|
Quick Links |
The graphic in my banner was drawn for me
years ago by my beautiful
daughter, Shannon. It represents
the Medicine Wheel and the
unlimited power of universal love. The big bear is me and the little bear is my daughter. I love you Shannon! Thank you for this gift!.
|
|
| Valerie Nunnelly Shamanic Teacher and
Practitioner |
|
|
Power Animals & Medicine Helpers
  
The animals in the pictures on this page all all animals that I have
encountered in my travels.
The meeting with the coyote in the picture to the
right above was particularly significant in my life.
To read my article
Honoring Coyote Medicine, Velocity
Magazine January, 2010,
please click HERE
In the shamanic
tradition, the animal spirits that we work with are known as "power
animals". In some Native traditions these are
referred to as animal spirit guides. I love
working with animal guides, in both the physical and the spiritual
realms. They have so much to offer us, if we will just open our
eyes to their medicine. "Medicine" when used in this context means
anything that brings us closer to our Creator and which brings healing
to our lives or facilitates our spiritual growth.
It is my
personal belief that there is one true God who is the Creator of everything in the
universe. He is known around the world by many names in as many
different cultures and I believe that He appears to all people in a
form that they can recognize and accept. It is the same with
power animals. They are compassionate spiritual beings that
appear to us as animals so that we can understand the lessons and
teachings they bring us. This is their medicine. Power animals or guides are not worshipped
and they are not deities. They are honored and respected as a sacred part of God's creation,
and they fill an important role in our lives.
Medicine helpers do not have to appear to us in the form of an animal.
They can also appear as a plant, a tree, a mineral, a color or an element.
Everything Creator gave to us on this plant has a lesson to teach, some
healing quality to give. (For more information, see my page,
Compassionate Journeys Through
the Medicine Wheel).
Understanding How to Work With Our Power Animals
It is a common belief that we only have one power animal at a time.
Sometimes that is the case, but more often than not, there may be
several animals who gift us with their teachings at the same time and we
can work with them simultaneously. Most shamanic traditions agree
that everyone has at least one power animal who comes into the world
with us at our birth and stays with us throughout our lifetime.
This animal is sometimes referred to as a
"life"
or
"birth"
totem. This animal will usually possess the same attitudes,
characteristics, strengths and weaknesses as we do ourselves.
His function is to guide us on our path, to teach us, and to keep us
safe from harm and illness.
Sometimes an animal will come into
our lives for a specific purpose. These are called
"journey"
totems. A journey totem will stay with you until you have
resolved a particular issue you are struggling with, or until you have
completed a mission or lesson in this life. Then it will move on
and another animal will come to take its place through the next phase of
the journey.
Another common animal is known as the
"messenger"
totem. The messenger totem is with us for a very brief
period of time. It makes an appearance to warn us of danger,
or to bring our attention to a situation that needs our immediate
attention. After it delivers the message, it leaves.
Finally, we have what some people call a
"shadow"
totem. The shadow totem represents the things we fear the
most, or lessons that we refuse to learn. The shadow totem
will appear again and again until we face the fear or learn the lesson.
It then becomes an extremely powerful spiritual ally.
I am always
saddened when someone says to me, "Oh, I know what mine is."
Almost always, this person has been told what his power animal is, and
believes that knowledge is enough. For example, a man
once came to me for a power animal retrieval. His body was
adorned with jewelry, tattoos and talismans representing various
animals. In my power animal retrieval ceremony, he did, in
fact, receive a new journey totem. But one of his existing totems,
the bear, appeared as well and was very angry. The bear said
to me, "He wear me all over his body, but doesn't do a single thing to
work with me. He never asks me any questions and he never calls on
me for help." When I finished the journey, I asked the man,
"What steps do you take o work with your power animals in your life?"
The man looked very surprised and was silent for a moment. He then
said to me, "Well, nothing. I just know what they are."
I
have also occasionally had other shamanic healers say to me, "I wish I
trusted my power animal the way that you trust yours." If
you take nothing else from the time you spend reading this page, please
understand that relationships with our power animals and medicine
helpers must be developed the same as we do in any relationship we build
with friends, family and co-workers, and should be based on mutual
trust and respect.
If you have a friend that never calls you or does anything with you, you
may eventually reach the point where you no longer consider that person
a friend. Or, you may have a friend who continually calls you,
whining about the same old issues, always asking your advice. With
grace and honesty, you give your friend the best advice you can, but he
never follows it. You keep giving of yourself to help your
friend, who totally ignores the advice you give. Pretty
soon, you will grow tired of this person wasting your time.
It is the
same with our power animals! If we always go to it for
advice, but never act on anything we learn from it, it may leave us.
Over the years I have observed that,
while many people know of an animal spirit's existence in their lives,
for the most part they don't have the slightest clue how to work with
that animal for growth and for healing. It isn't enough to know
what our animal is if we do not understand how to work with the animal's
medicine. In order to understand the significance of the
animal's power, we must learn as much as we can about the physical animal.
Where does it live and what is its habitat? What does it
eat? How does it sleep? What is its greatest strength and
weakness? Does it have any natural enemies or predators?
What skills does it have? The more we learn about the animal's
physical existence, the more we can learn about how to work with our
animal spirit guides.
Honoring our Power Animals and Medicine Helpers
When a shaman performs a power animal
retrieval, the client is sometimes asked to dance his animal.
As the dance progresses, the client imitates the sounds and movements of
the animal as he integrates the animal's power.
I ask my clients
to find a photo of the animal in a book, on a card or from the internet
and to sit and mediate with the photo. Turn off the tv
and the cell phone where you will not be disturbed. As you gaze at
the photo, ask your animal, "How are you here to help me? What can
I learn from you." You don't have to be good at meditation
to do this, and don't over think it. Just
allow the knowledge to come to you.
If our power animal is one that we see in the physical life
(such as a hawk), talk to it and acknowledge it's presence.
The hawk has been a long-time totem for me. When one flies
over, I often stretch up my arms and say "Good morning!".
You may also want to find a keychain or a stuffed animal that represents
your power animal and keep it nearby as a reminder to honor your power
animal and to work with its teachings.
We Don't Choose Our Animal - Our Animal Chooses Us
We do not, and cannot choose our power animal. It
chooses us. The Great Spirit knows our need. So many
times, people expect to receive a really cool animal that is
traditionally Native American, such as a wolf, bear or eagle.
Trust that the animal that comes is the animal that is needed.
I think it is
important to state here again that the animal spirit that comes to us is
not really an animal. It is a compassionate helping spirit that is
appearing to us in the form of an animal so that we can better
understand the message or lesson it is trying to convey to us. It
comes to us in a way that we can both recognize and
accept.
For
example, a snake is a very powerful totem to have. A snake
regularly sheds its skin, so it may appear to us in times of
transformation or change in our lives. But if you are
deathly afraid of snakes, the spirit may choose to appear to you in the
form of a butterfly or moth, which also signifies transformation. Our
spirit teachers are here to help us, teach us, and keep us safe.
They have no desire to frighten us away.
A medicine helper or power animal cannot make us accept its help - we must do
so willingly. When we do not work with our power
animals, they may move on, leaving us to work with another who
is willing to acknowledge the gifts and teachings of Spirit in
their personal and spiritual growth. There are other
reasons a power animal may abandon us, but this is the most
common. Without our animal helper, we experience power loss,
and become open to chronic illness or misfortune in our lives.
When there is power loss, the shaman journeys to the
spirit realms to perform a ceremony called a "Power Animal
Retrieval" that will reconnect a person to his animal guides.
When I perform a Power Animal/Medicine Helper Ceremony, I ask you to hold the strong intent that I find the
animal spirit or totem that you need most in your life at this moment.
In my journey, I will find out as much as I can about the
issue in your life that needs healing, and why the medicine
helper has appeared to you. I will then work
with you to help you understand how the power animal or medicine
helper can assist
you, and I will teach
you how to work with your totem for growth,
understanding, healing and spiritual development.
Teaching you to work with your power animals, medicine
helpers, and totems is a very important
aspect of this work for me.
|
|
|
|
