Finding your Totem Animal
Poor Lil K, left with a rather ridiculous looking slug as a spirit guide. What a slug is supposed to teach you about yourself and your spiritual path, I have no idea. Exercise caution around salt? That’s all I’ve got.
The role of the noble shaman, once respected, revered, and necessary in cultures all across the globe, has been relegated to the realm of hocus pocus, witchcraft, and at best, a weird sort of new-age revivalism. Shamanism was once practiced by almost every group of people at some point in their history, albeit in varying forms. Its interesting to consider that common spiritual root we all share. Shaman were storytellers, medicine men (or women), and spiritual protectors. They were responsible for the mental and emotional well being of their people; kind of a big deal. Nowadays, its hard to find an equivalent source of spiritual guidance. Priests don’t really fit the bill, nor do doctors or psychologists. The reality is that the shaman was, typically, all of these things.
I’ve always loved looking into the shamanic traditions of various cultures. That natural, in-tune-with-the-earth vibe that runs through them all has always resonated pretty strongly for me.
I did hourly comics today alongside catching up on schoolwork, going to class, and doing the strip! Its ridiculous and hard to read in places but you can check it out here, if you’d like.
T-Shirt design is here. If you like the look of it and if you’d be interested in purchasing one for 15-16 dollars. Please email me (k@10km.org) so I can get a good estimate of how many shirts to buy. We will be ordering them this week!
If you missed last friday’s replacement strip (leviathan is no more) click here.
And finally, there are going to be some changes to the website. Not major ones, just some subtle retuning to make the site more streamlined and such. You can probably expect some weirdness going on in the middle of the week.
I’m a medium, bro!
That’s what Lil’ K gets for penny pinching with the bargain mescaline.
nice para-ten bro cameo.
Those hourly comics were great…
Becareful an Owl does not eat your spirit Guide lil’K
Very valid point on the lack of shamanic traidition as a grounding/expanding part of modern culture (and really, didn’t it serve a bit of both?).
I feel like storytellers/artists try to fill that void, but they often don’t have the same kind of focus on sharing balance and enlightenment as a shaman might, people aren’t necessarily looking for that kind of help, and the role of the artist/storyteller isn’t taken as seriously or with as much reverence as the shaman was traditionally.
Certain esoteric studies try to revive this kind of relationship or role, but it’s often bastardized with “fluffy bunny” new age softening of hard life truths, marketing, or personal agendas.
It’s a really interesting subject. 🙂
a spirit slug means you’re supposed to lead a trail of slime and make it hard for others to follow
tee hee!
Is that a Cosmic Banditos reference?
Snail… Take like slowly?
Snails are slow to the eyes of the hurried. They never stop sliding and can cover long distances, untiringly, only stopping to eat crops.
It’s the turtle lesson all over again.
If you go slowly and ever, you will reach your goals, son. That’s the life of an artist. To slowly improve through years and years.
I had a white tiger for a totem animal before I really even knew what they were. And now I’m all, “I don’t care if they’re mutants…someone has to love them!”
My totem animal is a naked mole rat.