The Woodpecker Recent

Daniel Mack

Rustic Furnishings

Imaginal Makers Salon                          

Recent Encounters

10.29.09

I've just acquired a gorget; an Indian stone adornment worn  around the throat. It's also considered a piece of armor protecting the throat.

The throat chakra is the vortex of force concerned with creative self-expression. This chakra is positioned to link the head chakras with those below the throat. In this way it represents the bridge that links the mind, the brain and the soul, thus allowing higher spiritual forces to flow into the embodied individual:

 

16 petal flower-Blue—Voice—Verbal Communication---articulating

Clear … allow authentic voice

Animal Totems

10.19.2009

after the third sting in 10 days:
The Wasp:
a totem of shape shifting and interdependence. Most wasp species are solitary. Unlike bees, which are hive oriented, the wasp is independent and prefers to work on his own rather than in a group.

Solitary wasps have little patience and will swarm all over a task they are performing with a gusto. Wasp people are independent thinkers and have difficulty relating to authority figures. They prefer to do things in their own way. Individuals that hold solitary wasp medicine often receive recognition as the frontrunners of new trends or ideas later in life. Because wasps can be either independent or social, those with this totem often display two different yet distinct personalities, aggressive or communal. Personality shifts can create chaos for those in relationships with wasp medicine people.  Just when you think you know the person, they change and become someone else.
The wasp teaches those with this medicine how to use diversity to their advantage.  By observing the wasp we can learn how to shape our outer image and become more connected to our inner knowing.

Sacred numbers and geometry, numerology, order and organization, going to great lengths to protect the established order, aggression, helping and hurting, constructing a solution, team-work, productivity. The wasp teaches how to use diversity to their advantage. Balancing all aspects of the various species is an art in itself and can take a lifetime to accomplish.  Learn how to shape shift the outer image and become more connected to the inner knowing.

Yellow Jacket: Living in abandoned and run down neighborhoods. Making use of others refuse.Highly territorial and violently protective of their turf.

10.12.2009

after encountering a roadkill Red-Bellied Woodpecker

The Woodpecker

June 21 to July 21  Consolidation-South-Wind    

Colorful  noisy  sharp   curved   digs claws into the bark of a tree

Water, Brooding, emotions, extreme sensitivity, wary, self discovery, devotion,  Frog Clan: express feelings; aware of unconscious needs-- empathetic, creative,the stomach, chest, and breasts are the most vulnerable: swallows frustration and anger

RED = root chakra,Prime, protective energy, aware of core impulses/beliefs.

Connection to the earth:  Return to roots; Understands rhythms, cycles, patterns

Difficult to ignore: Attention-grabber, Shakes up awareness -Warnings-Prophecy, Breaks Silence, Thunder, Showy

Finds hidden layers;  Pecks away at deception until the truth/psyche is revealed

Opportunistic: Each tree is a door, revealing food, nesting;  sees value everywhere, even in dead trees

Unique flight patterns.   personal rhythm needs to be honored.  Woodpeckers fly up, down, upwards again. path in life won’t always conform to society’s; creates happiness as well as chaos, causing great mood fluctuations

"Truth always originates in a minority of one, and every custom begins as a broken precedent." - William Durant

Uses head:  finding solutions to own barriers; open to great inspirations. Trusting in our basic (gut) feelings…. Trustic Woodworking

Barbed tongue and strong chiseled beak symbolize life lessons associated with discernment and proper use of speech;  be mindful of words: extremely effective narrow tongue for picking up food in narrow places. symbolic for using a narrow route to get the most profound effect. uses fewer words to make a stronger impact.

Jungsymbol of Return to the Womb (the Tree) of creativity; earthy, grounded, sturdy secure. Woodpecker's home within the tree is analogous to a fierce determination to return and protect the sacred to us. When this bird comes pecking, it is a call to return to our roots, back to the womb of our ideas and use our intellect and discernment to follow our plans.

Emotional profile:   “too sensitive”    

core need for emotional protection/safety/security

--Looks for people to trust; they tend to be cautious and introverted.  easily offended; moody, yet  resilient;

protect boundaries until they feel they can trust people and situations. need to be in control of their personal environment not tolerate others trying to change it.  control issues can sometimes be a problem;  flexibility needs to be learned;   pretends to be aloof, unapproachable

--Yet, without emotional involvement, nothing seems to be happening in life. need to be needed. They can develop a remarkable ability of caring

--Look at  experiences with  intellect AND reach deep into the psyche

--Needs time to discover/accept the natural light within; With self-confidence  can grow into true selves.

The Young Woodpecker: 

--peaceful - won't ask constantly for attention.: considerable imagination, entertains himself

--parents would do well to support his creativity.

--Since he is very sensitive, young Woodpecker needs to know that somebody (mother) is always close by     --Harsh words are difficult for him to deal with, cause him to withdraw.

--Important that parents raise this child with understanding.

--Strickness is seldom necessary; rarely stubborn; never jeopardize the love of their parents. 

--need to be encouraged to trust themselves;   rarely self-confident/assertive.

--enjoys both school and learning, but much depends on how well he likes his teacher.

--this quiet dependency will diminish, more or less, as he gets older.

 

ENTP -- Extroverted intuiting with thinking, perceiving--

lively people, not humdrum or orderly., a little dangerous, especially economically. good at analysis, good entrepreneurs. tend to play at oneupmanship. friendly, charming, outgoing; quick-witted, energetic, and irreverent; ingenious, imaginative, and creative; curious, flexible, and unpredictable; logical and analytical.

Most important to ENTPs is being creative, seeing possibilities, and always having new challenges