Today's Wednesday Factoid is: What would be your spirit animal?
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"Spirit animal" the way this is written isn't meant for me. There are some religious/spiritual traditions among some Native / First Nations folks that incorporate the notion of spirit animals, and I'm not going to try to explain it because that's not for me to do either.
What I've heard is that a lot of people find it culturally appropriative and gross for people outside these cultures to adopt bits of the spirituality they like and call it theirs. The IDEA, however, is common in other traditions, spiritual practices, and fiction; animal companions are very popular in our stories and are integral to human thought, so it's certainly not the broader concept that people object to. (I've even seen one essay about this where someone said, basically, "That's fine, call it your Patronus." A reference to Harry Potter, ya know.)
I don't use the phrase "spirit animal" for anything I'm associated with--not when I'm actually talking about Pagan traditions, and not in jest either (the way a lot of pop culture is using it now). But to answer the question outside of acknowledging that "spirit animal" is not a thing that's for me, I think I can still say a type of animal I relate to, that represents me in a way and is a cool emblem for me.
I like birds, particularly the wren. :)
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