The Animal Totem tarot has everything to do with having an abundance of energy. It can mean a lot of things, whether you draw the card upright or reversed. Stick with us and explore the Animal Totem tarot in this tarot card guide!
Did you draw this card in a recent tarot reading? Don’t worry, this handy Animal Totem tarot guide will help you understand what it means!
We’ll help you understand what drawing this card can mean for you and your future. This understanding is important for you to seize this chance for a better life!
There are special and unique animals in the Animal Totem tarot. Honey pot ants and raccoon dogs are just two of the animals that feature in the Animal Totem tarot deck. The information for each of the cards is in two sections.
Those two sections are as follows: the animal’s oracular message and the tarot’s message itself. Avid tarot fans and readers are easily included due to the possibility to use this deck for standard tarot readings. Animal oracle cards also include those who practiced the medicine of the animal.
Take some time to learn how to understand animal totems and standard tarot! You could join the ranks of avid tarot fans in determining the future today. Set your energy and draw your cards; it’s a great time to let the animal totem’s energy out!
Animal Totem Tarot Cards Meaning
Animal Totem tarot readings run easily through a hybrid tarot deck. The deck contains regular tarot cards and its arcanas; however, there’s an animal symbol in each. All life was once one family walking the face of the earth.
In that time, we humans regularly converse with nature and animals. They guided us and we literally and metaphorically followed in their tracks. It all changed when we disconnected from them, removing ourselves from everything that once shared Earth with us.
Not all of us disengaged from nature; a handful of us continue to gather data and tell stories. Like the oral tradition of indigenous people, we pass down the reminders of how we lived before. The Animal Totem tarot is one of these reminders, a chapter told by our ancestors.
Revolutionary or new does not describe the Animal Totem tarot; it is not new by any measure of the word. After all, it is a reminder for extending and expanding the story of those who came before. Lives once lived connect easier with the Animal Totem tarot.
From the dirt we came and to the animals we spoke; that’s the reminder of the Animal Totem tarot. Animals then were much more than food on our plates; in addition to sustenance, they were our brothers and sisters. Our animals were our divine companions and guides.
A singular work couldn’t possibly encapsulate the natural world beyond humans. Animal Totem tarot readings are just another chapter in a much larger story still in progress. Once again, people are feeling the drive to walk in the footsteps of the world that once was.
How to read Animal Totem tarot cards?
The Animal totem tarot deck is a hybridized deck that marries oracular animal symbols with the tarot deck. Difficulty abounds in doing so. The medicine of the animal and the tarot card’s meaning has to stay true to itself.
This hybrid tarot platform brings together standard tarot and animal medicine. To read Animal Totem tarot cards, try pulling just one card a week. Drawing one card can help those learning to use these cards to set the tone and energy for their week.
Gather up your Animal Totem tarot deck and give it a shuffle. Ask yourself in your heart: “What energy will serve me this week?” and draw your card. Some spread out or fan out their cards and touch them until one of them causes a palm sensation.
Of course, there is no right or wrong way to do this. However you select your cards is personal. In reading an Animal Totem tarot card, start with the message of the animal before the standard tarot meaning.
Let’s say that you drew The Chicken/Six of Pentacles card. Now, Chickens have great medicinal energies, one of which is about working for everyone’s greater good. Since this sets the tone for the rest of your week, look for ways to be of service to everyone else.
Involve yourself, of course. Chickens let us know that martyrs end up as dinner, so do not serve others at the cost of martyrdom. Then, look at the standard tarot meaning.
The Six of Pentacles means that giving is in the air and things are aligning for the greater good. Read together, this means that things are falling into place. Harness the energy this card offers and have a great week giving to others!
Wish + Outcome + Obstacle + Plan
For the more advanced in reading Animal Totem tarots, there is a good spread for you to use. The WOOP Spread stands for Wish Outcome Obstacle Plan. Gabriel Oettingen designed it in his book, Rethinking Positive Thinking.
WOOP is scientifically proven and studied to increase motivation and goal achievement. Regardless of wish size and scale, WOOP has consistently proven to be the most effective way to achieve goals and dreams! A better system for a tarot spread, there is not.
With Animal Totems in play, WOOP goes into overdrive. Draw your first card to represent your wish. It must be challenging, yet achievable for you. Set a time frame to achieve the goal too; any goal with a time frame gives urgency that drives action.
The second card you draw is the outcome card. Sometimes known as the benefit card, it illustrates the benefit of achieving your goals set in card one. Take note of this card! It may not be the outcome or benefit you’re expecting.
Card three is your obstacle card. Remember that this represents an inner obstacle you have to overcome, not an external one that will bar your way. It could be a mental block or a belief you have that you must resist before you can achieve your goals.
Fourth and finally, the plan card. Plan cards tell you how to get past the obstacle when it becomes too overwhelming and you cannot reach your goal. Instructive as a card, it can tell you how exactly you deal with your inner crises and obstacles.
WOOP Example
Here’s a hypothetical set of cards you could draw to illustrate the use and understanding of WOOP. Let’s say that card one is the Eight of Pentacles with the Mountain Goat. This means that the wish is to be more skilled and confident in one’s own endeavors in life.
Surefooted, the mountain goat has practiced the skill of climbing mountains and steep inclines his whole life. Skills you practice will become part of your muscle memory, just like the sheep’s feet never forget his mountain climbing skill. The Eight of Pentacles informs you that this wish is about being in-demand and a “go-to” person.
Card two is the Knight of Swords with the Rook. Rooks are clever, like their cousins, the crow and raven. Their resourcefulness means there is no task they cannot do. The knight is clever and quick on his feet, able to overcome any challenge with a clear mind and set outcome.
Obstacle card is the Five of Pentacles with the Raccoon Dog. While the Eight of Pentacles longs to be in demand, the Five of Pentacles feels left out and taken advantage of. There might as well be a neon sign that says an inner block exists. You must clear it out before the wish can come true.
Finally, the Six of Swords with the Sugar Glider represents a leap of faith. When the Five of Pentacles’ obstacle appears, spread your arms and jump! The journey is the meaning of the Six of Swords; worry not where you’re from or where you’re headed.
March back to the foot of the mountain if you have to with your mountain goat. Climb again and don’t let the trigger of the Five of Pentacles overwhelm you. Do so, and this hypothetical WOOP reading leads to great success for you!
