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Wisdom through different eyes
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| New comer, and first post. |
[Jan. 5th, 2010|01:48 am] |
Hello everyone! My good friend, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) darkalessa told me of this place. I never knew it even existed... I guess I'll get on with the point.
I studied Shamanism for some time. I started when I was 17, after finding out I had Sioux blood in me. I wanted to know more. I wanted to see different beliefs. I'm not sure where I stand right now, and I have some guidance; but no thick pillar of someone who understands Shamanism more. So I'm very happy to find this community!
I found out my Guardian animal was a dragon. Does anyone know anything of it?
The first time I saw him, he was a dragon's skeleton. In a graveyard... Surrounded by dead people and animals alike. The graveyard had a swamp-like feeling to it, and it had green mist. I'm not sure what that stood for, but now my dragon is very lively. I saw him in full flesh for the first time last month. Would this mean I don't feel "dead" anymore? I was going through some tough times. I'm 21 now. And things seem to be looking up, even though I have a disease known as Systemic Lupus. (( Can be fatal, but I only get in pain a lot. It rarely attacks my body to the point where I need to go to the Emergency Room / Hospital. ))
Any advice or discussion would be appreciated! Thanks. |
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| *wave* |
[Dec. 4th, 2009|06:43 pm] |
(I hope this is alright to post--I didn't see anything mentioned of it in the userinfo)
I'm a lurker on most communities on LJ, as I'm usually busy offline. However, animism is a major part of my practice, which includes archetypal and totemic energies of animals, as well as other elements in nature. I write about it in my blog Dimension Bomb (which is in need of updating).
Part of that involves working with objects scavenged from nature, as well as old antiques and related things. I keep up a little shop, The Relic Hound, which features some of the objects I've made for sale. I have quite a lot of specifically animistic and totemic objects I've made, such as little totem bottle, and quite larger ones, as well as a variety of other items.
Portion of proceeds from the sale of all these items go to wildlife rescue, namely The International Wolf Center, The Indiana Coyote Rescue Center, and related groups. Lately, a large amount of income I've been getting from my shop that hasn't already gone intononprofits has gone into mailings to troops overseas.
Anyway, feel free to check me out if you're looking for something for the holidays--it all goes to a good cause.
Thanks for looking. |
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| Fox? |
[Nov. 27th, 2009|08:18 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  curious | ] |
Hello everyone. :)
Just a random question ~ has anybody else here had experiences with Fox as a totem? If so, what lessons did Fox seem to be connected to and do you feel that he/she had any specific qualities or personality traits? I'm always very interested to hear about other peoples encounters. I've done a tiny bit of research and the writings that I've read about Fox seem to describe the totem in a similar way to how I perceive it ~ gentle, playful and feminine. |
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| Secondary totems |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|05:29 pm] |
So how do you know if a totem is secondary vs. being primary or tertiary? Is it a time-length thing, a certain "feel" of energy, or something else?
I know WHAT a secondary totem is btw, I just would like to know how you figured out which totem filled that slot. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|04:20 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | curious | ] |
Hello everybody. :) I have a few questions to ask. Firstly... I don't think I've posted here before, so hi!
During your experiences with meeting totems or becoming aware of their presence for the first time, (particularly secondary totems) how have they made themselves known to you? Did you find that they were very gradual emergences or did they arrive quite suddenly?
Aside from being curious, the main reason that I ask is that I feel that I've been neglecting my secondary totems recently - I haven't been working with them as much as I'd like to and two of them seem to have dissappeared completely, which makes me a bit uneasy. My primary totem is as strong and present as she have ever been, but my secondaries seem to have vanished. Perhaps they feel that they have taught me everything that they wished to, although I don't feel that this is the case. I sort of feel as though I've only scratched the surface with them. I'm now under the impression that a new secondary totem, Fox, is working its way into my life, although I can't confirm this yet. This new force is gradually making its presence stronger and I find that I've been noticing imagery related to foxes very often recently - I was very excited and surprised to actually see one while I was out walking yesterday.
I'm going to try some divination with totem cards and perhaps a guided meditation, maybe things will seem a little clearer after that. Any thoughts on any of my ramblings are greatly appreciated! :) |
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| Dragon Flys and Falling Leaves |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|02:13 pm] |
Something happened the other day that was a bit out of the ordinary and I was wondering what those of you here might think.
We were getting into our car (our very cold car as our windows no longer roll up and down and we live in Ky.) and I saw a tiny blur of green fluttering in the corner of our wind shield on the inside. I was startled to realize that it was a dragonfly. (Startled because should they really be out in the cold like that?) I reached my hand out for it (never thinking I would actually catch it as I am neither the most graceful nor quickest creature.) but I caught it easily and when I opened my palm it sat in my hand completely unharmed - almost like it jumped there... and it sat there for several minutes while I stared and my wife gawked... then I told it we needed to go now and it was in that moment that it chose to leave, not a moment sooner or longer then the moment when I spoke to tell it it was time to part ways.
Less then fifteen minutes later we pulled into the local gas station to gas up the car on the way to Louisville and I stepped around the front to go in. There laying on the ground in front of the car was a perfect five pointed leaf. I don't remember the name of the tree that comes off of, and frankly that time p of leaf is not rare around here, but what was odd was that it had been pressed not just into the five points - but into a perfect five pointed star shape from my vantage point when I stepped out of the car. (The wife had to step around beside me to see it - she couldn't see it from her original vantage point.)
Either thing alone would have been cool and somewhat thrilling - but the two together in such a short time period makes me wonder... |
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| :( |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|08:59 pm] |
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So I had a horrible dream last night. I'm wondering if anybody here has had a similiar experience, because I'm just stunned.
Fox has been my totem all my life. In my dreams, he's bright red-orange. In my dream last night, I was walking through a garden at night. Fox appeared, but he was scruffy and pale yellow, looking rather sick or something. Out of nowhere, two dogs come running and grab Fox and completely tear him apart. They just maul him, rip him open...it was horrific. This whole time, I'm standing there unable to move, feeling nauseated at what I'm seeing, and completely helpless. Fox was dead, and I then woke up. Significant? It was horrible! |
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| Opinions |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|03:34 pm] |
So, this would have to be my second dream with Panther.
I'm at a loss for what it symbolizes, so any interpretations would be helpful.
I'm the back seat of the car and we're driving through a street, and it's normal and sunny out. I look out the window and see a full-sized Panther on the sidewalk. I get curious, so I stick my head out a little for a good look, to think I'm not imagining things. Five minutes later, there's a Panther cub on the roof of the car. It's desperately trying to get in through my partially opened window, but I get nervous and close it, thinking it's going to do something bad to me, or I was just shy, I'm not sure. It was probably just curious. What I noticed is that it had very distinct spots on one side of it's face and a little of the body, and the rest was just pure black. Next thing I know I'm in abandoned house, and it looks familiar. It's half destroyed, and I look around, wondering if it's going to come inside and get me.
Are dreams as accurate as meditations? I seem to come more in contact when in dreams. I feel like that when I meditate I feel like I'm controlling some part of it, because my mind races a lot, and in dreams I'm not forcing anything. |
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| Crow(s). |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|12:50 pm] |
Please forgive me if this entry becomes a rambling mess because I'm altogether unsure as to how to ask the questions I have. Like a few others I've spied before me I really know nothing of this brand of spiritualism, but I would very much like to learn more about it and what it could mean to and for me. I come from a region where the winters are especially frigid and, because I feel as though the cold has truly become a part of me over the years, I have a habit of taking long walks in even the unkindest temperatures. At a lull in the winter of 2008, I happened upon a mass of black feathers in the snow and, upon further inspection, I realized that it was a dead crow that had been completely lacerated and torn apart by what I can only assume was the harshness of the fading season. This scene struck me so (particularly because I would, weeks later, study a Baudelaire poem about the beauty of a carcass) that I photographed it and have never been able to forget it. As Baudelaire suggests, my fascination was borne more of admiration than horror, for the sheer rawness and honesty of the image. Thereafter, I began to notice crows everywhere around me -- solitary crows hobbling across roads, crying out from high above as I traversed my school's campus, flocks hovering above the oak trees of my home, etc. At first, I attributed this merely to a heightened awareness to the presence of the birds as opposed to an increased number of them, but now I'm not so sure. My studies have since brought me to a different continent where the winter months are not nearly as biting, but the corvids continue to pervade my consciousness, namely in the form of a hooded crow that flies across my path nearly every time I visit the the grand touristic cemeteries in my city and one faceless entity that caws outside my window every then and again. I've done some light reading on the symbolism behind single crows and groups of crows, but unfortunately, knowing a definition doesn't always guarantee an understanding. I suppose I joined this community and am posting here today with the hopes that others better-versed in this world might shed some light on or even identify the nature of my experiences, because if indeed I have some sort of spiritual connection to this animal, I want to know how to embrace and use it to its best advantage. One thing I do know for sure thanks to my reading is that such connections are always very personal, very ingrained in the events of one's life. That being said, if there are any questions about myself that I can answer so that you might answer mine, please don't hesitate to ask them.
Thanks heartily for taking the time to read this monster of an introduction. |
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| Hello again... |
[Sep. 21st, 2009|06:16 pm] |
It has been over a year since I have posted, or even read anything on LJ. I am truly sorry for neglecting you all.
The reason for this post is because I have lost a part of me. I used to be so close with Cougar and Wolf, among others. Now I fear I have lost them. I know that I can never lose Cougar; she was with me at birth, or rather part of me, and she promised to be with me until the end, even if I do not feel her there, but that is little comfort to me at the moment.
I went through a lot of changes in the last year. I moved out of my parents house for college and I am fully supporting myself with only the help of financial aid. Everything changed so fast and I didn't incorporate my relationships with my guides into my new lifestyle. Now I don't even know where to start. I can't feel them. I can't hear them. I used to dream so beautifully with them; I learned the best lessons through dream. But now my sleep is uninterrupted. It is quiet. I fear that in losing them, I killed a part of me that I may never get back. I should have nurtured them, brought them with me in everything that I did. I could not have imagined how hard it would hit me when I realized that they were no longer there because it was a gradual fading away... I guess all that I could possibly ask all of you for is is your opinions and your suggestions. If I try hard enough, long enough, will I ever have that part of me back?
How could I have done this to myself... |
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| Possums? |
[Sep. 13th, 2009|07:18 pm] |
Hey gang, I havent posted in forever, but as of last night, Ive got a little something new to share, and a question to ask.
I always thought Alligator was my life-totem and have had regularly recurring dreams about him for a number of years now, but for the past 8 months or so, he's been strangely quiet. I was starting to get a little worried and upset, because I love alligators and was always thrilled every time I got the chance to see my gator in a dream ( for those of you who arent familiar, my totem isnt just Alligator, but a particular alligator; a medium sized, rather fat, white male with a portion of his tail missing. I dont know why, but when I dream of gators, its him the vast majority of the time.)
Aaaanyway, last night, there he was! I was ecstatic to see him again, so I ran down to the waters edge, but he swam away from me before I could get anywhere near him. Following him, I watched him disappear into a crevice by the bank. But, right above where he had disappeared, a smallish possum was standing, looking at me. It allowed me to get very close to it but was acting somewhat defensive and unsure of me, and then, of course, I woke up.
Im wondering if my gator led me to Possum to tell me that I had something to learn from it, however, I know nothing of Possum's teachings... Can anyone tell me anything about it? |
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| elemental beings |
[Sep. 3rd, 2009|11:25 am] |
First I'd like to say thanks to everyone who replied to my previous entry :)
I'd also like to recommend a book I read a few days ago. It's not about totems, but I thought you might be interested.
It's called Nature Spirits & Elemental Beings by Marko Pogačnik.
You can also check out his website for more info.
http://www.markopogacnik.com/
I personally completely believe him and think that what he's doing is very important :)
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| A query |
[Sep. 2nd, 2009|03:54 am] |
I saw several people mention plant totems in a recent post here. Not wishing to hijack that post, I thought I would make a new one to ask...
Can those of you who deal with or know about plant totems either point me towards a reliable source of information about them, or possibly be good enough to offer your own thoughts and experiences with them? I have never heard of plants as totems and do not quite understand how they qualify. I am interested in hearing how people who actually incorporate them into their beliefs and practices relate to them.
Many thanks. |
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| To connect with an animal, don’t destroy it |
[Sep. 2nd, 2009|12:27 am] |
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This is a thought I have had a while ago, but haven’t voiced it. While many of us may have a respect and connection to animals, to further strengthen this sometimes pelt or parts of the actual animal are used as part of a ritual or component. But the source of these pelts and parts, more then likely come from people who kill these animals for amusement, a sport, a hobby and have no respect or ideas of it. In the result of taking it, we have removed it from its ecological function, and from living what further life it could have, and living. To pretend to be a animal such as a wolf (or any other) with such a pelt an actual one had to die, which seems a strange and unethical to me. If one wishes or does have a connection to an animal within, then look inside the self and to your own spirit, for that one component outshines manifold the power of any and all material things. By ever buying the pelt of part of any animal you are funding and supporting people to continue killing it. While many of us who do not ever partake in any such evil, may feel disempowered at what other do (that is perfectly legal), you can still make a stand by depriving funds for those who would do this. Furthermore by not buying anything of the like, the value of pelts and animal parts will drop further reducing any monetary incentive for people to do this. If a pelt of a animal such as the wolf has no value to any person for any use, the price will drop of what few people will buy it, and those who trap and shot it from airplanes will have less a ability to get funds, reducing the numbers which they kill (perhaps, stopping entirely). Relating to that, I think that no one should ever support departments of natural resources. They are best described as “marketing and sell death”, their main interest and function is to get money from people to hunt animals; and are concerned with managing nature so as to get more profits. The nature of such agencys are presumptuous, to exist a animal seems to need their permission which is absurd. And that each and every species of animal needs to be managed (aka have permits sold to kill it). Centuries if not millennium before these organizations and their methods existed a greater abundance of nearly all animals existed. In the past they green lighted (and participated) the extermination of wolves and other animals as well, and even to this day still seem quite interested in it (and if not that something else, such as coyotes). The history and present reality of these organizations make me strongly wish to never ever support them, and I urge others too as well.
By living ever more rightous lives, we make a contribution to eliminating all evil in the world, the power is within us all. |
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| First meditation, surprising results. |
[Aug. 29th, 2009|04:55 pm] |
Hey, it's me again. So ever since that dream with the Panther in the playground, I've been really determined to meet up with Leopard since then, but I haven't had much luck dream-wise. That is, until last night. I went for a more forceful approach. I took a piece of paper and orange crayon and wrote down keywords of how I wanted it to happen: the long trail and trees and everything. The question I wrote was, "Do we have a connection?" So I folded it and put it under my pillow.
The next part wasn't a dream, but more like a meditation, because I knew I was wide awake, despite being in my bed resting with all the lights and tv off. It was very vivid. I'm walking down a curvy dirt path in a beautiful forest with flowers. While walking I see a variety of animals, but pass by them, just acknowledging them as they did me. I remember a Hippo, Tiger, and Giraffe. I kneel down to examine the dirt-like sand and there's sparkles in it, like some sidewalks have. I look up and see a Leopard directly in front of me. I'm positive she's female. She growls just slightly. I'm on my knees so I'm at her height. With one arm she paws at my face aggressively, but I'm not hurt. Behind her there's a male Panther, but he's just watching. Next, she leaps on me and I'm on the ground. I fear she's about to bite me, but I remain calm, and instead she licks my face. She starts to leave with the other Panther, and I get this feeling she expects me to follow. I think I screwed up here because I quickly tried to become conscious so I could write notes to remember what happened. I wish I didn't leave so suddenly. I don't remember forcing anything during this, it all happened naturally and fluently.
Next is my dream. I'm at school in the day and it's isolated. I'm on the grassy lawn. I got my schedule and I'm getting nervous because none of it was what I asked for. For some reason, randomly, I see a close-up of a Coyote's face. I just know it's not a wolf, and also because I felt humor coming from it. It was very optimistic. I'm back at the lawn and I shape-shift into a Leopard and run to the counseling office. There's more, but this is where it ends with anything animal related. And that's pretty much it.
Not even a moment ago, I drew a quick drawing of a Leopard just for fun, with a hidden message on the back meant for my dad to read. We were watching a movie, so he was sort of aloof. He has no idea about animal totems. One look at it, he goes, "Oh, a dog. No wait, a Leopard. Coyote?" I thought that was a weird instance, since it doesn't even remotely resemble a dog. And yet ...
So I'm kind of at a loss what to make of this. I read up Coyote and he embraces easygoingness, to laugh at yourself and just let loose. I can't help but feel he was there during that moment I showed dad the drawing, because that was just plain ironic and I couldn't help but smile when he said that. Then there's Leopard, and she wants you to trust your intuitive side and become more active and aggressive with pursuing your goals. As which, my future is something I'm really hazy about right now in my life. I feel I need that extra push, because I have no one to look to. I have an idea of what I want to do and I'm determined to do it ... |
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| Proud mothers (?) |
[Aug. 19th, 2009|03:49 pm] |
Hi everyone,
there is something I want to share with you, in which I was indirect involved, because it during my early infant time:
My mother was working in the kitchen and heard some noise on the doorstep. As she opened it, she found a cat with kittens outside. She gave it a moment's thought and going inside to fetch me and showed me to her. The cat did a closer look and sniffed at me. I don't know, it she asked the cat to stay, but she stayed for the time, that my mother needed to come back.
Since I read, that specially totem animals couldn't chose self, because they chose us, I'm not sure about the symbolically important of the event. |
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| Cat? |
[Aug. 6th, 2009|11:26 pm] |
Everywhere I go, no matter where, it seems that I give off some sort of cat vibe. This has been bothering me, so I'm curious to know what you all think about this.
So here's the deal. I'll meet a new person, and right off the bat they'll give me some cat-related comment ("you seem like a cat person", "you remind me of a cat", etc.) without them having any reason to say so (it's not like I'm wearing something with a cat on it, or purposely acting like a cat).
At my school (I'm 17, been a totemist since 14 and still lost), more people know me as "Kitty" than my actual name. The nickname began when somebody said "aww you're like a kitty!" in response to something I can't even remember. I have met people who are unaware of this, and yet they still make cat comments.
For instance, I just stayed for six weeks at a pre-college program an hour away from home. I met some new people from other states, and one of the first things two of them said to me were "you're like a cat somehow". What the heck? I haven't known them for longer than a minute! The next week, one guy surprised me with a plush cat as a gift, as a sort of joke.
I don't know how I feel about cat as a totem. It seems so mundane, so common. I mean, I've loved cats all my life and have always seen myself in them, but a lot of people do, and it's nothing special. A lot of people love cats, they're a common pet. They're pretty and mysterious. It seems like Wolf or Raven; something everyone wants. That's why I doubt if this is real.
In meditation I have met a very skinny, stray-looking, tawny striped cat with large ears and a pointed face on various occassions. She tries to talk to me, but all I hear is muttering. She tried to tell me her name once (apparently she has one), but all I got was that it begins with an "A" and it is long and unusual. When I ask her what she wants, she just walks around like she's ignoring me or can't hear me. That's all I could ever get her to do, but I think about her at random moments in the day. Maybe I've been neglecting her, or our relationship's got some communication issues to deal with!
What do you think? Is it a sign of something totemic when people associate you heavily with a certain animal, no matter where you go? Do animal totems have ATTITUDES when you try to communicate, or is the problem all on your side? |
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| Totem Animals vs Power Animals |
[Jul. 20th, 2009|10:11 am] |
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Hey guys, I asked this question in another community and was referred here. Can someone tell me what the fundamental difference is between totem animals and power animals? I've found a bunch of websites that describe them both in detail but none that tell me what the difference is between the two, and frankly, they both sound similar to me... Thanks! |
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| Introduction and then some |
[Jul. 18th, 2009|04:27 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  determined | ] |
Hello!
I'm new here! And I have a question for the community. For a long time I had known that Cat is a totem of mine, but then I found an exercise on Moonvoice's website, Wildspeak, and decided to do it for fun. To keep a long story short, she suggested that it is a trickster spider from the way it was acting during the meditation. So I tried to do another meditation with Tarantula last night, and got odd results:
( Meditation )
However, I don't feel like Tarantula was trying to hurt me in any way, or that he was angry with me. But I found the entire experience to be incredibly odd, and with my fear of spiders, it frightened me as well.
So my question is: what exactly does this mean? I'm sort of afraid to go back and see him again, even though I know I have to (and will eventually). Also, I'm curious if other people have any experiences with trickster tarantula as well.
Thanks for your insight.
x-posted to Totemists. |
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