Anonymous
asked:
Is there ANY truth to having a "spirit animal"? (I've also heard it's called a "power animal"?) I have a friend who is a Sioux native and he says a spirit animal is an animal you have a connection with, can communicate with, and possibly was you in a past life. He says spirit animals are significant in spirituality so it's insulting when people say things like "Johnny Depp is my spirit animal". But I know NAs are not a monolith so I wanted to expand my source of opinions of it. XD - Thanks

I was raised with the idea that animals have certain skills and personality traits; these ideas are past down through storytelling. A person can share a personality trait or be relatable to an animal in a story and could be named accordingly. I would not say this belief is universal nor would I assume that all nations practice this. I can only speak for myself and my experiences with my family. I was raised with my Native side of the family; my grandmother was what I would call a “traditionalist” and she believed that animals may present themselves to you and that you should reflect on what they saw in you that made them feel comfortable. I was not raised to believe that we all have “spirit animals”.

All I can say is to research the tribe you are curious about.