Many therianthropes (and non-therians), have beliefs in totems. A totem is the guiding spirit of an animal, plant, or other artifact of nature.
Generally, among the werecommunity, when people talk about totems, they are talking about animal totems. The archetypal spirit of a particular kind of animal.
Not the spirit of a tiger or a wolf, but Tiger, or Wolf.
Totems can be seen as a representation of yoru spiritual "family", or perhaps even as a sort of spiritual guide, or an ideal to follow. Some people personify them as if they were individual, thinking beings, while to others, they are like a collective ideal.
Sometimes, there is some confusion between phenotype and totem. It is possible to be a wolf-person, or a cougar-person, or a horse-person or a human-person, but to have one or more totems, that may or may not be the same as your phenotype.
There may be some confusion in that someone may have an animal totem who adopts them, or which they have a connection to, without that person being a were.
Or a were may confuse having a totem with having "another wereside".
By: prander
An object, such as an animal or plant that serves as the emblem or symbol of a kinship group or a person.
Relevant information
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Slavic Pagan Beliefs
Like the native Americans, each Slavic tribe had a totem animal that the clan was usually named after. It was considered taboo to kill or eat this animal except for specific religious rituals. Each member of the tribe was thought to have an animal twin, and the death of that twin could cause the death of the tribe member.
See also