Thread by @NomaDzino

What is your superpower? One of mine is seeing patterns and making connections. Deep-diving into African Spirituality is one such exercise. Is there a connection between amabhayi/amahiya or ancestral print fabrics & spirit animals, totems and alchemical symbols? 🧵

Totemism is the belief that humans have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant. The entity, or totem, is thought to interact with a kin group or individual & serve as their emblem or symbol. The word totem is from the Ojibwa language.

Credo Mutwa was astonished to find after traveling to America that the native Americans were more like us Africans in their beliefs and way of life. Thee totems in Africa were used as alchemical symbols for spiritual transformation for people to achieve mastery over their lives.

@gogo_khanyakude & other healers explain these on YouTube. There are others that explain amabhayi/amahiya/masela a badimo. They show your spiritual lineage, gifts how you connect & they carry alchemical codes that enable you to communicate when carrying out spiritual work.

If your totem is a lion, you may dream of lions often. This indicates that you need to go to the bush to pray and connect with your ancestors & spirit guides. You may see different patterns & colours of the print. Not only for healers & you don’t have to wear it. Ask for clarity.

Qualities of the lion totem or spirit animal include courage, leadership & personal power. It is associated with those of royal lineage. They demand respect & are fiercely protective of those close to them. Consider how lions behave in nature for the lessons for your life.

The leopard print is associated with royal lineage & healing gifts. The colour indicates the type of spiritual gift or calling. This includes herbal medicine. Leopard people like lion folk need to go to the mountains & the forest to connect to their ancestors & spirit guides.

The late Wangari Maathai mentions in her autobiography of how she met a leopard in the forest & spoke to it & it didn’t attack her. WaNgari means those of the leopard in Kikuyu. A strong & fearless woman, she lived up to her name as a courageous conservationist & leader.

Leopards are solitary & their qualities include strength, agility, stealth, elusiveness, perception, self-reliance, authenticity, & rare beauty. In Kemet, leopard skins were worn to frighten off evil spirits. Leopard people are usually introverts or introverted extroverts.

More fun facts about leopard folk. They notice things that others do not. They look beyond the surface of words & actions to the person’s underlying intentions. You cannot lie to them or hide things from them. They know who they are & do not change their personality - authentic.

The cheetah is the fastest land animal. Cheetah folk must go to the bush to connect with their guides. It is also associated with royalty & healing gifts of empathy & intuition. Cheetah folk are honest, truthful & direct but diplomatic. They make quick decisions & act on them.

I’ll leave it here for today. Research your totems even if you don’t have a spiritual gift or calling. If you’re attracted to a print, buy it & seek guidance. Sometimes praying with it or having it in your space is enough for healing through the vibration of colours & numbers.

I should say the fabric designs depicting the totems were used as instruments of alchemy. Thanks @darkiepedia for the correction. They contained the codes for communicating with Spirit. Do you can wear the print, hang it in your space, pray, phahla or meditate with it.

Our ancestors observed & learnt from nature. People’s characters carry the qualities of certain animals & their behaviour provides clues to understand ourselves. Native Americans believed in spirit and power animals, our dominant personality traits & teachers of life lessons.

@threadreaderapp unroll