Totems @ MindSay

Oh what a beautiful Sunrise this morning! Traveling through Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri ,Spring has arrived here,  the grass is green, but frost covered, Mist in the low line areas and over ponds and creeks, the sky is clear and blue, yes indeed Spring has arrived. Such a wonderous time of year, birds are being frisky and busy mating and making nest, hawks and Owls are on their nest awaiting the hatching of their youngens,coyotes, and foxes are having their pups, and kits, the newness of and resurrection of life is all around. I had the joy of seeing a Great Horned Owl and my totem the Barred Owl this morning, I usually see the Horned owl when I see owls, but to see a Barred Owl is an unusual event for me, I think I have only seen 3, and the most wonderful sighting was when I was seeking a vision in my Stone circle/Medicine wheel, a Barred owl came to about 30 feet of me at about 3 in the afternoon, right after I had spoke out into the wind and spirit. to see a Barred Owl therefore has great meaning in presenting itself to me. "Owl sees and knows the truth. It's ability to navigate through the darkest night and bring back nourishment for itself and others is the foundation of this essence. When you have lost your way, owl essence will guide you back to your proper path and wisdom." Which seems to prove true for me when they appear,  for I am usually contemplating my path and what way I should go with it, She usually means for me to stay grounded and  be focused  .I am usually toying with the idea of returning to my other way of thinking, when she arrives.

" The Owl provides a vital function in keeping bird, rodent and insect populations in check; too many of any species is detrimental to the balance of all. So it is with other things in our own lives, for if we have too many possessions, too many projects, too much of anything, it limits and restricts our ability to move freely through the different areas of our lives and the result is stagnation which leads to the death of joy, happiness and abundance. Owl medicine then becomes crucial in helping us to clear out that which is no longer needed or wanted. What may seem like a death to us in the giving up of something may be for another the birth and manifestation of a dream. We are most likely to lose our way when we become enmeshed in the "shoulds" and "must haves" in life, most of which come not from our inner selves but from the opinions and beliefs of those around us. We can spend so much time listening to others about what we should want ( and the commercials on the telly and radio are prime examples of this!) that we ignore what we really want. We find ourselves spiraling downwards into the darkness because we have become so busy thinking we must pursue this or hunt that, most of which provides very little, if any, real nourishment.
Think for a moment what your life would be like if you were able to jettison anything that did not speak to you on a Soul level. What would remain? What then would you "hunt" because it provided for you on all levels? That is what Owl medicine teaches us to do. We find that as we begin to move through the process of what we truly want, clearing the old to make way for the new birth of the Self that is close at hand, we find that other obstacles, limitations, fears and anxieties also begin to "die" in our lives. They no longer have the hooks to remain attached to our energy fields and without our support, they must die. "

The messages Spirit gives us through the world around is  vital for us to grow and gain the wisdom we need through the experiences that we go through. Without a message now and again we would just drift along aimlessly not knowing which way we should go, it is vital to stay open to Spirit, it is as vital as the air we breath and the water we drink, we need the communication from Spirit in what ever ways they use to get through to us, I am so thankful that Spirit uses the natural world around me, and I am thankful that I don't miss all the messages they send my way.

blessed be

Finding Your Power Animal

• Think about animals to whom you've always been attracted - and remember that "animal" includes birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects.
• Did you collect owls? Draw pictures of dragons? Live for the sight of horses? Swear that you would never want to live without a cat? (I believe that Cat is one of the most popular (and certainly one of the most accessible) power animals, closely followed by Dolphin and Wolf.)
• What animal do you feel is most like you?
• If you could be an animal what would you most want to be? What would you least want to be?
• Are there animals you dream about regularly?

If none of the above questions produce any inspiration, or if what you come up with doesn't feel quite right be open to and affirm that your power animal(s) (there may well be more than one) will show themselves to you soon.

• Before you go to sleep each night ask for your power animal to appear.
• Make the same request while in meditation.
• Be aware of the animal images you see in the course of the day.
• Someone sent you a card with a picture of a wolf? There's a special on the wolves in Yellowstone National Park on TV? This may be worth investigating.
• If you live in an area where wildlife abounds see who the most frequent visitors are. Which birds come most often to your feeder?
• Take out books on animals, preferably with pictures, from the library, and see whether any of them stir feelings within you.

It has been a few weeks since I saw any owls while traveling down the hwys and byways. This is nesting time for the Raptors and I have seen a hawk or owl head poking out of the tops of some nest, so there hasn't been a whole lot of hawks or owls, out and about lately. So this morning was a little more painful and hands stiffer than usual , so I was having my morning coffee ,pipe, and pity party, I called out for sister owl to make an appearance today to lighten up my spirits and as soon as I spoke out and called for sister owl, she showed up within seconds, sitting on an electric pole staring at me!

"what a joy to see you this morning sister owl, thank you for letting me know that I am not alone, and that you are still around me, lending me your help."

OWL apparently is my POWER totem my Moon or night energy and the BALD EAGLE is my sun or day energy  .I have two power totems it would seem.

If one follows  an 'EARTH MEDICINE' PATH you will find that you have a number of helpers on one's journey and that you are never alone.

you have a BIRTH TOTEM,  mine is BEAVER   and it corresponds to your SUN SIGN, which is found by the date of birth,  and with this totem you have a plant, stone, and color that are your helpers  while you journey the wheel, you have a CLAN TOTEM,   mine is TURTLE, which is the elemental  EARTH,clan totem that is also found by your birth date and it also has a plant, stone and color that are yours to help, and you have a SHADOW TOTEM which sits opposite you on the Medicine wheel mine is SNAKE and it too has a plant , stone, and color .

Then you have a POWER TOTEM  that is essentially YOU in all you incarnations it is the EXPRESSION  of your SOUL, mine is the OWL.

You also have a LIFE THEME which is like your RISING SIGN or  ASCENDANT in astrology,  I am not quite sure who this is in my critter friends that are with me, it is either  the HERON, ,HORSE,  I am not quite sure how you find out exactly how this one is determined.

And then you have a LIFE MISSION which I would of thought was the life theme one but any hoo, it is your 'higher calling' your specific role you are in order to ful fill your purpose, and again it is one of the above 2 critters I mentioned here. Horse or Heron is  either the theme or mission .

If you are interested in who your helpers are click on my bookmarks 'LIFE PATH' totems and figure out whose yours are.

I have found that working with these helpers, helps me to know I am never alone, these totems are the bridge between the SPIRIT AND EARTH realms, and bring messages over from beyond the rainbow bridge to guide, help and teach us what we need to know.  Some people have 'ANGELS', apparently these are my angels, who have taken on earth critter bodies  to work with me. The word 'ANGEL' means messenger, and so my angels are owls, eagles, snake, turtle, beaver,horse, heron, deer.raven/crow  which is my family on my moms side clan totem which is on our family crest 3 ravens.

I first learned we have 9 totems , and I used cards to pick mine, but over the years these 9 have come to me either in dreams or in the phyiscal  and it has always been these 9 that have showed up , not all together , but  whoses ever the energy and lesson that I needed it would show up to deliver it.

I love working with totems so much more than with angels, because I can see them in the physical realm everyday,and since being a double earth energy person  I am a double Taurus, with Aquarius rising., its the Aquarius rising that gives me the gypsy energy I have other wise I would be bogged down in the soil never rising high enough to get anything done.

for what it is worth

blessed be be a blessings

While at the Renaissance Festival, went to a shop where you could look up your surname and see if you have a family crest.  I found one for my dad's surname and his mother's maiden name. I bought a two sided key chain that displayed both of his family's coat of arms.  I wanted to look for my mother's maiden name, but I didn't have time.

Yesterday, I went to the company's website to look up my mom's maiden name and I pulled up her family crest.  One of the animals depicted at the bottom of the crest was an OWL! Those of you who read my blog regularly, know the significance of owls to me.  Coincidence????

Here's the website. It is a lot of fun and it sells nice products at reasonable prices.

http://www.houseofnames.com/