Within shamanic traditions, power animals or spirit animals are understood as spiritual beings that appear in animal form and serve as allies, protectors, and sources of power. They are regarded as actual helping spirits rather than mere symbols, each carrying distinct qualities, wisdom, and “medicine” associated with its animal nature. These beings often form enduring relationships with practitioners, arising through dreams, visions, or shamanic journeys entered via drumming, dancing, or other means of altered consciousness. The animal’s form is significant, as it reflects particular energies such as strength, insight, or grounding, which become available to the person under that spirit’s care. In this way, power animals function as guardians and guides, accompanying the practitioner through both ordinary life and ritual work.

Their role in healing is described in terms of restoring power, offering protection, and providing guidance. Many shamanic systems hold that illness and misfortune can arise from power loss or soul loss, and power animals are central to “power retrieval,” in which lost spiritual vitality is restored to the patient. During healing ceremonies, these spirits are believed to shield both practitioner and patient from harmful influences, creating a protected ritual space in which deeper transformation can occur. They also assist in diagnosis, revealing the spiritual or emotional roots of an illness through visions, symbolic images, or direct communication in altered states. Each power animal is said to bring specific healing qualities—such as strength, grounding, or expanded vision—that can be channeled to support the patient’s return to balance and wholeness.

Power animals further assist in the subtle work of soul retrieval, helping the shaman navigate non-ordinary realms to locate and return lost soul parts. In such processes, they may be perceived as guiding the practitioner to the appropriate realms, offering protection along the way, and helping to “carry” the recovered vitality back to the person in need. The relationship between shaman and power animal is reciprocal: the spirit offers protection, guidance, and power, while the human honors and “feeds” the relationship through ceremony, offerings, and ongoing attention. Through this sustained alliance, power animals are understood to support not only specific healing rituals but also the long-term spiritual resilience and clarity of those who work with them.