When Were You Born? Medicine Wheel: South

Were you born between June 21st and September 22nd? If you were, then you were born into the southern quadrant of the Native American medicine wheel.

Native American Astrology

Native American astrology connects power animals, seasons and elements to the four directions on the medicine wheel. This blog post, part of a series on Native American astrology, is focused on the southern quadrant of the medicine wheel.

Medicine Wheel: South

Coyote

Native Americans often refer to the coyote as the trickster, the joker. If coyote is your power animal, it will teach you to laugh at life and at yourself. The energy of this animal is play ful and fun, and it helps us learn not to take life too seriously.

When can coyote help?

(1) When you are confused by a dream, and need help figuring out the deeper meaning of it.

(2) When stress has made you lose your sense of humor.

(3) When you have a difficult choice to make and you can't tell whether the one you're considering will help or hurt the situation.

(4) When a work project or group you're involved with needs to cooperate better.

(5) When you have a problem you have no idea how to solve and would like to be inspired by creative solutions.

Lion

"Listen closely to your heart. It sings of your purpose, even though your purpose may shift with time and age. That's where you'll find the courage to be who you are. Not in your mind, not in the world around you, but in the center of your body and being."~~Steven D. Farmer, Ph.D., Power Animals: How to Connect with Your Animal Spirit Guide

This is lion's message for you. Lion encourages you to honor the message of your heart. And to know that you're safe in trusting it and acting on it. Let others have their say but then go to your quiet sanctuary, be still and listen for what you should do.

(1) Lion can give you the confidence you need when you feel discouraged or find it hard to trust yourself. Or when you have a task that seems beyond your capabilities.

(2) Lion's quiet dignity and self-assurance can help when you have been placed in a position of leadership and need to strengthen your faith in yourself.

Wolf

Wolves are wild spirits, but are also friendly and social. They live by their own set of rules, which are carefully defined, and are quite ritualistic.

Like lions, wolves only fight when they have to and can lend you strength when there is a battle you know you have to fight. But they also teach you to know yourself, know your own strength, and stand in that knowledge rather than trying to prove yourself unnecessarily.

(1) Wolf can teach the discipline of a well-ordered life, the rituals that keep things in order.

(2) Wolf also teaches you to trust and honor the voice within and to step forward onto your new path when the time is right.

Strawberry Moon Dreamboard

When I did the intuitive reading yesterday, it confirmed the need for contemplation and connection to nature, and suggested the need to honor the sacred path by standing firm in my truth and letting my light shine in terms of acknowledging and sharing the medicine I have been given (power, gifts and abilities).

When I worked on the dreamboard this afternoon, I was drawn to a lot of nature images, and words and phrases that supported meditation, spiritual connection and ritual, but also to words, phrases and images that encourage healthier eating. Hmm. And to whole paragraphs that offered advice about other issues I wasn't even planning to address in the dreamboard. Interesting.

So I went with that sort of intuitive guidance and added them all!

The moon is not as lusciously full and powerful as it was the day before it was "full" and the day after, so I am a day late but not a dollar short. I offered those issues vocally last night and will offer the dreamboard tonight.

Strawberry Moon Wishes

I decided to participate in the Full Moon Dreamboard telecircle but couldn't do it at the appointed time. I will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to the recording. Meanwhile, here's what I will do...

My plan, this afternoon, is to think about my spiritual practice and, specifically, to ponder how to make some of the changes I have been thinking about lately. I would like to slow down and pursue a more contemplative, cup-of-tea, ritual-inspired life.
But I find that so, so difficult!! And I return to it again and again, so I think, while journaling this afternoon, I also will do an intuitive reading, to see what might need to shift to help me accomplish it.

And then, that is what I will offer the moon tonight by way of prayer, and tomorrow, with my dreamboard!

When Were You Born? Part Two of Medicine Wheel ~~ East

We pick up our discussion of this part of the medicine wheel with Hawk...

Hawk

"If you seek mental clarity on an emotional problem that you can't see your way around, the hawk will help you to zero in on the crux of the issue and work through it."~~Stefanie Weiss, Spirit Animals: Unlocking the Secrets of Our Animal Companions

(1) Hawk helps you see things from a new perspective, to take a break when you're too close to an issue and step back long enough to gain a different perspective.

(2) Hawk can help you learn to trust your own wisdom. If you can hang on to a higher, spiritual perspective, that may be easier to do.

Air Element

This direction is connected to the air element. Generally speaking, the air element is associated with mental activity, with getting organized, with making and keeping commitments, with clearing clutter, with "clearing the air", finding your voice and communicating your truth, with getting more deeply in touch with your inner life, with your purpose.

(1) This energy is the one you can harness for assessing your life as it is today and deciding which changes you are ready to make.

(2) It also can be used for more clearly discerning and expressing your soul's purpose. And can help you clear away whatever has been in the way of living it fully.

When Were You Born? Medicine Wheel: East

Were you born between March 21st and June 20th? If so, you were born into the eastern quadrant of the Native American medicine wheel.

In Native American astrology, your birth date connects you to specific power animal spirit guides who are available for support and help. They also connect the time of year you were born to specific characteristics and energies that are available to you.

For this blog post, the focus is the eastern quadrant of the medicine wheel.

Medicine Wheel: East

The combined energy for this direction is new beginnings, giving birth to something new, the flourishing of creativity, the wellspring of enthusiasm. Draw upon this energy when you need to transition into something new, need help with a creative project or need renewal.

Golden Eagle

"If you're learning to meditate, moving from one set of beliefs to another, or simply hungering or spirituality, link up with the eagle. It will help you to reconnect to your personal power." --Stefanie Weiss, Spirit Animals: Unlocking the Secrets of Our Animal Companions

Eagle can help you when you're feeling overwhelmed, or facing difficult choices.

It can help you let go of beliefs or habits that no longer serve you and help you to expand your viewpoint.

Hummingbird

If you've lost your bliss and need to rejuvenate your enthusiasm, hummingbird is the animal spirit you need. Hummingbird can help you embrace life again when your joy seems to be hiding.

When you are in an emotionally difficult situation, hummingbird can lift you away from it for a time, helping you retreat long enough to regain perspective.

Owl

Owl is the animal spirit to call on when you need inner wisdom or maturity. But not only does it offer wisdom, it enhances vision. It helps you see in the dark, which means that you can see your own shadows and those of others. You can see through the rationalizations, the pretenses, the excuses, to the truth beneath it all.

Use this wisdom with compassion and acceptance to invite others into the light. And search out your own darkness, releasing anything that keeps you from shining your light, fro fully living your soul's purpose.

Next Post: Part Two of the eastern quadrant of the medicine wheel

When Were You Born? Medicine Wheel: West

Were you born between September 23rd and December 21st? If so, you were born into the western quadrant of the Native American medicine wheel.

Native American Astrology

In Native American astrology, several different connections are made to power animals based on season, birth date, the twelve moons, elements, stones, colors and directions on the medicine wheel.

This blog post is part of a series about Native American astrology and its focus is the medicine wheel and specifically, the western quadrant of the medicine wheel.

Medicine Wheel: West

Bear

Bear helps you bring dreams to life. They also teach you how to slow down, be more introspective and find our own inner wisdom to guide us. Bear shows you how to go within and get quiet, letting go of the stress the day has brought you.

If bear is your power animal, you may find that it takes solitude for you to be your most creative. Listen to that inner knowledge and nurture your creativity by making sure you have adequate time alone. Combining the energies of both moose and bear mean you might need even more time alone than others.

Beaver

Beaver brings the energy of purposeful movement. They are busy but everything they do has purpose.

Beaver wisdom: "Don't keep busy just because you're anxious, you're afraid to slow down, or you want to impress your friends by telling them or showing them just how busy you are. You need downtime as well. Time for relaxation. Time with your family and friends. It's important. But if and when you've got a project to do, just get to it." ~~Steven Farmer, Ph.D., Power Animal: How to Connect with Your Animal Spirit Guide

Snake

With snake's energy, you have access to healing and the ability to heal, to help in letting go of the old so that the new can come. Snake can help when you have a difficult decision to make but first need to clear away the negative energy around it in order to see the situation more clearly.

You need to detoxify your life to avoid illness.

Water

The element for this direction is water. Water is connected to emotions, to swimming in emotional depths. It is the element that represents relationships and family.

(1) Use this energy to uncover unresolved childhood issues and any feelings that need to be washed away and released.

(2) Examine the important relationships in your life. How do they make you feel? What impact do they have on your energy level? Are there any that are strained, that need healing?

(3) Bathe in sea salt with essential oils and focus on releasing anything that no longer serves you.

When Were You Born? Medicine Wheel: North

Were you born between December 22nd and March 20th? Or do you know anyone who was?

This blog post is part of a series about Native American spirituality, Native American astrology and the spiritual practice of animal medicine.

Animal Medicine

This spiritual approach of finding power animals and spirit animals and animal allies all begins with the belief that they have "medicine" to share with us. But this medicine is not the traditional kind that most of us think of when we hear the word.

For Native Americans, "medicine" is anything that connects us more deeply to the divine (or "Great Mystery") and to life, in general. Healing of our bodymind and our spirit is part of that and so is personal power.

Native American Astrology

"Native American astrology uses the images of creatures to depict the seasons. These creatures exist in addition to the twelve 'zodiac' signs of the medicine wheel. They mark the turning point of each season and also the turning points during each day (dawn, noon, dusk, mid-night). The four 'seasonal' creatures are the white buffalo, the golden eagle, the coyote, and the grizzly bear." -- Deborah Durbin, Simply Native American Astrology

For this blog post, our focus is the northern quadrant of the medicine wheel and the power animals connected to it.

Medicine Wheel: North

Buffalo

Buffalo can help you deepen your intuitive ability. Slow down and work on remembering your dreams. Buffalo can help you use them for guidance.

Moose

Aligning with moose awakens both feminine energy and sacred energy. Moose makes it possible to go deep within, to your own inner depths, find the nourishment there and come back to share with others.

To fully develop your moose alignment, acknowledge the intuitive gift it offers, and begin to trust your intuitive thoughts. Most moose people were born intuitive, but when it comes to them, it seems like their regular thoughts so they think they're imagining it. Work at trusting your intuition more.

Bear

Bear helps you bring dreams to life. They also teach you how to slow down, be more introspective and find our own inner wisdom to guide us. Bear shows you how to go within and get quiet, letting go of the stress the day has brought you.

If bear is your power animal, you may find that it takes solitude for you to be your most creative. Listen to that inner knowledge and nurture your creativity by making sure you have adequate time alone. Combining the energies of both moose and bear mean you might need even more time alone than others.

Is Horse One of Your Power Animals?

Is Horse One of Your Power or Spirit Animals?

Horses love to run free, untethered, without boundaries. Roaming wherever fancy takes them. If horse is one of your power animals, then you also value freedom and autonomy.

You like to explore (and possibly to travel) just for the fun of it, and may be drawn to the metaphysical realm. Psychic or shamanic work might be a good fit for you.

If horse has entered your life as a spirit animal, think about the issues of freedom and travel and exploration.

Also, think about boundaries at work or in relationships.

Journal Questions

(1) Is it time to assert yourself in some way? Move into a new level of empowerment?

(2) Is it time to move on? Do you need to allow someone else to move on?

(3) Is there any sense of constriction in your life? A need for freedom? Or space?

Horse Freedom

Horse is but one of the many fascinating spirit animals you can connect with, learn from and whose energy you can embrace.

This blog post continues the series on Native American Spirituality and animal medicine.

Animal Medicine

In Native American spirituality, animal medicine refers to the empowerment that each animal offers us and is based on the belief that we are all connected to every living thing, to all that is. That we are all family.

As loving family members, animals come to us in spirit, as power animals, and stay for a lifetime, or as spirit animals, and stay for a while. They offer us their strength, their wisdom, their character, their essence.

"Every animal is unique unto itself. Each species has its own characteristics, its own strengths and its own weaknesses. "-Ted Andrews, Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small

For example, horses exemplify the love of freedom, the need to be untethered, free to roam whenever the need beckons. In addition to accepting their gifts to us, we can request what we need from them.

When animals come to you as power animals or spirit animals, they help you develop potential within you that matches their characteristics. They also teach us the lessons we need to learn.

Among the lessons they teach are how to use and develop your potential, how to adapt to your environment, lessons of dying to one part of your life and being reborn to something new, and maintaining responsible relationships with all our relations.

Next Post: Is Horse One of Your Power Animals?

Finding Your Power Animals, Part Two

How to Identify Your Power Animals

Dreamwork

You can place a pen and a journal by your bed each night and just before you go to sleep, ask to dream about any animals that are with you in spirit. Tell yourself that you will remember any dream that is important, and after a few nights, you are likely to find yourself dreaming the answers.

Meditation

Try meditating to know more about your power animals. Start by settling into your chair, taking a few minutes to relax by breathing deeply and slowly, and mentally release any stress you have brought with you to the experience.

Then imagine a peaceful setting, ask to meet with your power animal and see what happens as you continue.

Intuitive Readings

Animal medicine cards can be used in several ways, but we will identify two here.

(1) You can draw cards specifically to find your permanent companions, your power animals, and use that guidance to learn about the character traits, strength and wisdom that is always available to you and that you can grow into even more.

(2) But you can also use them to discover which spirit animals have something to say to you in the moment. Guidance that is important for that day, or for a time, but not necessarily forever.

Finding Your Power Animals

"A Power Animal is a protector, similar to a spirit guide, that represents an aspect of your soul."-Samantha Britt Williams

Permanent Guides: the Totem Animals

"The animals are spirit teachers that dwell in our unconscious mind, waiting for us to discover them."-- Stefanie Iris Weiss, Spirit Animals: Unlocking the Secrets of Our Animal Companions

Totem animals are the animal spirits that stay with you forever. They are like guardian angels who are ever-present in the background of your life, but who are available for closer relationship if you choose to connect in a deeper way.

Spirit Animals

Spirit animals are temporary companions that come to you for a while to help you grow or lend support while they are with you.


Some people think of angels as companions who hover close to us, available in an instant if we need them. Totem animals are always there, too, but, along with spirit animals, can help you grow and develop spiritually.

Some Native Americans believe that you have one power or totem animal and many other spirit animals that come and go in your life as teachers. Others believe that you have more.

In their book, Medicine Cards, Jamie Sams and David Carson indicate that we each have nine totem animals, seven of which correspond to direction or location: East, West, North, South, Above, Below, and Within, and two that walk with you at all times in spirit, on either side of you.

They go on to explain that you also may have encountered these animals in other ways and may have felt drawn to them for a reason unknown to you at the time.