It's fine for a beginner. But really, you want to read a variety of resources.
I would suggest googling "dragonfly medicine" or looking for native american books that discuss the subject.
I doubt that you offended the dragonfly spirit, but if you feel truly bothered, I would suggest performing a ceremony in honor of the dragonfly you accidentally killed. Offer a small pinch of tobacco to the earth and ask that the spirits care for the dragonfly on the other side. No need for circles, you are honoring nature, not hiding from it. Speak your apologese, give your kind wishes for the dragonfly spirit and then smudge yourself with sweet grass and/or sage to cleanse yourself of the incident and any negative feelings. Feel relieved that this burden has been removed from you by the spirits and your prayers have been heard.
If you're serious about your dragonflies, you may like this
http://sagebug.com/howto/dragonflies.html
WhiteRav3en i generally agree with what you have posted above for totems and i do enjoy reading your post all over the forums .Just want to add that to my knowledge we do not choose the totem but totem choose us .Also your personality and the animal medicine should be compatible (that is when it comes to main totems not to journey ones since they assist you in certain task only and then go away ).I have found totem animals better such guardians than a guides ,since they assist you in your visions quest .
I was trying to explain it as with the least amount of confusion. Out of many possible totems, only one is your guardian/guide that remains with you through your entire lifetime. So I see him/her as seperate. The rest as "totems" that also guide but not in the same intimate way, and there are "power animals" which are more like energy sources we can connect to. I feel there is a difference (from my own experience and lessons of the past) between our animal guide/guardian, the other totems that appear throughout our lives and the ones we invoke and evoke for power. But so many mix the three terms together.
But this is going to confuse these people terribly! So many terms, so many differences. I try to keep it simple. I'm sorry if you disagree with my way of explaination. I didn't mean to offend. I didn't learn this from books, and I'm afraid that being passed down such things loses the "textbook" definitions. I've had animal spirits following me or appearing randomly since I was a child, and would tell my mother about them, and she would explain to me what they were and how to work with them. If you think you can explain in a way that those without previous knowledge of Native American ways may understand, feel free.
I personally feel that SullenMoon should stick with the owl and learn everything possible about the animal before plunging into all the other possibilities of animal spirits.
I have more understanding now after had explained further .I agree on the part that they appear to us but we are not always aware they are what they are .Before i joined here as parth of path of shaman i did not have any clue on any totems ,or shamanism (i am not american ),so many strange events had occured and weird signs but i had no clue what to make out of them .With the help of Bardou and Stone i had realize what all that was about .My point is that indeed they came to find me i did not search for them ,i just did not realized what they are since did not started to dig deep into shamanism .Thus my own experience matches your but my mom was clueless on the topic too to help me realize .But yeah i have learnt from this two people and from what i have experienced so far .I can not actually say that i have.I do not mean any disrespect and keep in mind since english is not my native language i am a bit clueless on term side .However from people i had studied i know they have few main totem ,which stay for their entire life and in that number i include myself too .I am open to hear any further explanations ,whuch you may be willing to give .I am always eager to learn other peoples experiences and points of view as long as they are respectful ,wise nad nice in their way .And i m not very sure over the terms just to mention .So far i have met "totem " as most common name for powerful animal .However to my knowledge plants can be totems too .
Forgot to mention i also agree that SullenMoon should stick for the owl .Try to communicate with it and do some more research on this birds in general .
The problem with such discussions of animal spirits is that it is present in different forms from around the world. Africa, India, South America, North America, and Australia all have or had tribes that held belief in totemism. Then its even further seperated by the tribes and then clans if applicable.
The viewpoint I speak of is my Cherokee teachings. It is said that you are never "part" Cherokee, you are either Cherokee or not. So I never claim I am "part" Cherokee, but purely Cherokee, even though technically I am around 30%.
To the Kpele tribe, plants can also be totems. I've never heard of it before in Cherokee belief.
Some just view totems as symbols, animals that are considered sacred that a clan, family, or person honors through fear or reverence. This is the broadest aspect of totemism.
To the Cherokee they are medicine. Medicine to the Cherokee is magick. You'll very rarely hear a Cherokee person use the word magick. Animism is a very strong belief with the Cherokee and it is something I do believe in. The "spirits" are in everything in nature. And they are all apart of the "Great Spirit". Cherokee are monotheistic, they only believe in one goddess (yes the great spirit is female) and all other spirits are either greater or lesser spirits, never as powerful as the top female.
I personally view all deities of all religions as spirits, and see them as very real spirits of various aspects of nature, different names, different faces, but interconnected.
Animal spirits are interconnected as "clans", the bird clan for instance would encompass all birds. But then it is broken down into species, and this is where the "spirit" comes into play. The "spirit" of all of the same species of animals are interconnected. Broken down even further, there are the individual spirits or what you may view as souls. Every individual animal spirit has its own personality. Life is a big spiders web, and everything comes down to the center which is the Great Spirit.
Now enters the belief of connecting to animal spirits...
Every person connects to an animal, in fact many. But only one is the individual's "kin", like a brother or sister. The animal that is the closest to the individual is the one who plays the leading role in their life. But they can also have a family animal, a clan animal, and other animals that come in and out of their life depending on their needs.
Every animal holds a lesson. By learning, not only about the animal type but the specific animal spirit's personality, we learn things that we carry with us eternally. You see, this special animal remains with us, even after death. He/she is our companion. But even when another animal is learned from, we carry with us those lessons eternally, therefore their presence in our life is forever an influence, regardless if they are still with us or not.
Power animals are those we invoke or evoke to call for aid or become one with the essence of that animal type. Although we should do this with any specific animal spirit involved in our life, we don't need an animal to be a totem in order to share it's knowledge and energy. This is why many native american prayers call certain animal presences or energies for different reasons. This is also present in celtic magick.
The terms of "totem" and "power animal" has unfortunately become a normal defining term for the use of spirit animals in various beliefs created by anthropologists, historians, and other groups who study civilizations, cultures and societies of past and present. I say it's unfortunate because it's not any term truly used in the beliefs themselves. But I make due with it, because it's what people now connect with them. I actually dislike the words entirely.
Oh i do understand now that all terms have been mess in my head .It is not like i am good to work with terms and conditions either ,however i finally get the idea what is the difference between animal spirit and powerful animal .Because i know almost nothing for the native american culture all this terms are foreign for me .I actually thought that animal spirit and powerful animals plus totems are different terms for same thing (often folks call same thing with different names ).I get the idea that i have gotten wrong impression .Thank you so much for spending some time explaining that to me .I clearly need to read more on this subject ,since i am interested in many paths my attention is scattered in many spheres and i end up knowing a bit on many things and not really knowing a lot on certain object .However i will read further on the subject since i understood my mistake .
And Stone it is my foult i messed up all terms again lol .You just had a lame student back then lol
