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When I do shamanic healing with a client for the very first time, I like to start with power animal retrieval. Why do I start there? Everyone needs an ally when they first start to navigate working with Spirit. Power animals are usually very eager to help and love connecting with “their humans.”

There are two types of power animals

The first kind are the ones that have been with you since birth. Ones that are part of your personality and make up the core values of who you are. The others are situational. They show up and offer their wisdom when you are in a situation where you are feeling stuck or is causing you stress.

How do you know the difference between the two?
Do you have a gazillion chatchkis of a particular animal? Every time you go on vacation, you find a souvenir to bring home that is of the same animal? Is your Christmas tree covered with ornaments with that same animal? For me, it’s penguins. Before I ever knew what a power animal was, I had (and still have) a healthy collection of penguin paraphernalia. At my wedding I had a penguin wedding cake topper, threw beanie baby penguins instead of my wedding bouquet and even had mechanical penguins dancing on the dance floor. Yeah, you could say that Penguin is a power animal of mine!

The situational ones, present themselves, when there is a situation you are in and you start to notice them. Say every night for a week straight, you hear an owl hooting outside your window – where you never heard them before. For the past 3 mornings, a crow seems to fly above your car on the way to work? Or in my case, I walked out my front door one morning and was greeted by a dead baby skunk in my walkway. Spirit was definitely trying to tell me something.

Why are they important?
When first starting to work with Spirit, it is helpful to have a guide with you. Your power animal can be that guide. If you have never meditated or “connected with Spirit” before you might feel more comfortable taking a guide with you. They will be by your side offering guidance and support and helping you listen to messages from Spirit.

If you’re interested, you can schedule a shamanic journey online.