Thursday, April 30, 2015

Animal Medicine

I decided this morning to document one of my many processes to working with dreams.

Dream
I think I was a school girl, about 14 or so.... and in the school yard I saw a fish tank against a fence. I walked over and there was a big fish, a small shark and a puppy in the water. Near the tank off to the right side was a wolf. Kids came over to play with the little doggy and I would scream and say no, that's not a dog. Two guys were messing with the wolf now, I look back at the fishtank and the shark had killed the fish and was going after the puppy, I found a stick and tried to stop him, he bit the stick and I flung it out of the water, now he got a hold of my hand and was biting me, the guys were laughing but I knew the wolf would be attacking them soon, so they would get theirs. EOD

Feelings upon waking
It's been a long time since I've dreamed with an animal, let alone FOUR. Ah the number four! In numerology the number 4 represents work, the more masculine side, like the Tarot card Emperor.
The four also makes me think of the four corners, foundation, the four directions, the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water). Structure and stability are all associated with this number. The Emperor himself represents leadership and strong determination. The Ram on his throne reminds me of The Aries sign, they are all about moving forward and not letting anyone get in their way. I googled Aries and ran into this website Always Astrology it said "A natural born leader, the Arian will find it difficult to be a follower. They find it too easy to step up and take charge." click the link for more information on Aries. Ok, so my dream is making more sense now. I now am curious about the Wolf.

Wolf
I get this message this morning on my fb inbox from my very intuitive friend and co-worker Sherry Puricelli of AwakeNDream.
I love the message but look who posted it... David Avocado Wolfe. Oh Universe, you have my attention!
I remember being on retreat with Sherry and us looking up our Native American birth totem animals and mine was the Wolf!
Here's the link where I found the quote below and they talk about wolf. You can look up your Birth Totem too at http://wolfs-moon.com/birthguidewolf.html.

"It is through this selfless act of sacrifice that often face your greatest challenge. For, to give of ourselves to the extent that it becomes detrimental to our own life, path, or soul, is contrary to what the teaching of this Spirit Animal is present beside you to impart.As you progress through life and come to understand that the heart of compassion is born of the love of all life, including that of your own, and is not meant to be expressed as self-sacrifice, then you will have taken a step closer to answering your true calling.Thus, you begin to realize that true compassion is knowing when to assist another that's struggling along their chosen path, and when to stand back, that the one whom you desire to help may learn the lesson represented within their struggle, and in so doing, you will have aligned with the your Spirit Animal Guide's teachings. It is then that the motive of the Higher Self of Illumination is beautifully fulfilled." Aha, I've been struggling with this a bit lately. Just the other day I wanted to pray for a PAUSE button because I feel like I can't catch up.
Now looking at this website reminds me of the Tarot card "The Moon" which I was working with on Monday. 
Wait! Is that a wolf and a dog I see. The lobster/scorpion coming out of the water reminds me of my fish tank fish. I feel like I am getting deeper into the meaning of this dream. In this card I see the two towers, my path is just ahead. Am I the lobster/scorpion or am I one of the canines? I feel like the moon is lighting the path and like the moon she is reminding me that there are always cycles, ebbs and flows to life. She reminds me to go with the flow. "Slow and steady wins the race" wait I just read that today in my inbox, Ah... thank you Joanna Devoe, it was in her newsletter this week. I highly recommend you subscribe to her Witchy Newsletters! 

Ok back to my dream...I am getting the sneaky feeling that this dream is about taking care of myself and to not over do it! I felt the need to protect the puppy in the fish tank instead of the boys who were messing with the wolf. Hmmm... so much more to explore. I will add to this through out the day, if I get anymore synchronicities.

This is why I love working with dreams. The Universe leaves me cookie crumbs to follow and with each step I get deeper into what the meaning is and what to do with it. Thank you!
 
It's the afternoon now, and I knew there would be more. Sadly, our pet bird Irish died today. I just noticed her and I know my girls will be devastated. Now what is the lesson here? Was my dream a premonition? Irish is only 4 years old (oh my, there's the FOUR again) and supposedly in good health condition. Last night her and the male bird (who we haven't really named yet) were fighting, but we thought nothing of it. So is the shark in my dream really this male bird and the fish that he killed my lovely bird Irish? Can't help but think this. As I am typing this a song comes on... "Who died and made you the king of everything", ouch!
 
Many meanings
Earlier today, I shared my dream with a fellow dreamer Dee Heath and she had this to say about it, "I LOVE your interpretation of your dream. So many synchronicities and I have to agree that the Universe is telling you to slow down and take care of yourself. If it were my dream and I had all of those feelings though I would look to myself as the puppy...the one I'm trying to protect. The Wolf seems to be there as a protector (ie my spirit animal) he's standing guard. The shark well that just feels like a metaphor for maybe all the craziness that is going on in life right now. Feels like I'm being "eaten or bit" by the shark....not taking enough time to care for myself....getting eaten alive in a way. No I think I'm the puppy, fragile, gentle, playful, youth.....treat myself like I would treat a new little puppy.

Thank you Dee for your interpretation of my dream. It really resonates. This is why I love working with dreams, there are multi layers of meaning and symbolism and there are no wrong answers!