Power Animal Wolf
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 wolf, wolf in world traditions, and what it means if Wolf is your power animal.
Common associations for wolf and the Wolf power animal include the following:
Aggression, Assertiveness, Autonomy, Bravery, Collaboration, Communication, Community, Compassion, Confidence, Courage, Cunning, Curiosity, Devotion, Domination, Elusive, Endurance, Family, Ferocity, Fertility, Freedom, Friendship, Grace, Guardian, Hunter, Instinct, Intelligence, Inventive, Loyalty, Medicine, Mystery, Nobility, Nurturing, Outlaw, Playfulness, Power, Pride, Protection, Safety, Savage, Sociability, Solitude, Strength, Success, Survival, Teamwork, Tenacity, Victory, Wildness, Willpower.
Wolves live throughout the world. Wolves live up to 13 years in the wild, hunt in packs, and are apex predators. A pack consists of between 4 and 30 wolves and roams and defends a territory of between 25 and 100 square miles (hundreds of square miles if prey density is low). The dominant pair in a pack are often the only ones that breed, but with high availability of prey there can be multiple litters per pack. A wolf is strong, has great stamina, and can travel great distances. A wolf can run thirty-five miles per hour when chasing prey. Wolves have powerful senses of smell, hearing, and vision.
Wolves live in harmony with nature. The phrase “Lone Wolf” is common, but wolves are social, and a wolf that becomes separated from a pack may find it hard to re-integrate. In most packs there is an “Omega” wolf that is at the bottom of the pack and fulfills the roles of trickster and comic. Wolves are extremely protective of their pups, pack, and territory. Wolves communicate using vocalizations, body postures, scent, touch, and taste. Wolves colonize new areas by dispersal, maintaining genetic diversity.
Wolves feed on bigger animals such as deer, elk, moose, bison, and caribou. They will also eat smaller animals such as rabbits, waterfowl, and salmon. Wolves preying on a herd helps to remove genetically unfit and diseased animals from the herd, resulting in a healthier herd. Wolf and prey populations vary based on factors such as winter severity. Wolf populations can decline due to human-caused mortality. Livestock depredation has been one of the main reasons for hunting wolves and is the biggest threat to them, together with loss of habitat.
Wolf appears in the mythology of most cultures and are symbols of strength and protection. Wolf is also symbolic of light, sun, moon, and spirit. Wolves are psychopomps and guide the dead. The legend of the werewolf is widespread in European folklore and involves people turning into wolves.
In Greek mythology wolves were associated with Apollo, the sun god and Hades, the god of the underworld. There are also references to werewolves, with Zeus transforming Lycaon into a wolf as a punishment. In Roman mythology wolves were associated with the god of war Mars, and in legend a she-wolf suckled Rome’s founders Romulus and Remus. In Egyptian mythology a Wolf god Wepwawet, the offspring of Isis/Nephthys and a war deity, was the opener of the ways – in this context meaning that he is a psychopomp. The Egyptians viewed Sirius, the Dog Star, as connected to the sacred wolf.
Celtic mythology features wolf as a guide who walked closely with the God of the forest, Cernunnos. The Wolf’s head symbolized courage and strength in battle. The Celt hero Sigmund and his son hid under wolf skins using the voices of wolves. In Irish and Welsh myths, wolves were helpers and guides. In one myth a she-wolf raised Cormac mac Airt, an Irish King.
Norse mythology includes the giant wolf Fenrir who Odin brought to Asgard to tame. This proved impossible until a magic cord woven by dwarves restrained him. Berserkers, the Norse shock troops, howled like wolves. In Norse folklore, wolves are also associated with witchcraft.
In China wolves were associated with strength, courage, and cooperation, and functioned as psychopomps taking the spirits of the dead to an ancestor God. They were also symbols of cruelty, danger, and death. A Wolf in the form of the star Sirius guards the heavenly palace. In Japanese mythology, the Ainu used wolves in ceremonies. The wolf is a sacred animal worshipped by farmers at Shinto shrines, who pray to them to protect their crops from predators. Wolves are also guardians against fire, disease, and disaster. The Mongolians believed they were descendants of wolves.
In African mythology wolves are human ancestors, and there are legends of shapeshifting into wolves. There are also African legends where someone bitten by a wolf turns into a werewolf on the full moon.
In Native American mythology there is a relationship between wolves and creation. Native Americans think of Wolf as a spiritual pathfinder symbolizing intelligence and leadership. Tribes may have wolf clans, who believe they are descendants of wolves. Other tribes had Wolf Soldiers, who had a defensive and protective role and a status as tribe guardians. Wolves are associated with the Star Sirius, its appearance and disappearance taken as a sign that wolves were travelling to and from spirit along the Wolf Road (the Milky Way). There are also shapeshifting legends and the Wolf Dance.
Wolf and wolf symbols also feature in religions. In Christianity, wolf is in opposition to the Lamb, a symbol of Christ, although the wolf does lie down with the lamb in a vision of the future. In Genesis, wolf is a symbol of greed and avarice, using intelligence and cunning for selfish purposes. The story of The Wolf at the Gate tells how St. Francis befriended it and persuades the townspeople to feed it. In Buddhist and Hindu traditions, the wolf is the vehicle of deities, particularly Tibetan Gods.
In Hindu Vedic Literature, the wolf is associated with the night and darkness. The inauspicious symbol vrika is a wolf-like creature. In Tantric Buddhism, wolves are inhabitants of graveyards and destroyers of corpses.
Wolves also feature in fable and literature, such as Aesop’s fables “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “The Wolf in Sheep Clothing” and the Brothers Grimm story of “Little Red Riding Hood” where the wolf is an allegorical sexual predator.
If wolf or wolf symbols and images appears to you it can have different meanings. You may need to get rid of behavior that no longer serve your purpose. You may need to work with others in a community and not in competition. You may need to break away from the pack to assert yourself. You may need to consider if a person or situation is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” or if you are not seeing something and pay attention to your instincts and intuition before trusting people. It may mean that you need to be express wildness and freedom. It could mean you should be confident that you can meet challenges.
People interpret the meaning of seeing a wolf in dreams in the following ways. If you are anxious or afraid it may signify someone is pushing sexual desires or your boundaries. It may mean all is not as it seems. You may have to trust your instincts. You should be aware of cravings and addictive behavior. You may need to deal with tricky situations with confidence or let others in your pack help you. It can mean impending danger or spiritual development.
If you dream of killing a wolf it may indicate betrayal on your part. If a wolf is chasing you, it may mean you are unwilling to confront a problem. If you dream of a lone wolf, you might seek freedom and independence. If you dream of a wolf pack hunting, it may mean you need the help of others. If you dream of a white wolf, it symbolizes courage and victory, but you may need to take care of your spiritual health. If you dream of a black wolf, do not let negative emptions and fear control you. A black wolf may also represent shadow aspects of yourself that you are not acknowledging.
Call on Wolf in the following situations. When you are feeling insecure or threatened. If you need to protect yourself or others. If you need to use your instincts and intuition. When you want to discern truth and sincerity. If you want to improve relationships and communication or need to spend time on your own to reconnect with yourself and spirit. If you are confused about your life purpose. If you feel your life has become tame and you need to connect with your freedom and wildness.
If wolf is your power animal, you are a natural teacher. You have a keen sense of community, are close to family and friends, and will defend and nurture them. You are creative. You have innate intelligence and strong intuition and instincts. You may want to break free of restrictions and may be associated with the outlaw archetype. You need to reconnect with what you feel enthusiastic about. You may resonate with divine feminine power and the moon. The she-wolf is an important archetype for women, one who protects loved ones and boundaries and stands her ground. The wolf is a pathfinder, depend on Wolf if you feel lost, misguided, or deceived. You may undertake a personal spiritual quest.
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