While many people overlook the wisdom and unique qualities of wild animals, Doron Orsiano Vitner has found a creative way to strengthen the bond between humans and nature.
Drawing on Native American philosophy, he has produced books, card sets and a calendar that he says not only deepen Israelis’ connection to local wildlife but also offer tools for coping with the country’s complex reality.
Orsiano Vitner, a veteran consultant who studied Seneca tribal philosophy three decades ago, explains that in Native American belief, animals encountered along one’s path serve as guides, offering signs and messages to steer people toward the right course in life.
This tradition gave rise to the concept of “totem animals.” Each species, he says, carries its own virtues and lessons that can support and heal us if we learn to connect with and understand them.
According to the Seneca worldview, a totem represents the spiritual ability to adopt an element from nature—an animal, plant, tree, stone or flower—as a personal guide. By observing these beings closely, people can find wisdom that fosters inner balance and harmony.
Orsiano Vitner applies this principle to Israel’s wildlife, studying their behavior and characteristics and treating them as partners in personal growth.
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Sinai rosefinch from Orsiano Vitner's animal totem books
(Illustarion: Mia Hillel Belo)
With input from zoologist Hila Ahisar, he created two illustrated book-and-card sets—"The Animal Totems of the Land of Israel” and “The Bird Totems of the Land of Israel”—as well as the inspirational booklet Living Wisdom. Each features 45 species found in Israel, from the hoopoe and Israeli gazelle to the stork, porcupine and ant.
The cards are intended to be chosen intuitively, allowing users to receive messages relevant to their current life circumstances. The sets also guide readers in mapping their nine personal totem animals and in creating monthly “temporary” totems to reflect the coming period.
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His Healing Wings bird set combines 45 illustrated bird cards with a detailed 252-page guidebook. A new edition, “Totem Birds – Healing Wings”, will include 45 guided audio meditations featuring music and bird calls. Orsiano Vitner says these tools can help individuals and therapists alike tap into the birds’ symbolic healing powers, fostering self-awareness and emotional balance.
The Living Wisdom booklet offers two main approaches: meditations for deepening the connection with one’s personal totem animals and the use of animal virtues and symbolic “medicine” to address current needs. Each postcard in the set includes a QR code linking to a recorded meditation with the featured animal, lasting 6–11 minutes, designed to relax, heal and inspire.
Recently, Orsiano Vitner released Israel’s first wildlife-themed calendar, featuring monthly meditations and empowering messages inspired by 12 wild species, such as the white oryx, Mediterranean chameleon, whale shark, wild boar, praying, caracal and other animals.
He describes the project as a response to a difficult year marked by wildfires that destroyed tens of thousands of acres of Israeli nature. “It’s not just a calendar,” he says. “It’s a year-long companion filled with the wisdom of our remarkable wildlife.”
Ahisar, who also contributed to the calendar, emphasized that each month’s animal comes with an explanation of its symbolic gifts and guidance on how to integrate its messages into daily life.
Orsiano Vitner stressed that the work is eco-friendly and serves as a reminder to respect and protect Israel’s wildlife. “Volunteering for the physical protection of animals is invaluable,” he says. “But here I offer another way—through a spiritual connection that can inspire appreciation and care.”