Totem Animals/Guides
Life Long Animal Totems (from another site)
When you were a child, what animal did you collect, dreamor obsess over?
If you could have any animal as a pet or companion what would it be?
At the zoo, which animal are you drawn to?
If you could be an animal, what animal would it be?
What animal are you afraid of that you have no idea why you are afraid of it?
What animals are you most attracted to?
Out in nature, do you often seem to run into the same animal?
What animal have you bumped into over and over throughout your life?
What animal have you watched for hours?
Does art work or jewelry with a certain animal always attract you?
Journey Animal Totems
What animal have you started to see occasionally that you never saw before?
What new animal are you attracted to?
Are you dreaming or thinking of an animal lately?
In the past two weeks what animals have you seen or dreamt of several times?
Message Animal Totems
What animal surprised or startled you today?
What animal that you don't usually see, have you seen a couple of times today?
What animal entranced you today?
Shadow Animal Totems
What animal attacks have you been in? What animal do you run from?
What traumatic animal situations have you been in?
What animal brings up feelings of fear? or recurring nightmares?
Do any animals on TV scare you?
10.8.09 Found a Road Kill Red-Bellied Woodpecker
WOODPECKER
Hear a Red-bellied Woodpecker sing
June 21- July 21 Element: Water
Nature: Time of Consolidation Clan: Frog
Strength: Sensitivity Weakness: Brooding
The Animal Totem: colorful-sharp beak-curved, sharp claws--digs claws into the bark of a tree uses beak rhythmically, creating a sound difficult to ignore for food/building nest-- very comfortable/protected. Safety/security are urgent needs
The Element: WATER-- the emotions-- need to be expressed in profusion. extreme sensitivity - wary.
The Clan: Frog Clan: always allow themselves to express their feelings - be aware of their unconscious needs-- unexpressed emotions may build up/explode suddenly and uncontrollably. particularly empathetic, creative, open to great inspirations.
The Wind: June 21- July 21, the immense energy/comfortable warmth of the Sun has been inherited by Woodpeckers, even though they are unaware of it. need to be emotionally protected, they tend to be cautious and introverted. They need time to discover/accept the natural light within themselves. With self-confidence they grow into true selves.
Woodpecker Character: sensitive/empathetic depends on emotions. Without emotional involvement, nothing seems to be happening in his life. His emotional sensitivity makes for a very poignant core in need of protection. Woodpeckers carefully protect their boundaries until they feel they can trust people and situations. Only then are they willing to be emotionally present. Woodpeckers do not only look at their experiences with their intellect, they often reach deep into the psyche where they create happiness as well as chaos. This accounts for their great mood fluctuations.
To protect themselves, Woodpeckers often pretend to be aloft. Sometimes people think they are unapproachable--even though their emotions churn inside and readily connect with others. Woodpeckers' emotions are felt deeply. That’s why they long for security and always look for people they can trust. The element water also influences their need for affection. People born under the sign of the Woodpecker need to be needed. They can develop a remarkable ability of caring for their fellow men, particularly for family members and friends. This need to help others, however, is often overdone. It makes Woodpeckers cling too tightly to the comfortable environment--in the bird's case, a tree--they are familiar with. While Woodpeckers ought to enjoy their domesticity, they also must learn not to be too helpful to those closest to them. They can be taken advantage of.
Love: Deep and intense are Woodpecker's feelings. They take love very seriously. Playing with fire, flirting, and amourous adventures are not their cup of tea. Having chosen a partner, they will pledge themselves to that person body and soul. They will be faithful, devoted, and try everything to fulfill the desires and needs of their partner--usually with great success. Woodpeckers need safety and security in their relationship. They need lots of hugs, strokes, and cuddling; tenderness and romance are what they look for in love relationship. Overly passionate and wild loving is almost a turnoff. Harmony and fulfillmnt will depend to a great degree on how much time is set aside for undisturbed hours tegether. They expect exactly what they are more than willing to give themselves: undivided attention and gentle caring. Their biggest problem might be that they are too sensitive. Woodpeckers are easily offended and often react with being overly sensitive and moody.
Career: People born under the sign of the Woodpecker do not necessarily look for a career. Power, influence, and social prestige are kept in normal limits. What Woodpeckers need most of all is a job that is fulfilling and satisfying. They need a working environment where they can be comfortable. A small, respected company with a friendly boss and a few nice co-workers is just the right setting. That notwithstanding, Woodpeckers are very capable and work hard.
Vitality: Woodpeckers are sometimes moody, yet remarkably resilient. the stomach, chest, and breasts are the most vulnerable. The stomach gives them the most trouble because they have a tendency to swallow frustration and anger.
The Young Woodpecker: a very peaceful child who won't ask constantly for attention. Thanks to his considerable imagination, he loves to entertain himself with things in his environment; parents would do well to support his creativity. Since he is very sensitive, the young Woodpecker needs to know that somebody is always close by, preferably his mother. Harsh words are difficult for him to deal with. They make him sad and tend to cause him to withdraw. It is very important that parents raise this child with understanding. This is not to imply that parents should not be consistent. Strickness is seldom necessary, because Woodpecker children are rarely stubborn. They would never jeopardize the love of their parents. From a very early age, fledgling Woodpeckers need security and a sense of safety. This child should be cared for and nurtured with a firm but loving hand. Most of all, they need to be encouraged to trust themselves, because young Woodpeckers are rarely very self-confident or assertive. The young Woodpecker enjoys both school and learning, but much depends on his teachers. Sensitive as this little Woodpecker is, much of his success depends on how well he likes his teacher. This quiet dependency that will diminish, more or less, as he gets older.
- Connection to the earth
- Ability to find hidden layers
- Understands rhythms, cycles and patterns
- Warnings
- Prophecy
- Associated with thunder
- The Earth's drummer
- Pecks away at deception until the truth is revealed
- Attention-grabber
- Shakes up awareness
- Breaks the silence
- Opportunity. Each tree is a door, revealing tender morsels of food, place for nesting
- Return to our roots
- a signal to use our heads in finding solutions to our own barriers.
- Trusting in our basic (gut) feelings…. Trustic Woodworking?
- red is associated with the root chakra. Prime, protective energy, being aware of our core impulses, and our basic beliefs.
- Jung: woodpecker is a symbol of a return to the womb of creativity. In this observation the tree is symbolic of a womb; earthy, grounded, sturdy and secure. The woodpecker's home within the tree is analogous of a fierce determination to return and protect that which is sacred to us. When this bird comes pecking, it is a call for us to return to our roots, back to the womb of our ideas and use our intellect and discernment to follow through with our plans.
Being opportunistic, woodpeckers can see value everywhere, even in dead trees. Have you ditched an idea or given up on a project? The woodpecker may be trying to tell you to breathe new life into your project, just as they build new homes into dead trees.
Communication is a strong theme: Morse code what kind of rhythmical message the woodpecker is sending me. The woodpecker may also remind us to be mindful of our words. It has a narrow tongue, extremely effective for picking up food in narrow places. This is symbolic for using a narrow route to get the most profound effect. The woodpecker asks us to use fewer words to make a stronger impact in our statement.