Lesson 2 - Animal Medicine South and West

Notes:

Lesson 2 Medicine Wheel

South

6 Fox:  Feminine
• Shape shifter
• Feminine magick
• Camouflage
• Encourages invisibility
• Nocturnal
• Its strongest energies are at dawn and dusk
• Fox is versatile
• Represents the world card in the Tarot Deck
o A new world
o Meditation
• Reveals what is changing in your life
• Knows how to move between time-likes to go into the past and bring up important things that have happened to you in the past.  Important great healthy things that will help you remember the experiences and your emotions and your choices to cause that to happen.
• Represents the border areas of space and time.  
• Guides you into the fairy realm and could be a signal that the fairies are waiting to reveal themselves to you.
• The Cherokee Nation involves fox medicine in::
o Their protector of family unity
o Foxes hair is associated with physic energy because of its color and how it moves in the wind
• Fox is an excellent swimmer yet hates getting wet
• Fox represents the creative force within us
• Fox is discriminating
• Knows how to discern
• Fox is crafty, yet patient and at the same time avoids trouble at all costs

7 Ant:  Warrior Medicine
• Shows discipline
• Shows order
• Fosters community or social ability
• Hard worker
• Wisdom and Intellect
• Gather and hunter and grows things
• Skilled architect
• Construct your dreams into reality
• Persistent
• Recognizes causes and effects that relates to success
• Ask yourself:
o Are you neglecting something important? An activity? A person? Family?
• Lays good foundation
• A new structure that is coming into your life.  Have you created or are you going to help someone else create a new structure? Or find a new structure?
• Fosters a person to be patient with self and with others
o Are you making things greater or more difficult?
• Harnessing your own power to create your own life.  Not allowing others to create your life.
• Represents a promise of success through much effort is coming down your path.

8 Butterfly
• Brings Joy, Dance and transmutation
• Shape Shifting
• Process of metamorphoses
• Butterflies arrive when children call them in spirit
• Look for change – pay attention to colors and their vibrations
• Look to the fairy realm
• Don’t take things to seriously
• Dance through the issues
• Brings movement in our lives.  Life is a dance
• Taste life
• Lighten up
• Questions:
o How much joy do you have in your life?  Begin to mover and find out how much joy you have.  
• Choose to move through life with gentle grace

9 Spider – Grandmother Medicine
• Creativity
• The fate – the weaver of all
• 8 legs of the spider represents infinity
• A rhythm of nature and honor
• A little fame will enter into your life
• Encourages you to know thy self
o “Know thy self and thou shall know the universe”
• We are the writers of our own destiny
• We are the weavers of our own destiny, feelings, thoughts and actions
• Represents assertiveness and strength
• The guardian of ancient languages and alphabets and geometric patterns
• All primordial is found with the spider
• Represents death and rebirth
• Represents lunar energies
• The primordial Wisdom
• Write with power and creativity












10 Snake – Spirit Keeper
• Represents Resurrection
• Rebirth
• Initiation
• Wisdom
• Snake is healer
• Transformation
• Sexuality
• Brings clarity in thought
• Primal energies
• Opens new dimensions
• Opens new levels of awareness and creativity
• Represents and gives compassion and clairvoyance
• It is a charm in itself-yet it gives more power with we seek charms
• Questions:
o Do we need to learn about forgiveness or possessiveness?  Do we need to look inside ourselves?
• Represents inner sight or 2nd sight
• It sheds its skin so it asks the questions:  Is it time to shed what we have out grown and move on from that?  Are we ready for a new perspective on life?  Do you need to make a change or exploration?
• Pay attention to what is going on around you
• Be discriminating about what you say and to whom you say it
• It represents change
• New powers are waiting for you

West

11 Skunk 
• Sensuality
• Give respect
• Self esteem
• Being misunderstood, need to be self-assured
• Gives warnings/chances
• Don’t blow your own horn, it only pushes people away from you
• Being adaptable
• Shows you how to be noticed in an effective manner
• Helps you to spiritually grow while looking for opportunities to be aware to be in control
• Strive to show kindness to everyone

12 Frog – Associated with both water and land
• Linked to elves and fairies
• Rain in weather
• Lunar energy
• Attributed to the Egyptian Goddess Herrect
• Represents abundance, growth
• Teaches us how to clean our waters of life, to pay attention to our emotions
• We should be sympatric or more sympatric
• Defines our territory
• Is metamorphosis - always changing
• A symbol of coming into your own creative powers
• Strong ties to sound energy
• Represents a voice to stir the call, to call forth change that you have a capacity to be the one, to be the voice to call forward change.
• The duality of life and death
• Hecate is associated with frog

13 Otter – Brings us Joy, Sharing, Playfulness and curiosity
• Its seasons are Spring and Summer
• Everything is interesting to Otter
• Know how to size up a situation from every angle
• Homes built close to the water
• Their love of water links them to primal life energies
• Claims a large territory around their home and play areas
• Creation and imagination
• Otters become fast in water, if threatened they swim away, they teach their young to swim
• They teach responsibility
• Teaches to find time to play in your life
• Questions:
o Are you playing too much or not enough?

14 Turtle
• Motherhood
• Longevity
• Awakening to opportunity
• Heaven and earth lessons are about to pour upon you
• Welcomes you to the fairyland
• Tells you to slow down, to look at your perceptions about time and our relationship with it
• Represents survival skills and strategies
• Tells us to listen
• It stimulates clairvoyance
• It’s discrimination and opportunistic in a good way
• Represents Mother Earth
• Heightens sensibilities
• Questions:
o Are you sometimes a hard head? Why do you feel we still need this protective hard shell around us?












15 Rabbit
• Fertility
• New life
• Season is – all seasons
• Associated with the Goddess Hecate
• Represents fortune, ambition, and virtue
• Its essences lives on the moon
• Procreation
• Tells you to leap – leap for life, go look, go find in places not so obvious to people
• When opportunities present, think of the number 28 – 28 days of manifestation
• Represents decent and rest
• Possibilities are endless
• Questions:
• Do you need more planning or not enough planning?  Should you avoid not being seen at this time?  Are you eating the right foods that honor your body?
• The rabbit can help you see the signs all around you
• Symbol of the Goddess

Assignments 2 - Ponder and Meditation

Ponder 2- loving concern for the environment in which you dwell

Like all things in this life, if we are not conscious of them, then they are not recognized within us. All things are connected. If we do not nurture that which we are part of, it then begins to wither away, leaving a barren non functioning aspect. In return we become Barren in many areas of our life. If we continue in this manner we become empty shells and parish/or are destroyed.

They did not truly destroy us. We do that to ourselves by abandoning  our own recognition and connections to them.

Meditation 2- who am I.

Upon the first incarnation I believe were true self. Fully aware of true self – I am – a spark of the divine. One of many, all parts of the whole. In order to experience this incarnation upon this planet, we are in need of a vehicle that would accommodate our physical presence and the abilities to interact on a physical level – a lower vibration. Hence the body, the senses of sight, smell, hearing, tasting, touching, etc. and a means to translate this information into our recall center, the mind.

Being of pure spirit at birth – through these sensory perceptions we begin to lay layer after layer of experiences upon self. Through these experiences we make choices of how we will deal with each of these experiences, our lessons begin. Life continues as this until one day we asked, who am I, this begins the second part of our journey, our journey back to the true self, a wondrous and magical journey filled with both hardship of releasement (fearing the unknown) and embracing clarity of self. To make a long story short – we spend some part of our life building a creation, a perception of a person that we believe will fit and be accepted in this world. Layer after layer of masquerade, at some point we become aware that we no longer recognize self – and we begin the task of releasement, removing the layers of disguise to reconnect on a conscious level with the true self, higher self.

Who am I?,  I am a divine being, which spends part of my time here for physical involution and then the second part of my time on a conscious spiritual evolution.

Medicine Wheel - East Animal Medicine Notes

  

Crow – 1^st stone in the East

First circle: represents the stone that represents the animal medicine of the crow.

The energies of crow is very intriguing.

Crow medicine represents:

1.       Mysticism

2.       the color of creation is black

3.       It is an energy that is unformed and full of potential

4.       The crow is a watcher, it recognizes possible dangers, it helps you find your voice

5.        It has great intelligence

6.        If crow shows up in your life, It may be telling you, of all these things that you need to focus on, or it sees what you are, and if you work well with others.

7.        And sometimes crow gives warnings that Thievery might be about and to keep your eyes open to that. Or you may be introduced to a person that is hard to get near.

8.       Crow also represents home and respect.

9.        And also has the medicine of past life connections.

10.   Crow medicine can predict and help you predict in a clear way.

11.   Crow also is symbolic of good luck and solitude.

12.   Crow also represents messenger, and reminds you that you are a messenger.

13.    Crow helps to bring spiritual strength and help you to help others look for the opportunities in their life.

  

Owl – 2^nd Stone in the East.

Second Circle: represents the stone that represents the animal medicine of the owl.

Owl represents:

1.       the mysteries of magic.

2.       The silent mysteries of magic. The silent wisdom – it has vision in the dark places.

3.       Owl is a female symbol, and of the moon and the night. It has been called the cat with wings.

4.       It has healing powers.

5.        And the owl represents higher wisdom and prophecy and the goddess. Goddess Athena is associated with the owl.

6.       The native Indians also associated it with protection.

7.       The owl also represents clairvoyance and astral travel.

8.       Common belief is the owl can extract secrets and also bring visions.

9.        It encourages us to listen and detect subtle movements.

10.   It sees what is sudden.

11.   Owl is a power totems and has the ability to see into the souls of others.

12.    Keeping silent, will bring you to your best success.

13.    The owl is also a balancing medicine and brings tolerance.

Raven – 3^rd stone of the East

Third circle: represents the stone that represents the animal medicine of Raven.

  Raven represents:

1.       Magic

2.       shape shifting

3.       your being and your entire life.

4.       Creation

5.       Winter

6.       a bird of birth and death

7.       A messenger of the great spiritual realm like the Crow, but bigger

8.       life shall spring forth and life will bring order

9.       Raven likes to mimic so look at is someone is mimicking you or are you mimicking someone or should you be mimicking something in nature to bring balance to self.

10.   Playfulness in nature. They use stones and stir magic.

11.   They are fearless and stir the energies without any fear to eventually become manifested.

12.   It represents go into the dark, and bring forth light.

 Humming Bird – 4^th Stone of the East

Fourth circle: the Hummingbird

Hummingbird represents:

1.      collarless joy.

2.      The nectar of life.

3.      vibration flying it hovers.

4.      Hummingbird is the symbol of the affinity.

5.       It studies the law of cause and effect.

6.      It’s medicine reminds you to create your own medicine.

7.       It reminds you to consider not a straight path, it is about being flexible.

8.       It’s medicine and brings rain and rainbows, endurance, and reminds you that you are getting too much or too little of something.

9.      They play in water and are fearlessly independent.

10.     Hummingbird says, find your own joy.

 Eagle – 5^th Stone of the East

Fifth circle: the Eagle.

Eagle Medicine Represents:

1.       Eagle medicine is also a warrior.

2.       It brings illumination of spirit and healing.

3.       It spends little time hunting.

4.        It is the symbol of the soul, spirit, and resurrection.

5.       It represents magical powers.

6.        A great capacity for prescription.

7.       The bald Eagle is the symbol for water.

8.       It represents the ability to walk between the worlds.

9.        It also represents the higher wisdom shape shifter and introduces you to all the gods.

10.   Heroic and nobility. In fact, as you enter into know that you in fact, where receiver of this nobility from the Eagle.

11.   They help us rediscover our inner child.

12.   The Eagle represents the sun, sound foundation, to know when to or not to speak.

13.   It represents new vision and when it will be open for you. It lets us understand when to stop asking when, and to accept and be thankful for the new vision is coming to you now.

14.   It represents past, present and future.

15.    It is the female architect in general and can open many doors. Saying we are builders of not only buildings, but also of people, programs, schools.

16.   It also fosters cooperation.

17.   When the Eagle medicine comes into your life,  perfect timing is better than solid sound word.  Timing can be the most important thing as you move through life.

Assignment 1 My Interpretation of the Star Feathers Story

As these past few days have passed by since I first shared my ideas on the Star Feather Story, another impression has come to me that I just can’t shake.  I can’t stop re-reading and thinking about this story.  I believe the true story is hidden within the layers of a false mist.

Just imagine for one moment that he was speaking his truth.

As we are now walking, listening, feeling and sensing for our stones, this warrior too could have been called to the peacock feathers.  As we envision or meditate and have visions of sacred sharing from our Guides, Ancestors and Gods, perhaps this warrior was also guided to create this headdress from these feathers, this could be designed as a key for him to aid in the shift of consciousness.  It is also possible that through his sacred work he may have come to learn who he truly is and where he came from.  There are many stories of the Star People.  All realms active simultaneously, in what we call past, present and future.

When I read again the description of the place he dwells in, my mind was filled with a vision. I saw his path to the river’s edge and a well hidden entrance to the lodge.  I watched him slip into the water and walk slowly towards the ramble of trees fallen into the bank, stones and debris.  When he came in front of this area he looked to the sky and dove into the waters being cleansed and purified to enter his sacred space.  As he emerged he was reborn, his higher self (spirit) was home and he was no longer the warrior of the mundane, he was his true being.  I saw his beaver lodge and it was a sacred place.  The place one would go to move away from the mundane and into their sacred being.  A place to commune with the divine and follow the guidance of creation, a place to receive oracle (messages) to be shared. 

And perhaps he was from a distant place, this in its self is not a foreign concept to us.  We are Spirit incarnates in these vehicles we call bodies.  Part of our training has taught us to become open channels for Divine Oracles as well as receiving instruction and guidance along our paths.

Again I ask myself what is the purpose of this man’s story and again a realization occurs to me.  He says he was up in the sky, he doesn't say that he brought back the feathers with him, he only says that they are star feathers.  In deep meditation/trance, when working between the worlds and receiving information and guidance, we too can receive gifts from our guides and given great explanations of their use and purpose.  Can this be what this man experienced and he shared that experience with his tribe in a sacred gathering?  Just as we may receive guided information to share when we are gathered together in sacred space and time.  I believe it is very possible that this man was not speaking of himself when he said he was from a distant place.  I believe he may have opened himself as a channel to the divine and was a physical tool to communicate information to his tribe.  Much like we can do when Drawing Down the Moon, or sitting as Oracle.

The histories are full of stories of sacred men and woman that isolate themselves and only walk among the mundane to deliver messages/guidance.

My sacred space is my haven and not of this world.  Does this mean I am telling a falsehood if I say I must return to my safe haven or heaven or whatever name is given to our sacred place?  I didn’t see anywhere in the story that he gained anything other than the respect of his people, nor did I read where he ask them for anything.  He shared his visions and guidance he received and left them.  Only to return to share more of what he was guided to share.

Sounds kind of clergy like to me, and this is just my impression once I looked deeper into the mists.

The old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” 

Blessings as Always,

Katherina

11-16-12