Wanting Interpretation Help

[Salix]

This would be cool if people could use this thread to ask there own questions, too...

 

In any case, I have myself three totem/power "animals" (one is a tree, so I can't quite say animals--and on a side note I am having so much trouble looking up information about her, because everything is on animals, though she has talked to me enough on it so I'm comfortable.) and in one of my experiences my tree handed me a dragon scale. It was purple, and fit in my palm. I get the feeling of air from it, for whatever reason. I'm quite new to purposefully and consciously experiencing a shamanic journey, and I was wondering if I could have assistance in possible interpretations, or even great sources where I can dig.

 

Thank you in advance, and peace in all your steps of rhythm or rhyme.

[Moonshadow]

Hi Salix.

 

From a Maker perspective it sounds like you've experienced a strong connection with the elemental forces in nature. Trees and animals are pretty awesome, aren't they? Like humans, each life form has its own pool of energy. If you are intending, consciously seeking out a shamanic journey, your awareness will be opened to aspects of reality you might have not paid attention to before. We don't do symbolic interpretation per se here, but if you are consciously seeking out a deeper meaning to your existence and it is pulling you along a shamanic path, the world around you will begin to change and your mind will seek to interpret it through its familiar lenses or reference points.

 

There are a lot of shamanic traditions out there, often with overlapping truths because in the end energetic truth is the same across the board. In this maker tradition though, we perceive that everything has its own power, its own will power and self-determination... in other words, we create our own reality and don't rely on other animals or trees to lend us their power, although we may sometimes work with them. It sounds to me like you are discovering and becoming conscious of the magical world we live in, something we humans often tend to barricade from our realities in our busy days filled with stuff and things

 

You know, there are a lot of wonderful articles and posts about what this specific shamanic tradition is all about on shamanscave.com. There's even a search engine etc. This tradition is unique in the sense that we strive to regain and stand in our own power along our journey, but it is still very much an ancient shamanic tradition, just not in the medicine man or power animal sense that what I see is currently part of the contemporary understanding of shamanism.

 

I hope this helps, and that your journey be filled with peace as well. Please come back with any other questions you may have.

 

 

Mandy

[Karl]

What else was going on when that transfer happened?

[Lyla]

I was wanting help with interpreting something that just happened to me. I had four animals sitting around me, in N W S E order they were crow, bear, ? and baboon. I couldn't see or feel anything from the animal behind me except that it was there. I began to guess that it was a fox but I wasn't sure. I turned around to look at him and it was a grey fox. He smiled at me and it was a very mischievous smile not unlike the Cheshire cat. I just looked at him for a moment wondering why I felt like he was up to something when he jumped up and bit a chunk out of my throat and ran off. I feel like its a message but I can't begin to guess what that might be..

[kai]

HI Lyla,

 

From my perspective, the problem working with symbols and metaphors, trying to interpret their meaning is they become a trap even when you're right. Our minds love stories and you easily end up crafting all sorts of little dramas out of the things you experience - even if the experience itself is valid and gives genuine knowledge, by the time the mind has done it's number on it you're left with what is frankly a mess of metaphor, imagery and interpretations. I know a lot of people sort of like that and there's nothing wrong with it, and you can still learn things, but it keeps the movement isolated and behind the gates of the mind. You can also grow very attached to the imagery, but in my opinion that is missing the point - behind those images is real freedom and you can only get there if you're willing to let go of the symbols.

 

For example if you see a fox on a journey, or in dreaming or whatever, that symbol itself doesn't tell you anything about it's origin. Is it a metaphor for parts of yourself, or are you dealing with some energy outside yourself? If you're very fond of the image itself, you'll never know for sure because you simply can't move beyond it because that would compromise the image and the stories you've built around it. That doesn't mean It would be impossible to move in powerful ways or build a powerful tradition on working with imagery and metaphors, rituals etc. and it has been done, but if you're starting from the ground up by yourself it would be very difficult because you lack the decades and centuries of experience a living tradition has behind it.

 

If you want to know what is going on, you can move behind the images, you can let them speak to you, not from metaphor and stories, but on the level of energy and you can follow that energy to it's origin. What is the 'feeling' behind the image and where does it take you, or what emotions come up? You could do it as it happens, or recall an experience and examine it. You could even flat out tear through the images, to demand clarity from yourself to see beyond them. When we get 'messages', often the truth about them is something that can be difficult or even painful for us to face about ourselves, so instead we leave ourselves guessing and interpretting.

 

In this tradition everything begins with self-healing, which is a journey in getting to know yourself and healing your wounds. It gives you a solid foundation for further learning, because in truly knowing yourself you gain clarity about the experiences you have and the energies you encounter in the world. You might still not always know what it was about, but at least you know when it's 'you' and when it's something else. Some people naturally see through images and it can be a powerful way of seeing, but if you want it to be truly useful, you need the clarity to begin with and then you need to challenge your seeing to 'see' things in the world you can verify to know if you were right. That way you learn to understand the way you see, whether the information comes to you in images, feelings, sensory input or in just 'knowing'.

 

I know the way this tradition works is not the right fit for everyone, and that's ok, and not everyone wants to work with a tradition at all.

 

I hope you find the direction you're looking for, either here or somewhere else and that your path becomes one of heart.

 

Kai

[Lyla]

Thank you very much for your input Kai Ive always been able to feel energies and more often than not they've been sort of simplified by my mind turning them into images. I suppose symbolism wouldn't be a very universal thing as everyone has different experiences. Maybe I just need to wait for the message to become clear to me. The first time the baboon appeared to me (just a few days ago) I was a little surprised, I was expecting to find a bear. I didn't get his message until the next day, but it was one that could potentially lead me to a breakthrough. Maybe the fox's message has to do with the same issue? I will explore this again and this time I will do my best to break through the metaphor and get to the heart of the matter

[ralph]

Hi Lyla,

 

You can also try a different approach, try to get the 'feel' of the dream, how it appeals to you. Maybe in your day you will get the same feeling about some casual stuff, or thought. This keeps all the metaphors and your mind trying to make sense out of it in check.

 

Ralph