So, what are animal spirit guides? Some people call these 'Power Animals' because they are able to offer protection and bring out your best qualities by encouraging you to be more like them. Unlike human spirit guides, animal spirit guides don't necessarily have to be 'in spirit'; you may find that you attract your power animal in your day to day life. For example, I have always had an affinity with cats. I am more of a dog person and keep a pet dog but, for some reason, cats always follow me and want to get into my house. There is a black cat that comes to my house every day and it stares at me. I know that cats are my spirit guides because of this and, even though they aren't necessarily my favourite animal, I believe that cats have a message for me. I also believe butterflies are another of my guides, because I see them all around me and sometimes they fly onto my shoulder and stay there for a long time. I don't know many other people that have this experience.
Although the belief in animal spirit guides is becoming more known in the Western world, the belief in animal spirit guides has been prevalent in Native American and Shamanistic culture for years. In those cultures, they believe that, as animals have souls too, animals can also pass over into the afterlife and can be communicated with, just like human spirit guides. You don't have to be psychic to do this either, as both animal spirit guides and human spirit guides really want to communicate with you and they are constantly sending you signs in the hope that you'll get their messages.
I believe that you may have more than one animal spirit guide, just like you can have more than one spirit guide. I also believe that you may attract different animal guides, at specific points in your life, to help you make the right decisions. You may be drawn to certain animals. For instance, I love dolphins. I believe this is because I want to embody all of the qualities which they have, such as playfulness, intelligence, freedom, a close group of friends and family and a permanent smile! What animal are you drawn to? Take note of its qualities as these may be qualities you'd like to have yourself. Maybe you already have these qualities already, which is a sign you are in affinity with that particular animal.
Animal spirit guides are there to help you develop qualities that you have inside of yourself that maybe you are not using, but they can also show you aspects that you don't possess or that make you feel uncomfortable. To use the example I gave earlier - cats are known to be dark, mysterious and sometimes emotionally distant. I don't think I have any of these qualities as I feel more like a dolphin, but I believe the universe is sending cats to me because the cat's qualities are those I should be developing in order to progress further in my life. Those qualities are likely to be linked to my life's purpose in some way.
You may have an idea about your animal spirit guide, but if you don't necessarily have an animal following you around all the time, the best things you can do to help you find your animal spirit guide are: Meditate and see if any animals drift into your mind while you're relaxed; look out for repeated images of a particular animal - maybe you see tigers a lot on TV or in paintings?; pay attention to animals you see around you - do you feel a connection with any of them? Remember, you don't have to be psychic to do this - have fun with it; you may be surprised at what you discover.
