A serious kind of shamanic work is to ‘recover or restore a power animal’ for a patient or participant in the Sacred Ceremony, which involves the shaman connecting with the spirit of the animal and restoring the bond. For some reason, a middleman like the shaman is capable of invoking sympathy from the universe mysteriously.
There is no way to guess in advance which power animal belonged or was connected with the patient in the Sacred Ceremony. A person may unknowingly have taken help from many power animals over a lifetime. A power animal may have come and left, usually they leave in a few years.
Who can power animals be restored to
In order to restore a power animal, it is not necessary to lose a power animal. What is important is that the power animal takes pity on the patient or the participant in the Sacred Ceremony. Once the power animal returns, they should be treated with utmost respect, otherwise they may leave again.
How to recognise your power animal
During the exercise to recover/restore your power animal, you will see your power animal four times. They can be a mammal, bird, or a serpent, reptile or fish (provided that for serpent, reptile or fish – they do not show their teeth). The power animal can be a mythic animal or human, but almost never an insect. A close-up view or a part of an animal, like an eye, is perfectly acceptable.
Patience is the key
Most westerners are surprised to discover the vividness of reality of the journey to retrieve a power animal. Their potentiality for shamanic journey and being seers is far greater than they expect. Some of those with the highest potentials are ‘slow starters’. Therefore, one should not be discouraged.
Michael Harner explained the 18 steps exercise on how to recover your Spirit Animal in his 1992 book, the way of the shaman, which describes the process with diagrams.
The power animals are often seen in the ‘Visions’ after consuming the Holy Medicine of the Holy and Divine Mother Ayahuasca.
References
- Harner M. 1992, The Way of Shaman, Harper San Francisco, U.S.
