Rather than a Tarot deck, today I want to share the Animal Spirits Knowledge Cards, shown on the upper right in that photo. The art on these cards using paintings by the late Susan Seddon Boulet is absolutely stunning. In all, there are 48 cards:
Animal Deities, Bear, Birds, Bull, Butterfly, Caribou, Cat, Cow, Coyote, Crocodile, Crow, Deer, Dog, Dolphin, Dove, Eagle, Elephant, Fish, Fox, Frog, Goat, Gull, Hawk, Heron, Horse, Insect, Jaguar, Kingfisher, Leopard, Lion, Monkey, Owl, Panther, Parrot, Peacock, Polar Bear, Puma, Rabbit, Ram, Raven, Sea Horse, Scarab, Snake, Spider, Swan, Tiger, Totem, Wolf
In 2001, I was part of a class with a teacher who talked about the spiritual significance of animals. She took us through a meditation session to help us find our spirit guide or spirit animal. Among the things she shared with us is that while our guide might turn out to be an animal we’ve always liked or felt a connection to, the guide is more often one that provides a quality a person lacks. So, for example, a beaver, who is thought of as hardworking and industrious, might be there to help you better develop those qualities in yourself.
In essence, you don’t choose your spirit guide/animal/helper; it chooses you.
In recent years, the concept of the spirit animal became trivialized by popular culture–and I can easily believe I’ve been guilty of saying something dumb like “Starbucks is my spirit animal.” In the realm of “be better, do better,” I’m now aware of how demeaning that can be to worldwide cultures who have long identified animals as significant to their ancestral and spiritual connections and practices: for example, an animal who traditionally is believed to guide a beloved family member from this life into the afterlife.
There’s nothing wrong with having a reverence for animals and feeling connected to or inspired by them, or identifying with one in particular. The point is not to cherry-pick what’s sacred to another culture and devalue or minimize it, and to remember that language matters. With that in mind, what I really like about these cards is that, as one reviewer said, they are “designed for meditations and learning rather than divination.” The back of each card provides the symbology of the animal or concept depicted, with a brief summary of how it has been viewed in different cultures historically.
I picked two cards to show you animals who mean something to me: Ram and Crow (neither one is the animal who came to me in the meditation on spirit guides in 2001; people usually keep their spirit guides or animals private, much the way meditation practitioners don’t share their mantras).
Without giving the full description, Ram symbology includes sacrifice, growth, and divine life. Crow symbology includes renewal, transformation, magic, and abundance. When I pull a card, I study the art for a long time, looking for symbols and meaning personal to me. The description on the back may include the characteristics of the animal as well as how it’s been historically significant to specific cultures, tribes, or myths. After absorbing the art and the description, I place the card with other things that help me meditate/contemplate, such as candles, incense, and stones, and spend time letting my thoughts wander as they will.
In my years of doing energy work, I often see the area around me filling with animals (an experience I hope to include in one of the novels I intend to write one day). I always thank them for joining me and helping me, so in this case, as I finish my meditation session, I’d thank Ram or Crow for being there and for the lessons and wisdom offered.
Envisioning animal guides is always a deeply meaningful experience for me, and while I usually keep such things private, in these times, if animal energy can help you find serenity or insight, I’m happy to explain/suggest it. Even without this deck, you could place a picture or object depicting a specific animal you’re drawn to, do a little of your own research, and use all that for a healing or helping meditation.
ETA: The deck is from Pomegranate (May 1, 2007) and remains available for sale online or probably could be ordered locally from your favorite bookseller or metaphysical shop.
I’m a little bit curious about people wishing to keep their spirit animal to themselves. I don’t think I would, although I appreciate that I am generally rather open about things – too open, according to my mother. I understand it’s a spiritual thing, though, and people often prefer to keep that side of themselves quiet.
I’m not being flippant at all when I say that I think that a beaver would be a good spirit animal for me.
Are you drawn to the ram because you are an Aries?
It’s why I chose that particular card. I do love rams, and I’m sure it’s because I am one.
Here is one shaman’s input for keeping your power animal private:
Another thing to keep in mind is that your relationship to your power animal is a private, personal, even intimate relationship. You’ll notice that I have not mentioned who or what my primary power animal is. This is out of respect to my power animal. He has asked that I don’t disclose his identity. But even if your power animal doesn’t say this to you, I would suggest that you not share his identity to others for a couple reasons:
Other people may diminish your relationship with your power animal. They may tell you that it’s stupid, or make fun of you or your power animal, or even use the information against you. Obviously, not every one will go to this extreme, but like everything else in life, people tend to have opinions and will share them…and sometimes that leads to self-doubts.
By not sharing your power animal’s identity, you keep the relationship a spiritual one. This is important, because a power animal is the spirit form of the animal and is bringing you the best of that animal. If the relationship is reduced to purely a physical one, you could end up limiting the insights you can receive.
The shaman is Jennifer B. Monahan and I found that quote in this enlightening article from 2018.