A human being can seek connection with their deeper essence in many ways. One of them is through totems.
What is a totem?
In ancient times, totems were understood as family or personal guardians — animals, plants, or forces of nature. (The word itself comes from an Indigenous term meaning a clan guardian.) During ceremonies, tribes would dance the totem’s dances, imitating its movements, wrapping themselves in its fur or feathers — a ritual that continually restored and nourished the bond.
In shamanic traditions, it is said that a totem animal must be met in the wild, face to face. Today, this encounter happens through meditation — by touching the totem’s consciousness, its energy, force, and wisdom.
From a modern perspective, psychologists might describe a totem as an instinctive power within a person — a deep, innate quality connected to nature itself.
A totem can offer a surge of energy, a certain guidance, a distinct kind of wisdom. But it is important to find your true totem — the one that expresses your own nature, not someone else’s projection or preference.
How to recognise your totem?
This is something you discover not through logic, but through feeling — instinctively. Totems belong to that primal layer of our being, the one that protects us, sustains us, and gives life-force. But this happens only when a genuine connection with your own totem is restored — not with a random one, even if it seems similar.
The ego might insist on choosing a lion or an eagle, but a totem can be just as powerful in the form of an ant, an armadillo, or a butterfly. Each carries its own unique magic.
So what are the signs?
- A totem evokes a sense of closeness and affinity. You feel you instinctively understand its behaviour and even want to protect it.
- You find yourself collecting its images — postcards, figurines, small objects.
- You’d like to keep it as a pet (even if it’s a spider, a snake, or a large lizard).
- You encounter it often — in nature, on television, in unexpected places.
- You share external or character traits with it (you could play it in a costume-free carnival and it would still feel right).
But the defining factor is not analysis, and not even similarity — it is the instinctive reaction, the deep resonance, the immediate bond.
The meanings of some totems
A totem contains something much wider than words can hold. It has its own presence, its own life. It is not merely an image of an animal, nor the animal itself — it is a spiritual reality. It can surprise you, advise you, reveal what you do not see — if you learn to connect with it. Psychologists would say it brings information from the depths of your subconscious, giving voice to what lies hidden. Yet it is even more mysterious than that.
Yes, we can associate certain qualities with certain totems. Rational analysis has its place. For example:
- Eagle — courage, dignity, freedom
- Deer — grace, purity
- Butterfly — lightness, beauty, fragility, transformation
- Tiger — strength, authority, fluidity
- Dolphin — joy, community, freedom, friendliness
- Peacock — individuality, beauty, creativity, the ability to display one’s reality
But this is only a small fraction of what becomes available when you encounter the totem directly, when you experience its world.
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As we drift away from nature, we lose part of our life-force, vitality, and immunity. A totem helps restore that connection — replenishing energy, clarifying instincts and deeper tendencies, strengthening the spirit, expanding possibilities, and recreating a sense of unity with the world around us. It also brings protection — for you, and for those close to you.
Totem practices are often most resonant for those who feel close to shamanism, to the natural world, or simply to the desire to understand their own deeper essence.