Since I’m a lover of animals, both real and mythical, choosing an animal form that I would have the ability to shape-shift to is a nearly impossible choice for me.
There are many animal forms that are majestic, beautiful and powerful – which really sums up the whole reason I would want the ability to shape-shift in the first place. Aside from the fact that it’s a magical ability, and we already know how receptive I am to magic in general, there’s simply something about being that closely connected with an animal form/spirit/guide that I personally find enticing.
In an attempt to prevent this article from turning into a book of it’s own, I’m restricting myself to exploring three possible animal choices! Those would be dragon, wolf, and horse… nope, make that four, tiger as well, since this is my Chinese Zodiac animal.
A dragon would without question be my first choice. But why? Well, really? Ok, I suppose some might need a reason… but we’re talking about dragons! LOL
For me, dragons are the be all of magic. They’re majestic, powerful, graceful and simply to be revered. I know there are all sorts of tales and variations of dragons in literature across the decades. But for me, I’m drawn to the best of everyone and everything. I rarely see the darkness even in dark beings. So when you strip away all the potential badness that goes with the image of a dragon, you are left with pure magnificence.
As a demonstration of my deep admiration of dragons, here’s a very small, teaser excerpt:
His scales glisten like diamonds; his claws are massive, sharp talons; his wings are perfectly symmetrical with an elegance to them that almost makes them seem delicate; even his tail is deceptively beautiful though it doesnāt take much imagination to know the damage that could be done with a simple flick of the spiked tip.
So hands down, with the magic, flying, fire-breathing, power and grace – dragons would be my first choice.
Having said that, I’ve always felt a profound connection to wolves, horses and tigers for various reasons.
Horses have been one of my passions since before I was old enough to walk, that simply grew as I grew. The Black Stallion movie and book series were my go-to for years. I’ve owned horses pretty much my entire life and their wisdom and intelligence fascinates me. They’re incredibly loyal and let’s face it – Unicorns are horses too, which brings us back to magic!
I’m not sure that I can explain my connection with wolves. It could perhaps be related to the fact that my parents bred Malamutes when I was a child and they were my real-live-teddy-bears as well as my protectors. People often relate wolves to loneliness, but the reality is that wolves travel in packs and there is something deeply admirable about the leader of the pack who tends to rule fairly but firmly. I’m also very drawn to their protective nature, as I too am a protector.
Then we have tigers, which clearly I have a connection with because of the Chinese Zodiac. Since I’ve always been drawn to both the Western and Chinese Zodiacs, I’ve read a fair bit of literature on being a “Tiger” and in fairness, the vast majority of the descriptions associated with being a “Wood Tiger” are very accurate, so there is a level of logics behind being able to shape-shift into tiger form.
But even after speculating on all four of these, I still come back to dragons. So maybe this really wasn’t nearly as impossible as I first thought it would be!
If you could shape-shift, what animal form would you choose? Share on XOut of curiosity, after completing this article, I posed the question to my daughter (15 at the time). Without hesitation she declared that a wolf would be her choice for shape-shifting. When I asked her why, she chose to write out her answer and send it to me by text:
She never ceases to amaze me. Those are 100% her words and insight – and to think, I’ve had two people try to suggest to me that the voices of the teens in my novel aren’t realistic… Anyone who has read my first book will very likely feel a slight draw to the text above, since it’s been the teens in my life over the years who have significantly influenced my writing.
But I digress (she just truly amazes me at times…) – getting back to shape-shifting… what would be your animal form of choice?
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