If I were a movie, this would be the part where the actress would be at her most depressing. Tired all day, crawling into bed at 5:20 pm, and wondering if it’s okay to waste time. All the while with a nagging omnipresent voice at the back of her mind wondering ‘Where do I go from here?’
Man likes to go. He knows no stopping. I think that is why he invented time. So he could have a way of tracing forward and linear. Even though, deep down he has always been aware that ‘going forward’ is an illusion. Synonymous over time is the fact that there is no time. There is no going. There is only spiraling.
Somebody has got to say it: We are stuck somewhere, in a strange, never-ending spiral.
Everything naturally follows the rule of the spiral. From the snail’s shell, the coil of the chameleon’s tail, the sunflowers, the ram’s horns, how our hairs grow, how an embryo sleeps, to the Milky Way’s dance. We are all going in cycles. Our developments, experiences, thinking, and behaviors: Nothing is new, all things are just repeating. It’s only their representation that changes, but the core remains of its original face.
So it’s true, he started as an animal, and then gradually morphed into an animal that can change its external form. Unfortunately, due to various religious conditionings, a man may have forgotten that which nature hasn’t: That all is connected. That sacred connection between man and nature is what we call totemism or animism.
Existence is a circular movement of energy, and the way to plug into this cycle and communicate with nature is through totems. Totems help us to understand ourselves and others, and find harmony in our interactions. Because, for each human, there is a counterpart animal in nature whose energy resonates. The animal’s strengths, weaknesses, and patterns mirror those of the given human, tribe, or group. For example, a bull totem represents aggression, strength, dominance, and strong-headedness. The bull totem was known as Anu in ancient Mesopotamia, Minotaur in ancient Greece, Nandi in India, and Apis in ancient Kemet. The bull is now adopted as Europe’s totem. Another one is the Eagle totem which is used by America and was copied from Kemet. Eagles represent leadership, a keen focus, and attention to detail. In my tribe, we have various totems for each clan such as the zebra, baboon, leopard, and elephant.
Totems are not only limited to animals, and can also be specific plants or even a force of nature such as rain.
All in all, to know your totem is to know yourself: And to know yourself is to tap into infinite beauty, infinite abundance, infinite health. To find yourself, all you have to do is be empty, listen, and observe yourself. Oh tough.
