Animal Natures

[qos]

After I made my first post about giving my daughter a new nickname and creating a new icon, a couple of people asked how someone knows if they or someone else is a particular kind of animal.

Excellent questions. Somewhat difficult to answer.
I'm going to give my perspective here. Any of my friends who feel a strong affinity with a particular animal (or bird!) are welcome to leave their own perspectives.

For me (mileage varies) it's a feeling of kinship with a particular kind of animal that relates to the species' natural characteristics and the spiritual qualities associated with it. In my case, it's bears: particularly grizzly bears, but to a lesser extent polar bears as well. Unlike some folks, I don't feel that I am a bear. I just resonate strongly with "bear energy" and find it a useful reference, like Queen of Swords.

Why bears?

Bears are solitary creatures with a strong sense of territory. They don't have packs, don't have pack politics or interdependence. They are often peaceful and low-key, unless you invade their personal space or threaten a mother bear's cubs. Then they get irate and may try to take your face off.

Spiritually, bears are associated with inner journeys and mysticism (because of the months they spend in caves, in hibernation), healing and shamanism, and motherhood. Bear people tend to be easy going until they feel their personal or physical territory has been trespassed, then they get very agitated and ill inclined to listen to reason. They are associated with quiet personal power that speaks up only when they have something important to say.


My daughter, in contrast, is a wolf. How do I know? Mostly because she tells me so through her words, her choice of toys and entertainment, and her occasional episodes of going down on all fours and howling. She is much more pack-oriented than I am, and has strong feelings of protectiveness and loyalty toward her friends and family -- which she defines rather more widely than I do.

Comments

[jillwheezul.livejournal.com]

My best animal affinity is with the otter. Fun loving, curious, with a zest for living - I can totally resonate with them even if I don't like fish. (Watch me at an otter house sometime!) I also feel close to the ferret, blue jay and domestic dog (golden retriever best of all). They somehow all match certain facets of my personality - the scolding of the jay, the problem solving of the ferret and the loving nature of the dog all appeal.

[makhsihed.livejournal.com]

Eeee, icon love!

<3 Redwall.

[seauleja.livejournal.com]

This topic brought up things I haven't pondered for a while...I have associated with wolf energy all my life, up until a few months after Trevor was born. Then, much to my surprise, it just left me. I can picture the intersection I was driving through the moment I became aware of it--not that it happened all at once--I just noticed it all of the sudden.

I used to have an affinity for many domestic dogs, but a kinship with wolves. My sense of smell is still my preferred sense for recognizing and relating to my loved ones. I was intrigued when, after being away from home for several days, Trevor wanted to smell the candles on our mantle the moment we walked in the door.

But now I feel nothing for dogs I see or meet. Last week I was surprised to hear myself say "no dogs near the baby" to an owner when an obviously friendly dog went near my car to sniff Trev through the open door.

I don't know what I am now. But I would guess it has a good sense of smell.

My previous partner was 110% bear...I have never really identified an animal with my current partner, which strikes me as quite odd. I will think on it a while...it seems like such a matter might shed some light into my understanding of him.

Thank you. :o)

[qos.livejournal.com]

Always glad to be thought-provoking!