Exploring Your Animal Spirit Guides

Animal Spirit Guides—I love working with them because they bring a magic into our lives that's totally different then your other guides and helpers.

But what are they exactly? The animal spirit guides I work with are exactly what they sound like—spirit guides in animal form.

(Note: You may have heard of Spirit Animals or Animal Totems. Animal Spirit Guides are not the same thing. They are a different energetic being. I am not from an indigenous people or tribe and don’t have experience with those sacred beings.)

There is no set number of guides that you can work with. It could be 1 animal guide or 3 or more. I do feel that you come into this world with an animal spirit guide. I don't know if this guide stays with you always or if it shifts and changes as you grow. I do know that throughout your life, you’ll find different animal guides helping you out. You may find a deep attachment to one and they stay for the rest of the journey or you may find yourself meeting new ones, as you change and transform along the way.

How do you know what kind of animal is stepping forward to be an animal spirit guide? There are many ways to access this information, but here are a few ideas/ways you can meet them:

• Meditation to meet your guide
• Dream about your guide
• Feel strongly drawn to a specific animal or representations of that animal
• A close, unusual encounter with an animal

Once you meet them, you'll begin to work with them and connect with them on a daily basis to build a relationship with them.

Here's an example of how I knew Crow was one of my guides:

I love crows and am very drawn to them. I tend to collect crow things. I love reading about them. I enjoy watching them fly and chatter and gather and I get super excited when they decide to drop in and say hello, by landing in my yard or trees. I met my crow friend in a meditation many years ago—but if I hadn’t already met them, I’d be able to tell just from my enthusiastic reaction to them that this energy was wanting to work with me.

Like I said before, you man have many animal spirit guides—not just one. I think the key to figuring out your guides is being curious and staying aware. Whenever I have an unusual animal encounter, I’ll dive into researching what gifts, messages or insights that specific kind of animal brings to the table. Then I take a few moments to honor that experience and send gratitude toward that being for showing up in my life in a magical way.

What animals are showing up in your life right now? What birds or insects are you seeing a lot of lately? These may be animal spirit guides reaching out to connect with you on this part of your journey.  I’d love to hear about which animals capture your attention. Send me an email about your Animal Spirit Guide experience and let me know!