This post is part 3 in my What is Magic series, click here to read parts one and two.

Ancestor and Animals make great spirit allies

The topic of spirit allies is one that can leave some people squirming with discomfort.  It’s one of those things that if you talk about openly in the wrong company could definitely get you labeled a wacko.  If that’s your fear, don’t run away, I’m gonna break the subject down for you in a nice digestible, non-wacko way.

Any discussion of spirits is always going to make some folks a little squeamish, because we can’t see them or touch them.  But that doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and once you start tuning into the subtle ways that you might be getting messages from your allies, you will see that it really isn’t so mysterious.

I believe we are all born with a team of spirits who are here to help us in this lifetime.   I call them Spirit Allies.

Before we go any further lets get some myths about spirit allies out of the way.

1. You don’t have to be a special kind of person to have them.  Everyone has them, that includes you. Whether you choose to recognize them and work with them is completely up to you, but they are there helping you out regardless.
2. You don’t need a shaman to find yours:  Having someone help you figure out who they are can be helpful, especially if you are like I used to be, and believe that there is nothing  magical about yourself.  But your allies are yours, and even if someone does give you information about them, always make sure it fits with your own intuition about who they are, don’t just take someone’s word for it.
3. You also don’t need to pay $3000 and go to a weekend workshop to find them.  While classes and workshops can be helpful in getting over the blocks you might have to believing the information you are getting intuitively, your allies are always there ready to reveal themselves if you only ask.
4. If they are an animal, they aren’t always predators.   Sure it’s cool to have an African Lion or a Bald Eagle as your spirit ally, but any animal may be an ally: a wren, a snail, the dragonfly, or the common house cat might be a powerful ally to you.  In fact, one of my teachers, Colette Gardiner teaches that the first step to finding an animal ally is to notice what animals you see on a daily basis.  Crow, cat, dog, squirrel, fox, but sadly for those of us outside of Africa, no lions.
5. They are not ghosts.  Ghosts are the imprint left by humans who have not fully passed through the gate into the afterlife.  They are not allies.  They are usually stuck trying to work through something left-over from their lives.  Allies on the other hand are humans that have fully passed through to the afterlife and learned the wisdom they needed to learn about their human life.

Getting Started

First and foremost in working with any spirit you want to be sure of two things.  One that you set a boundary to only deal with spirits that ‘love you beyond all reason’.  There are plenty of spirits out there, and many of them have agendas of their own, not all of them have your best interests at heart.  So whenever I call a spirit into a circle, or magical space, I make sure to qualify it such.

The other thing to keep in mind is that it is a two way relationship.  Our allies are here to help us, but in return we also are here to remember them, honor them, and if needed speak up for them.

Next week we are going to discuss the two easiest group of allies to get to know: Ancestors and Animal Allies.  But for now I want you to ponder two questions:

1. what animals do you see on a daily basis?  Do you ever have an animal visit you in dreams?
2. Is there an ancestor that you feel a particular affinity for? or who’s story has always captivated you?

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