By Michael Avery
Foxes (featured above) are known for their cleverness, ability to outsmart predators, and resourcefulness. The fox totem thus symbolizes mental prowess, quick-thinking, and the ability to find creative solutions to problems.
Totems serve as spiritual emblems with symbolic meanings and significance for individuals, families, and clans. Depending on the source, several meanings can be attributed to each totem. They are also part of the “waking dream family” for those who recognize that a connection exists between outer events and our inner states of consciousness.
Perhaps the highest and best use of a totem is to convey messages to us from Spirit in the form of confirmations, warnings, insights, guidance, and prophecy; in other words, in the language of waking dreams. When we see anything out of the ordinary, it’s a tipoff that Spirit is trying to communicate something to us. These out-of-the-ordinary events become useful waking dreams when we make the connection between the event and our own lives.
Using the sighting of a fox as an example, we ask ourselves two questions: What was I thinking at the time I saw the fox running through my back yard carrying a paper in its mouth? Or, if we don’t make a connection, we ask: What does a fox carrying a piece of paper in its mouth have to do with the present focus of my life?
If neither of these questions provides an answer, we can take the experience into contemplation or into our dream state at night. By the way, the fox doesn’t have to be our individual totem. It may be acting like one in this particular instance to tell us that someone has cleverly carried off an important document of ours, for example.
Totems, or spirit animals, may reveal themselves to us as waking dreams through: Uncommon Events, Golden-tongued Wisdom, or Highlighted Waking Dreams. These are the “3 Common Types of Waking Dreams” explained in an earlier blog post.
The fox running through our back yard carrying a piece of paper in its mouth is a good example of an Uncommon Event. If we find ourselves thinking, “Now that’s something you don’t see every day!” we are likely witnessing Spirit’s attempt to communicate something importantl to us, perhaps even life-changing.
Using the same image of a fox, if someone tells us an unusual story about a fox, we should listen carefully to their words. This might be the Golden-tongued Wisdom, an audible form of waking dream. We ask the same two questions as with Uncommon Events to convert the story into a waking dream relating to our life.
Highlighted waking dreams are words or images found in books, magazines, the Internet, or on billboards, etc. These words or images stand out like they’ve been highlighted with a yellow marking pen. We might see a story with pictures in a magazine about a clever fox that found a way to climb a tree, for example. If so, we ask ourself how that story relates to our current thoughts or the present focus of our life.
The following images and quotes are simply seeds for contemplation. If any of the descriptions resonate with you, please add them to your waking dream vocabulary. For that point forward, Divine Spirit will be able to use that image as a symbol when communicating its messages through waking dreams.
The bear totem represents strength, courage, and healing. It is also associated with introspection, solitude, and the ability to go within.
The owl is a symbol of wisdom, intuition, and the ability to see what others cannot. It is also associated with stealth, keen observation, and the night.
The wolf totem is associated with loyalty, perseverance, and strong family bonds. It symbolizes wildness, freedom, and the ability to survive challenges.
The dolphin totem signifies playfulness, intelligence, and the ability to navigate through life’s challenges with grace and ease.
The snake totem symbolizes rebirth, healing, and the ability to shed old ways. It is also associated with intuition, wisdom, and the cycle of life.
In many cultures, rabbits are seen as lucky symbols, with the totem representing prosperity, manifesting abundance, and good fortune.
With their keen eyesight and ability to soar high, eagles represent vision, perspective, and the ability to see the bigger picture. They also symbolize strength, courage, and the freedom to rise above limitations.
The tiger represents immense physical and emotional strength, courage, willpower, and the ability to confront fears.
Herons are known for their ability to stand perfectly still for long periods while hunting, representing patience, endurance, and learning to find stillness amidst life’s chaos. They also symbolize unwavering determination, single-mindedness, and the ability to block out distractions to achieve goals.
Coyotes are often viewed as tricksters in Native American folklore, representing humor, playfulness, and the ability to laugh at oneself and not take life too seriously.
As messengers between realms, crows connect the physical and spiritual world, facilitating omens, signs, and psychic insights.
Quotes are from a variety of sources on the Internet
Images by LemurianSon
Sammie Thompson
Thank you, Michael! I love your bringing this very well written focus on totems into the present. The artwork is also exquisite! It reminds me of a phase in my life that
was very important to me over twenty yers ago, and as life moved along, gradually faded into the dusty old mental files and more or less forgotten.
Shortly after our earth world entered into the 21st century – after the big Y2K fizzle – I was blessed with the opportunity to meet Ted Andrews, Native American author of Animal Speak, Nature Speak and a number of other books about how life communicates with us through animals, and many aspects of our natural world. I was fascinated with the information of these types of experiences and the meanings that were there to discover. It was an entrance into a new world of enlightenment, awareness and understanding. You have brought it back around into my present again and I relish working more consciously with it again! Blessings!
Michael Avery
Thank you for your kind comment, Sammie. As we talked about recently, there are a great number of totems that are seldom thought of in regard to personal symbols and messengers of Spirit. The one you mentioned–I’ll keep that secret until your blog post–is a fascinating one. In fact, you are the first person I know who has one for a totem. Thank you for sharing that with me and with our readers in the future.
Ray j. McBride
Thank you, Michael for your entry regarding totems and waking dreams. Now this will hardly come as any big surprise, but the totem for me has long been FROGS. “Why frogs, one might ask?” In a word, S-U-R-V-I-V-A-L! Frogs are, beyond all doubt, master survivalist.
And although frogs have been given a bad rap by some for their over-imposing traits, they are one of the few creatures who’ve been able to adapt to 350,000 thousand years of radical changes all the while remaining basically unchanged in their original frog forms. Looking back at my life experiences and the challenges I’d had to overcome there’s little wonder why I chose this example over say an eagle, wolf or some other worthy creature. Thus, the character creation of a frog named Freemont, whose image came to me at a time in my life when I was ready to call my meaningless existence null and void, but Holy Spirit knew there was another way to face my choices, which became a symbol that was strong enough and meaningful enough to awaken a slumbering soul named RJ.
In the timely words of Freemont frog, “DIVE INTO LIFE, IT’S WORTH THE PLUNGE.”