by Adriana Disano

Created on: August 26, 2010

Spirit guides and totems are two very different things at their core. While the terms are often used interchangably, the differences between the two are apparent upon examination.

A totem is an item or living thing, commonly an animal, which gives a person personal, spiritual power. When I was taught about totems "growing up-"and I use this term loosely to refer to my metaphysical teachings-I was told across all boards that they were symbols, across some that they were spirit guides, and across none that spirit guides were equal to totems.

A totem is not necessarily a spirit guide.

A spirit guide is not necessarily a totem.

One can fill both roles, however, and I think the importance of that fact needs to be addressed for this debate to be valid.

I'll use personal experience to that effect.

My primary spirit guide is a bear. Through getting to know him, I have also discovered that my animal totem is the bear. However, my totem is the symbol of the bear, the concept of the bear, and the collective spirit of the bear; my guide is an individual. Just because his species is shared with my totem does not necessarily mean that he is a totem for me, and he is a guide for different reasons than the bear is my totem.

My spirit guide is A bear. My animal totem is THE bear.

I believe that animal totems can manifest in spirit guide form, and that spirit guides can choose to take the form of one's animal totem to get in better contact with an individual. However, these acts are mutually exclusive.

While animal totems often take on the roles of a spirit guide, they do not become spirit guides themselves. They are often teachers of wisdom and sources of spiritual power for many people, but they are not spirits who can speak for themselves. That is because a totem is a concept, not a spirit.

A spirit, however, is a being disconnected from the physical world who may choose to take many forms. By taking on the form of an animal, the spirit is inevitably fulfilling the role of totem for one person. Whether this spirit chooses to take the form of your totem is its choice. A spirit can take whatever form it chooses. That is because a spirit is, so to speak, a living ethereal being.

The role of spirit guide and totem can be fulfilled by one being, however, they are roles that are exclusive to each other. In the end, one is not defined by the other.

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