Totem Animal

TotemAnimals date back from NativeAmericans, and are still found in religions like Shamanism and Wicca. Many shamanistic-style religions have animals' spirits that associate with people. You don't pick your totem animal - it picks you during some kind of spiritual journey.

Is it a fact that all faiths that have TotemAnimals? get the concept from NativeAmerican? spirituality? The sentence above would seem to say that. Also, the use of the word "still" would imply that NativeAmerican? spirituality is a dead faith, which is definitely not true. -- FrancisHwang, in an inquisitive-but-nitpicky mood

I've always thought a TotemAnimal was an animal that had qualities you aspired towards having yourself. I remember the 5.25 disks from long ago that had an elephant symbol on them. Maybe that's the best thing there is for the coding totem.

Morebelike a totem for requirements analysis. Now you just need a few blind men...

Closely related to HumanBeings who have AnimalSpirit?s. -- TaralDragon

I don't mean to be flip (or PhlIp), and I've never admitted this in public before, but I've long had ErnestBorgnine as my TotemAnimal. If Borgnine turns up in a dream and gives me advice, it's always vitally important to pay the strictest attention. I'm not certain I have quite the same respect for the real fellow, though he seems nice enough. -- PeterMerel

Wile E. Coyote has always been my Totem. He strives, he fails, he has floppy ears like me. -- Conrad Heiney

Yes. Coyote is the totem for us all. He strives. He fails. He continues to strive. He never gives up. Coyote teaches us. And for we who are women: Lady Coyote is Wisdom and humor. You go, girls!--Kate

I was given my Native American name along with my TotemAnimal in a ceremony when I worked with a Lakota Medicine Man.

-- sg

Do tell us what these were.

(For some odd reason) This reminds me of something from BabylonFive (I don't follow it, caught the scene in passing, don't know the character's names or anything). Two characters, one human, one alien, are in the quarters of [Security Chief Garibaldi] (human) looking for him. The alien notices a big picture of Daffy Duck on the wall.

The alien asks: "Oh, is that one of your house gods?"

The human replies: "No, that's the Egyptian God of Frustration."

-- DirckBlaskey

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