In ancient times, the world was full of unexplored mysteries. There were many divine beings who were worshiped and admired. The worship of such beings made the people feel less alone in this unknown world.
One such way of showing reverence to these strange and unpredictable gods was to perform animal sacrifices.
Some cultures correlate animals with fertility and vitality since they’re constantly living, moving, and growing. Their existence provides continued life for humanity through their meat, skins, and bones. Additionally, they are the missing connection to the spirit realm and afterlife.
Animals symbolized certain aspects of human personality and lifestyle, which was quite helpful for the healers or shamans who used them as a tool for assessing health or predicting future events in the lives of their patients.
In fact, animal symbolism is still used today by many cultures as a means of divination and fortune-telling.
All animal symbolism is the use of animal imagery, especially within a literary context, to symbolize non-literal meanings.
1. Animals and humans are often seen as reflections of each other. In this way, animals can be used as a figure of speech to represent different human characteristics or behaviors through their actions or mannerisms. Examples: “A dog’s life”; “She has a catty personality”; “My boss is a monkey on my back”
2. Animals can be used to represent human qualities that lack an appropriate word in the speaker’s language: for example, in the case of animals which do not exist in their language
3. Animals can be used to represent abstract ideas such as death or nature
Animal Symbolism
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