Aries, Cancer, Capricorn… If Western astrology is interested in the position of the sun at the time of your birth, this is not the case for all. Chinese astrology, very popular also in France, is based for example on the Moon and is not interested in the constellations, unlike ours. Native American astrology, on the other hand, puts animals at the heart of its teaching. Little known in Europe, it differs in many ways from the forms we traditionally practice.
With a more naturalistic approach, it relies solely on animal symbols. This is explained to Planet Philippe Regnicoli, professional astrologer and specialist in Native American astrology: “It is based on the principle that animals are mediums between men and the divine, ‘totems’ and that each human being has a privileged relationship with a particular animal-totem”. “Depending on his date of birth, we will therefore be under the protection of a particular animal, which will both give us certain character traits and a certain destiny”, he adds.
What are the main differences between an animal totem and a constellation? To this question, Philippe Regnicoli explains that the first “is undoubtedly more inscribed in reality, in the world and in nature than a constellation, which represents a period of time. An animal-totem represents the link between an animal and a principle of life on earth”. “We can therefore say that the Native American system is more ‘terrestrial’ and that our system is more ‘celestial’, which makes the two perfectly complementary”, adds the astrologer to Planet.
Amerindian astrology also has the particularity of not being fixed, Philippe Regnicoli tells us: “It continues to evolve over time, differs from one South American region to another and above all, it constitutes a support that can be used each person in his innermost being. Our Western astrology includes astronomical calculations and the learning of a certain number of essential ancestral knowledge, while shamanic astrology is quite close to a direct experience of consciousness in the face of the invisible”.
If you are sensitive to the totemic approach, then Native American astrology could enlighten you on certain points that Western astrology leaves out, such as your destiny and your relationship to nature. Wolf, beaver, bear, crow… What is your totem animal according to your date of birth? Check it out below.
