Spirit animal Elephant comes to you to give its guidance about ancient wisdom, self-esteem, patience, power, strength, and compassion.
All humanity has respected Elephants throughout all human history. It has been part of our collective beliefs, stories, and symbols.
Looking at these giant animals, we remembered our restricted way of perception. We accepted it as the collective story of blind men and an Elephant which we will talk about in a while.
It was six men of Indostan
To learn much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
It might satisfy his mind
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right
And all were in the wrong!
“The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe
Let’s dive deeper into the symbols and stories of Elephants worldwide to prevail the meanings of the guidance of spirit animal Elephants.
What does the spirit animal Elephant mean?
The spirit animal Elephant represents wisdom, patience, loyalty, strength, and strong bonds with others.
When an Elephant comes to you as a spirit animal, you also get these traits in you.
However, when it first appears to you, Elephant spirit animals will ask you some questions. For example;
- Have you lost your connection with people at your home?
- Did you try to stretch your empathic skills?
- Do you feel like you’re alone?
Your spirit animal Elephant will help you find the answer to all the questions. And then he will work to resolve them.
The Elephant is quite an emotional animal.
They grieve when they lost any of their family members. Sometimes they go through depression if they lose their babies.
Therefore, as a Spirit animals, Elephants will teach you to care about others.
One interesting thing about Elephants is that they live in matriarchal groups. Therefore, have strong bonds with others.
Hence, he will assist you in living in harmony with others.
What is the meaning of an Elephant charm?
The Elephant charm is trendy in Western cultures.
This first started during the British rule in the Indian subcontinent.
In Europe and America, they believe Elephant charm is lucky. They also tend to turn up the trunk always. They believe downward-facing trunks will result in running out of luck.
The Elephant charm also signifies the strong bonding between family members.
Therefore, the charm will help you improve your love, care, and respect for other family members.
Westerns wear Elephant necklaces to bring the lucky Elephant charm. Nonetheless, a spirit animal Elephant can also be your lucky charm.
Is an Elephant good luck?
Many people consider Elephants to be good luck.
Well, it has a long story.
Feng shui and Indian cultures primarily recognize Elephants as good luck.
Even the Elephant-like Hindu god Ganesha represents wealth and luck. So naturally, therefore, it’s more prevalent in Asia. I’ll discuss them more in a while.
Nonetheless, after world war I, in Thailand, a royal family owned a few white Elephants. And only that family could afford to own Elephants at that time. Therefore, they got a lot of media attention.
Besides, many soldiers were returning home with a vast knowledge of the Hindu God Ganesha. So, the speculation is that this is when the belief of Elephants is good luck arises first.
What do Elephants symbolize in different cultures?
Elephants are pretty popular animals in several cultures.
Especially the large size of Elephants attracts more attention. However, in some cultures, they bring luck while increasing bonding among people in some cultures.
I have explained some of the famous Elephant cultures and symbolism below:
1. Feng Shui
Feng Shui is a Chinese Geomancy that originated from the ancient Chinese practice of using energy factors to influence your surroundings. However, they have different beliefs about Elephants.
In Feng Shui, Elephants are considered sacred animals. It can bring good luck and wealth to your family and provide protection. However, the results depend on how you use them.
For example, if you place a statue of an Elephant in front of doors, it will bring good luck. Besides, if you put it in the middle of the house, it is supposed to protect you from harmful energies. Moreover, Elephant statues can give you knowledge, improve your career, and develop fertility.
2. Burmese Folklore
Although Elephants are one of the largest animals in the world, in Burmese Folklore, there is a small and rare water Elephant.
They are believed to be the size of a mouse.
However, they can attack giant Elephants and can eat their brains. Besides, they live high up in the mountains.
3. Kamba Tribe
Kamba is a tribe of Kenya. They have an interesting tale about the origin of Elephants. The story in a nutshell is:
Once a poor man heard of the rich and generous Ivonya-Ngia (He that feeds the poor). Then he set out to look for him, dreaming of being rich.
However, one day he reached the mansion where Ivonya-Ngia gave him an ointment and told him to rub it on his wife’s canine teeth.
So he did it, and his wife’s teeth grew to the size of a man’s hand.
Then he sold them at a reasonable price. After that, he continued to rub the ointment. But after a particular time refused to give her teeth, and slowly, her entire body transformed into an Elephant.
Then she left for the forest and gave birth to new Elephants.
This myth explains why some people believe Elephants can bring wealth.
What do Elephants symbolize in Christianity?
Elephants, the gentle giants, symbolize mercy and strength like Christ. Though Elephants can cause a great deal of destruction, they do not behave violently toward others.
Therefore, in Christianity, Elephants are symbols of patience, grace, temperance, and strength.
However, though there isn’t any direct mention of Elephants in the bible, I found a verse mentioning Ivory:
“Once every three years, the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory*, apes, and peacocks.”
1 Kings 10:22
*Ivory is derived from the Elephant in greek.
Spirit animal Elephant symbolism Buddhism
In Buddhism, some specific symbols represent the Buddha. One of them is a White Elephant.
In Buddhism, white symbolizes holiness, enlightenment, and purity.
Besides, Buddhist believe Elephants possess great wisdom and compassion.
I have found an exciting tale of Elephants. It says, Queen Maya was the mother of Siddhartha, who later became Buddha.
When she was pregnant, she had a dream of an Elephant.
The Elephant brought her a lotus flower. However, the belief here is that the flower symbolizes Buddha. Therefore, the Buddhist people respect Elephants.
Spirit animal Elephant symbolism Hinduism
Elephants are sacred and significant animals in Hinduism.
One of the Gods of the Hindu religion, “Lord Ganesha,” wears the Elephant’s head.
According to Hindu tradition, Lord Ganesha is the God of luck, success, and wisdom.
Therefore, Hindu people respect Elephants as the symbol of these things. Moreover, they use the symbol of Elephants to invite good luck.
Besides, there are a few more legends available about Elephants in Hinduism. One of them says that eight Elephants are located at eight corners of the world to protect the earth.
Moreover, they’re sometimes visited by Gods who ride on their backs. However, Hindus believe when any of these Elephants move, it causes earthquakes.
Why are Elephants sacred in Hinduism?
As I said earlier, Lord Ganesha in Hinduism is an Elephant headed God. So, therefore, they consider Elephants sacred in Hinduism.
Ganesha can help you remove all the obstacles in your life.
One of the ancient Hindu texts says:
“All obstacles, whatever they may be, will be rooted out by worshipping Ganesh.”
Moreover, the Elephant head of Ganesh represents power and strength. But, simultaneously, one of his broken tusks resembles the ability to accept good things in life and stay away from the negatives.
Spirit animal Elephant quotes: What is the saying about Elephants?
Now it is time to get some inspiration with Elephant quotes!
“Elephants love reunions. After years of separation, they recognize one another and greet each other with wild, boisterous joy. There’s bellowing and trumpeting ear flapping and rubbing. Trunks entwine.” –
Jennifer Richard Jacobson, Small as an Elephant
“She owned the road
as an Elephant owns the veldt
and like a big blue Elephant
moved with massive grace
and dignity.”
David Drake, Overdue Notice: Poems from the Library
“There is no creature among all the Beasts of the world which hath so great an ample demonstration of the power and wisdom of Almighty God as the Elephant.”
Edward Topsell
These famous quotes show an Elephant’s empathy, power, and strength. Therefore, if an Elephant comes to you as your spirit animal, you’re likely to embrace these traits.
What is the spiritual meaning of the spirit animal Elephant?
Spirit animal Elephants can mean numerous things in your life.
It depends on the path of your life. However, if you go to the deeper state of your mind, you’ll be able to interpret the message better.
Strength, social bonding, power, good luck, patience are some of the common spiritual traits of an Elephant.
Nonetheless, spiritually, Elephants are associated with love, belongingness, and loyalty. They’re always loyal to their matriarchal groups. Moreover, Elephants’ feminine nature will enable you to love your close ones and care for them.
However, Elephants are pretty slow at moving. Therefore, for some people, a spirit animal Elephant can mean laziness and sluggish movement. But on the other hand, Elephants have an excellent memory too, which will make your mind sharper.
Elephants’ eyes, whose senses of touch, smell, hearing, and taste are very sensitive, are disproportionately small to their heads.
Since it is difficult to turn left and right, they are partially prevented from seeing the sides.
Because of these limited viewing angles, they often look straight ahead and sometimes may not notice what is happening.
Elephant guidance becomes vital in periods when the focus should be on the whole of life.
Maybe inspired by this attribute of the Elephants, the parable “blind men and the Elephant” came to life and was widely diffused worldwide.
The parable originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent and has crossed between many religious traditions.
It is part of Jain, Hindu, and Buddhist texts of the 1st millennium CE.
The story also appears in the 2nd millennium Sufi and Baháʼí Faith lore.
The tale later became well known in Europe, with 19th-century American poet John Godfrey Saxe creating his version as a poem, with a final verse that explains that the Elephant is a metaphor for God, and the various blind men represent religions that disagree on something no one has thoroughly experienced.
The parable continues as such:
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an Elephant, had been brought to the town, but none were aware of its shape and form.
So, out of curiosity, they said: “We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable.”
So, they sought it out, and when they found it, they groped about it.
The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, “This being is like a thick snake.”
It seemed like a kind of fan for another one whose hand reached its ear.
Another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said the Elephant is a pillar-like tree trunk.
The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said to the Elephant, “is a wall.”
Another who felt its tail described it as a rope.
The last felt its tusk, stating the Elephant is that which is hard, smooth, and like a spear.
Conclusion
Elephants, which are highly respected in all ages of history, are among the world’s largest and longest-lived land animals.
If an Elephant is coming to you as a spirit animal, accept it with respect and focus on creating a relationship as it is how to start.
If you would like to find your spirit animal, you can start by reading the articles below:
My Shamanic Journeys Experience
Learn How to Find Your Spirit Animal
What Is the Meaning of a Spirit Animal?
How to Connect with Your Spirit Guides?
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Spirit Animal Board!
