Yesterday I shared several stories of how the outside world sometimes validates energetic shifts in shamanic healing sessions. The same sort of messages also happen for classes.
Before a two-day basic shamanism class last fall, I got up early to drive to Crow Moon Healing and get set up. As I was loading my car that morning, I saw one of my power animals before I even left home. A pileated woodpecker flew into the top of a nearby tree. They did their trademark cackling and then drilled on a dead branch. Pileated woodpecker medicine for me is a sign of going beneath the surface to the heart of what matters. As I paused, I realized this was a sign that the class was going to go deep.
The next morning as I was getting ready to leave my house for day two of the class, several deer walked down the sidewalk across the street. (I live next to a park with a lot of green space and mature trees, so this is a fairly common occurrence.) Deer medicine is about being gentle. One of my shamanic teachers, Herb Stevenson, always used to say that deer wisdom is, “There is strength in gentleness, and gentleness in strength.” It was a reminder about the need for gentleness with the group.
I’ve also received confirmation after classes about the work that occurred in the workshop. Once in an evening class at my office, we worked with owl energy and its ability see in the dark. Owls are one of my favorites birds. I also see and hear them frequently in ordinary reality. That night as I pulled onto my street, I saw a big bird fly up to the top of the light pole next to my garage. Based on what we had worked with in class that evening, I knew it was an owl.
When I got out of my car, I approached and started talking to it. It was indeed a great horned owl. I thanked it for bringing owl medicine to our class and assisting with our shamanic work. I let it know I was safe – it didn’t need to fly away. It held its ground and stayed on top of the light pole for a long time. I admired its beauty and we even carried on a conversation, hooting back and forth to each other. I was grateful for its wisdom, and it came as confirmation for the healing that happened in class that evening. The next day I sent an email to the group and shared this story with them. They were also appreciative.
The furred, the finned, and the feathered are messengers for Spirit. The Universe sends these signs to help us have greater clarity about what lies ahead and also for validation of the shifting and growing that has happened. To do our part, we are asked to be grounded and present and work with the information that is received.
This work is real, and it matters.
(These are stock photos of a pileated woodpecker and a great horned owl.)
January 20, 2022