Animals As Guides

Before I begin, let this always be known and sunk in VERY deeply when it comes to working with these Animal Guide Spagyrics; Every animal has an environment in which it resides (Cicadas spend the majority of their lives underground), it has a type of food source (a Mountain Lion's primary source of food is the Deer), a time of the year in which they are active/inactive (bears come out in the Spring, stock up during the Summer and Fall, and rest throughout the Winter), and so on. I mention this because as you learn about your Animal Guide, it is up to YOU to put in the WORK & DEDICATION to learn and CONNECT with your Animal - i.e.; a Deer is very gentle while a Mountain Lion is powerful-----Power can be asserted in a GENTLE manner and so on. I will point and share only but so much. You, as the practitioner, experiment, patient, and explorer are responsible for the other half of the Magick I am offering here. I'm dancing here with you, but it takes two to tango, my dear.

                             Magpie. My honoring for the first Guide that welcomed me to Taos 

Humans were once in tune with ecology, connected to nature, and understood that everything leads to Self-awareness. There was no differentiation between dreams and the waking state, the heavens and earth were synonymous, and all experienced realities occurred as expressions that were keys to the mystery. Every aspect of their world assisted in the navigation of these externalized mirrors through the associations with stars, animals, plants, and the symbolism of the gods.

Priests and priestesses, shamans, witches, healers, monks, mystics... They took on roles of mediators between the spirit and material worlds to teach and guide although humans have naturally designed ways to interact with these realms and develop a relationship with the inner and outer worlds through ceremonial practices, astrology, tarot, numerology, sacred plants, meditation, and esoteric sciences. Although still possible, much has been forgotten or misinterpreted after the rise of modern science, agricultural advancements, and technologies that have made our lives easier or have, to some extent, distracted us away from nature and into the hustle of modern society. With the current age of information, humans have the opportunity to access the ancient arts.   

                            First-ever encounter with my secretive Deer totem  

Animals have always intrigued us, reminding and reassuring the divine child in us of something magical, honest, and innocent. We've lost faith in ourselves, religion, and the structures we looked up to for answers and understanding but our relationship with them has always been something that would bring us into a place of wonder. Animal Guides are as old as our time on this planet, with myths going as far back as Greece, Rome, and Sumeria, with tales still being told today because they are part of the archetypal structures ingrained deep in our psyche. If you are attentive, curious, and open to these, you will have access to their wisdom and skills that can direct us into living a more authentic experience with ourselves and our external world, with their guidance and presence in our lives.

Everything in this world; animal, plant, mineral, single-celled, and even the elements, are externalized aspects of ourselves that can, at any moment, be interacted with or called upon to learn from as these are all physical manifestations of archetypal energies behind everything that is. Animal Guides can come to you in subtle or abrupt ways; dreams, while driving, an accident, death of a loved one, stealing your lunch at a park, or even during a psychedelic experience. You don't choose how or when, and you don't have a say in what the animal is that will be your guide, it chooses you. Whether it be a housefly or a komodo dragon. Everything in nature has its own unique qualities, powers, wisdom, and lessons; a common housefly can decompose rotting matter and this can come in handy when one is clearing out dying or festering psychological and emotional baggage from the recesses of the subconscious that we may not know how to detect but the housefly certainly can. 

                             Golden Paper Wasp Guide comes to teach me every May in Taos

When an Animal Guide appears to you, intuitively or synchronistically, this is the time to make yourself available and create the space inside yourself for communion with it. What you do to prepare for the relationship will be a determining factor if it will meet or not, how much is shown and offered to you. It has already made the first move as an offering of its service, now it's your turn to display acknowledgment of it through regards like research, imagination, contemplation, curiosity, creating a journal of the experiences with it, and studies of its correspondences/associations/relationships to archetypes, planets, elements, plants, what it eats, connections to its ecosystem, and anything else you can conjure up. These are ways you can honor the ally and teacher which becomes a practice in awareness, discipline, and ritual.

What you believe doesn't matter, what does is that you acquire the understanding that you do have beliefs and that these are what create the reality you're experiencing and realize those that are hidden deep in the subconscious. Those hidden ones are crafting the larger percentage of your life story and Animal Guides either show up to bring into your awareness these limited and outdated models and do this because of the archetypal energy forms they embody, making them experts in their correspondent fields. Approaching a relationship with an Animal Guide is a powerful, intimate, and beautifully rewarding path. By bridging the connection with them, you show yourself and the universe your willingness, and devotion to reconnect with Self and nature. 

     The Serpent in an intimate trance state through bonding

Directions when working with the Animal Guide Spagyrics:

Always begin by setting the intention through a ritual/ceremony with the specific Animal Guide; writing down that you acknowledge the animal, drawing a picture or a piece of writing/poetry that connects the two of you into unison, having a picture of the animal with a picture of yours, lighting a candle... Whatever YOU see fit will be received by your Guide. 

Once you FEEL that you have put yourself and intention into the field, begin with 3-5 drops either on your tongue (at LEAST the first time so you can taste and smell the olfactory experience of the animal) or in a drink. Do this for ONE FULL LUNAR CYCLE. Don't skip a day, even if it feel "intense or "too much"". Your Guide has got your back, you merely need to express TRUST and fulfill the full Lunar Cycle. From there, you will subconsciously know that you'll continue, stop, when to start, and so on. 

Godspeed. And please, fucking enjoy yourself! These Guides certainly are. Don't take this experience lightly, but be ready to love and laugh at yourself because They definitely are.