Elephant Animal Totem Symbolism
Elephants are the gentle giants of the Earth. Their size emanates majestic royalty, poise, honor and their personalities follow suit.
As animal totems, elephants symbolize pride, strength, and steadfastness. Although they are mammoth in size, they have a calm demeanor and are very soft and caring creatures.
Elephants are very affectionate and always exercise unmatchable care for both their young and the elderly. Their strength and power also comes with an ancient wisdom, meaning that they have many lessons to teach us.
The elephant spirit guide is cherished across many cultures and religions as a great symbol and spiritual entity. In Christianity, it is an icon of chastity, patience, self-control and abstinence. These traits are viewed with the utmost respect and are meant to inspire Christians to live their lives in a similarly pure manner.
In Asia, the elephant is viewed a bit differently. The Chinese believe that they symbolize longevity of life, happiness, ease, and good luck. The prominent Hindu god Ganesha, who is the patron of good luck, fortune and protection, is depicted as an elephant who gives the most valuable of blessings. Ganesha is highly glorified in Hinduism, acting as your personal protector and overcoming difficult obstacles on your behalf.
Elephant Associated Traits
Calm, Intelligent, Caring, Good Luck, Fortune, Affectionate, Wise, Soft, Family
Symbolic Meaning Of Elephant
Like this god, the elephants as spiritual totems are considered to be sovereign and thus carry a heavy load of responsibility on their backs.
Elephants have dependents, and they embrace their leadership roles with grace and dignity. They act with determination to fulfill their personal responsibilities throughout their lives, and teach us that we can and should do the same.
Above all, the elephant animal totem is a nurturer and thus acts as a symbol of this for us. We must look after ourselves beyond physically sustaining ourselves, nurturing our minds and souls in addition to our bodies. Often times, we forget this when we are caught up in the chaos and trivialities of our daily lives, and the elephant symbol presents itself to remind us that sometimes we need to go back to the basics.
In order to reach out and help others, we must first take care of ourselves. Perhaps you have unintentionally isolated yourself or grown distant from family and friends. The elephant will tell you to find your way home, back to the things that truly mean the most to you.
Along with this, the elephant meaning tells us that we must have the courage to let go of grudges and unpleasant memories, for they only work to bring us down and haunt us. Individuals who can relate to the elephant are capable of feeling deeply and responding to their feelings.
Those who think that they cannot do this would do well to take some inspiration from the elephant totem for their own lives. Elephant people dig deep inside themselves to channel their inner knowing and use what they find to nurture the weak and helpless. Family ties and loyalty are of the utmost importance to these creatures, and they remind us to exercise the same values in our own sets of challenging circumstances.
In our dreams, the elephant symbol may appear when we are called upon to be more patient or understanding with ourselves and others alike. To find yourself riding an elephant in a dream serves as a reassurance that you are in commendable control of your subconscious and aspects of your life that once troubled or scared you.
In this sense, the elephant spirit guide congratulates you on conquering a challenge and bettering yourself. Alternatively, to dream that you are afraid of an elephant suggests the opposite. This type of dream signifies that there is a massive problem that you are afraid to confront.
The elephant spirit animal calls upon you to have faith in yourself and act in a way that will allow you to have peace. Again, nurturing yourself is one of the crucial necessities that we must practice in order to live joyfully and meaningfully.