totem

noun

1. Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family; the representation of such an object or creature.
2. The clan whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature.

   “The totem members were forbidden to eat the flesh of the totem animal, or were allowed to do so only under specific conditions.”

   “These meanings flow from bear-like characteristics imprinted on totem members. Members of the bear clan may have dispositional, cognitive, and physical capabilities similar to those of bear.”

3. (figuratively)A symbol or personification.

   ““She became a totem,” he added. “She became the personification of a particular response to the pandemic, which people in the far-flung margins of the internet and the not so far-flung margins used against her.””

4. An arbitrarily chosen object serving as a reminder to check whether one is awake or not, to aid in having lucid dreams.

   “The best way to determine if you are dreaming or not is to have a totem in your lucid dreams that does not exist in reality. Inducing yourself is as easy as waking up during the night and practicing as you fall back asleep. Say, "I will be aware I am dreaming while I am dreaming by seeing my totem."”

5. A tall object resembling a totem pole.

   “Out the front of the Drive-in rose the town’s main tourist attraction, a totem of signs to bizarre places with impossible distances such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and so on.”