I have always felt super connected to animals, since very small i used to say we could talk and understand each other 🥸 so i grew up researching an learning about all type of animals but more than knowing their physics etc i wanted to know what magic each one carries because i sworn they had magic (my family used to tell jokes about that in family reunions )
So one of the things i learned is that its not like we carry the essence of an animal from birth, but more like one or 2 or 3 have chosen us to protect us, guide us and uplift us in our journey. However we can tap into ANY animal essence if we want/need it, just like any other thing by meditating and calling them, visualize them, have pics of them around etc steadily, daily, and then when they start showing up in real life or dreams, tv, magazines etc you know their energy is reaching you so you can use it.
But the ones that have chosen us could come right away if we need to get back to our center or feel lost etc, no matter what attributes they have and may be different than what we need at the time, they kinda shake us to realign us with the “all” and remind us that we are part of a whole and we belong.
Owl and Wolf have always been around me in million ways and i know they are always with me. They center me and remind me who I am.
However 4 years ago at a weekend retreat with a beautiful Shaman from the Venezuelan Amazon, i got visions of totally different ones that retreat was specifically to discover the totem animals.
What i saw was so accurate to my essence i was surprised because i had never been close to those. when we got into details with each i understood a lot about my journey.
Giraffe (resilience -that neck boy lol helps me to reach very far if i stretch myself to actually go higher)
Baby Orangutan (i honestly forgot id have to look again)
Monarch butterfly (anchored to my inner child)
Also if you start seeing an animal every where in different forms then check the meaning and usually their energy is what you need at the time and they are trying to call your attention for you to harness that