What are the differences between a spirit guide and just a spirit animal?

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Permalink Reply by Gaia'l on November 18, 2010 at 7:02am

Sarah, I don't know. And, personally, I think its just semantics. Whenever an animal takes the time to visit me in either live or spirit form, I meditate, research, relate and honor it with gratitude and a candle. Sometimes it takes me years to figure out if it is a life totem or just had a quick message for me.

Your bear sounds intriguing. Try to keep the communication open through meditation and ritual. You know those '7 day' ritual candles in glass holders that have all the Saints on them. I find mine in the hispanic section of grocery stores. If I can't find plain ones, I get the ones with plastic sleeves and remove them. Then, I research all the qualities of my totem and make up a nice new sleeve for the candle to honor It. For example:

Grandmother Vulture
All Seeing Crone of purification and rebirth
Avenger of Nature Spirits

(picture of vulture)

Teach me how to soar above drudgeries of everyday life
and limitations through Spirit.
Teach me how to negotiate problems without
expending personal energy.
Teach me to see auras through patience and vision.

I am Grateful! I gift to you community
through communication and sharing of food.


I place this candle on my altar and honor it during ritual for a while. I keep them stored and then whenever I need a particular energy, say Coyote when I need shape shifter qualities, I get out the Coyote candle, do a ritual and ask it for help and guidance. It works for me. Gaia'l

Permalink Reply by Gaia'l on November 18, 2010 at 7:25am

I forgot to mention. Coyote had never visited me. I wanted to write a humorous article and needed a muse. I researched 'humorous animals' and Dolphin and Coyote came up. I had read a book about a mischevious shape shifting Coyote before so I choose Coyote. I made up a candle and did a ritual asking Coyote to gift me with the wisdom of humor in my writing. That very night I dreamed: "was at a train station. 3 young guys were hanging with us. I knew they were con men, they were also cute and well mannered and I knew instinctively the main one, blondish and big, was Coyote. They were fun so we let them stay. We were in a back room and an older lady was with them and we saw her put stuff in her clothes. We confronted her before she could leave but was no big deal. Coyote hung with me the whole dream. They tried to sell us cheap little pictures, framed, designed paper background with plastic Coyotes glued to the paper."
It was such a vivid and fun dream! I am so grateful for this mystical, magical communication.

I consider the communication through this forum as part of my gift to Grandmother Vulture. Who also came to me in a very vivid and comical manner that I will explain at another time. Gaia'l

Permalink Reply by PenelopyJane on November 18, 2010 at 9:29pm

i need to learn how to meditate more. i would also love to be able to buy and use the candles. however my mother does not want me to light candles in her house because she thinks ill end up burning the house down. :P
i love those kinds of dreams that are real, just as long as they are not the ones that your subconcious is trying to scare the living crap out of you but has a underlying meaning. i have learned over several years of how to control myself and change the course of my dreams especially if they are ones i may have had before.
and going back to that little meditation experience i had, the pathway leading me to the bear was clear as if i went through that path before. it reminded me of a dirt road that had been cleared from yeard and years of people going through it. sometimes i wonder if i could have been born old considering gut feelings i have towards certain things and how easily when i can do magick or just simple energy manipulation just how natural it all comes to me. maybe my spirit animal had been my spirit animal before if i dont sound too rediculous.

Permalink Reply by Anavrin on November 19, 2010 at 3:29am

Wonderful idea, Gaia'l, using the 7-day candles in this way. I'll have to try it!

~Ana

Permalink Reply by Anavrin on November 19, 2010 at 3:28am

Hi Sarah! I agree with Gaia'l on this. If an animal has taken time to reach out to me, the least I can do is work on knowing why the animal would do so. Usually I research the animal's qualities and meditate on the animal to see if there is a specific message they are trying to share with me. Sometimes, like Gaia'l mentioned, it may take a long while til I understand the exact meaning of the message and sometimes it just pops up in an "Aha!" moment.

If this bear is your main animal spirit guide (or even if it is just a guide passing by with a message), meditating on him/her will strengthen your ability to communicate together and it will give you both a chance to "get to know each other." It will also give your guide the "green light" to go ahead and contact you again and it will let your guide know you are ready to listen.

~Ana