A Power Animal is found on a shamanic journey to the Lower-WorldLower-World. The realm of Mother Earth: pure, unspoilt, wild nature, with no technology and no agriculture. Home of the Peoples and of our own Soul, and completely safe: feeling threatened in a journey is a reliable sign of not having reached it. Read the full answer, called a Power Animal retrieval, by asking with clear intent for your Power Animal to appear. It is also chosen: what makes an animal your Power Animal is your decision to commit to it, and it will be a wild animal you can love, never one you fear. “In the end, with a human partner and with a Power Animal too, it comes down to choosing to commit.”
How is a Power Animal found? #
On a journey to the Lower-World. Once someone can journey there, “the next step is to find your Power Animal and begin the process of bonding with it by doing a ‘Power Animal retrieval’.”1 The journey involves going to the Lower-World, finding a clearing, “and with clear and focused intent and determination, asking your Power Animal to appear.” The animal is then brought back to be present in the person’s life, not only in journeys. The Shamanic Journey includes this as a published exercise, and it is taught on the First-Steps course.
How do I know the animal that appears is my Power Animal? #
There are four signs.2 The first is simply to ask it: “It is surprising how often people forget this, or do not think of doing it.” The second is seeing it from four different directions, or doing four different things, in close succession. The third is that “It follows you around in the journey and will not leave you alone.” The fourth: “You just know. You know it in your heart. It is a recognition, a rightness, like something clicking into place, even a love at first sight.” When Paul Francis first saw Panther, he just knew.
Can I choose my Power Animal? #
Yes, in an important sense. Finding and choosing go together: the signs show whether an animal is right, and the commitment is what makes it yours. “In the end, with a human partner and with a Power Animal too, it comes down to choosing to commit.”3 Without that, it remains “just another animal guide”. Paul’s own story shows this. Several Animals came into his life before Panther, and he does not doubt that he could have chosen to commit to any one of them as his Power Animal. When Panther appeared, it “could have been just another in a long line of animals”. He could have chosen to be a serial monogamist, moving from one Animal to another, but he chose to commit instead.4
Choosing does not mean picking a favourite animal and imagining it up. It means deciding to commit to an animal actually met in the Lower-World, and one that can be loved. See What does it mean to commit to a Power Animal?
What if the animal is not the one I hoped for? #
Every Power Animal has its own medicine, and none is better than another. Often someone is followed around by an animal they did not expect: “Often this is because you are wanting a Power Animal like Tiger or Bear, but are being followed by Rabbit or Mouse! Remember, all Power Animals have their own powerful healing and wisdom, and none are ‘better’ than others.”5 Animism is non-hierarchical, and a humble Animal is no lesser a teacher.
Could my Power Animal be an animal I am afraid of? #
No. “Remember that your Power Animal is Mother EarthMother Earth. The sacred Feminine pole: pure potential, from whom all the Peoples arise. The Lower-World is her realm, and she is all the realms: “The Earth is indeed our Mother.” More about this trying to tell you that she loves you, in a form that she thinks you will understand. So, your Power Animal is not going to be an animal that you have a revulsion for, or a fear of.” If someone fears spiders or snakes, “then do not worry as they are not going to be your Power Animal. It will be an animal that you like and can have a close and loving bond with.”6
What if nothing comes, or the first animal is not the one? #
Keep going. “If the first animal you meet is not your Power Animal, then move on, and ask your Power Animal to appear. It may take a few attempts and encounters. Be persistent and determined.”7 Other Animals may appear along the way, and the task is to stay with the intent and keep asking for the Power Animal. Journeys also do not have to be visual, so not seeing anything clearly is no sign of failure.
Can a pet or an animal I have known be my Power Animal? #
Not in the sense used here. A Power Animal is a Lower-World OversoulOversoul. A branch of Mother Earth representing the whole of a species: the single being all the individuals arise from. Lower-World work is always with the Oversoul, never an individual; environments are composite Oversouls, wheels within wheels. More about this, the whole species, not an individual animal. When people ask about an individual animal they know or have known, often a beloved dog, cat or horse, the answer is: “Correctly, this is referred to as a ‘familiar’, rather than a Power Animal.”8 Familiars can be wonderful companions, but “The animal Oversouls in the Lower-World are of a totally different league altogether.” The same reasoning means a Power Animal is a wild species, since the Lower-World holds no domesticated animals. See What is a Power Animal?
Can my Power Animal be mythical or extinct? #
Extinct animals, yes; mythical ones often do not suit. “Whilst mythical Animals are fine to work with in journeys, they do not always make good Power Animals.” But “It is fine to work with prehistoric or extinct Animals, too.”9
How many Power Animals should I look for? #
One. “Most people find a single Power Animal is more than enough.” For a smaller number of people a second may turn up, “but this is usually several years later.”10 Looking for several at once, or swapping one for another, keeps the relationship from deepening.
