Today’s blog topic is “power animals,” but before we journey there, I will share a little update on our community events (or you can scroll down to get to the part about animals). For those who don’t know, our Sacred Reiki Healing Circles offer opportunities to wrap ourselves in community love and wisdom, sharing a mini-workshop on a topic of interest, a Reiki/prayer blessing circle, potluck, and shamanic fire ceremony to empower our dreams and goals, while shedding any patterns that no longer serve our spirits. If you haven’t already joined us for one of these at OdaBe (north of Reno), we welcome you to this beautiful expression of mind, body and spirit-nurturing. Our next one will be on Sunday, June 14. If all goes well, we will be integrating our tipi into the Spirit of Sages who join us. The poles haven’t shipped, though we’ve had the actual tipi and liner for a couple of weeks now.

Please Please Please Poles! Come and BE with us!

We have Reiki II on Saturday, June 6 and again on Monday, June 8. If you’re ready to take your Reiki practice to the next level or come for a refresher, we welcome you to join us! We’ll also have summer Reiki I & II workshops in the tipi, so stay tuned for dates for that.

And, of course, there’s this, and then onto our power animals…

Power Animals

Retrieving a power animal will connect you to your natural, unspoiled state – without these resources, it’s easy to overintellectualize the journeying process. Your animal will ground you in your instinctual self, and you can embody its teachings by communicating with it and learning its rhythms, movements, and way of perceiving the world. ~ Alberto Villoldo

In May’s Sacred Reiki Healing Circle, we included the theme of “power animals,” sharing so many wonderful stories. Collectively, we’ve enjoyed such varied and powerful experiences with the help of our power animals. One thing really stood out for me as remarkable. As we explored our expectations for our discovery that day, so many themes emerged offering pathways to the depths of the human soul-path and psyche. No matter the intentions stated, the journey I shared to help everyone to meet their power animals matched perfectly those intentions. It felt so magical, and I’m grateful to all those who joined us that afternoon and evening. We began by asking these questions:

What does “power animal” or “spirit animal” mean to you?

What power animals walk beside you?

What wisdom do they offer?

I’ve had so many experiences with power animals, even if at times I didn’t recognize them as such. I will share a few here today. One very powerful spirit is Sage, the namesake for Sage Spirit. This beautiful being bestowed the most amazing blessings upon me and inspires me still to this day.

In our shamanic tradition, we invoke four animal spirits to hold sacred space with and for us. They are serpent in the south (who teaches us to shed the past), jaguar in the west (who teaches us the path of the luminous warriors and the way beyond fear and death), royal hummingbird in the north (who teaches us to live and journey courageously, with faith and joy), and eagle and condor in the east (who teach us to fly with spirit). Their lessons and gifts are actually much more expanded than that, and you can see more in this post on sacred space.

During a kundalini awakening following my Reiki Master attunement, I had two powerful dreams about snakes attacking and biting me. In the first, they bit me several times, lunging through the air quite aggressively. In the second, I found ways to co-exist with them and their aggression so that we could all be safe. At the time, these dreams felt like important markers on my spiritual path.

So how do you connect with your power animals? Here are some ways that I’ve explored and/or read about:

• Dreams
• Meditation/visualization
• Shamanic Journey
• Pets
• Nature Encounters
• Trance States
• Ritual items made from power animals (feathers, hooves, skins)
• Shapeshifting
• Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams & David Carson
• Animal Speak by Ted Andrews
• “Shamanism Animal Spirit Guides”

Here’s another awesome resource I first found through Tania Maria called “Power Animals Unleashed.” The web site creators have offered a magical portal for allowing synchronicity to present us with the perfect power animal to support us in our intentions. I propose that whatever animal comes to you, you embrace it without question. Just be with your power animal, feel it, welcome it, love it and allow yourself to gain the strength and wisdom offered.

I welcome you to visit your power animal and to share your experiences in the comments section below. Oceans of love and gratitude for your contributions!