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question for the mystically inclined
Jul. 8th, 2011 09:25 amI've never really paid attention to the idea of totemic animals or anything like that, tending to dismiss them as misappropriated concepts from indigenous cultures, wish fulfillment or the embodiment of longing for greater connection with the natural world, so I'm kind of ill prepared to face the daily interactions and I have with certain animals and the seeming significance of those interactions, namely crows and spiders.
Since I was a child, spiders have freaked me out. Up until the past five years or so, they've also been the only animal that consistently showed up in my dreams, almost always out of context of the rest of the dream. Due to some inspiration from a friend, I'm mostly over my spider issues. I speak to the ones I see (usually small), and feel protective of them most of the time. I don't quite understand what it's about, but I notice them a lot, and seem to have way more contact with them than I recall before, or hear others talk about.
Crows sort of thrust themselves into my awareness for the first time about seven years ago, then faded for about four or five years. In the recent past, I can't seem to go outside (at work, at home, in my neighborhood) without hearing their calls, which will often repeat until I locate them, make and hold eye contact for a moment. I'm starting to be able to identify the different sounds, and speak to them, too, when they're around. The connection there feels very different than with spiders; more conscious, more engaged, occasionally playful, almost like an extended social group (they are intelligent, social, tool using animals, so maybe I'm projecting, or responding to what I know of them). I feel like I get the crow connection more than the spider, even though I don't know what to do with either.
So I guess my questions start with: does this sound at all familiar to anyone? If so, are there resources any of you might recommend to get more information on this? I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go forward, so any information anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated.
Since I was a child, spiders have freaked me out. Up until the past five years or so, they've also been the only animal that consistently showed up in my dreams, almost always out of context of the rest of the dream. Due to some inspiration from a friend, I'm mostly over my spider issues. I speak to the ones I see (usually small), and feel protective of them most of the time. I don't quite understand what it's about, but I notice them a lot, and seem to have way more contact with them than I recall before, or hear others talk about.
Crows sort of thrust themselves into my awareness for the first time about seven years ago, then faded for about four or five years. In the recent past, I can't seem to go outside (at work, at home, in my neighborhood) without hearing their calls, which will often repeat until I locate them, make and hold eye contact for a moment. I'm starting to be able to identify the different sounds, and speak to them, too, when they're around. The connection there feels very different than with spiders; more conscious, more engaged, occasionally playful, almost like an extended social group (they are intelligent, social, tool using animals, so maybe I'm projecting, or responding to what I know of them). I feel like I get the crow connection more than the spider, even though I don't know what to do with either.
So I guess my questions start with: does this sound at all familiar to anyone? If so, are there resources any of you might recommend to get more information on this? I'm sure I'll have more questions as I go forward, so any information anyone has to offer would be greatly appreciated.
