What is your totem animal?

[Tricky]

Back when I was into all that spiritual wooism, I had a friend who claimed to be a shaman (she had read a book on it) and she assigned me a totem animal. I was wondering if anyone else had a totem animal and if so, what it was. Does that mean anything to you?

Notably, most totem animals tend to be creatures native to North America, so that's what's on the list. If yours is other, please describe.

(No, URS. Earmouse is NOT an acceptable totem animal!)

[Mercutio]

I have one, but its very nature requires me not to disclose it.

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Mercutio
I have one, but its very nature requires me not to disclose it.
A tapeworm? Ewwww!

[shanek]

Platypus. Just because.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Tricky
A tapeworm? Ewwww! Hmm...I see no vote yet for tick...so, what is your totem?

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Hmm...I see no vote yet for tick...so, what is your totem?
I was told that my spiritual guide was an otter. Of course, I cannot accept that. My ego demands that I be the ottest.

[Ashles]

Is this more a US thing because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

I was at a healing circle once where the healer/psychic/whatever declared to one girl that she was a 'dolphin-type person'.

He must have been correct because she giggled excitedly and said "Ooh I like dolphins!"

She was 30 by the way.

Then he brought out a pile of twigs and we had to choose one that represented us.

How I managed to stop laughing out loud is a mystery that still baffles me.


With regards to the list, can I be a penguin please?

[AWPrime]

Fox

[Lisa Simpson]

The IPU is not on the list! How could you forget the IPU.

Anyway, yes, I was once told my totem animal. I was told it is a cat.

[NoZed Avenger]

Sloth.

[alfaniner]

Badger. For multiple reasons.

[Nex]

A few years ago, I happened to meet a "shaman" through a friend of mine. We ended up having a conversation about something, I don't remember, when he stopped me right in the middle of a sentence and asked, "Is there an animal you see very often? One in or near your home?"
My first answer was a squirrel-- I live in a city and see them all the time as they congregate at my birdfeeder.

He then proclaimed my "spirit animal" was a squirrel.

If it is, it's probably Foamy (http://www.illwillpress.com).

[Z]

Wolf - and Dragon - oh, and Eagle. Oh-oh-oh and IPU. And winged monkeys.

(Multiple personalities require multiple totem spirits, right? :D )

IN all seriousness, when I dream I often dream that I am in a wolf form, so I consider Wolf my totemic spirit. Noble, yet vicious creatures, Wolves.

I have a friend whose totem animal is the walrus, but I'll be darned if I'm telling HER that. :P

[Ashles]

Animals that are unlikely to be anyone's totems:

Kangaroo
Duck-Billed Platypus
Gibbon
Insect of any kind
Hippo
Sheep
Thomson's gazelle
Eel
Terrapin
Vole
Crab
Dingo

If it ain't cool, it won't be a totem.

"Yes I'm an eel kind of person..."

[El Greco]

I have no idea what you're talking about, but nevertheless I grab this fine opportunity to pronounce leopard as my totem animal.

[Psiload]

Ring-tailed lemur.

Beat that.

[Ashles]

Madagascan Aye-Aye.

http://www.thewildones.org/Jersey/ayeAye.gif

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Ashles
Animals that are unlikely to be anyone's totems:

Kangaroo
Duck-Billed Platypus
Gibbon
Insect of any kind
Hippo
Sheep
Thomson's gazelle
Eel
Terrapin
Vole
Crab
Dingo

Well, we already have one platypus (and I'm sure we have a wombat lurking somewhere), and I think for insect it would depend on the kind. Some wasps are really cool.

But let me add to your list of unlikely totemic animals

Warthog (except perhaps to Philbert Desenex)
Heyena
Buzzard
Lamprey
Weasle
Jellyfish
Manatee
Kinkajou (it just sounds too funny)
Gnu
Tapeworm (except for Mercutio)
Leech
Flounder
Whelk (The most depraved of mollusks)
Dodo
Dung beetle

[Ashles]

Whelk - that's great.

Oh if only I'd thought of that in my healing circle...

[rebecca]

Originally posted by zaayrdragon
I have a friend whose totem animal is the walrus, but I'll be darned if I'm telling HER that. :P

I'd be pretty upset if a friend told me my totem animal was a walrus. In fact, I'd probably end the friendship. Not because it's a walrus, per se, but because I could never remain friends with someone who believed in made-up fantasies like totem animals.

So I guess that means my totem animal is the Great Red-Tailed Jerkhole.

[NoZed Avenger]

Red tailed?

[NoZed Avenger]

Actually, I called someone that I know is into this and she assures me I am a "leech." I assume she knew I was an attorney.




She is off my Christmas card list now.


N/A

[rebecca]

Originally posted by NoZed Avenger
Red tailed?

My totem animal likes to be spanked.

[Roadtoad]

I chose fish. I like to catch them. I like to clean them. I like to eat them.

[bluess]

I was told that my totem animal is Mother Spider. She is the totem creature for writers (no smartass comments about my entries here, thank you) and wherever I go, spiders appear.

Invite me over next time you would like your own cobwebs!

[TragicMonkey]

To nobody's surprise, my totem animal is a monkey.

[Orangutan]

Mine's an Ape, Do I have to tell you which one?

;)

[walthrup48]

Hey, if rebecca can have a made-up totem animal, I can have one that recently moved to a higher spiritual plane. See avatar.

[rebecca]

After careful consideration, I have realized that the response "North American Jerk Weasel" is approximately 67% funnier than my initial answer. So I'm changing my totem animal to that. In the future, I'll spend a little more time examining my choices for optimal "funny" before posting. Thank you, that's all.

[Lisa Simpson]

I've changed my mind, I want my totem animal to be the basselope.

http://img85.exs.cx/img85/6359/basselope.jpg

[TragicMonkey]

Originally posted by Lisa Simpson
I've changed my mind, I want my totem animal to be the basselope.

Which is itself a type of monkey.

So are dinosaurs, at least the really cool ones.


*Busy constructing monkey-dino-basselope-Gir with tacos totem pole*

[Abdul Alhazred]

Other.

http://www.visit-ketchikan.com/image/totem5.jpghttp://www.totempoles.info/cards/05.jpg
http://www.jogi.com/schrege-voegel/alaska/pic/06%20Totem%20Pole.jpg

[rppa]

Originally posted by Ashles
Is this more a US thing because I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

Listen well O my son:

It is said in many westerns, particularly those of newer vintage which are a little more interested in the lives of the native tribes, that many native religions feature the idea of a "spirit guide" in the form of one of the animals native to their region. Typically you find your totem during a quest of some sort involving starvation, a long walk, painful rituals, etc. At the point of dreaming/hallucination one animal form comes to you, becoming your totem. Each animal represents particular qualities which can be seen by that animal's role in the mythology. You don't necessarily have to go with big scary things like a wolf or a bear to be a warrior for instance.

In many gift shops you can buy a "fetish", which is a small stone carved into the likeness of some animal, and it will include a little card telling you what that animal is supposed to represent.

Is there such a native religion? I don't know. It's probably a mishmash of many tribal religions, the same kind of mishmash that gave use generic Indian-language for old westerns like papoose, brave, "how", wampum, etc.

I chose "wolf" just because, I dunno, I like big dogs and wolves. People often give me wolf images as gifts.

[bluess]

Originally posted by rppa
...SNIP

I chose "wolf" just because, I dunno, I like big dogs and wolves. People often give me wolf images as gifts.

... Which he then takes and buries in the back yard.;)

[AWPrime]

Originally posted by zaayrdragon

IN all seriousness, when I dream I often dream that I am in a wolf form

I have the same experience but with a fox form.

[rppa]

Originally posted by bluess
Originally posted by rppa
I chose "wolf" just because, I dunno, I like big dogs and wolves. People often give me wolf images as gifts.
... Which he then takes and buries in the back yard.;)

Is there something wrong with that? Where do the rest of you bury your important things, the front?

By the way, when you're playing tug of war with the dog over a stick, how do you keep from getting splinters in your tongue?

[bluess]

Originally posted by rppa

By the way, when you're playing tug of war with the dog over a stick, how do you keep from getting splinters in your tongue?

Silly - use your opposable thumbs to sand the stick down first!

I'm more concerned about your appropriate use of dog biscuits. Especially if you have a significant other.

[Ashles]

Typically you find your totem during a quest of some sort involving starvation, a long walk, painful rituals, etc. At the point of dreaming/hallucination one animal form comes to you, becoming your totem. Each animal represents particular qualities which can be seen by that animal's role in the mythology. You don't necessarily have to go with big scary things like a wolf or a bear to be a warrior for instance.
In many gift shops you can buy a "fetish", which is a small stone carved into the likeness of some animal, and it will include a little card telling you what that animal is supposed to represent.
I want one of those!

I shall immediately head into town and ask people where I can find the nearest fetish shop as I want an animal to come preferably as a result of a painful ritual.

It's like Christmas all over again!

[rebecca]

Originally posted by Ashles
I want one of those!

I shall immediately head into town and ask people where I can find the nearest fetish shop as I want an animal to come preferably as a result of a painful ritual.

It's like Christmas all over again!

I did that, and it turns out my totem is a Rabbit (TM).


The girls know what I'm talking about.

[bluess]

Originally posted by rebecca
I did that, and it turns out my totem is a Rabbit (TM).


The girls know what I'm talking about.

'It's pink, for girls!' Charlotte, Sex and the City.

I saw a model of its big sister at one 'those' parties - you could have used it to power a ceiling fan!

[Sandy M]

Horse. And it's a living, breathing, very real totem.... and I have the bills to prove it - about $650 a month's worth.

[Hastur]

Are jackals considered too cool to be a totem animal?

[Soapy Sam]

Rebecca- If your totem was a chameleon or other insect catching lizard, you wouldn't need the rabbit.

I can't believe I said that.

Meanwhile, selecting from Ashles'list of improbable totems-
"I'm a gnu. I'm a gnu. The gnicest work of Gnature in the Zoo..
I'm a gnu, agnother gnu
Call me Bison or Okapi and I'll sue.
Nor am I in the least
Like that dreadful Haartebeest,
Oh, gno, gno, gno-
I'm a Gnu!


Courtesy of Flanders & Swann.

[Kopji]

I was at a healing circle once where the healer/psychic/whatever declared to one girl that she was a 'dolphin-type person'.

He must have been correct because she giggled excitedly and said "Ooh I like dolphins!"


I love it when they hit on the groupies.

The totem thing is from American Indian lore so its not cool to criticize it. :D There is a woo and non woo version to totems. The non woo version is simply that they serve as a meditation focus, martial arts is probably a good example.

You forgot SKUNKS. This is actually a popular totem assigned to skeptics. (Yeah, I made that up).

Dolphin Totem:

Hi there... Today I was watching Montel Williams show and Sylvia Browne was his guest. During the show, a woman was asking who was playing with her hair and all that and Sylvia replied that it was someone who had passed and asked her if she felt water sprinkles...the woman replied..Oh, yes...Sylvia explained that it was the loved one (who passed on) doing it. I was excited...and am forever hopeful that the water sprinkles are from our loved ones! I am so excited...and so happy to know that! Thanks to Sylvia Browne for that one! (clapping hands)

Love, Swoosie :-)

. (http://www.angelhaven.com/cgi-bin/WebX?13@201.xprcaVWGu6E%5E0@.ee7b80d/62)

[Blondin]

Mine MUST be an aardvark. I've been fascinated with aardvarks as long as I can remember. I don't know where I first heard of them, maybe on the first page of the dictionary, because they certainly don't turn up often in poetry, literature or conversation.

Well, here's an exception:
Death of Ants
by
Matzu Aardvark

There is an ancient tale told
by Ants, all nimble grim and bold
Of Death awaiting in the wood
A skeletal ant in cloak and hood
Who carries at his three legg'd side
A fearful dark and keen-edged scythe
To free the restless from their chores
And carry them to better shores
where lumps of sugar lie all around
And honey, mixes on the ground
Elysium field for Formicidae
So says the hexipedal Padre
So when the time has come my friend
To meet your maker at the end
Of life devoted to the Queen
You will observe a curious scene
As Death arrives upon his steed
An Aardvark, black and fearsome he
Of flaming eyes and piglike nose
And claws that scratch the dust and toes
That search for tasty souls to eat
Of fallen Ants upon the street
While Death above doth swing his Sycthe
And send them to the other side

[c4ts]

Originally posted by Tricky
Back when I was into all that spiritual wooism, I had a friend who claimed to be a shaman (she had read a book on it) and she assigned me a totem animal. I was wondering if anyone else had a totem animal and if so, what it was. Does that mean anything to you?

Notably, most totem animals tend to be creatures native to North America, so that's what's on the list. If yours is other, please describe.

(No, URS. Earmouse is NOT an acceptable totem animal!)

My totem animal is the robot, because I AM NOT A MACHINE!

[LucyR]

Originally posted by Tricky

But let me add to your list of unlikely totemic animals

Warthog
...etc



Actually warthogs are one of my favourite animals. Baby warthogs are very appealing. Nevertheless my ultimate choice would still be rat.

[Cleopatra]

Wolf, of course.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Cleopatra
Wolf, of course. Not crocodile?

[Roadtoad]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Not crocodile?

Odd, I might have thought it was an asp. :D

[LucyR]

Originally posted by Roadtoad
Odd, I might have thought it was an asp. :D

Try Egyptian Cobra. The asp thing is probably a myth.

[Roadtoad]

Originally posted by LucyR
Try Egyptian Cobra. The asp thing is probably a myth.

Figures. I try to get witty and make an asp of myself.

[LucyR]

Originally posted by Roadtoad
Figures. I try to get witty and make an asp of myself.

Not certain. Just something I think I read somewhere.

[rightbrain]

The skunk. Yeah, I know...

Skunks seem to have a fondness for our yard and our dogs have a fondness for chasing skunks. In self defense, I've adopted the skunk as a totem, hoping that will keep the real critters from spraying our dogs.

I just bought a Zuni skunk fetish. The skunk, it was explained to me, represents being yourself, without worrying what others think of you. Sounds about right to me.

[Yahweh]

I would be a bigfoot or a deity or something cool like that :)

[Ratman_tf]

Mudskipper.

[Piscivore]

I want my totem to be the Watcher in the Water. If it has to be a "real" creature I call giant squid.

I was once scanning a book that purported to teach one how to create effective characters, and the author, a woman of some obviously woo-ish leanings, seriously advised thinking about and assigning each character a "totem animal."

I did not purchase the book.

[Cleopatra]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Not crocodile?

If it wasn't a wolf, it would be a cuttlefish but this is another story...

[Tricky]

Originally posted by Mercutio
Not crocodile?
I believe you are referring to her familiar. (http://www.amagickgarden.com/pages/wrpages/wrfamiliars.html)

[H3LL]

I think I will go with Rattle-Snake.

Because I chose from these examples.

World Sex Records (http://www.world-sex-records.com/sex-289.htm)

[Checkmite]

Ashles' story actually made me laugh because I was told once that my totem was a dolphin. At the time, however, I didn't giggle or become excited, and I wasn't a groupie.

Now that I am older and wiser, I must disagree. I think most by now know what my totem animal is.

[BPScooter]

Thanks so much for the Flanders & Swann, I'm glad I'm not the only person that remembers them!

I grew up running around Washington, Oregon, BC, etc. and there is some very cool stuff from the Puget Sound, if you look (say at the Field Museum in Chicago) you can see some of the original ritual masks, etc. As we get further from the original people, I totally can see how a tribe and culture could make a big deal about a salmon, or a whale, or a raven. Just look at how the animals act, it makes sense that humans would reason about their lives with analogies.

But that isn't the point of this. I have been lucky enough never to have some jackass tell me what my totem is. (notice my totemic humor there). If I had to choose, I say... based on the persistent mystery of these animals,

painted turtle.

I've lived by ponds full of them but only once ever found a nest, it was a little muddy spot full of eggs, like sea turtles, I think. Happened to be when I was mowing the grass by the pond. They are so cool. I love turtles.

[joyrex]

Can it change from one to another during your life?

[Z]

Originally posted by joyrex
Can it change from one to another during your life?

Absolutely. You can have more than one at a time, too.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Cleopatra
If it wasn't a wolf, it would be a cuttlefish but this is another story... Slow to anger and quick to forgive?
http://www.modernhumorist.com/mh/by/cartoons/cuttlefish.jpg

[Cleopatra]

Hehe

Where did you find this? :) Now that I am thinking of it cuttlefish is more like a fetish to me than a totem.

[rebecca]

Originally posted by H3LL
I think I will go with Rattle-Snake.

Because I chose from these examples.

World Sex Records (http://www.world-sex-records.com/sex-289.htm)

Call me sometime.

[Mercutio]

Originally posted by Cleopatra
Hehe

Where did you find this? :) Now that I am thinking of it cuttlefish is more like a fetish to me than a totem. MMmmmm... a cuttlefish fetish? Perhaps I could offer you some
http://www.taquitos.net/dbimages13/Nongshim-Cuttlefish.jpg or http://www.tw.co.th/IMAGE/Product/6.appetizer/snack/CUTTLEFISH 'STRIP'_l.jpg
or perhaps some tasty
http://www.tourspace.net/pionio/bbs/data/best_food/1076947185/cuttlefish.jpg

[Roadtoad]

Maybe I should go with the Hippopotamus. (http://www.world-sex-records.com/sex-298.htm)

(Yeah, right. Dream on...! :rolleyes: )

[H3LL]

Originally posted by Roadtoad
Maybe I should go with the Hippopotamus. (http://www.world-sex-records.com/sex-298.htm)

I thought you would choose the Rorqual whale.

It would be great to go clubbing with.



I'll get my coat.....

[c4ts]

To elaborate, my totem animal is the exploding robot porcupine on a stick.

Because I want attention.

[Trinity]

I am a sort of shaman. At least I practice shamanism. A totem has not to be an animal it can be something else. Nearly always organic. The nearest I have come to identify my totem is amber.

Trinity

[joyrex]

Originally posted by zaayrdragon
Absolutely. You can have more than one at a time, too. That's amazing!

[Ravenwood]

Some woo-woo gal at Estrella war (big SCA event in Arizona) told me that based on a bunch of psuedo-pagan claptrap (translation: cold reading with a veneer of hybrid celtic/native american PSB) that my totem animal was the Raven, but as I was hanging out with Drafn (& irresponsibly consuming far too much adult beverages), that was pretty much all I remember from that conversation...:D

[Z]

Originally posted by joyrex
That's amazing!

Not really. When an honest Shaman, if such a thing exists, helps someone 'find their totem spirit' what he's often trying to do is to boost or instill in the person some attribute that the person either has, but lacks confidence in; or desperately needs. A cowardly child might be told his totem is the brave bear, bold wolf, or majestic eagle, as much as an ego boost, as anything else. An egotistical brave might be informed that, in spite of his grand sense of self, his totem is the mouse, in order to curb his ego with humility.

As such, it becomes evident that, as no person is a mere stereotype of a singular attribute, that every person has many totems that may be associated with them.

From a historical perspective, several Native American cultures practiced the concept of tribal, familial, and personal totems; and there existed, among some groups of warriors, special totems to represent special groups among the warriors, such as how European knights might have brotherhoods or orders.

When you think about it, aside from the spiritual/mystical concepts behind totems, the concept of totems is sort of an analogous psychology, really. "Your totem is the deer; be graceful and ever alert like the deer." It's not like the shaman is saying, go graze in the field and bolt at every loud noise or strange smell!

We sometimes, as parents, unwittingly use the same psychology on our kids. We tell them to 'pretend to be mice' to try to get them quiet; to be 'busy little beavers' when we want them to be industrious; when they're mischievous, we refer to them as 'monkeys'. The difference is, totemism carries this concept into adult psychology.

... More ramblings. Sorry, need more caffeine. (I think my next Totem will be the Coffee bean.)

[H3LL]

Originally posted by rebecca
Call me sometime.

I think I will stick with Rebecca.
Sometime is a silly name.

Oh! I seeeee!

SssssSSSsssss! Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle!

[sellects 22¾ hours of romantic music and orders several cases of bubbly]

[7th sextile]

Would love to have Raven (beautiful,mysterious,omnivorous,
acrobatic wiseguy) or Timber Rattler (don't tread on me,pal).
Sadly,my shaman tells me I oscillate between sock monkey
and E coli bacterium.

[BPScooter]

Zaayrdragon, I totally agree, that's what I was trying to say a few posts back! What sort of power there is in analogies with the animal kingdom as applied to human behavior. We have a lot of European examples (heraldry, the lion, etc.) and all the Levantine mythos, too, don't we? How about all the Hindu morphs, or Egyptian ones, elephant-head gods or jackal-head gods. So this goes way back.

What irritates me is the ease with which some New Age person latches on to this idea, and totally degrades it in my mind. Come on, a Haida or Kwakiutl pole at least refers to something deep for the people there-- a salmon, raven, bear, whatever. How arrogant to jump right in and grab that for myself, as a Twinkie-eating modern Westerner. Evolve your own mythology! I suppose we have, the modern totems might be cell phone, computer, television, automobile. But that remains to be seen...an anthropology of the future.

I'm inclined to rant more, but that's probably enough. I get irritated when people apply superficial acquaintance with other cultures in an obnoxious sort of way. It seems really arrogant, very "great white hunter exploring the quaint primitives." And I don't tend to be too sympathetic to "multiculturalism" in a lot of its guises. Ho hum, thanks for listening.

[Z]

Originally posted by BPScooter
Zaayrdragon, I totally agree, that's what I was trying to say a few posts back! What sort of power there is in analogies with the animal kingdom as applied to human behavior. We have a lot of European examples (heraldry, the lion, etc.) and all the Levantine mythos, too, don't we? How about all the Hindu morphs, or Egyptian ones, elephant-head gods or jackal-head gods. So this goes way back.

What irritates me is the ease with which some New Age person latches on to this idea, and totally degrades it in my mind. Come on, a Haida or Kwakiutl pole at least refers to something deep for the people there-- a salmon, raven, bear, whatever. How arrogant to jump right in and grab that for myself, as a Twinkie-eating modern Westerner. Evolve your own mythology! I suppose we have, the modern totems might be cell phone, computer, television, automobile. But that remains to be seen...an anthropology of the future.

I'm inclined to rant more, but that's probably enough. I get irritated when people apply superficial acquaintance with other cultures in an obnoxious sort of way. It seems really arrogant, very "great white hunter exploring the quaint primitives." And I don't tend to be too sympathetic to "multiculturalism" in a lot of its guises. Ho hum, thanks for listening.

Very good.

I, for one, do practice some shamanism. But, then, I do have at least a superficial right to do so - with the exception of my father, my direct male line have been hereditary shamans for the Chiricahua Apache for at least seven generations. Sadly, Grandfather decided to 'caucasionize' the family, gave up his native ways, and decided to raise pigs in North Carolina - which, indirectly, led to he and his wife being killed in an automobile accident when my dad was just 14. This left my father to his own devices, and being the pragmatist that he is, he took the path of the mechanic and electrician. Of course, this was a very good thing, but I can't help but regret the loss of history and culture I experience from knowing a chain was broken.

Nonetheless, I don't have any illusions. What I practice is little more than a mishmash of native traditions with a lot of cutting corners and wishful thinking. I'm only 1/8 Apache; a pretty hefty portion of me is European - with lots and lots of German and Irish, apparently - so I'm just another pathetic whitey playing Indian.

Still - there is a sense of satisfaction I gain, from time to time, in the ritual of it all. I'm not sure why, but it's as if ceremony serves some deeper purpose for people. There's something spiritual in meditation, ceremony, ritual. Whether it's all in your mind or not, it does make you feel good.

As for my totem(s), the Wolf does tend to describe me fairly well - I have a large family that works well together, I tend to think of myself and my family first, I like being 'in the pack' but also like my 'lone wolf' time, and I just connect in some way to the Wolf concept in my mind in a way I rarely do to other conceptual icons.

Dragon? Well... My love of fantasy and imagination; my overwhelming ego (when I turn it on, it can be quite draconic); my crass materialism; and, when the need hits me, I can tend to be quite intimidating in a way I wouldn't easily ascribe to any real creature.

Those are my two main 'totems'... Strangely, years ago, I decided to take up an Isis icon as a 'totem' of sorts. I started wearing an Isis pendant (this was, let me see... probably a decade ago?) because I felt that I was lacking in sensitivity and 'feminine' attributes. (Big deal, you say? Men shouldn't be feminine, you say? Tush!) Somehow, carrying around a pendant of the Greek goddess did tend to cause me to be more aware of things like empathy, emotions, intuition, etc. Now, whether you think this is a good thing or not I suppose depends upon your view on the 'masculine/feminine' issue. For my own part, I quite enjoy where this has led me. I'm a house-husband, raising my kids, caring for my working wife, tending to school and housekeeping and such; and I couldn't be happier! (Well, unless my wife finally got a well-paid desk job finally... :D ) And I'm willing to discuss how I feel, what I think - and to listen to my wife when she does the same.

Don't get me wrong: I don't watch soaps - almost no television whatsoever, in fact. I don't watch sappy movies or cry at Disney flicks. Although, A.I. did bring a bit of a tear to my eye... And I'll put up a fight if one is warranted. Most people see me and instantly think I'm somehow dangerous or prone to violence or something. At 250 lbs, nearly 6' in height, and a head of hair that would make Gallagher cry, along with a goatee, thick neck, and shoulders made rather large by ten years of Army life... I can kinda see where folks miss the 'in touch with feminine side' bit. Oh well....

Egads.. I'm rambling. Maybe I ought to take up the Mockingbird or the Chipmunk, with as much chattering as I'm up to tonight!!!

Or, better still - the Chat Room! (he he he he)

[LucyR]

Originally posted by zaayrdragon

Still - there is a sense of satisfaction I gain, from time to time, in the ritual of it all. I'm not sure why, but it's as if ceremony serves some deeper purpose for people. There's something spiritual in meditation, ceremony, ritual. Whether it's all in your mind or not, it does make you feel good.


Something that can be relied upon in an otherwise unpredictable world, I suppose. The bombs are falling? Who cares - we'll still celebrate Christmas!

[BPScooter]

Thanks for the reply, zaayrdragon. I'm certain you don't take my comments about these things in the wrong light, they weren't directly aimed at you.

I feel the same way about loss of cultural heritage when I talk to Mrs. Scooter's elderly relatives--the ones who were the children of old-country immigrants that were prevented from learning "Swede" by their parents' dedication to the new country. But on rainy days, Auntie recalled that all the strapping farmers would come to drink coffee (an unusual pleasure in Mormon southern Idaho, those days) and "talk Swede." When I asked her what they were talking about, she said something like "Heavens, we never learned Swede, and if Mama knew we were listening she would have given us something to remember." But her best guess is that it was farm talk, cursing, teasing, etc. but in "Swede." Guy stuff.

To this day we now have very little to remember, Auntie has passed on. We do have an old Swedish bible, that's about it, and Grandpa's memory of a couple little kid type tunes that his grandpa sang to him. So there's an analogy of the sorts of cultural dilution that I suppose we're all part of. Hope that helps understand my testy-ness when people free-float and try to stake a claim afresh on something. Give me a break, the average person in the midwest, for example, has no claim on the Hurons. Give me more Swede, please! :-)

[sackett]

[tedious old-timer mode] Wellsir, fellers, what you're a-talking about here is the medicine animal. Older than the hills where I come from. I used to think that mine was the chickadee, in part because the little buggers will eat anything. In recent years I've started to doubt that, since my stomach has learned to rebel at what passed for a healthy diet when I was growing up -- although I still like a broiled buffaler tongue now and again. [/tedious old-timer mode, and about time]

No, this is not just a North American thang. The animal helper occurs in dreams all over the world, and must surely be hard-wired into our brains in some way and for some reason we can only speculate about.

Nowadays I'm inclined to think that my medicine animal is the elk, wapiti to you Europeans. Perhaps he always was. I grew up hunting, slaughtering, and eating a variety of big game, but I never got an elk; no, not one, and people who went elk-hunting with me somehow never managed to bag one either. Let's hear you answer that, Mr. Skeptic!

[NoZed Avenger]

Originally posted by sackett
I grew up hunting, slaughtering, and eating a variety of big game, but I never got an elk; no, not one, and people who went elk-hunting with me somehow never managed to bag one either. Let's hear you answer that, Mr. Skeptic!

(a) You people are piss-poor shots, or

(b) Your smell drive them away?


:p

[sackett]

Originally posted by NoZed Avenger
(a) You people are piss-poor shots, or
(b) Your smell drive them away?:p

I doubt it was (a), because I was raised in a gunsmithing family. My father, for instance, could hit a poker chip at 100 meters. And yet, I've seen him miss an entire cow elk at exactly that range (we paced it off afterwards) simply because I was standing next to him when he fired. (I believe I could drill that poker chip myself, although I might need four or five rounds to get it right. Hitting the vital area of a deer or moose was always No Prob, Bob.)

And I doubt it was (b), because we always made it a point to bathe not more than a month in advance of elk season.

You'll have to do better, Mr. Skeptic. I know what I know.

[c4ts]

There are a whole lot of animals I haven't shot while hunting. Potguts, for example. Does this make the potgut my spirit guide?

[7th sextile]

Dang that shaman...my totem animal is a poker chip...

[sackett]

Inert objects can be medicine too: nothing would tempt me into the wilderness without my hiking stick. [deplorable self-promotion mode] http://www.sonic.net/~quine/hstick.html [/dspm] Neither would I go off alone without my trusty Finnish belt knife; not because I always use it, but well, dang it, a man wants an old friend with him when he's out in thorny country.

Often, a medicine object is not even utilitarian; lucky pieces of all kinds qualify, in my insolent opinion. Although I'm a hard-nosed unbeliever, I always seem to acquire pebbles, feathers, bones, driftwood, leaves, and other truck when on a hike; they take my fancy, some way or other, and it feels satisfying to possess them.

Nobody seems to have claimed the jackalope as his medicine animal. Well, no wonder; they're mighty hard to observe in the wild. Heck, I've never seen a live one myself.

[Beleth]

Fish. Sturgeon, to be precise.

[bluess]

Originally posted by Beleth
Fish. Sturgeon, to be precise.

So, are you 'like a sturgeon, touched for the very first time?'