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Sloths have been labeled as one of the laziest animals in the world for decades. However, with time we have learned that sloths are far from being lazy and sleepy. They are strong, mysterious, and intuitive creatures. They are primarily known for their unique hanging style. They spend most of their lives hanging upside down. They can’t fight off their predators or run away from them, hence they hang below the branches to hide.
Sloth as the spirit animal offers a unique perspective of life. If you are dreaming of this animal quite often, noticing the picture of this animal randomly, or having thoughts of it unknowingly, then the sloth can be your spirit animal.
Characteristics and Personality
Sloth as your spirit animal represents earth energy. It gathers wisdom and energy from Mother Nature and offers the knowledge of being environmentally conscious and rooted on one’s ground. Sloth prefers to be with the energy of Mother Earth rather than standing apart from it.
Sloth as the spirit animal represents conservation, relaxation, and humbleness. The animal only takes what it needs to survive. It uses only an appropriate amount of energy on a thought, emotion, or action.
Sloth as your spirit animal teaches you to find your strength and inspiration by being one with nature or the universe. It urges you not to waste your energy unnecessarily and keep a close eye on your enemies. It shows you how to observe closely to avoid conflicts and win over any situations without wasting your energy fighting off.
The sloth energy helps you to approach difficult situations with grace and patience and try to figure things out at your own pace.
Sloth Spirit Animal Positive Powers
When the sloth spirit animal walks in your path, it brings balance and helps you to develop higher consciousness. Below are the positive powers of the sloth spirit animal –
- Relaxation
- Restraint
- Introspection
- Appreciative
- Humble
- Perspective
- Intuitive
- Camouflaging
- Peace
- Powerful
Relaxation
The most common reminder from your sloth spirit guide is to step back and pause for a moment. If you have been rushing, stressed out, or finding yourself restless; the spirit animal reminds you it’s time to stop and relax and look for peace within yourself. As your spirit guide, the sloth teaches you to use your energy wisely and know your limits. It glides in your journey to make you listen to your inner voice and think deeply for a higher perspective.
Restraint
Sloth as your spirit animal drives you to conserve your energy. It teaches you not to waste your energy on gossip, unnecessary matters, arguments, or fights.
As a sloth-spirited person, you can control and discipline yourself no matter how tempting or distracting the situation becomes. You do not indulge in situations that suck your energy and make you feel miserable. This attribute helps you to make better decisions in life and exercise restraint in all aspects of your life.
Introspection
Sloths spend most of their time lounging on trees which shows it has much time for contemplation. As your spirit animal, the sloth teaches you to know yourself and self-analyze your thoughts and emotions from time to time. It helps you to reflect on yourself and get better clarity on whatever is going on in your mind.
Appreciative
When the sloth is your soul guide, you are naturally shy and reserved. You don’t look for attention. You prefer to remain behind the scenes and diligently carry on your duties. You are always ready to support and guide others.
As a team player, you value and appreciate the effort and hard work of each member of the group. You tend to give credit to your partner or team members for their achievements and success. You seem to be honestly appreciative of all the good things and blessings that life has to offer.
Humble
As a sloth-spirited individual, you are naturally kind, caring, and grounded. You like to achieve your goals and dreams, but always keep your aura grounded. Your humble and polite attribute helps people connect to you easily. They like to share their thoughts, ideas, and issues of life with you. Your easy-going nature helps you to connect with people of various kinds and find the right kind of opportunity for your growth.
Perspective
Sloths spend their life mostly hanging upside down from the branch of the tree. Hence, it’s natural that you would observe and see things quite differently than others. You notice things that other people might overlook. You may think and act a little differently which keeps you ahead of everyone else. And being a little distinctive can be charming as well.
Intuitive
Sloths have keen instincts and they are highly alert to their surroundings. If sloth is your spirit animal, you have an innate quality to sense evil intentions of people or any upcoming threats in your surroundings. If you are having trouble making challenging decisions in your life, meditate on your sloth spirit animal and listen to your inner voice. It will show you the right direction amidst the chaos of life.
Camouflaging
Sloths can’t run away or hide from their predators as they are slow-moving creatures. This is why they have been given the ability to hang upside down for hours. They can also remain motionless in that state to trick their predators.
Another interesting thing about the sloths is that they do not have body odor which is an incredible asset to hide from the creatures who use their sense of smell for hunting. They are also an avid swimmer and can hold their breath for as long as 40 seconds to hide underwater. That’s how sloth as your spirit animal teaches you the skill to camouflage yourself when needed.
Sloth as your spirit animal inspires you to have sharp observation and use your fine skill of camouflaging to keep yourself ahead of everybody else.
Peace
If sloth is your spirit animal, you are naturally a peace lover. You like to maintain the balance between your work and personal life. You don’t like to chase or run in the rat race to prove yourself. You like to take your own time and accomplish things at your own pace. People find peace and comfort in being with you. You tend to be a nature lover and city life does not attract you that much.
Powerful
Sloths are way stronger than humans. They are naturally peaceful; however, they can attack ferociously with their long claws and bite with their teeth to inflict pain.
People may underestimate you by your caring and gentle look. But you are way smarter, stronger, and wise than you appear. You are courageous and determined to face any kind of obstacles life throws at you. With your reserved and cool nature, you can overcome anything in life.
Sloth Spirit Animal Negative Powers
Sloths are not dangerous when left alone in their natural habitat. However, there are certain aspects of their characteristics that they need to be aware of. Below are some of the negative traits of the sloth spirit animal –
- Introvert
- Aggressiveness
- Laziness
Introvert
People with sloths as their spirit animals are usually introverted and do not like to open up easily. They observe people and listen with great attention. They come out of their shell when they feel aligned and comfortable with the other person.
If as a sloth-spirited individual, you are finding it difficult to communicate with people, remind yourself of your true nature. You might be reserved but you have the innate quality to connect with individuals after thorough inspection as you don’t like to waste your energy unnecessarily. You can connect with people with ease with whom you can share valuable ideas and learn something.
Aggressiveness
Sloths are peaceful creatures when they are left alone. But if they sense a threat, they can be highly aggressive and ferocious and can injure severely with their long claws.
As a sloth-spirited individual, you are highly protective of the things and people you care about. You are calm, peaceful, and easy-going. But if you sense any problem or evil intention of people, you can become aggressive and take all possible measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the people you care about. Try to practice deep meditation regularly and remind yourself of your calm and composed nature.
Laziness
Sloths have a bad reputation for being sluggish and lazy. They are slow-moving creatures and mostly spend their time doing nothing.
It’s imperative to take a break from your daily schedule and keep some time aside for yourself. But if you are being lazy, unproductive, and procrastinating on things that have to be done, then it’s a problem. The sloth energy teaches you to conserve your energy for the time when it is needed for the best. It teaches you to wake up and take necessary actions towards your goal.
Times When You Need to Summon the Sloth Spirit Animal
- You are giving yourself too much and protecting your energy from being wasted.
- You need to listen and observe.
- You are seeking wisdom and looking for answers.
- You need to listen to your inner voice.
- You need to cultivate self-control and self-restraint.
- You need to be kind and humble.
- You need to remind yourself of your peaceful nature.
- You need to see life from a different perspective.
- You need to camouflage yourself to tackle your enemies.
- You need to develop strength and willpower to overcome the challenges.
Sloth as an Animal Totem
Sloth as the spirit energy represents patience, adaptability, and creativity. Sloths not only live on the branches of the trees; they are skillful swimmers as well. They are physically pretty strong; they can fall from very high treetops and won’t get injured. The adaptability of the sloth spirit animal shows you how to deal with the changes and transitions of life, and how to swim efficiently against the tides of life.
Sloth-spirited individuals are shy and creative thinkers. They like to contemplate, dream, and conjure up new ideas. They express themselves the best through any form of art and craft.
Sloths spend most of their time hanging upside down from the tree which shows the amount of strength in their arms and claws to hold on to that position. This attribute reminds you to find determination and endurance in the most challenging times without giving up on your quest.
The sloth energy provides you with incredible psychic vision and amazing introspection qualities. It urges you not to fret about or worry about things that you can not control and simply go with the flow of life. When the sloth as your spirit guide walks into your path, it brings peace, balance, and harmony into your life.
Dream Interpretation of Sloth Spirit Animal
If you dreamt of the sloth sleeping or hanging peacefully while being upside down, it indicates you are relaxed and calm about every aspect of your life. The current phase of your life is flowing smoothly for you.
If the sloth is hiding behind the branches of the trees, it means you need to step back and protect yourself from something that may cause damage to you. If the sloth is moving from one branch to the other openly, it means you are being assertive in your actions and behaviors.
If the sloth seems to be sluggish and not moving, it indicates you are lacking motivation and unable to find the urge to take action.
If the sloth is swimming adeptly in the water, it shows your adaptability to blend with the current changes and adversities of life.
If one sloth is comforting or helping another sloth, it indicates someone in your circle needs help and you need to provide support and guidance to them.
If the sloth is coming toward you and you don’t feel panicked, it means you will soon find peace and a sense of purpose in life.
If you feel anxious seeing the sloth coming toward you, it means you are overlooking something important in your life that may be giving you stress indirectly.
Dreaming of a dead sloth indicates a significant and powerful transition in life.
Mythological Significance of Sloth Spirit Animal
The rainforest regions are the natural habitats of sloths. According to some folklore, the most common story that has been found by far is the tale of the Mapinguari. The creature is referred to as a monster-like beast who was a giant sloth and was approx. 7 feet tall. Depictions about his appearance vary according to different beliefs. He has a body of a bear and a face of a monkey with one eye.
According to some beliefs, Mapinguari can even speak. It is said that shamans discovered the secret to be immortal and applied the same to a human. Later, they transformed the human into this giant monster. He hunts for humans who don’t obey the rituals and rules of the jungle.
Few fossil evidence from the unexplored regions of the Amazon forest has been discovered. Scientists believe that Mapinguari is the species of extinct sloths from the time of thousands of years ago.
Let the Spirit Animal Connect With You
In general, the sloth symbolizes that some areas of your life have become lazy and stagnant, which means you are not paying proper attention to them. It helps you to see if you are lacking a little inspiration to move forward. The spirit animal reminds you once you have taken the first step, the rest of the journey becomes easier. All you have to do is to break the barrier of idleness and get yourself moving.
The best way to connect with your sloth spirit animal is through deep meditation. When the mind is calm and free of restlessness, you can get better clarity in your life. Also, keep a check on your dreams. If you are dreaming of sloths quite often, chances are it’s trying to convey a message to you. Pay close attention to your surroundings for signs and symbols from your spirit animal.
Summon the sloth spirit animal to help you find your inner strength and highest potential to deal with anything life throws at you. Ask for the blessings to be grateful for the little things in life and swim across the waves of life smoothly.