Totem

[Anthile]

So, after finding out what kinds of animals we like and what animals resemble MBTI types for whatever reason now the sequel logical consequence.

What animal do you think you resemble? With what animal can you identify with?


For myself I choose the cunning Raven.

In the ancient myths, the raven was a bringer of news and associated with the planet Mercury. Mercury itself was also the name for the Roman form of Greek god Hermes who was knows as... the messenger of the gods. Later on, Odin had two ravens, Hugin (thought) and Munin (memory) who brought him the latest news from all over the world. Ravens were the RSS feed reader of ancient gods.
In real life, ravens are extremely intelligent and amongst the smartest of animals: YouTube - Genius Bird

However, besides from being a messenger the raven symbolizes intelligence, wisdom and foresight but also darkness and death as they often appeared on battlefields to feast upon the slain which brought them quite a bad reputation.
In Carl Jung's dream interpretation the raven represents the dark side of the psyche which forces us to acknowledge the umbral part of our soul.



PS: For every mention of the word cat in this thread I demand a cookie

 

[snowqueen]

Hi Anthile - you beat me to it - mine is also the raven (in fact, as you know, it is part of a different username :-)

 

[Artifice Orisit]

PS: For every mention of the word cat in this thread I demand a cookie

catnip, catnap, catfish, cattle, category, cathode, catalogue.

<- Feline

Still no cookie for you

 

[loveofreason]

RAAAAAAAAVEN!!!!

Corvus corvus

Bird of the gods.

yeah....


and my wolf.

 

[Seducer of the Homeless]

i feel like a Sad, Contemplative Monkey, like this one. they can still be lively and creative, but also dark and contemplative. the way they create things (or seem to) is like my way and i just...feel like this kind of monkey

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Toxoplasma gondii
It's not the most glamorous of creatures, in fact I bet your wondering why I would consider a brainless parasitic protozoa as the animal (using the term loosely) that I am most able to identify with; save your taunts regarding my intelligence for someone who cares, there are in fact two very good reasons.
1. If it's not in your brain already, it's likely only a matter of time until it is.
2. It's affecting your behaviour, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Toxoplasma gondii is the manipulative, magnificent bastard of the animal kingdom, that is why I identify with it, so who’s got the silly animal now, eh?

@-Anthile
And where is the Toxoplasma gondii most commonly found?

 

[Fukyo]

I shall choose the owl.

They are creatures of the night and the moon. Owls figure into many myths and legends.The Native Americans associate the Owl with magic, astral travel, and clairvoyance. They have the power to see what is unseen.Owls are said to be able to see through deception to the truth contained beneath the lies.They are the spirit and animal totem of Athena the Goddess of Wisdom and she was often portrayed with an Owl perched upon her shoulder.

The Owl is a silent and swift hunter; they are nocturnal and hunt only at night. Their eyesight is very keen and their night vision is even better than their day vision. Their hearing is among the best in the Bird Kingdom. They rest and sleep in the morning and afternoon hours.

 

[Vrecknidj]

According to a friend with some connections to the native American community, my most important totem animal is the ant. And, frankly, that seems about right. I work and work and work and work and usually nobody notices.

Dave

 

[Fleur]

Dragonfly for me.

They don't seem to belong to this world and remind of something visionary and unintegible.
The symbolism of the dragonfly varies troughout the cultures: they are believed to be sinister; they are believed to symbolize joy, maturity, change and ability to see trought the illusions; they are believed to be the souls of the dead. They are also connected with dreams and deepest thoughts.
The wide variety of the symbolism of dragonflies could be seen as different perceptions of one person.

Because of crinkles, the aerodynamics of dragonfly's wings are nearly perfect, letting the dragonfly to become one of the best flyers.


(Do I have to give a cookie to Anthile just because I appeared in this thread?)

 

[Anthile]

(Do I have to give a cookie to Anthile just because I appeared in this thread?)

Yes.

Also, I like dragonflies. I had to dissect one during my entomology classes.

 

[Fleur]

*inverses her pockets; random junk, including a small woolball, a stolen credit card and a clockwork mouse, falls out*

Nope, no cookies. Sorry.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

I identify with many animals, but if I had to pick one it would be the Snow Leopard. They're fairly small for felidae and live generally solitary lives in the mountains.

 

[Invoke Ninja's True Power]

I identify most with the Turtle, the Snake, the Jaguar, the Thunderbird, and Birds of all types

 

[Amagi82]

In my studies on world religions and spirituality through the years, shamanism cropped up several times, and I found myself fascinated by it. I don't necessarily buy into it fully, but the concept of a "spirit animal" was of particular interest to me- the idea that there is a certain type of animal you have a bond with, which can communicate with you through a trance state and help you through life. I quickly noticed my mother has all sorts of wolf art and symbolism all over our house, and my father has a ton of eagle art and symbolism. My sister adores monkeys. My brother, dogs. I feel a powerful bond with reptiles, particularly monitor lizards. Being near them fills me with strange emotions, like compassion, empathy, love, etc, which I get to a lesser degree toward snakes and other lizards, but hardly at all for any other type of animal. I wouldn't be able to care if someone killed a dog, but harm a monitor lizard, and I'll punch you in the face without even thinking. I also find it very easy to build trust with and tame lizards. Very strange..

As I mentioned earlier, I don't "believe", but I do find these things fascinating. What are your thoughts, and do you have a particular type of animal that you feel a bond with?

The monitor lizard. I've always felt a strong bond with reptiles, and lizards in particular.

Isn't he cuuuuuute?

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Re: Is there a particular type of animal you have a bond with?

sounds sketchy

Not everyone has pets; those who do usually have either a cat or dog, so they will be conditioned towards preferring cats and dogs. So how could anyone ever figure out their 'spirit animal' if they never come into contact with any animal outside of two species?

 

[Fukyo]

threads merged, carry on.

 

[Cavallier]

For years I thought of myself as a small red fox. Recently however, I have started leaning towards coyote.

I like this description:

Coyote's medicine includes understanding that all things are sacred and that yet nothing is sacred, teaching us that only when all masks have fallen will we connect with the source, illumination, stealth, intelligence, singing humans into being, childhood trust in truth, teaching us how to raise our young, they bring rain, give one the ability to laugh at one’s own mistakes, placing the North Star, shape-shifting, teaching balance between risk and safety, trickster, devilment, cunning, wisdom, folly.

Amongst some native tribes, coyote is referred to as the trickster and there are many tales about the coyote. They are known as the great one and the foolish one - they don’t consciously try and trick us, rather they reflect back to us our own capacity for being clever and stupidity.

When we are being too serious about life, Coyote may appear to teach us to laugh at ourselves and life’s ironies. Be prepared for your sense of humour to arise in full force in line with what is happening around you and to you. They also remind us that whatever we do to others will be done to us. You get back what you give out…

 

[Amagi82]

Re: Is there a particular type of animal you have a bond with?

sounds sketchy

Not everyone has pets; those who do usually have either a cat or dog, so they will be conditioned towards preferring cats and dogs. So how could anyone ever figure out their 'spirit animal' if they never come into contact with any animal outside of two species?

It's hardly sketchy, and for the most part, pets don't count- these are wild animals people feel a bond to. A wide variety of cultures from all over the world have independently come up with a similar concept. Contact with these other species doesn't have to be direct, and some cultures even consider mythical beasts possible spirit animals.

I don't put any religious stock in this sort of thing, but I do find it really cool.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Re: Is there a particular type of animal you have a bond with?

It's hardly sketchy, and for the most part, pets don't count- these are wild animals people feel a bond to. A wide variety of cultures from all over the world have independently come up with a similar concept. Contact with these other species doesn't have to be direct, and some cultures even consider mythical beasts possible spirit animals.

I don't put any religious stock in this sort of thing, but I do find it really cool.

Well, I mean, how would I ever discover it? It's not like I travel through forests, jungles, deserts or savannas to experience this kind of thing. I have no contact with animals whatsoever excluding other humans and my dog.

 

[Amagi82]

Re: Is there a particular type of animal you have a bond with?

Well, I mean, how would I ever discover it? It's not like I travel through forests, jungles, deserts or savannas to experience this kind of thing. I have no contact with animals whatsoever excluding other humans and my dog.

This is untrue today, and was more untrue in the past, before humans took over the planet.

Have you been to the zoo? Those are wild animals, just not in their natural environment. Ever been bitten by a mosquito?- that's an animal. There are birds, rodents, raccoons, squirrels, toads, and all sorts of other animals you probably see fairly regularly.

 

[Chronomar]

Not even sure what expression that is, but it's the one I supposedly make.

The whole lynx=favorite animal thing and I go way back, specifically, actually, to a totem-animal-related event. Some time in elementary school when we visited this Native American park thing (mounds? They were mounds of earth shaped like various things. It was a while ago) and as part of an activity I picked a piece of paper out of a jar, and supposedly it was to reveal my spirit or totem or some such animal. It was obviously random, but I liked mine, and so remembered it.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Re: Is there a particular type of animal you have a bond with?

This is untrue today, and was more untrue in the past, before humans took over the planet.

Have you been to the zoo? Those are wild animals, just not in their natural environment. Ever been bitten by a mosquito?- that's an animal. There are birds, rodents, raccoons, squirrels, toads, and all sorts of other animals you probably see fairly regularly.

Yeah but you always hear of a human being paired with some exotic and elegant animal, not a blood-sucking mosquito or dirty pigeon haha.

Eh. The totem thing I can understand to some extent but not this.

 

[Chronomar]

Re: Is there a particular type of animal you have a bond with?

Yeah but you always hear of a human being paired with some exotic and elegant animal, not a blood-sucking mosquito or dirty pigeon haha.

Eh. The totem thing I can understand to some extent but not this.

Come to think of it, I know someone who resembles nothing in all the world but a pigeon.

To me this is just one of those interesting-association games. It's like how in art we seek to describe various aspects of truth in an indirect, even lying sort-of-way. Ways of thinking and categorizing which are not 'rationally based' are all like that. One of the best things I learned was that these ways of thinking do have their own kind of value.

Not that that's a reason to give up logic-world. The extra angles don't make reason lose relevance.