POWER ANIMALS IN SHAMANISM IN PERU
The animals of power in shamanism represent a force or a certain purpose, and we will find it in our shamanic journey during the ayahuasca ceremonies guided by the shaman.
One of your first trips may be to meet our totem or power animal and, in fact, it is recommended that this be the goal of a first trip.
During ayahuasca rituals, people begin to have visions about animals that can be from the jungle such as cats, monkeys or snakes, or they can also be other animals that will accompany us during our spiritual journey.
Our guardian of the animal kingdom will accompany us later when we travel; he can advise us, lead us by example and guide us in the ways of the other world.
Sometimes our animal will go with us; other times, we might “become” him for a while, seeing and hearing with his eyes and ears.
THE CALL OF THE POWER ANIMALS
When you call your power animal you are asking to be transported in complete harmony with the force that exists in the essence of that creature. Gaining knowledge of these brothers and sisters of the animal kingdom is a healing process and should be approached with humility and respect.
Our animal can speak to us with a human voice or with gestures to point to something, or perhaps we simply “know” what it wants to express. We may meet our animal if we go to the center of the journey – to the starting point – and ask it to appear.
Therefore, if a bear or a dog appears to you as a helper, be prepared to humbly learn of it. Surely it is the animal that suits you at that moment, even when you would have preferred to meet an eagle or a jaguar.
It is the teaching of these truths that gives knowledge to typical people and these same truths can open this door for you.
THE MEANING OF POWER ANIMALS
A totem is a symbol, an outward sign of something that has deep meaning; in which power and unity come together, and different levels of experience and existence are connected.
A totem is something similar, but more vivid, since it is both more primitive and more developed. Totems have a life of their own and can be active principles that take us on a journey of exploration, while carrying messages about our place in the scheme of things.
For our purposes, the most important totems are animals, as they can help us connect with our sources, inspire and strengthen us: they are much more than simple symbols, they already have a purpose and vitality of their own.
A spirit animal is the essence of all animals of that type. The animals are going to teach us the wisdom they still possess and, in many ways, they are the first rung of the ladder that will lead us to our profound legacy.
