TIGER Spirit Animal
Fiercely follow your heart, be prepared for whatever life brings, and claim confidence with tiger symbolism.
She came the other day in a meditation. She came after pale pink roses turned white. Grief in the celebration of my son starting kindergarten tried to cool and distance itself. I asked for help and she came. A beautiful tiger strode out from behind the bouquet. In the days after, I kept thinking I should share my article about tiger spirit animal with you. Then, driving my son home after his first day of school, he told me that he was assigned to sit at the “tiger table” in class. “That’s amazing!” I exclaimed.
But, it’s not nearly as amazing as the courage it took for him to do a really scary thing and walk by himself into the big elementary school. I’m thinking of all the students who are doing this same scary thing this time of year, and the parents doing the scary thing of letting them go.
And I’m thinking of all this on a usual first day with its usual concerns. After this week’s tragedy at the school in Winder, Georgia, we’re again reminded of the terrible truth that going to school has greater danger. There is a deep undercurrent of threat and fear that many feel and face. It takes courage of all kinds to go to school.
School can be intense with its routines and structures. Learning takes discipline. It also takes ferocious determination, and only that can come from our untamed selves. Tiger is a guardian of our fierce, wild nature. She helps us overcome self-doubt and face our fears.
May she watch over students, teachers, and parents as we do this hard and worthwhile thing. May all students be given a safe space to find their confidence and hone the brilliance of their wild selves.
In honor of the start of school, I’m offering a 50% discount on my “Learner Archetypes” online class thru the end of September. This class includes in-depth wisdom on the student, seeker, and dilettante/generalist archetypes. Click this link to get the discount.
The following is an updated version of my article on “Tiger Spirit Animal” that was originally published on January 19, 2016.
Fierce Tiger
Tiger has a fierce reputation. She can take down prey twice her own weight and strikes fear in the hearts of people who walk her land. The word “fierce” comes from Latin ferus which means ‘untamed’. To be fierce is to be intense, passionate, and determined. A fierce being has and expresses bold confidence and style. Tiger is as confident and stylish as they come.
Many of the definitions of “fierce” speak of aggressiveness, but the gifted expression of tiger spirit animal isn’t violent or hurtful. As the balanced embodiment of ferocity, tiger shows us how to harness our intensity and transform it into assertiveness. With her guidance, we can stand up for ourselves, and we can affirm that which we are passionate about.
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Cutting to the Chase
The orange/gold and black stripes on tiger’s coat are a key into lesser-known aspects of tiger spiritual meaning. Morphologically, the stripes provide excellent camouflage in the dense forests and grasslands that tiger calls home. The broken pattern, different on every tiger, blends in with twigs, leaves, shadows and light.
The difference between the symbolic meanings of a tiger’s stripes versus a leopard’s spots is great. The leopard’s spots imply a softness and indirect nature with things coming around full circle.
The tiger’s stripes demonstrate a sharp directness, slicing through the darkness, and cutting to the chase. In the shamanic journeywork I do, I find that tiger spirit animal is great at slicing through chaos and confusion, allowing for new levels of healing and transformation to breakthrough.
Tiger is not a long distance runner, so she must silently prowl for miles over her territory to stalk prey and pounce on them unsuspecting. There is commitment and passion in the focus of tiger spirit animal. When it comes down to getting a job done, tiger spirit animal cuts straight to the chase.
Where in your life can you act swiftly and cut through the underbrush in your way? Ask tiger spirit animal for assistance.
Doubt and Confidence
The light and dark stripes of tiger relate to pronounced opposites. In tiger’s case, the contrast has to do with the struggle between doubt and confidence.
The Buddha taught that “having killed a tiger the Brahmin, undisturbed, moves on.” This comes from verse 295 in The Dhammapada and a Brahmin is translated as an "awakened one" or a spiritual guru or teacher.
In his translation of this important Buddhist text, Gil Fronsdal shares that this teaching about killing a tiger is not meant to be taken literally. To the Buddha, the tiger is symbolic of one of the five hindrances - doubt.
Overcoming doubt is attaining conviction in your beliefs and in yourself. In looking at the shadow and light attributes of tiger spirit animal meaning, we see that tiger can represent both sides. She can slice through doubt with conviction or degrade conviction with doubt.
Our struggles with doubt are intense, challenging and shattering. There is nothing soft and cuddly about what doubt can do to our own wellbeing and what we must do to doubt. We must fiercely take down indecision and hesitation. Tiger spirit animal is here to help.
Like the tattered fabric that tiger’s coat imitates, tiger spirit animal will tear our illusions to shreds, allowing us to gain clarity and find the confidence to move ahead.
When considering the meaning of tiger spirit animal in your life, where are you struggling with doubt? The breakthrough from doubt to confidence can be tough. Where can you let go of the need for things to be comfortable and embrace the call to be ruthless?
What Does a Tiger Represent? Self-Belief
The Chinese God Cai Shen (also spelled “Caishen”) is depicted happily riding a tiger. One of Cai Shen’s incarnations carries a sword confidently into battle atop a tiger. Cai Shen is a god of wealth ruling over abundance and good fortune. His position atop the tiger is meant to show his mastery over the fierce tiger, his attainment of success.
When considering what does a tiger represent, let’s look at our ability to weather the unruly and erratic nature of fortune. In good times Cai Shen offers great prosperity and in bad times he protects against poverty of mind, helping us ride out whatever turns of fortune life brings. Tiger helps us do the same.
This takes on a deeper meaning when we think of doubt and confidence.
Doubt undermines our ability to ride out tough times. When we perceive a bad omen and fear that bad luck will follow, we undermine our confidence. The doubt that we won’t be able to ride out life’s twists and turns degrades our peace. Fear of bad luck begets tension and unhappiness, the opposite image of Cai Shen content on his tiger.
By mastering the battle with doubt, bad omens no longer carry significance. What omens are you looking to for confidence? Align with the medicine of tiger spirit animal, believe in yourself more than the omens, and turn your attention to dismantling the uncertainty that plagues your tranquility.
When things are going well and we are riding the tiger of good fortune, doubt can steal our chance to savor the good times. The wave of bliss passes and we realize we didn’t appreciate how good we had it. Tiger spirit animal brings the confidence to not be afraid of the other shoe dropping. With confidence, we relish the peak moments when everything is going our way.
Allow the knowing to seep into your being, the knowing that no matter what comes, you will be okay.
When we are happily riding the back of the tiger, we are prepared for whatever life brings. We believe in ourselves. We know, in our heart of hearts, that we have the ferocity to do what it takes to come out ahead.
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October 17th at 4:30pm Mountain
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About the Author
Stacey Couch is a Spiritual Advisor who supports creative seekers learning as they go on the spiritual path. She serves beginner and life-long students of the soul. Her compassionate and collaborative approach honors the humanity and value of each person. Through meeting with Stacey, lost souls find refuge. Connection to the Divine is realized. Belonging comes. She is the author of Gracious Wild: A Shamanic Journey with Hawks. Learn about working with Stacey