Power animal

The Four Evangelists on the ceiling of the choir in the 13th-c. Church of St. Moriz in Rottenburg, Germany. The artist depicts Matthew as a lion and John as an eagle. He confuses the animal icons of Mark and Luke, however, by mistakenly portraying the former as an angelic being and the latter as an ox.

Power animal, is a broadly animistic and shamanic concept that has entered the English language from Anthropology, Ethnography and Sociology. A tutelary spirit guides, helps or protects individuals, lineages and nations. In the shamanic worldview, everything is alive, bearing an inherent virtue, power and wisdom. In this context power animal(s) represent a person's connection to all life, their qualities of character, and their power.

The term "power animal" was generally introduced into contemporary language in 1980 by anthropologist Michael Harner, Ph.D., in his classic work The Way of the Shaman, pp.57-72, 76-103.

Power animals are common to shamanic practice in both Eurasia and the Americas. They are the helping or ministering spirit or familiar which empowers individuals and is essential for success in any venture undertaken.

In the shamanic worldview, whether they realize it or not, most persons have power animals or tutelary spirits which empower and protect them from harm, like guardian spirits or angels in the Abrahamic Traditions. In these traditions, the power animal may also lend its ward or charge the wisdom or attributes of its kind.

See also

• Animal worship
• Animism
• Familiar
• Fylgja (Norse)
• Genius (Roman)
• Nagual (Native America)
• Patron saint
• Shamanism
• Totem
• Tutelary
• Uay (Native American)
• Vahana (Hindu)

References

• Harner, Michael (1980). The Way of the Shaman. HarperCollins, New York.
• Meadows, Kenneth (2004). Shamanic Spirit. Inner Traditions.
• Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory Episode: "Get with your power animal"(2009).