A favorite animal as a magical symbol?

[DarkSchneider]

I have a particular fondness for a few particular animals but I absolutely love most animals. My fondness is for the pig family and the raven family. I am also fond of dogs and cats.

Today I chose a cup with a cute pig on it, to use as my chalice. I know this animal means a lot to me, and I have been drawn to it as a kid. People used to make fun of me for it, and it has stayed with me for all my life. I would try to hide this fact. But now I feel I owe it to pigs that I never touch pork products out of respect for them. It has devastated me all my life, the bullying and harassment. I cried holding the cup a bit, and I'm still crying as I'm typing this.

I want to start incorporating pigs, raven, dogs and cats etc, into my spells and work. I think the pig cup is a good start. I have a black raven feather. My dogs ashes are with me in beautiful box in my room, and I keep it safe.

Is this normal? Having an attachment to pigs because you believe them to be "your" animal? I'm not sure if it's the same as a familiar or totem or such. But pigs especially have been important to me. What are some good resources? Websites, books, etc on the subject?

[Neko-phyte]

In for resource suggestions. I have similar attachments with a couple of animals, and although I've read some things online, I'm curious to know if there are more academic resources available (if indeed 'academic' is the right word there?).

[the_spiral]

Yes, it's totally normal to use totem animals in your magic! I keep snakes as familiars and work with serpentine spirits and deities, mostly Aida Wedo, the Naga and the Simbi. I've always been drawn to their energy and communicated with them easily, and when I began serious kundalini meditation they showed up naturally. Pathworking is a good way of connecting with animal guides. And this book is a bit "fluffy" (like most Llewelyn titles) but I really enjoyed it:

http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Speak-Spir ... 0875420281

And for anyone interested in a Tantric approach and initiation into working with snake spirits in particular, this new grimoire is a good resource I wish I'd had when I started the work:

http://www.amazon.com/Naga-Magick-Wisdo ... 1935150596

[RoseRed]

So many people insist on having a 'cool' animal guide like a wolf or tiger or something. You're being true to your heart and your love of this creature. It's a beautiful thing. Butterflies aren't really considered cool or badass animals either. ; )

I think Animal Speak is an excellent recommendation.

[RoseRed]

No, academic isn't the right word. Ted Andrews takes a lot of flack for his views. It's more of a Red Road type of path. (Pple wanting to play at being American Indians). Yes it fluffy but the exercises are solid, the information is applicable to today's world and I think there is a lot of good things people can take away from this book. But no, I wouldn't call it academic.

[Neko-phyte]

Ooh, thank you both for the information. I will investigate these things, even though Red Road isn't something that works well for me personally.

Butterflies aren't really considered cool or badass animals either. ; )

Dragonflies are one of the two animals that are always appearing in my life whether I'm seeking them or not

[DarkSchneider]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I must admit I'm sick this week, and so I must be bedridden at the moment. Hopefully I will gain enough strength to continue soon. Nothing bad, just a chill, sore throat and cold. I'll perhaps drink tea to keep me warm and take some throat drops. I'm watching documentaries to keep me busy.

@RoseRed,

I'm very fond of piggies. They appeal to me for several reasons but I like how gentle they look.I know boars and warthogs can be quite fierce, but a simple piggy is very cute for me.

I have a fondness for butterflies too. I found one that was at the bus station, and it was no longer alive A beautiful black and blue one. I buried it by some lilies and I quietly prayed for it.

@the_spiral I shall examine your links more closely when I have the energy for it.

@Neko-phyte I see dragonflies often too

[RoseRed]

You have a beautiful heart. Feel better, kiddo.

[Sypheara]

Nothing wrong with liking pigs dude, sounds like you got the rough end of the stick for sure when it came to that.

Butterflies are also pretty awesome, as are moths. But have nocturnal associations and are pretty beautiful creatures.

From one ill man to another, I wrote a blog article about my assumed form and totem, acquired through somewhat more '2 spooky' means ie for me fear, leading to appreciation and identification.

http://theluciferianrevolution.com/2014 ... -as-totem/

Its quite an old post but will hopefully go into more depth than i can put in one post.

[Neko-phyte]

@DarkSchneider: Awesome! Also I hope you feel better soon.

@Sypheara: That's a lovely moth in that video! And that's an awesome blog post you made. Despite still being scared of spiders, I can't help but like them too. Thanks for sharing these things

[Maya The Generator]

@Neko: I find the same problem in my life. I love spiders because of their "mechanics": web hunting, role in ecosystem and so on but when I was kiddo, one day from a tree droped bunch of this son of a broodmother and to this day when spider is on my body I start berserk xD

My friends find it funny that 2 meters long guy with a beard scream like a little baby when encountered with this situation and me too(still fckin scary).

[Neko-phyte]

UGH I have a phobia of walking under trees for similar reasons--spiders dropping, and sometimes those weird caterpillars on the silk threads too D: Can't stand it if a spider is on me. Instantly swiping + doing the dance.

I've also been bitten by spiders numerous times. One of them was a white-tail; I know this because the bite flares up at the same time every year (but thankfully not every year in a row, like other people I know).

But!

None of this is the fault of the animals. This is just what they do.

It's hard to remember sometimes, though ._.

[Maya The Generator]

None of this is the fault of the animals. This is just what they do.

It's hard to remember sometimes, though ._.

Yep xD

[Cygnus]

A little known fact about pigs.
In the list of Top Ten Most Intelligent Animals, humans are obviously number one. But if you take us off the list, pigs come in at number 10. That little nugget came from one of our Zoology lecturers when I was at Uni.

[RoseRed]

What ideas do you have in mind for the symbol itself? How would you use it?

[DarkSchneider]

@Cygnus

That's one of the reasons I really like them I read that they make good pets too, if you can manage them with their dietary concerns, their health, exercise and rapid weight gain.

@RoseRed

Was that question for me?

Well I suppose it could be a general power symbol, but I would use it for any time I want to feel tranquility, peace, happiness and such. That's how I view them. They are a nice, good animal to me and I would never hurt one intentionally. But I know they can be fierce if they are wild boar or such. So it depends how I determine what the particular type of pig would mean to me. For example, the mug I have, has a cute little illustration of a piggy, sort of like a cartoon or children's drawing. So I would use that for joy and peace.

If I can learn to separate the bad experiences, the stress and the humiliation I felt with those bullies, I would happily use them in most rituals if it helped build me back up. As of late though, I've been stressed about eating meat and thinking about those bullies. I have a hard time letting go. But if it's so I can be happy thinking about those nice piggies again, I'd like to do it.

[RoseRed]

I can think of several things you can do just with what you've said so far. What other ideas do you have?

[DarkSchneider]

Hmm... I'll have to think about it. If you wanna share your ideas I'd be happy to consider them and put them to practice

Tonight I'm a little preoccupied with reading and writing down about circle casting for protection in my spell book. I'm pretty exhausted so I'm out of ideas for now but if they spring up I will post about it. In the meantime, let me know what you had in mind.

[RoseRed]

@RoseRed Was that question for me?

Well I suppose it could be a general power symbol, but I would use it for any time I want to feel tranquility, peace, happiness and such. That's how I view them. They are a nice, good animal to me and I would never hurt one intentionally. But I know they can be fierce if they are wild boar or such. So it depends how I determine what the particular type of pig would mean to me. For example, the mug I have, has a cute little illustration of a piggy, sort of like a cartoon or children's drawing. So I would use that for joy and peace.

If I can learn to separate the bad experiences, the stress and the humiliation I felt with those bullies, I would happily use them in most rituals if it helped build me back up. As of late though, I've been stressed about eating meat and thinking about those bullies. I have a hard time letting go. But if it's so I can be happy thinking about those nice piggies again, I'd like to do it.

But you don't really see it as a power symbol. At least, not in the commonly accepted sense of the word power. I think that consecrating the mug to that specific purpose would be wonderful for you. Tranquility, peace, happiness - the beautiful things that a little piggy brings out in you - are beautiful things. Especially in the world we live in today.

You've mentioned wild boars and such but they're closer to a cousin of the domesticated pig. Mama pigs are very protective of their young.

I have an idea. If you can google pictures or take some of what you already have (if you're not comfortable posting it here you can pm me) and let us know what the different images mean to you - it'll give us a better idea of the best ways to work with them and create a whole magical repertoire on piggies.

I saw the pics you posted of your stones. Do you have any rose quartz and amethyst? I think it could be beautiful to call upon the natural energies of the stones to incorporate that into the consecration. Consecration means either to set apart as holy, to dedicate to a god/dess or to use something only for a specific purpose. Any time you needed to feel at ease, tranquil, content/comfortable/cozy even - you can use that mug. Do you have access to any roses? I can see a lovely cup of rose tea (which also has beautiful, calming and sweetening of the disposition properties) being drank out of the cup. You could set aside a special drink that brings those lovely feelings to the surface. This way, any time that you're stressed or upset - you can pull out your special mug, take a few minutes for yourself and ... the image I have is lovely.

We can help you put together a small ceremony/ritual if you like. You don't need to go buy expensive stuff to impress anyone - this is about what makes you happy. And what you're comfortable doing.

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About the meat thing... I don't understand the vegetarian thing. Humans are omnivores. We built and created to eat both animal and plant. It's simply a part of the natural circle and cycles of life. it's also a personal decision. I offer thanks to whatever animal gave it's life to sustain me and my family.

[DarkSchneider]

@RoseRed

Those sound like good suggestions. The idea about the mug sounds about right. Yes, I think that sums up the how I see them they make me feel like that.

I can post some pictures. I wish I had a printer to print them out, but I do have an old picture book with pigs in them.

I do have rose quartz and amethyst. I have a few stones of those types. I was actually going to buy 60 sticks of rose incense yesterday but I skipped out on it. I was looking for more wire to wrap the stones but I couldn't find it and went to another store.

I would be happy to put together a ritual.

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I have nothing against the act of eating meat, particularly. I understand being omnivorous. It's just that how the animals are handled in order for us to produce meat is was sickens me. In context, my friend sent me a few facebook videos of a jewish event where people were slaughtering chickens and laughing about it. It was hard to watch. I don't know the context. I've never heard of such an event but it seemed really warped and cruel. Anyway, I saw that the day I first posted this thread. So to be clear, those kind of videos really disturb me and I don't know if I should keep eating meat. I should be grateful that the animal unwillingly gave their life to keep me alive but at the same time, it saddens me. The sad thing is the meat productions won't stop just because I don't eat it...

[RoseRed]

There's a huge disconnect between country mouse and city mouse when it comes to preparing livestock. I think the way animals are treated in mass commercial factories is despicable. But I still eat meat. My body requires it to function well.