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Meeting Totem Animals

11:11 / 10.03.03

Totem animals are not something I've ever given much thought to, but I had this horrific dream last night in which I was trying to sabotage a foxhunt, and hundreds of foxes were being shot or poisoned around me and there was nothing I could do. So, this morning, as part of my usual meditation/banishing etc., I focused on the image of the fox. I thought about all the urban and country foxes I've ever seen, and then suddenly I could see outside my building and this dog fox was making its way inside. I could see it moving down the corridor and push open the door to my flat. It was weird, but I could feel it pad over towards me and lay down by my side. After a few minutes, it got up and went away. I'm getting into city magick more and more, and there are loads of urban foxes around where I live. Is there anyone who can comment on this, someone who maybe works with more of a shamanistic tradition? It was a really moving experience.

14:53 / 10.03.03

I don't know much about the shamanic traditions, but it does sound like a totem animal found you!

My recommendations are to say "Thank you," (if you haven't already!) and, "Be welcome here," and then do some research about foxes in your location. If, of course, you want a totem/guide...

Is there anything going on environmentally that might be threatening habitat or the population of foxes? It's hard not to interpret the dream as pointing out that there's something horribly wrong going on (although if it was supposed to be a plea for help it could have been more explicit). Your visitor seemed to be acknowledging you, making a connection - I think the next move is yours.

15:11 / 10.03.03

I definitely want a totem guide, if one has taken the trouble to find me. And living in this part of London, foxes are pretty well-looked after (or rather, they look after themselves pretty well!).
I notice you're from San Francisco, and so you might not know that there's a whole debate going on in Britain at the moment about fox-hunting. It's caused a real country/city divide, and although I grew up in the country and live in the city now, I still think the whole practice is barbaric and grotesque. If I was to do anything to help, perhaps it could involve participating in protests and so on.
Other than that, I think attempting contact again on my part should form the basis of my next period of meditation. I love the idea of having a guide, especially an urban guide like the city fox, to take you into the underworld.

15:37 / 06.03.04

Lately I've become very interested in learning more about totem animals. I don't know if this means Fox has chosen me, but I guess in my heart I feel it's true. I've felt "connected" to foxes ever since I was a child, and had, at one time, seen a movie titled "The Glacier Fox". Twenty five years later, I still remember the details of that movie vividly - enough to track down and pay $40 for a backyard copy just to watch it again. The one fox I felt the deepest connection to was "Chinita", hence the name I've chosen for this board.

Chinita was portrayed as blind in this movie, and I guess I related to his longing to belong and be "like everyone else". Like the way the filmmaker portrayed his "character", I have always been the one to be left out, be left wishing I could be a part of the life going on around me.

Anyway, this is getting off-track and a bit long, but I'll finish by saying I now live in a new housing development at the edge of town, and I frequently have foxes that come into my yard. For some reason, they seem to enjoy sitting in the rock bed under my bedroom window, and occasionally will wake me up by yipping under the window, only to run away as soon as the hear me come to look. There's one that's a very light color, almost more of a golden red than the "normal" fox color.

Earlier in the fall, while driving out of town, I saw a fox trotting along the roadway. It watched me, unconcerned, as my vehicle approached, then casually hopped off into the brush. My friend and I commented on how odd it was to see a fox out at that time of day (noon) and that it was strange it didn't seem at all worried about our vehicle. Several days later, in a different part of the county, I saw another fox, although this one had been struck by a vehicle and had died.

Anyway, how would I go about exploring this further? I feel very drawn to the fox, and I'm wondering if some of these coincidental life experiences could mean Fox has chosen me and wants me to look into the relationship further. Where do I go from here?

Thanks in advance!

~Chinita

16:22 / 06.03.04

the best thing I can suggest to you Chinita is a guided meditation. During which draw the spirit of the fox to you and sit down and have a chat with them. Ask them questions or just pick their brains for stuff. Thank them and return, or follow them if they ask you too. All depends on how your meditation develops.

The other thing to do is keep an eye out for foxes in you day to day life. Not just the real thing, but other elements whether it be a picture of a fox, statue, or a shop/company with the fox name (of course this could lead you to just watching Murdoch's TV network so approach with caution).

Have found this website which lists the characteristics of the fox totem, it may help with your research.

As for my personal totem I've always been drawn to the Magpie. After learning two different counting ryhmes (from two different comic books, now you can't get any more choas magic than that) I started seeing lots and lots of the black and white theives. And seeing as I've been taught that your totem finds you the Magpie became mine. And according to this website (you'll have to scroll down a bit) the magpie indicates: "The proper use of intelligence, familiars, and occult knowledge" which sounds excellent to me.

Only problem is when I go over to the states as most folks have never heard of, let alone seen a magpie.

21:42 / 06.03.04

dude,
i do a little about totem animals.
as far as i know we all have them, and powerful shamans have many. hundreds in some cases. many of us are not aware that we have them though.
traditionally a shaman is approached by an animal (this can happen in "reality" as well as in"shamanic consciousness"), which is pretty much what you described.
totem animals (animal spirits, familiars, etc) are not life-long guides, but rather for limited times in ones life. Shamans attribute sickness often to the fact that people have been left by their totem animals, and not approached by new ones. As I mentioned before, most people do never consciously meet their totem animals or know they have them. But in fact no child could grow into an adult without the help of at least one totem animal as a guardian spirit.
In your case you know have the power of the fox, as well as the fox- ally right next you, always ready. As long as he /she is your totem animal, you can always count on his/her help. You also should be able to change into a fox and solve problems in your tribe in as a fox.