Spirit Animals
By Desiree Snow
Hello everyone! Did you miss me? I'm baaaaaccckkk!
And boy, do I have a great article for you. Let's talk about Spirit Animals!
What are Spirit Animals? I'm glad you asked! Spirit Animals are sort of like our Patronus. They are the spiritual embodiment of our own inner being, formed in the shape of animals. The type of spirit animal that you have reflects your personality and characteristic. Every person has a specific spirit animal that guards over them.
They are different from a Patronus in terms of exclusivity. A Patronus is a symbolic manifestation of ones happiest thought or memory. A spirit animal, on the other hand, can be considered an entity of its own. Every person has one special spirit animal that they can most associate with, however, there is still a possibility that the person can encounter other spirit animals in their lives.
They can come in the form of dreams, visions, or memories. Once this happens, it is a message from the spirit animal. In order to interpret the message, one must understand what qualities are associated with the spirit animal they have come in contact with. Then they must try to apply it to their current situation.
Spirit Animals can be categorized under the type of animal that they are (Land, Water, Air, Insect) or the main quality that they are most associated with (transformation, change, protection, guidance, heath, love, etc.).
My Spirit Animal is the butterfly. It is most commonly associated with change and transformation. People who have the butterfly as their spirit animal are very good at dealing with change. They are flexible and are always open to new possibilities. Because of this, they tend to be very flimsy and whimsical. They are always floating around and find it hard to stay grounded.
When a butterfly crosses your path, it often means change is coming. It doesn't necessarily mean that the change would happen in the external part of your life (moving out, new school, etc). It might also be an intrinsic change, like a change in attitude, new perspective in life ... or even something as simple as a change in food choice. You might be one of those types who used to hate spicy food, but now you're chowing down on some noodles with kimchi.
Whatever spirit animal you might have or whatever one you'd encounter, always remember that at the end of the day, you are in control of your life. Anything that happens to you isn't decided by some ghost raccoon - but by you.
If you'd like to know more about Spirit Animals, I'll be writing about the different types in future issues of SOUP.
See you again soon!
- Desiree Snow