Animals as Spirit Guides

Those spirits that are in animal form that teach us, guide us, empower us, and help us heal are called animal spirit guides or spirit animals. One of the great advantages of working with animal spirit guides is that they can appear physically and symbolically in many ways throughout every society and culture on earth. Because of their abundant representations in third-dimensional reality, they’re continually in our consciousness. Depending on how and in what way they show up in the material world, whether in the flesh or as a symbol, their appearance can be as a representative of the spirit of that animal.

When an animal shows up in an uncommon way or repetitively it’s presenting itself to you as a spirit guide. The hummingbird that flits about and then hovers for several seconds directly in front of you isn’t just a hummingbird but may be telling you to lighten up. You see a hawk circling overhead to remind you to stay focused on that project. You wake up remembering a big dream you had about a cougar and realize the message was to go forward with courage.

Messages from Animal Spirit Guides

As noted, when an animal or a symbol of that animal shows up to you in an unusual way or repeatedly, they’re most definitely trying to convey a message from the spirit world to you. The crickets that chirped just outside my office were a reminder that I needed to get back to singing and playing guitar. The butterfly that landed on my hand was a foretelling of big changes in my life.

In another instance a friend, Melody, described how after her father’s death she went to a spot on the beach located in front of her father’s favorite restaurant and a single dolphin was frolicking in the water unusually close to shore. As she walked on the beach, the dolphin followed her for several meters, then swam further out to sea and joined his pod. This was a very reassuring message from Dolphin spirit to Melody that her father was just fine in the afterlife. This is an example of how a spirit animal can convey a message from a deceased loved one.

In another illustration a few years ago Tim and his wife Beth were preparing a major move to a new city and Tim was feeling extremely anxious about the move to the point of losing sleep and dropping weight. One night a raccoon showed up in the back yard. He looked up what the possible message could be from Raccoon spirit and discovered that one message that spoke to him was about resourcefulness. At that point he realized that he did in fact have all the necessary resources, both internal and external, for this move. It relaxed him a great deal and he and his wife are now living very successfully in their new home in a new city.

An example of a repetitive symbolic representation would be when you have a vivid and colorful dream about a bear, go to the market the next day and overhear two strangers in a conversation talking about bears, and that evening turn on the television and there just happens to be a program about Grizzly Bears. An experience like this works the same as three physical sightings. Since most of us who live in urban areas will never actually encounter live bears or come close to a number of wild animals, the spirit of that animal has to reach us some other way to get a message across in this amazing collaboration of Consciousness.

Interpreting and Understanding the Messages from Animal Spirit Guides

As I’ve noted, when an animal shows up in ordinary reality in an uncommon way or at unusual times, such as a dove landing on the balcony two feet away, a raccoon that’s walked into your back door, or a fox that darts across your path as you’re walking in the woods, it’s definitely a sign from that animal spirit guide. The dove may be reminding you to stay calm, the raccoon letting you know you’ve got what it takes, or the fox suggesting that you be discerning about who to trust. Or if you spot a crow in the tree outside your window three mornings in a row when there’s usually none, it could mean that you’re going to be seeing more magic in your life.

 Animal spirit guides will teach you in both cryptic and dream-like ways and also offer their counsel by hitting you right between the eyes with a message that’s obvious. Other times it’s unclear what the message is. Here are a couple of ways you can discern the message.

• You can see what the message is through a book on the subject.
• Do a search on the Internet under categories like “spirit animals,” “animal spirit guides,” etc.
• Research the outstanding characteristics of the animal as often they are metaphors for the spiritual message

One of the most direct ways is to communicate with the spirit of that animal that you’ve sighted and ask them. When you know that you’re getting a communication from an animal spirit guide, the first thing to do is close your eyes, imagine that animal’s spirit in front of you, and in your mind ask the question, “What do you want me to know?” Take a deep breath, relax your body, and see what sort of impressions and information you get, whether visual, auditory, physical, or cognitive.

Often, you’ll get a “hit” on what the meaning of the visitation is and by contemplating the sighting over the next few hours and letting it work you, you’ll discover further messages and insights revealed by the spirit animal. The more you practice deciphering the messages, the easier it becomes.

I encourage you to practice any of these methods in addition to looking to other resources for the meaning of the spirit animal’s communication to you. These remarkable beings want to help us and teach us and will do so in a myriad of ways, and these days, we need all the spiritual guidance we can get