Animals typically don’t re-incarnate in the same sense that we do. Because we have an egoic level that animals don’t have, we can have repeated earth lives. Animals have, rather, an astral aspect, which dissipates into the general pool of astrality. This particular difference could well be shifting now, as the forces of spiritual evolution continue to play on all four kingdoms of life on Earth.

One constant, however, is that animals and humans do not “inter-carnate." Each kingdom keeps to itself.

Another important difference between animals and humans is entailed in how animals tend to be specialists, while humans are the generalists. Every animal has either an ability or knowledge, or understanding, in a specialized area, that transcends a human capacity. A horse can out-run us. Birds can fly. Fish can breath under water, and so on. Humans, however, are the generalists. Humanity is able to address many of its lesser abilities by creative invention. We can make things that run faster than horses, or construct a craft that can fly.

Although most animals may not yet reincarnate in the same sense as humans, they are still able to devise plans for their incarnations on a soul level, make choices, seek to learn and unfold specific lessons, and set out to accomplish spiritual goals. However, they do so via their group soul aspect, the over-lighting ego of the species, or one of several groupings within a species, more so than on an individual basis.

The Spirit of the Bison, for example, is orchestrating plans on this level. (see the Earth Vision article The Return of Bison and Wolf for more on this.

The naturo-human interchange is designed for teaching and learning - as a two way street. Ourselves and beings in nature are at once students and teachers of each other.

As presented in The Spiritual Ecology of Evolution, we owe a dept to the animals, who have gone before us to help us find our way. This is what comprises the deeper basis in the impulse for stewardship, our responsibility to the animals.

Some of the questions that proceed from this article are - do animals inter-carnate among themselves, that is, one species to another? And, in that animals are spiritually evolving, and therefore becoming more egoic, to what extent are some animals at this time actually reincarnating in the classical sense? And, in what ways is the nature-human relationship evolving?

The Insight21/Earth Vision projects will be delving into these questions further, and will also be inviting input from readers who may have some experience and/or references toward this end.

Further Resources

The Return of Bison and Wolf - from the Earth Vision project.

The Spiritual Ecology of Evolution - from Insight21.