Wolves in Spirituality
By Mica Sage Roberts, Winter 2025 Communications Intern
Humans and wolves have a history that goes back much further than the colonization of the Americas. Wolves appear in myths across the world, with their innate behaviors used symbolically in many negative aspects. However, biology asserts that wolves are animals that carry no inherent “good” or “bad” label. Regardless, the idea of “Wolf” (capitalized to indicate the spiritual aspect as opposed to the animal) persists – inspiring art, stories, and cultural narratives. What does Wolf represent? What characteristics of wolves inspired these stories told across thousands of years?
Kinship, Protection, Guidance
The concept of a “lone wolf” is a largely manufactured one. Though they may hunt individually for small game or spend time alone when dispersing, wolves are social creatures who can form tight bonds with pack members.
A wolf pack typically consists of a breeding pair, adolescent wolves from the previous breeding season, and the current season’s pups – though there are innumerable variations, just like in human families. The hierarchy in a wolf pack is based on kinship: they travel, hunt, play, rest, and sleep together. The leaders of the pack are the breeding pair, who guide, nurture, and protect the younger generations – drawing on their own experiences and knowledge to teach their pups. When an adolescent wolf reaches maturity, they split from the pack to establish a territory and pack of their own, utilizing these lessons learned in pup hood. Because of this instinctive behavior, it comes as little surprise that many spiritual practices see Wolf as a teacher of profound loyalty, sovereignty, and protection.
An oft-referenced myth about wolves that emphasizes pack values is the tale of Romulus and Remus, orphaned demigods nursed by a female wolf until they were found by a local farmer. Another example is Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book: an abandoned child adopted by a pack of wolves and raised as one of their own.
Many traditional Native American cultures, such as the Cherokee and Iroquois, believe wolves are guardians of the natural and spiritual worlds. Wolf is called upon for guidance on matters spiritual and mundane. Other cultures focus more closely on just one aspect of wolf behavior. Japanese myths, for example, say Wolf, or okami, is the protector of shrines and farms. The okami could harness the power of nature itself to protect places from harm, be it a malevolent spirit or a hungry deer.
Resilience, Determination, Intelligence
It takes grit to survive, and wolves are well-known for their ability to adapt to adverse situations. Even the way they eat demonstrates the kind of inner strength required to live through difficult times when their next meal isn’t guaranteed. If large prey is not available, wolves will feed on small mammals such as beavers, rabbits, birds, and fish. If all else fails, berries and plant matter appear on the menu.
Wolves are determined animals, both in fact and fiction. At Wolf Haven, we have witnessed wolves digging up and dragging around tree stumps that are three or four times their size! For what purpose, we can only guess.
Wolfdogs Little Foot (left) and Mesa (right) have different approaches to solving puzzles Wolfdogs Little Foot (left) and Mesa (right) have different approaches to solving puzzles
On the other hand, part of being resilient is recognizing a sunk cost. Wolf packs have been observed hunting large prey, like moose, only to disperse before bringing the ungulate down. Whether the animal was stronger than it appeared, or they drifted into deeper snow that made navigation harder, the behavior of the wolves indicates that finishing the kill would cost more energy than it would bring. That level of critical thinking and on-the-go assessment displays the intelligence of these animals, which is a valuable asset to have.
These behaviors have led many modern spiritualists to view Wolf as a symbol of resilience, determination, and intelligence. He carries the message, “This is going to be difficult. Do what it takes to survive. Use your head.”
The Untamed Self
Wolves are commonly equated with wildness in North America, both in policy and in culture. “Wildness” has many connotations, though. For some, wildness is seen as something chaotic or fateful; the Nordic tale of Ragnarok, or how this world will end, begins with the monstrous wolf Fenris breaking out of his chains and swallowing the sun. In Slavic folklore, as illustrated by the werewolf – a man who transforms to a bloodthirsty half-wolf half-man beast – wildness means an uncontrollable urge. Jack London’s Call of the Wild is renowned for the message that in the pursuit for civilization, humanity lost access to its instinctive, primal nature… the aspect most needed to truly be considered “alive.”
Many children’s tales in western culture paint the wolf as a villain, from the smooth-talking wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, to the huffer and puffer from Three Little Pigs and the one caught by happenstance in The Boy Who Cried Wolf. There is a whole slew of research and literature studying this topic, but frequently the moral of these stories is to beware the call of wild things.
As humankind shifted from nomadic to agrarian to a now technologic style of living, this disconnect between humanity and nature grew. Humans were no longer “wild.” They were “polite” and “civilized” and “acceptable.” However, humanity’s wildness still exists today. It takes innumerable forms. Sometimes it looks like trusting a gut instinct without any evidence; running in the rain to experience the body in motion; climbing a tree just because it’s there; creating art or telling a story simply because the desire to do so arose. In numerous practices, Wolf represents this wildness within us – the piece that cannot be tamed or controlled.
Wolves are an animal of contention in the United States and many European countries. However, Wolf as a symbol – any symbol – is universal, and symbols are powerful narrative-drivers across cultures. As popular interest in pagan, indigenous, and spiritual practices continues to rise in the U.S., so too does the notion that humans have always been part of the natural world, not separate from it. Reverence for the rest of the animal kingdom encourages a sense of responsibility and stewardship, and reverence begins with connection. Wolf connects humans with each other, the natural world, and the fiercer, wilder parts of ourselves. We can only hope that Wolf as a symbol fosters more connection to wolves as a species of conservation.
