animal totems
Tribal symbolic beasts
Animal totems are spiritual symbols drawn from the animal world, believed to represent or guide individuals, families, or groups.
The concept comes primarily from Indigenous cultures, where a totem animal serves as an ancestral figure or protective spirit.
In contemporary usage, the term has been adopted by New Age spirituality, where people identify personal totem animals based on traits they admire or feel connected to: The wolf is my animal totem.
This modern use is sometimes criticized as cultural appropriation.
- animismSpirits inhabit all things
- spirit guideSupernatural personal protector
- clan symbolsEmblems representing kinship groups
- shamanismMediation between worlds
- medicine wheelCeremonial stone circle arrangement
vision quest · folklore · ancestral wisdom · mythology · shadow self · indigenous knowledge · Jungian archetypes · dream interpretation · oral storytelling · pantheism · masks · transformation · instinctual behavior · wild nature · ceremonial rituals · elemental spirits · tribal traditions · inner strength
- Indigenous cultureancestors, ancestry, ancestral lands, ancestral lineage, birch bark canoe
- Aboriginal artdot painting, Dreamtime, rock art, ochre, songlines
- animal folklorebeast fables, folklore creatures, mythical creatures, legendary beasts, mythic beasts
- animal symbolismspirit animals, power animals, dragon imagery, zodiac animals, thunderbird
- Ethnic Symbolstribal patterns, tribal masks, clan symbols, ceremonial masks, petroglyphs
- indigenous beliefsshamans, ancestor spirits, nature spirits, spirit world, sacred rituals
animal totemsmascots
Symbolic figures for groups
corporate logos · decorative motifs · cartoon characters · novelty items
animal totemssacred geometry
Symbolic patterns with spiritual significance
mandalas · crosses · religious icons · prayer wheels · medicine wheels
animal totemsguardian angels
Protective spirits assigned to individuals