Archive for the ‘Totems’ Category

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Shamanic Totem: Snail

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

This spring I was grateful for the large amount of straw I left on my garden space over the winter, for it didn’t allow many weeds to grow.  However, because of all the rainfall a damp habitat became the perfect place for snails to hide.  Although harmless to humans, snails love to eat plants and are definitely not good for a garden.

 

Shamanically, a Snail’s shell is associated with the spiral, or Golden Mean of Nature’s growth cycles.  Because snails re-emerge during Spring after over wintering in their shells, they can also symbolize rebirth.  So if snail has crawled into your life you may want to ask yourself, what has died within me to give birth to something new?

 

Because snails carry their homes on their backs it’s easy for them to hide if they feel threatened.  If this attribute is reflected in your behavior you may want to contemplate how you project a hard shell to others while protecting your inner tenderness, vulnerability and timidity.  If you have uncovered snail in your life, she can teach your inner child the lesson of learning how to trust people and the world.

 

 

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Totem: Snapdragon

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

After all that freezing weather we had in February, it’s hard to believe that my two-year old potted Snapdragons were still thriving with new growth. These hardy plants are thought to have originated in Spain and Italy, and now in America they are the favorite in many gardens and plant stands.  Mediterranean people traditionally cultivated them for seed oil that was utilized similar to the olive. The Snapdragon’s many colors were also a good source for dyeing material.

It is said that Snapdragons have a magical ability to speak when you squeeze their blossom. Done correctly, its dragon-like mouth appears  revealing deep secrets of the future, and  protection from deceit and curses.

When used as a flower essence, this remedy release verbal aggression, and repressed sex drive. It’s great for animals that show hostility, biting. snapping, or eating disorders.

 

 About the Author…
Barbara-Lynn Freed has over twenty years experience in Shamanism and teaches a 3 year Shamanic apprenticeship called Resurrecting the Old Ways:  Walking the Land & Honoring the Spirits in Right Relationship.  To find out more about this program and how to sign-up see her website.

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Shamanic Totem: Bat

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

What a good omen… the man I just hired for lawn maintenance also had similar esoteric interests!  As I watched out of my kitchen window we were both amazed when a Bat flew right in front of the mower landing on the ground.  With a shovel he picked up the little fellow and gently placed him in the woods bordering my property.

 

Bat in Flight

 

The Bat is a powerful shamanic totem as it can signify facing our greatest fears and working through intense tests to change ourselves by releasing aspects of our life that no longer suit us.  The Bat totem tells us that change and transformation are blessings in our lives and come from within ourselves.  Because the Bat totem symbolizes rebirth, it can act as strong medicine promising us hope in the midst of chaos.

If Bat has flown into your life know that no matter how unstable your life my appear to be, the promise of empowerment is on the horizon.

 

About the Author… Barbara-Lynn Freed has practiced shamanism for over twenty years and offers a 3-year Shamanic apprenticeship entitled Resurrecting the Old Ways:  Walking the Land & Honoring the Spirits in Right Relationship.  Find out more about this worthy program and how to sign-up by visiting her website.

 

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Totem: Caterpillar

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Boy! this summer sure has been prolific with caterpillar eggs.  With all this heat I’ve been out watering my vegie and flower gardens early every morning to keep my plants flourishing.  While the hose is on drip at their roots, I search my tomatoes and peppers for signs of predators. And everyday I find a new smattering of eggs that have been laid on those tender leaves.  Working with  the same method  I use to deal with aphids, I simply pluck off the infected leaves and throw them onto the lawn.

With all our inner and global transformation going on right now, perhaps Mother Nature is simply reflecting this through her creature’s activities.  As you may already know, the caterpillar tranforms into a moth or butterfly after a stage of metamorphosis.

So if caterpillar has crawled into your garden of life, make note of the most important issues eating at you, and take the opportunity to find healthy solutions, for Caterpillars message says… whatever is ailing you, smooth sailing is ahead.  Simply take some time to turn inward to reflect and contemplate a viable answer for your current difficulties. In this way you can transform obstacles into a beautiful new way of being.

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Totems: Ant

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

A few weeks ago when I spotted ants on my tomatoes I knew it was a sign that they were probably exploiting my beautiful plants by turning them into an aphid farm.  Sure enough when I carefully looked under my plant’s leaves, I found several that were inundated with aphids and eggs.

I ‘ve always found the easiest way to deal with aphids is to simply pluck off the infested leaves, and then search for egg casings/aphids and also pick them off by hand.  No need for messy and toxic sprays if you follow my advise.  But don’t forget to follow-up every day with a thorough search for more invading pests and your tomatoes will have a delightful rebound.

Ants have been long noted as being industrious, ordered and disciplined, and thus achieving monumental tasks.  They are incredible architects by building complex homes for their community to thrive in.

If Ants have invaded your space they may want to teach you how to become an architect of your own life by constructing your dreams into reality through persistence and patience.

Ask yourself:  Are you in a rush to complete a task, or neglecting to build a firm life foundation?  Are you making things more difficult than they need to be?  If so, move over and let Ant show you the way.

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Totem Animal: Fox

Monday, June 4th, 2012

The other afternoon as I was sitting out on my deck amongst my flower garden, waiting for a client to arrive, I spotted a fox walking out of the woods. “It’s a fox!”, I whispered out loud.   Probably 40 feet away, the fox’s acute hearing picked up my voice.  Stopping momentarily, he turned his head in my direction , and then resumed his walk down my driveway.

As you may know, the fox is an evening and twilight creature so it is a rare sight to see one during the daytime.  A fox’s magic can teach us the art of camouflage, invisibility and shapeshifting, and these skills may help us to go with the flow in our rapidly changing times,  work behind the scenes and be unnoticed as we observe others.

Because the fox is a guardian of our daily twilight times, it can help us to connect with the fairy realms.  The quality of a foxes tail, it’s gait and under belly fur all reflect the feminine and creative life force in all things.

If fox has popped up in your life, it may be time to reexamine or address how you are working with others and connect more with the feminine parts of your nature.

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Bee Totem

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

It certainly seems like we have gone from winter to summer this year with daytime temperatures in the 80′s.  Although many creatures are out a month early building or repairing their homes, I am still a little wary of the weather because I know that we can still have a frost as late as mid April.  So I am waiting to purchase my warm weather annuals until the frost time is past.

A group of little beings that I have seen hard at work already is the bee population.  This is the perfect totem for spring because bees traditionally represent fertility.  This symbolism has come about because of their role in plant pollination.   As bees go from flower to flower pollen attached to their legs is transferred to other flowers creating fertilization.

Bees are also great symbols of productivity, organization and community awareness.   Determined at birth whether a bee will be a queen, drone or worker, bees always know their place in the pecking order of the hive and work tirelessly to preserve the survival of their home and queen.

If bees have shown up in your life recently perhaps you need to examine your own productivity.   Are you too busy and not enjoying the fruits of your labor?  The bee reminds us that if we work consistently to follow our dreams, we can reach the end of our rainbow and savor the honey in our lives.

Here’s a video to help you savor the honey in your life! 


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Shamanic Meaning of Apple Trees

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

While enjoying myself at a Holiday gathering, sipping on hot, mulled apple juice, I couldn’t help reflecting on an article I had just read in Consumer Reports regarding the high content of arsenic and lead found in various juice brands. Normally I would have been elated that the host had used Whole Foods, organic 365 brand, but now I found myself a little perturbed, since that was one of the brands that contained a higher arsenic/lead content allowed in bottled water.  The real problem being, that there isn’t any legal limit of these elements in juice.

The Apple tree has been cultivated since the earliest of times, and is included in the Celtic Tree Ogham, an ancient language/divination system used by the Druids.  Here the apple is associated with Choice and choosing between two equally attractive things.  Since the alternatives seem to be equally promising, the choice my be difficult.

The original apple of course was the crab apple, and not the hybrid types we grow and eat today.  This original apple tree usually had thorns and held very close ties to the Celtic shaman. It was the tree that the shaman worked with while undergoing magical transformations in their Otherworld journeys.  The most famous of Otherworld places in Celtic mythology is that of Avalon; the word is actually derived from old Irish meaning “a place of apple trees”.

Perhaps this has something to do with why the apple represents the forbidden fruit for Adam & Eve?  Perhaps the Bible is hinting that we should stay in mundane reality and not venture off into the Upper or Lower worlds of the Shaman.  It’s certainly something to ponder on the next time you are munching on this favorite snack, or sitting under a beautiful apple tree.

 

About the Author…
 Barbara-Lynn Freed has over twenty years experience in Shamanism and teaches a 3 year Shamanic apprenticeship called Resurrecting the Old Ways:  Walking the Land & Honoring the Spirits in Right Relationship.  To find out more about this program and how to sign-up visit her website.

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Totem: Turkey

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

I love living out in the country because I get to see and hear a large number of wild animals in my backyard.  Fox, ‘possums, deer, hawk, turtles and turkeys are just a few of my neighbors.

In the late summer and fall months, Tom Turkey toots his call trying to attract a mate.  And sometimes I am fortunate enough to see a group of turkey hens gathering in the back of my property, before gobbling and flying off into the low lying tree branches.

Shamanically, Turkey reflects our spirituality and honoring of Mother Earth’s bounty and is sometimes referred as an earth eagle. It represents all the many blessings that the earth brings to us and how to use them in a practical way.  When turkey walks into your life, you can usually expect a year of harvest.

Turkeys eat a diet of nuts and acorns that symbolize hidden wisdom and the seeding of new beginnings.  They also represent the energy of sharing by roosting together in the trees at night, and by sharing their nests with other females.

So this Thanksgiving, when you are sitting around the family table, give thanks to the humble turkey.  Not only for giving you life through it’s death, but by allowing you to share in it’s theme of abundance and prosperity.

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Hummingbird Totem

Monday, August 1st, 2011

I love sitting on my porch in the morning before the days heat sets in and communing with my garden and all the creatures who frequent it.  I particularly enjoy watching the hummingbirds forage my flowers for nectar with their little bodies darting around and hovering while they drink their fill.  As long as I’m still they don’t seem to mind me sitting and watching them.

The Hummingbird represents the sense of wonder and awe and show us how to sing out our joy as we go through our daily activities.  Like most flower visitors hummingbirds have a symbiotic relationship with their hosts, as many flowers would not be here if it were not for their friendly pollinators. The hummingbird can help you find the sweetness in any life situation.  However, if this totem has entered your life, you may want to check your sugar intake.

It’s multi-colored iridescent body is associated with  rainbows and the Fairy Realm.  Take a hint from your hummingbird totem and learn how to play and not take things too seriously.

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