Why Do We Need Power Animals?
Humanity’s interest with animals dates back to pre-history. They have been interwoven into the fabric of religious beliefs of both the Old and the New World. Evidence of humanity’s preoccupation with animals is found throughout Europe, especially in the Mediterranean region, from the cave paintings of southern France to the temple reliefs excavated throughout Egypt. In fact, there was a strong association between gods and animals with some of the first divinities actually being animals. Unfortunately, though our ancestors deeply valued and honored the animals, it has been forgotten.
The qualities attributed to animals by society are so universal, that the noted psychologist Karl Jung characterized them as part of man’s collective unconscious or cultural memory. In Europe, the Celts with their Druid priests preserved the memory of the worship of animals, attributing the magic to the animals themselves. The Celtic view of animals most closely resembles that if the Native Americans. However, much of this understanding was lost over time due to the influence of the church or to Renaissance thinking. Luckily, there has always been indigneous people throughout the world that kept alive the tradition of the sacred bond between people and nature.
Native American tribes taught that people must learn from their environment and from the animals in particular. People are meant to adapt to their surroundings, finding their place in the world rather than trying to bend it to their will. People are part of the environment like the plants and the animals and are supposed to be responsible caretakers and not the conquerors. Unfortunately, in the march to modernity, humanity has devalued the human-animal relationship. We are now paying the price of humanity’s divorce from the environment.
Whether one believes it or not, there are lessons to be learned from our fellow creatures who have live in world far longer than humankind. The animals in particular are our mentors and have a unique gift of wisdom to share. They have adapted and survived all the global disasters and climatic changes. To survive, humanity needs a different perspective – one in which animals and humanity are interdependent upon one another as true brothers and sisters. Will we learn from our animal friends and adapt to our environment, or become another species doomed to extinction? Believe it or not, animals have a vantage point about life that is linked to the Creator. How else can they all be so fearless, compassionate, graceful, sensitive, strong, wise, and optimistic?
