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Animal Totems pervade our ancient myths, scriptures, and oral traditions. Primal universal archetypes manifest in the earthly spheres through the actions, characteristics, and behavior of animals. Cultural legends portrayed a strong linkage between animals, dieties, and humans. This connection was often depicted as pictures or statues of gods and goddesses with animal heads, accompanied by animal totems or in the form of their primary power animals. Animal imagery and symbolism has often been used to foster spiritual growth and to guide seekers along the sacred pathways. The knowledge of who your animal totems and power animals are will enhance your understanding of your innermost nature. All the animals are unique. All their interactions with you are important and worthy of your attentive respect. The appearance of a turtle laying her eggs, an alligator gazing intently at you as it slips into a pond at dusk, pigeons conversing soothingly with you when you are emotionally distressed, a pair of mockingbirds pointing out the parasitic tendencies of others, are all blessed occurrences in your daily life. To be the most effective, the power animal must chose the person rather than the other way around. A bumblebee buzzing around you, a dragonfly flying close to your car windshield, a beaver placing its paw up against the glass in greeting as you stare through the enclosure at the zoo, and mourning doves cooing you awake at dawn are not just random events of nature, they are "Encounters of an Animal Totem Kind". The animals bring you powerful important life messages. Are you taking note of their appearances in your life? Are you listening to their messages? Besides their individual consciousness, animals are also connected to a group morphic field akin to a spirit stream coursing down a mountain. There is the squirrel stream, the raven stream, the pigeon stream, the turtle stream etc. In the small grove outside where I live there are at least four squirrels that scamper through the trees and delight in the raw peanuts I put out for them. One of them comes up the stairs when I open the door to come out to feed the birds and sits back on her haunches with her paws placed together in an Eastern form of greeting. When I place some peanuts in front of her, she reaches down and holds one of them up, gazing at it as if it is the greatest of treasures. The local ravens, crows, blue jays, and crackles are also partial to the peanuts, so another of the squirrels, who does not like competition, asks me to place some under a distant bush. Yet another of the squirrels has a totally different personality and is very shy and sends me telepathic messages from the trees but will not descend to the ground until I am some distance away. So although each of the squirrels exhibits behavior that one could characterize as squirrelish, such as playing tail tag with each other around the tree trunk, each one also has distinctive traits and qualities like appreciative friendliness or quaint aloofness. One of the squirrels, who I call Rauwynne, has taken on the role of intermediary or messenger between realms.
There is a circular Nature
Spirits fairy ring around the bush where I sprinkle birdseed each day. When it
grew colder outside during what is a relatively mild wintry season in north
Florida, I received a telepathic message from the fairies that they wanted me to
prepare a sanctuary for them inside. So I cleaned out a cubicle
in the bookcase attachment in my computer area and placed a large amethyst
cluster, an apophyllite pyramid, and a seashell inside it. Then when I went
outside the next morning, I was surprised to see that a large mushroom had
appeared overnight in the grass. I felt the fairies wanted me
to pick it and bring it inside to place in their special space; yet, I hesitated
to do so since my proclivity is to let wild gardens and nature grow and blossom
unimpeded by my personal concepts of function, purpose, or orderliness.
That's when Rauwynne came up to me with the mushroom between her paws and placed it at my feet. I thanked her, brought it inside, and tenderly placed it on a soft beige cotton washcloth inside the fairies indoor retreat. When spring came the fairies told me telepathically that they were unhappy with the mushroom now that it was all dried up and shriveled, since fresh growth and blossoming were in the air. So I replied that if they created another mushroom that I would be happy to pick it and bring it inside to replace this one. The very next morning when I went out to feed the birds there was a new large mushroom in the grass. I had just plucked it when Rauwynne appeared. I told her I was taking it inside for the fairies. She nodded and sort of danced, skipped, and scampered away. Patterns of learning and overall species growth for the squirrel life stream may include qualities attributed to squirrel as a totem such as: balance between cycles of rest and activity, preparedness for any contingency, watchful alertness, and, planning and conserving resources for future needs. Once a Nature Spirit embodied as a squirrel and attached to the squirrel consciousness morphic field has mastered the basic archetypal blueprints for squirrelishness she or he moves on to developing higher states of squirrel consciousness. The squirrel Rauwynne has moved beyond basic survival and belongingness needs to become more self actualized as an emissary for the fairies. Such development of squirrelishness along a progressive evolutionary continuum suggests not only individual sentience but also a continuation of personal spiritual identity from squirrel embodiment to squirrel embodiment or from lifetime to lifetime. Animals have souls, they are spiritual beings who are also learning and growing over evolutionary timelines. They have much they can teach us and wisdom they can share if we give them the opportunity. You may have household animal friends as pets already, a cat or a dog; but also feel attracted to one or more animals that live out in the wild or on another continent. You may have pictures of horses on your walls, or porcelain figurines of dolphins on your coffee table. You may hunt with tigers in your dreams or howl at the full moon with the wolves in your mind. If you do then it is most likely the tiger or wolf would be a totem or power animal for you. The animals may also send you telepathic messages (for example, you might see a skunk in your mind's eye when you need to define and/or assert your personal boundaries) or they may visit you in their spirit form in your nightly Dreamtime when it is impossible for them to visit you in the outer world. Animals feel intense emotions and often experience profound sadness when humans treat them unkindly or cruelly. This is registered in the morphic field of their group consciousness as well as their personal consciousness. When I attune to the horse lifestream, for instance, I feel such deep heart pain and abiding grief over the abuse they have undergone at the hands of their often harsh and callous caretakers, along with the visual recordings of those horrific incidents, that I have to quickly withdraw from their group morphic field.
Since it is the blunt truth,
Horse Speak is not always pleasant to listen to, especially for those sensitive
to criticism; but, such beautiful animal friends who have served others so
faithfully and companionably for so long deserve to be heard. Besides empowering and
protecting you, animals inspire you and help you heal. Although most people have
several power animals that remain with them throughout their lifetime, other
animals come and go over the years. Some of the reasons for
their appearance are: they have something to teach you; you resonate with some
quality they possess; they allow you to come to terms with your fears; they are
testing your ability to wisely handle one power or another; spirit beings are
projecting the imagery of a particular animal into your consciousness in order
to guide you; the animal is assisting you with the development of a particular
power or magical ability.
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