Animal totemism is one of the most popular esoteric subjects today. People in general tend to be fascinated by the animals in our lives, whether domestic companions, or beautiful wildlife. For some of us there is also a spiritual aspect to our respect for other creatures sharing this place, and one manifestation of that spirituality is animal totemism.

There's a reason I put the word "neopagan" in the title of this essay--this is not genuine Native American totemism we're talking about here. There are a number of differences between traditional totemism practiced in indigenous cultures, and what you usually find in books on totemism today. The biggest one is cultural structure; indigenous cultures in the Americas and elsewhere tend to live in the same general vicinity as their extended families, and so have much tighter familial bonds. Their totemic systems tend to reflect this. There is much more importance in these cultures placed on the clan or family or tribal totem, rather than an individual one (if the culture even has them). The totem served in part as a symbol of certain beliefs, values or philosophies attached to its group. Additionally, totems are often used in the practice of exogamy, determining who can marry who. For instance, a person with a Bear totem might be able to marry someone of the Raven clan, but not another Bear person because of the too-close relations. This may seem a little silly to us, but when your gene pool is more isolated due to geography and difficult travelling, incest is more of a possibility. Therefore, totemism in indigenous cultures tends to be more of a community phenomenon.

Conversely, look at modern mainstream America. How many of us live within a 50 mile radius of our extended families? Or even all in the same state? We might have close bonds with our families, but we don't have the interdependence of a tribal/village-based society. Our own conception of totemism reflects this. Modern pagans and New Agers have essentially taken the symbolic value of clan/family totems and mixed them with the concept of an individual animal guardian, or the power animal of the shaman. Therefore, the totem has a more individualized relationship with a person, but still retains some of the archetypal symbolism of the clan/family/etc. totem.

So what is a totem, anyway? Well, there are a couple of theories. One is that it embodies all the information about a particular species, including biology, species-specific consciousness (ie, how the animals think), human observations, all bound up into one archetypal being. Another is that totems are individual spirits that maintain a close relationship with their people. Still another thought is that each aspect of the human psyche is represented by a certain totem; this is similar to the idea that pantheons of deities are a map to human psychology.

Opinions differ as to how many totems a person has in the neopagan system. Some say we each only have one; others say two, one for each half of a personal dichotomy (left/right, dark/light, male/female, etc.). Four totems may be assigned, one for each cardinal direction, or five (add in Spirit), or six (four cardinal plus up and down), seven (add Spirit again). One early author on New Age totemism dictated that the Native Americans always have nine totems; however, the research in this particular case is incredibly shoddy, and I have yet to find solid evidence that this holds true for any tribe.

Any animal can be a totem. Originally, totems were necessarily limited to the animals native to one's region. However, because we now have knowledge of the entire globe at our very fingertips, it is quite possible for us to have any animal as a totem because we know what it is. It's entirely possible for someone in North America to have a Giraffe totem, or an Australian to work with Polar Bear.

The relationship with a totem can vary, too. I've divided totems up, for my own purposes, into three categories. Primary totems are those that most people think of when they think of totem animals--the animal(s) that will be with you for your entire life, guiding and teaching and influencing you. Secondary totems are those that come into your life of their own volition to teach you a specific lesson or get you through a certain phase in your life. And tertiary totems are ones that you call on for help with a specific problem; they help you only with that issue, and then you both move on. Any totem is capable of being in any of these roles; this is merely a system I've developed to make my own understanding easier.

Most people only have one primary totem, though exceptions do occur. Multiple secondaries are quite possible, but I've usually never seen more than a few working with a person at a time. You can have as many tertiaries as you have situations you're asking for help on.

For example, my primary totem is Wolf. I've never had any others, though it's not completely impossible. One secondary I've been working with lately is Fox; Fox helps balance out some of Wolf's more intense qualities with her gentleness. However, at least for the moment she's in a secondary role, helping me learn to work with some of the negative aspects of my primary totem. And I've asked Badger to lend his stubbornness and efficiency to my current job hunt; however, this is pretty much the extent of my work with him.

So these are the basics of what a totem animal is. In the next essay I'll explain the methods of determining your totem, and how to work with hir.