Power Animal Bear
Most cultures believe that we have one or more specific animal spirit(s) connected to us and that can be teachers and guides. These are known as power animals, spirit animals or totem animals. We look at characteristics of bear, bear in world traditions, and what it means if Bear is your power animal.
Common associations for bear and the Bear power animal include the following:
Action, Boundaries, Bravery, Calm, Courage, Creativity, Cuddliness, Curiosity, Darkness, Death, Divinity, Dreams, Earth, Ferocity, Fierceness, Fortitude, Grounding, Guardian, Healing, Hibernation, Humor, Inquisitive, Introspection, Judgment, Leadership, Luck, Medicine, Meditation, Nobility, Patience, Personal Truths, Patience, Playfulness, Power, Protection, Quiet, Rebirth, Recuperation, Rejuvenation, Rest, Solitude, Stamina, Strength, Teaching, Tenacity, Transformation, Warrior, Wisdom, Zeal.
There are eight species of bears and are native to every continent except Africa, Australia, and Antarctica. Bears are apex predators and are strong and fast despite their size. Bears can reach speeds of thirty miles per hour. Bears can stand on their hind legs. Male Kodiaks weigh up to 1,400 pounds and stand ten feet tall. Bears use strength and dexterity to forage for food, climb trees, dig dens, hunt, and fish. Bears use brute force and intelligence to survive. Bears will fight to the death to protect themselves and their cubs.
Bears spend their waking hours looking for food. While grizzly bears and polar bears can take down large prey, such as elk or caribou, they often hunt smaller animals, such as rodents or salmon. Bears are intelligent, have innate curiosity, and like to smell things. Bears share territory with other bears with whom they compete for food. They are though protective of their close personal space, and do not like others to crowd them, or to be surprised. Although bears can be aggressive, their nature is also to be curious and playful. They like to inspect new objects in their environment
Bears hibernate for the winter. There is an intensive period of excessive eating and drinking to fatten up for hibernation, although in warmer zones bears may emerge from hibernation to feed. Bears can go up to seven ½ months without eating, drinking, or disposing of bodily waste. The female bear gives birth to the cubs while asleep. After emerging from their den at the end of hibernation they go through a “walking hibernation” for 2 to 3 weeks.
Bear appears in the mythology of most cultures, associated with kinship and hunting, and considered to be the king of animals and the ancestor of kings. In heraldry Bears represent kingship. Bear is also associated with death and rebirth due to its hibernation. The bear is often associated with shamans.
In Greek mythology, Hera turns Callisto into a Bear after she bears a son, Arcas, fathered by Hera’s husband Zeus. Zeus later turned Callisto and Arcas into the Big Bear and Little Bear star constellations. Sometimes Artemis is associated with the bear. In Roman mythology there is an equivalent to the Callisto myth, and Diana is associated with the bear. In Egyptian mythology, the white bear symbol is a mysterious beast illustrated as an animal by the size of a sheep and docile.
In Celtic mythology, Artio, the goddess of wildlife took the form of a bear. Hunters invoked her for protection and success. At the winter solstice, Celts called on the bear for protection during the winter. Celts asked bear to empower them in battle and function as an ally when dealing with authority. Celts used bear claws as amulets and talismans. In Anglo-Saxon mythology, King Arthur’s name may come from the Romano-Celtic god Mercurius Artaius, a bear god, and bear may be the source of Beowulf’s name.
In Norse mythology, berserker warriors wore bear fur and invoked bear for courage in battle. The god Thor is associated with a bear, and Danes believed the Danish King Knuut II a bear descendant. The Sami revered the Bear and used bear heads and fur in ceremonies. In Finnish mythology there is the story of the great bear Otso, who was a honey eater.
In Chinese mythology bears are associated with the divine. Xuanyuan Huangdi was known as the bear Emperor for keeping bears in his palace. In Feng Shui, practitioners use bear symbols to protect homes. In Korean mythology, the first Korean kingdom by a bear who turned into a woman. In Japan, the Ainu Indigenous people saw bears as the king of all gods and believed gods took on the form of bears when they visited the world. The Ainu raised bear cubs and believed that bear gave itself as a gift the Ainu, who held a ritual in which they ate the bear and sent its spirit sent home. The Nivkh people, an Indigenous group from eastern Russia, would also raise bear cubs and eat them in shamanic ceremonies.
Native Americans revere bears, who they consider to be powerful medicine beings with special healing powers and protectors. Tribes hunted bears, ate their meat, and used their other parts for clothing and jewelry and in their ceremonies. Yet, most tribes shared taboos around when bear hunting. Native Americans include bear claws in medicine bundles or wear them for power or protection. The Inuit believe that if a bear kills and eats a hunter, they will reincarnate as a shaman who carries the power of the bear spirit. The Zunis carved stone bear fetishes for protection and good luck. As with other totem animals there are bear clans and bear dances.
Bear and bear symbols also feature in religions. In Christianity, the bear’s spiritual meaning is negative, symbolizing God’s wrath unleased on sinners. David had to protect his flock from bear attacks, and Daniel compares the Persians to bears. In Isaiah, the bear is a voracious beast that disturbs Christ’s sheep. However, elsewhere in the bible bears are protectors.
Locations that chose the bear as the symbol for their flags or place name include California, Russia, and the town of Bern in Switzerland.
If bear or bear symbols and images appears to you it can have different meanings. It could mean that you may need to spend time in solitude or introspection or in healing. You may need to set boundaries and not compromise or protect others. It could mean you need to listen to your inner guidance.
People interpret the meaning of seeing a bear in dreams in the following ways. Seeing bears in dreams is a good omen and indicate good luck, especially if a bear is dancing. Dreaming of bear can symbolize power, strength, and protection. It can warn of potential danger or indicate that you need to listen to your intuition. If a bear is hibernating it may mean you need a time of solitude.
If a bear is chasing you, it may mean that you are avoiding a situation that you need to face. If a bear is attacking you, it may mean that you have pent-up anger or aggression you need to release. A bear standing on its hind legs may mean that you need to stand up for yourself. A mother bear may mean you need to protect others. If you see a bear cub, it may mean you need to connect inward to heal past trauma. A white bear indicates wisdom. A black bear may represent an enemy.
Call on Bear in the following situations. When you need healing. If you want power to deal with adversity. When you need physical, emotional, or spiritual protection. If you want courage to pursue your goals. When you need to be assertive.
If Bear is your power animal, you are a powerful healer or have latent healing abilities. You are assertive and confident with a strong presence. You need to spend time alone to rest and incubate creative ideas, especially in winter. Spring is a time for you to act on opportunities. You are independent, preferring to do things yourself rather than asking for help. You are a survivor.
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