Animal Relationships: Partnerships

My latest posting up at Witches and Pagans. Animal Relationships: Partnerships

Another aspect of working with your animal teachers is to study the partnerships that they form. Many animals work with others to achieve their goals. In that case, the relationship with the other animal should also be studied. How they work together can aid in your understanding of how you can partner with others.

Various types of animal relationships have lessons to impart. For example, zebras drink at a water hole with wildebeests and ostriches. While the others see danger, the zebras smell danger. Together, the animals provide safety for each other at the communal water hole. This is an example of a community forming from diverse entities for a short duration. This could be something that festival organizers could benefit learning from.

Tarot of the Animal Lords: Mindmapping

The cards that I chose to mindmap with were from The Tarot of the Animal Lords. The center card for the map was II. The High Priestess. Upper left was III. The Empress and upper right was VI. The Lovers. The bottom cards were IX. The Hermit (left) and XXI. The World (right). I could match several cards but forming a story that related to The High Priestess using all of them was difficult.
 
 Mindmapping was hard for me. I saw various relationships between the cards but they did not all fully coalesce around any one card. The individual cards seemed too discrete to mesh together. I could see the layout as an entire story. However, starting with one card and relating it to all of the rest was difficult. 

The High Priestess is depicted as a seated cow elephant in a glade. She is holding an open book. Scurrying about her feet are two chipmunks fussing with the scrolls on the ground. The words that came to me for this card were “regal,” “knowledge,” “questioning,” and “self-knowledge.” Since The High Priestess guides through intuition, this became the starting point of the story, that unfolded card by card. 


The Empress is a she-wolf sitting on a throne, with a turtle-shell shield

next to her. The scene around her is full of life with her pups chasing the butterflies. The similarities between her and The High Priestess are that they are crowned females sitting on thrones. Moreover, the two have two small animals next to them.  One difference is that The Empress holds a scepter while The High Priestess a book. The story moves from the quiet reflection of The High Priestess to the busy life of The Empress. These two cards with their small animals mark the inner and outer lives, the spiritual and temporal.

 The Lovers present two mandarin ducks standing under an orange tree. They are tenderly taking leave of each other. The High Priestess watches, knowing that they will need their intuition to guide them for what will be in store for them. The Empress notes the male’s duty to the Crown by his sword. The Lovers are caught between their spiritual and temporal lives. The story then becomes how they will solve their dilemma. 

The answer is The Hermit. Holding a light, a moon bear enters a cave. Hanging from his belt are scrolls and keys. Behind him, attached to a tree branch is a beehive dripping in honey.

The Hermit’s life has become unsettled, forcing him to find his own answers.  Perhaps he has experienced the horrors of war or has changed so much that his lover does not know him. The choices presented by The Empress and The High Priestess weighs heavily on him. Meanwhile, will his lover wait for him? How this drama will turn out is revealed in the next card.

 The final card is The World. This card features two dancing dolphins. In the moonlight under a flowering tree, the dolphins are celebrating. The World is the answer to what happened to The Lovers. Finding solace within, The Hermit, he rejoined the world and his lover, who did wait for him. This coupled have weathered their separation and trouble. Now together, the mature pair dance in happiness, having lived through the worst and now enjoying the best. 

The High Priestess told The Lovers to follow their intuition. The Empress showed them what they had to do before they could go on. Meanwhile, The Hermit had sought to understand what happened to him. Following his intuition and the advice of The Empress, The Hermit returned home. Now The World, The Lovers became whole again. Celebrating their long life, The Lovers thanked The High Priestess for her guidance.

 Laying the cards out as a whole, I did move from one scene to the next. I could see the connections between each of the cards. The story unfolded with The Lovers as the final focus. The Empress and The High Priestess gave them choices. This became a story of a relationship grappling with separation and healing.

Book Review: Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for Animals by Susan E. Davis

Susan Davis, a physical therapist for animals, wrote “Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for Animals” for people whose pets are facing a health crisis. The author writes, “When faced with a particularly difficult challenge in life, I have always felt the best weapon of combat is knowledge. Along with that is keeping a positive attitude.” Whatever the diagnosis may be, the pet owner wants to understand how he or she can help the ailing animal. To achieve this end, Davis outlines various health problems that many animals can develop. After each ailment, she explains various therapy plans and solutions.

Although Davis focuses on dogs, she gives examples of her work with other animals – birds, reptiles, and assorted mammals. Her explanations tend to be technical but I feel that the book is helpful since many owners want to be as well informed as possible. Two things that the author repeatedly stresses is that aftercare for surgery is often neglected, and that a professional therapist is necessary for most treatment plans to be successful.

To see how useful this book can be, I spoke with a friend who rescues Welsh corgis. She has an elderly male who is arthritic, and a young male, who had knee surgery. Suggestions from this book helped my friend care for her dogs. My friend had a ramp put in to ease the climb up the stairs for both dogs. To support the neck of the arthritic dog, she used a round pillow. (This dog eventually died but his last days were spent in comfort.)

In several chapters, Davis discusses how an animal’s joints function, and how injuries occur. However, a lay person can grasp her technical presentations. Davis emphasizes that after knee surgery, physical therapy is needed. She stresses consulting a professional therapist for this, since someone without knowledge of how muscles work can cause further injury. This information spurred my friend to get physical therapy for the young male corgi.

In her book, Davis offers commonsense suggestions for pet owners in caring for their animals. Some of these activities, the owners can do themselves, while the others, they will need the help of the veterinary staff. Writing in mind for all animals, Davis helps to ease the concerns of their owners. I would recommend this book for people who love for animals, and want to enhance their lives.

PURCHASE THIS BOOK AT HER SITE: Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation for Animals

BEETLE FAMILY: Discernment

rhinoceros beetle

Beetles have been on the earth for about 300 million years and are the most numerous of all Insects. Since Beetles are the largest order in the animal kingdom, to describe Them as a single group is impossible. Aristotle named Beetles “Coleoptera” (Sheath or Shield Wings) because their hardened front wings cover their hind wings like a shield. The name “Beetle” comes from the Old English word for “little biter”.

“Good” Beetles include Dung Beetles, who scavenge on animal excrement or dung. They roll the dung into a ball, which They bury for future use. Dung Beetles help to clean up the environment. Leaf Beetles are an example of “Bad” Beetles. No sooner than leaves appear on trees than do Leaf Beetles emerge and eat them away. If They are unchecked, these colorful Beetles can deforest an area.

Beetle teaches us not to take everything on face value. Some colorful Beetles are destructive while others such as Lady Bugs (Lady Beetles) are beneficial. Take each Beetle on Its own merits. Teaches Beetle: You must use discernment in all your affairs.

DEEP ANCESTORS: Wisdom (1 of 2)

Many of us consider our Ancestors for only a few generations back.  Some people do go further back but few will go beyond early “cave” Ancestors.  But, why not consider the Ancestors of “Deep Time,” the Ones who lived before Humans?  Since as a species, we would not have come into being without Them, We have their lives are encoded in our genes.

I learned more about these Ancient Animals after my traumatic brain injury.  Because I have a connection with animals, Mother Tyrannosaurus rex helped me to recover from my accident.  Like many people, I wanted to learn more from the Dinosaurs.  However, They told me to trace my human line back in time, before coming back to Them. By going back 700 million years to the Precambrian Supereon, I met many of these Ancient Beings who have messages for the Living today.

Why should we listen to these Ancient Ones?  Knowing Them would give us perspectives on life that Living Animals cannot.  Furthermore, these Deep Ancestors connect us to our Earth and to the Other Animals who live with us.  Also the secrets of life lie within these Ancient Animals, from whom we can discover how we are a part of the Great Chain of Being. 

These Ancient Dead can help us to understand our Human Ancestors, and the choices that They made in their lives.  Moreover, we can apply to our World today, their knowledge from their Lost Worlds.  From Them, We can learn how the Past becomes the Future.  Why did a Fish decide to walk on land?  Why would a Primate walk upright?  What further guidance will we receive from our Deep Ancestors?

Our Deep Ancestors show us how to take the long view of time.  What may seem like a disaster in the short-run, will turn out to be an impetus to a significant change.  To meet the challenges that They faced, these Ancient Animals transformed Themselves.  They teach us that if we prevent change, we will become extinct. 

What these Ancient Animals teach people is that “Extinction Happens.”  The Great Cycle of Life, Death, and Rebirth is played out on a grand scale throughout the Earth’s history.  Extinction clears out everything to allow the next generation to come into being.  New life will appear in the changed world, while the older life will shape-shift into something better.  For example after the demise of the Dinosaurs, the Mammals multiplied and flourished.  Meanwhile, some of the Dinosaurs transformed into the Birds of today.

Squirrels: My Writing Muse

Whenever I am blocked in my writing, I watch squirrels.  I see them bouncing from tree to tree or chasing each other. At other times, one squirrel will dig up a nut that another had just buried.  Once I witnessed a lone squirrel sneaking up on a curbside vendor to steal a nut-bar from her truck. Before the hapless vendor could react, this crafty squirrel leapt off the countertop and scampered off with its prize.

            Squirrels inspire me with their activity. Rarely staying still in one place, they leap from one tree branch, grab another limb, and then jump to the ground. This reminds me of my free writing, when I jump from topic to topic. Working with my squirrel muses, I seldom know where they will take me in my writing or where I will finally end up.

            Another thing that squirrels do is to bury nuts and forget them. Some of these nuts grow into oak trees, while other nuts are dug up for food by different squirrels. In several forms, these buried nuts provide food for the squirrels.  Like the squirrels, I stash writing topics in a notebook. Sometimes, I add scraps of information to flesh out the topics. At other times, I mull over one topic until it emerges as a full grown essay. Like burying nuts, my habit of stashing topics and bits of information provide me with food for thought.

            The inventiveness of squirrels is legendary. They foil the most determined attempts by ardent bird watchers to keep the squirrels from raiding birdfeeders. When I am stuck in my writing, I ask myself, “What if I was a squirrel…” I usually find an off-the-wall answer to my writing issue. In these ways, squirrels guide me in my writing.

Animals: Review: Creature Teacher Cards by Scott King

“Creature Teacher Cards: Animal Wisdom for All Ages”, Scott Alexander King and Sioux Dollman, Blue Angel Publishing: Victoria (Australia), 2008.

As the title suggests, “Creature Teacher Cards” is an oracle deck for children.  The cards in this deck are drawn so that a child can intuit meaning from them.  Moreover, each message for each animal is simple yet profound.  These cards are designed for a child to learn wisdom from the various animals.

Written in a warm inviting manner, “Creature Teacher Cards” encourages children to ask for an animal’s help.  For example, King writes for Shark: “I honour the rules when I feel safe”.  He continues, “To me the Shark is the totem of people like the police – people we respect as protectors and keepers of the law, but that we are a little afraid of at the same time.”  King points out that Shark will help children to honour their boundaries with others.  Also Shark will empower children, who feel that the authorities may be unfair, to speak to someone who can help them.

As King says, “if you ask the animals a question, they will answer you”, this deck will aid children in understanding how divination works.  When I have used these cards in workshops for children and families, they were enthusiastically received.  The favourite cards were Cat (“I learn from my mistakes.”), which shows a kitten playing in a meadow, and Unicorn (“I am sacred.”), which shows a unicorn gazing at the moon.  I found this deck to be an effective teaching tool for families to learn animal divination.

The cards in “Creature Teacher Cards” are round to represent the Circle of Life.  A colourful Snail decorates the back, and represents “new beginnings”, which is every new day.  Each illustration depicts a friendly animal such as Shark with a child’s smile or young Bear with his Dad.  Since King is Australian, the animals featured are from Australia such as Tawny Frogmouth and Possum.  Moreover, the other animals are presented from an Australian point of view.  Lizard is a goanna, a native Australian monitor lizard, and Buffalo is a water buffalo.  Meanwhile, Dragon features a bearded dragon instead of the mythical animal.  This all adds to the specialness of “Creature Teacher Cards”.

I highly recommend this deck for children and their parents.  They can learn about oracles, animals, and basic life lessons together.  This is truly a family oracle deck.