays the role of an animal spirit guide, teaching, protecting, same as a spirit guide. Many people do not have a totem, as I said earlier, many people's spirit guides are human figures instead of animals.

Familiars
On a similar note, familiars are also something that seem to get lumped into the same category. A familiar is a physical animal, sometimes a pet, that aids the witch in ritual. This isn't always a pet, of course, you can own a pet that is not a familiar, or have a familiar that is not a pet. The best way to tell is to determine what role the animal plays in your rituals. A familiar might guard the person during ritual, accompany the person into astral travel, or lend energy to rituals. Please note that this animal does not have to be the same as your animal guide or totem, though it may be. You can choose a familiar, though they tend to choose you. The best way to attempt to find one is to go to a pet store and open your mind. Ask for guidance in finding a familiar who can help you in ritual, and then follow your instincts.

This is getting rather long, so the post after this will be on how to contact your spirit guide/animal guide/totem, etc.
NightRose
Banned Member
Posts: 409
Joined: Fri May 01, 2009 8:08 pm
Gender: Female
Location: Michigan

Post by NightRose »

How to Contact Your Spirit Guide, Animal Guide, Etc
Now that you know what each of these things are, the next step is, of course, making contact. How do you know who is to guide you? How do you talk to them?

The first step is a simple protection ritual. Light a candle or a lamp, say a prayer to whatever deity you believe in or follow to bless your journey and guide you to your spirit guide with no harm come to you. This does not need to be complex, a simple blessing and asking of protection will do fine. This is done because you are, after all, reaching out to the spirit world and asking for guidance, and don't want to risk getting a guide who is not there to help you.

The second step, then, is meditation. If you don't know how to do this, begin by teaching yourself the basic techniques, and find one that works for you. There are countless tips on this site, and if you can't find something here that works, you can always turn to google for help. Try to find a peaceful quiet place in your mind where you can do work while meditating. For me, it is a peaceful forest grove. For you it may be by a stream, in front of a fire, your childhood bedroom, a tree fort, complete blackness...the possibilities are endless, it needs merely be somewhere you can envision and retreat to where you can shut out all other thoughts and focus on a single goal. Once you reach the ability to do this and sustain this for a good period of time, move to the next step.

The third step is asking. Sounds pretty simple, right? That's because it is. Ask your spirit guide to appear before you (and be polite, this is someone who will be helping you, not someone you get to order around like a slave!) or appear to you in some manner. You may get it right away. Or, you may sit there and nothing happens. Maybe when you fall asleep that night, you dream of your spirit guide. Or perhaps, nothing.

If you find your spirit guide right off the bat, congratulations! You can stop reading. If not, the next step is simply patience. Spirit guides will come on their own time, when they believe you are ready. You may realize, after time passes, that you keep seeing the same woman or man in your dreams, or hearing the same voice when you meditate or perform rituals giving advice. Once you figure it out, don't be afraid to ask what their name is, what they can teach you, what their purpose is, etc. They are your guide and guardian.

I believe that this is a journey best traveled by yourself. Asking for help may be necessary if you struggle, but most times it is in the overcoming the struggle that you find answers. I also remain very skeptical of people who offer to 'find your spirit guide' for me. I'm not saying it's not possible, however I would think that my spirit guide would reach out to me before it would appear to anyone else poking around. I have never known my spirit guides to reach out to anyone I've worked with in the pasts, they (I have two) tend to give their opinions to me, but never reach out to communicate with others. I doubt anyone could identify them for me. Animal guides may be a whole different matter, as they are fluid and not necessarily tied to you, but again. They are YOUR guide. Why would they appear to someone else before they appear to you?

Also, I put the protection ritual as the first step to remind you that when you work with anything in magic, there is always the need to protect oneself. This is why we draw circles before rituals and bless our houses. As you are only doing introspection (looking into yourself), there shouldn't be too much of a risk, but better safe than sorry.

Now, I found the following portion on a different website, and it seemed interesting and important enough to share. Any of the following signs are usually signs that what you contacted is not your spirit guide at all, but instead another entity having a joke at your expense. This doesn't happen often, but just in case, I figured I'd share.

This is called "How to know your spirit guide isn't really there to help."

"-You're the only person the spirit has EVER contacted, and you're really super special, which is why they're sharing their message with you and not two hundred other people.
-Your guide talks about magical doorways, secret portals to other worlds, or gates that you somehow managed to open, and nobody else ever has.
-The spirit doesn’t mind you bragging about it to friends, but gets grumpy whenever anyone questions its existence or purpose. Not only that, it encourages you to isolate yourself from friends who think the spirit guide may well be full of poo.
-The spirit claims to be hanging around in order to protect you from some other spirit that you've never encountered. Weird stuff happens, and your spirit guide is handily there at all the right times to help you out.
-Your spirit guide claims to be from another planet or world that is as yet undiscovered by scientists.
-The spirit claims that it needs your help -- and only yours -- to help it do things like write, talk, etc., and basically wants you to become its instrument of operation. In exchange for this voluntary form of possession, the spirit will impart you with all kinds of nifty new wisdom, that only you will be privy to.
-The spirit seems to have no real purpose other than to share information with you, but the information you're receiving is of no real use, other than to make you believe you are way more enlightened than everyone else.
-The spirit informs you that people who love you and care about you are secretly plotting against you, and that the only one who truly understands you is the spirit itself.
-All the information you're being given by the spirit goes against common sense, logic, laws of science and physics, and basic human decency… and yet it all makes sense to you now, because you're the only one special enough for the spirit to talk to.”
Locked

Return to “Spirit Guides, Guardian Spirits, etc.”