When I was in Oaxaca last week, my friend Vanessa and I took a couple of day trips to small villages outside of the city.

We wanted to visit two towns - one that specializes in textiles and one that is known for its intricate wood carvings - both recommended by our Mexican friend.

As we planned our route, the woman at our hotel said the wood carving gallery we chose was a good one, as she pointed to a wooden mystical creature she bought there a year earlier. Standing prominently on her desk, it was essentially a colorful wolf with rabbit ears, a snake’s tail, and a chameleon’s feet.

Now I admit I’m not really into mystical anything, meaning fantasy books or movies, or creatures I can’t actually find in real life (of course I make an exception for loving unicorns in my younger years during my puffy sticker book phase).

But I was curious about the art behind the creatures, and Vanessa and I wanted to explore, so off we went.

After we walked into that wood carving gallery, it took me about 15 minutes to understand that I was in a Mexican spirit animal factory!

The artists there, who study for 3-6 years to perfect their carving and painting crafts, specialize in making wooden alebrijes or spirit animals - also called your tona in Zapotec, the native culture in Oaxaca.

If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I love the idea of animal messengers and I find joy in announcing a new animal for us to search for each month.

My monthly animal search is intended to help you connect with life's synchronicities, and to highlight how by tuning in to what’s around you, you not only tap the present, but you can (and will) find what it is you are looking for.

Our friend used the Zapotec calendar to help us each find our tona, based on your birthday and year. There are 20 animals in total and each one carries a meaning.

Perhaps that meaning gives people hope, or helps them align with a value that supports a positive way of being. Regardless of whether you believe your animal represents your actual living spirit, the Zapotec people believe your tona will guide you through this life and carry you into the afterlife, protecting you in death as well.

My tona is a fish - transparent and clear-minded, also a lover of teaching. Vanessa’s tona is an owl, a healer. I discovered my twins are guided by the monkey spirit and my son, by the tortuga.

But my mind kept coming back to that mystical wolf.

The one that was on the desk in our hotel (or maybe it was a coyote, which is shorter, sleeker, and slightly more agitated than the wolf, but since the two are known to mate in some parts of the world, let’s say they both count).

Plus, it’s always been Jack's favorite animal and after seeing the some form of a wolf-coyote several times while in Mexico, I chose it as November’s animal messenger.

I actually saw one this morning on the back of a bag of coffee beans after writing this email, and I bet you’ll see one soon too.

Remember, if you don’t tune in, you can’t find what you’re looking for…

Happy searching!

With fierce love,
Alison