Help define: Totem, Guide, and Familiar

[Tony Perez]

I started out with these definitions:

* Totem = Spirit that watches over clan and/or family. Represents the 'base' of the person, i.e. basic persona. Usually does not interact with the person on a daily and/or personal basis.
* Guide = Spirit that acts as 'Teacher', 'Mentor', 'Spirit Grandmother', etc. Frequent interaction with the person. May speak directly through dreams & visions, indirectly through events, 'found items', synchronistic events. The person may feel some connection to the real world animal family of the guide.
* Familiar = Spirit that behaves as 'sidekick' to the person. Constant interaction with the person. May communicate the same as "Guide", but with both greater subtlety and intensity. The person feels great connection to the real world family of the familiar.

But I see the terms interchanged often, so now I'm confused. I also wonder about how a clanless, tribeless, completely solo person can have a Totem Spirit.

I seek correction, clarification, and a sushi bar. I know where to find the sushi, any ideas about the other two?

[Syndica]

hi there kratos,

I can help u finding out ur spirit guide with my shamin orcle deck. lets get started.ok my dear i did a reading of cards and ur spirit animal is the weasel "be silent pay attention and simlu observe with ur eyes and physical feelings what is happing inside and all round u." I hope this helps u.

blessed be

[Tony Perez]

hi there kratos,

I can help u finding out ur spirit guide with my shamin orcle deck. lets get started.ok my dear i did a reading of cards and ur spirit animal is the weasel "be silent pay attention and simlu observe with ur eyes and physical feelings what is happing inside and all round u." I hope this helps u.

blessed be

syndica, how did your cards come to this conclusion?

[Rifts]

hi there kratos,

I can help u finding out ur spirit guide with my shamin orcle deck. lets get started.ok my dear i did a reading of cards and ur spirit animal is the weasel "be silent pay attention and simlu observe with ur eyes and physical feelings what is happing inside and all round u." I hope this helps u.

blessed be

syndica, how did your cards come to this conclusion?

Seriously, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT Kratos, INCLUDING necessary reading info.

[NightRose]

I have to agree. Syndica, if people come to you and ask for help, that is one matter. It is completely another to walk up to someone and say "Oh, your spirit guide is this!" Finding one's spirit guide is a personal path to be traveled, one of discovery and self-knowledge. It's not a path that you want someone to walk up behind you on and say "I know you got all ready to travel this path and all, but I'm going to tell you what's at the end." My spirit guides are not animals at all, though I do have an animal that I see as a sister spirit. So, you picking a card at random from your deck would not pop up the correct answer for me, nor is it guaranteed to work for other people as well.

I also believe that in readings, you should have some sort of information about or connection to the person. I would not be able to read for any of you, I don't even know your real name, and would hate to tell my tarot deck 'that one person on the internet? Yes, that one. I'm reading for them.' Especially on an issue so important as a spirit guide. I'd be horrified to do a reading on something as important as that, and have someone floundering for months trying to connect with a spirit guide I read incorrectly.

Please understand, I'm not attacking you, but even with my years of experience, I wouldn't try to tell someone else what their spirit guide was, even if I knew without a doubt, unless they came to me and asked first. Even then, I'd recommend they undertake a serious meditational self-introspection and try to determine it for themself. Finding my spirit guide was a very exciting experience for me, and I would have been upset if someone else walked in halfway and just told me what I would find at the end.

[Jo.A]

well i'm not so sure with the definition of the FAMILIAR, because, as far as I knew, those are kinda protector spirits, who are given by an upper spirit to a certain human, familiars are named on some Demoniac evocation books, and are particulary given by them, not all the demoniac evocations bring bad things though it's not the best way to obtain help, this doesn't mean that evocating demons is the only way to get a FAmiliar, but it's the only way i've read by now.

Familiars as i've said are given by upper spirits to be protectors, but there are risks depending on who's the one who gives it.

It's not a law, it's all I know about them. I've never being in contact with one, but I know that they're powerful and that they could be really helpful too.