I would really like to thank ravenwing for that awesome post. Im new to a more "structured" form of craft and practicing craft. But I will definitely search for totem animals, and dragons in particular. Oh...and if anyone else is drawn to dragons...just a bit of a warning...they are very powerful, and also extremely stubborn at times. As I have found out...its actually pretty amusing. Hehehe. But thanks for the post!
Sarah
familiars
ravenwing wrote:
A Totem Animal on the other hand, is an animal ENERGY, and not a living creature. Dragons are a perfect example. A Totem Animal is meant to represent a "higher version" of oneself - what you might aspire to and wish you had the characteristics of. They will still be alongside you in your work, but they arent here on the Earthly Plane - theyre here only spiritually. Whomever mentioned Fairies - they are Spirit Guides and neither Totems or Familiars. Be careful with Fairies, they can be VERY mischevious!
If its Dragons youre drawn to, I would suggest researching Totem Animals and not Familiars.
Totem animals, at least in the original sense, are a Native American thing..and I've only ever heard of totem animals being real animals...deer, bison, bear, turtle, etc...I don't believe that dragons and the such would qualify as totem animals without some new agey warping of the idea.
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[ravenwing]
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That confusion is due to Native Americans and the way what they do translates. I may not have said it quite right and created a bit of confusion, so let me explain a bit further.
Any animal that can be a Familiar could also be a Totem (if they werent physically present) - however, the reverse is NOT true.
Example: Although an Eagle is a "real" bird, if its right there with you it would be a Familiar, if only its energy was working with you and NOT its physical presence - it would be a Totem. This is why Native americans call them Totems - they work with the animal SPIRIT, and not the animal itself.
A Familiar is an animal (real or otherwise) with a physical presence during your work. A Totem is an animal (real or otherwise) that does NOT have a physical presence there with you, but is there only in Spirit.
Any animal that can be a Familiar could also be a Totem (if they werent physically present) - however, the reverse is NOT true.
Example: Although an Eagle is a "real" bird, if its right there with you it would be a Familiar, if only its energy was working with you and NOT its physical presence - it would be a Totem. This is why Native americans call them Totems - they work with the animal SPIRIT, and not the animal itself.
A Familiar is an animal (real or otherwise) with a physical presence during your work. A Totem is an animal (real or otherwise) that does NOT have a physical presence there with you, but is there only in Spirit.