Whanganui woman says she talks to spirit animals and so could you

Gillian Shaw says she has been communicating with animals physically and in spirit for over 25 years. Photo / Bevan Conley.

Whanganui woman Gillian Shaw claims she communicates with the spirits of animals.

Shaw has worked in the field of spiritual communication with those from the animal kingdom for over 25 years and wants to teach others to do the same.

She has created a workshop called learn to communicate with your spirit animal which will take place on August 6 at Wisdom is Yours on Victoria Ave.

"If you think back to the beginning of time, throughout all our different cultures, there has always been that understanding and connection between the animal kingdom and man," Shaw said.

"This is about teaching people how to tune in and recognise their own spirit animal totem that works with them."

Attendees would be guided through a meditation process that would take steps to discover what their spirit animal is and how to communicate with it.

"As a child there would be certain characteristics that they'd be displaying and it's about giving them an understanding of why they have them," Shaw said.

"Somebody might be crazy about lions or wolves, basically, it's that connection through their spirit animal that is actually creating those characteristics."

It will be the first workshop of its kind that Shaw has hosted and it is something she has wanted to do for a long time.

Shaw has four pet cats and two dogs, but over the years she has owned rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and fish.

She has a particular fondness for cats.

"I work with more than one animal, I work with the black panther and I work with wolves, it depends on what the situation is and what is needed at the time," Shaw said.

"The black panther is for the feline, cats are independent, strong minded and highly intelligent. They do things the way they want to."

Shaw said that she sounds "airy fairy" but maintains that her experiences are real.

"I always saw spirit, I always had an affinity with animals, I was raised in a Catholic family, and we weren't talking about this sort of stuff.

"As a young adult I started doing meditation and became more spiritually aware of the other world.

"I once adopted a dog from the SPCA, he'd been getting abused, I was able to tune into his energies and was actually shown, through him, what they did to him."

Anyone with a love of animals is invited to attend the workshop from chicken breeders to horse riders. It costs $60 to participate.