Native American peoples believe strongly in the medicine that we get from the animal spirits. The totem of an animal teaches us lessons about life that we need to learn. The animal spirit of Elk is one of strength, nobility, pride, survival, and stamina.
The Elk totem can be one of your directions in the Medicine Wheel or sometimes it will come to you for a small journey when you need to be reminded to pace yourself on a project. To protect your stamina until the project is complete.
Elk may also come to you when you need to be reminded how important community is. Read further to find out more about the good medicine of Elk.
Bull Elk Leads His Cows at Allposters.com
Elk Medicine
Elk medicine teaches us that by pacing ourselves we increase our stamina. Elk people may not complete a project first, but when it is done they have not burned themselves out. Elk are able to look at the long journey and to “hit their stride” to maintain energy and perseverance.
Animal spirit Elk reminds us of the importance of community, most especially fellowship with our same gender. Herds of elk are normally female or male and only unite during mating season. We are reminded by Elk that there is always support if we need it.
Elk also tells us to be aware of subtle changes around us and to be ready for a quick response.
Elk medicine stands for stamina, strength, nobility, pride, and survival.
My Spirit Animal In The East
In my personal life path, Elk is the medicine for my East Wind. Elk guides me to my personal spiritual challenges and guards my path to illumination.
I use the Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams to study my personal animal spirits and the Medicine Wheel.
With the book and the cards, you can find out the 9 Animal Spirits that follow you on your life path. Elk, may or may not be a part of your journey. The book will help you discover which animals are.
Apply The Animal Spirit Message To Your Life
If you are feeling sluggish or lost your stamina, change your diet to have mostly vegetarian foods and take some quiet time for yourself.
Perhaps you have been pushing yourself too hard, fearful of not completing a project. Elk tells us to pace ourselves. Take some time away from the process, after all it will be there when you return.
Sometimes we struggle to complete something on our own. Elk tells us to look for support and ask for help from others. Elk can hold on to self worth while being supported by the herd.
Elk also shows us the importance of having connections with a group of our own gender just as a herd of elk would be. Make sure you spend time with your own gender.
Elk also tells us to protect our young. Make sure you are acting on your children’s behalf when they are not able to.
Wapiti Is Another Name For Elk
Channel The Energy Of Elk
There are several ways to channel the energy of Elk, if it has come to you in the Medicine Cards. Even without the cards, if you have always had an attraction to the Elk or possibly it crosses your path often; it is one of your Animal Spirit Totems.
1. Read about the Elk. It helps to understand how the Animal Spirit lives in the wild, what its habits are, and its characteristics.
2. Explore your ancestry and see if you have a connection with royalty in some way.
3. Involve yourself in a sport that requires stamina such as long distance running.
4. Eat a diet of vegetarian foods.
5. Supplement your diet with Velvet (a vitamin supplement from antlers).
6. Find an elk figurine or an elk bone and place it on an alter or special place in your home.
7. Elk do not graze after dark. Live like the elk and do not eat after dark.
Elk Prayer:
Elk your strength and stamina far exceed those of your predators.
Your unpredictability is an asset.
May I take pride in myself and all my doings with the nobility of Elk.
I have the strength to go the distance and the sensitivity to respond to my surroundings.
Elk Works With Me
As I have begun to study the animal spirits that are connected to my life, Elk has come to me more than once. I first discovered its medicine when I did my Life Path Spread and found that it was the animal spirit connected to my East wind.
I pulled a daily card today and it was the Elk card. I began to reflect even more on the Elk and its lessons for me and decided to write this lens about it.
I’m sure Elk is working with me right now because I do have a tendency to push myself too hard and wear myself out. Elk is telling me to pace myself and to take some breaks for my own stamina.
Remarkably, as I started to study the Medicine Cards I was asked to join a group of women who networked regularly with each other. A group of women who support each other, teach each other, and challenge each other in learning to write better. Clearly one of Elk’s lessons, to be a part of a group of my own gender on my path to illumination.
Does the Elk Spirit guide you? Was this information helpful for you? Do you just want to let me know you stopped by? Leave your comments here.
I dream of the elk and she appears in my medicine cards. Thank you, this is good insight.
Was shopping at thrift store,was drawn to a beautiful painting o white background of a huge bull elf,his cows,ad calves,surrounded by a meadow with downed trees and grassy meadow.Love elk,think they are so regal..regret I did not buy that painting, think I will go back today…hope it’s still there.at any rate it put me on the track of Elk medicine in my life,Thanks for the article,and the info,I must have needed a beautiful reminder..Aho.
I live in the mountains and am surrounded by a herd / family of BEAUTIFUL deer. They come to my cabin EVERY day . They eat from my hand and lay next to me on my porch. I am so lucky.
Thank you so much for this beautiful post. My medicine cards were calling to me yesterday and when I read how you work with them, now I know why. Thank you for the depth you covered in this post. It was exactly what I needed. I am starting a coaching business and knowing I can do this over a long stretch and not burn myself out, and that I have elk medicine to support my stamina is beautiful. π A’ho
Blessings to U this beautiful day.
Was curious aboot something, to my knowledge or teachings our cards or spirit guides can be read or shown to us by another butden only creator and U alone know the spirit guides that hold each hand/walk by our sides? The other seven (above, below, inner, an each of the 4directions) can be read or shown by others just not the two that walk next to us on our path?! Again I am no one from no where, this is just what I was taught so am curious as to U mentioning this book and author telling of all nine spirit animals?!
Thank U creator
Thank U sacred grandmother
Thank U sacred grandfather
Aho all my relations
Hi πβ¨
Your article on Elk is so soothing.
I went through a very difficult situation yesterday and as I sat in prayer just now an Antler Being came to me. I used to use the medicine cards a lot in my past and the work has stayed with me. Since I donβt have them on me now, I thought of googling the information and fell upon your very helpful piece on Elk. I knew the medicine came to me for a reason. I need to pace myself until I get to my destination and it also reminded me of having pride in myself in the face of a destructive force in my family. I cannot thank you enough for your words. God bless xo
I looked up the Elk because on my way driving home a huge elk was stopped in my lane. Fortunately I wasn’t going too fast and avoided hitting it. It reminded me of a dream I had about 25 years ago when a large herd of Elk were singing in chorus to me “Hold your head high”
Last night I put Mugwort next to my head and sent a message asking for help to find the animal spirits who are linked to my chakras, particularly for the throat, as I believe I may have discovered four of them.
Into my dream I was sent the message ‘Black Ek speaks’ and immediately the thought flashed ‘ok so it is deer’.
When I woke up in the morning it was the first thing I remembered.
When out walking at sunrise I went to greet a Birch tree that is special to me and asked for guidance. As I went on my way I looked back and was drawn to another Birch that I had not noticed before. And found that it has a branch shaped like the head of a deer or possibly a Chamois. The whole time I was saying Black Elk Speaks in my mind, until it sunk in about my dream message.
I had just ordered the book for my daughter to give me as a present for Christmas, and found myself both elated and confused.
I live in Scotland and grew up in Africa, so am curious why I was pointed in the direction of the Elk and what it signifies in relation to the throat chakra.
Hi , I find myself here after waking from a most bizarre dream that was very busy with lots of different aspects . In the middle of this dream a female friend who I’m not particularly close to and haven’t seen for a long time spoke to me and told me how she was feeling wonderful after giving birth the day before – she felt, grounded and strong and powerful but calm and she said that’s definitely Elk energy As she said it to me in the dream I was listening to her and visualised a large white male Elk with Antlers, standing proud and relaxed with the forest behind him. Then she showed me her baby who was lying across her chest under her jumper that was acting like a sling .. it was a girl and she had an other-worldly look , her eyes were glowing aquamarine kind of blue with a milky haiz around the edges , she also had short tight red curls. In the dream I thought to myself that child is from another planet. But the thing that struck me when I woke up was the Elk and I immediately googled it and found myself here. It makes so much sense and I feel a great connection to this animal, which is not an animal I have ever thought about before. It was an amazing dream . Thanks for your info on this page .
This pursuit of Knowledge was shone to me by a new friend Alex Stone. H listened to my past and that or my father and Daughter, He strongly recommended I read up on the animal medicine wheel. He said start with the Elk Medicine. I have read this and the posts in amazement. It depicts my weaknesses and gives me the assurance of who I am and what I stand for. Amazing.
Thank you for posting these messages about Elk Medicine. I am White Elk and I experience through me Elk Medicine. Elk medicine is the medicine of the nobility of the heart, the protection of women, grace, integrity, gentle power, and love. Each day I am aware that for many years God has been working on these traits in me. That means purifying these things in me. I began my journey as Soft Deer and as I grew in the medicine and took on the torch from Grandfather Roberts when he passed on. Then I became White Elk. Grandfather’s Cherokee medicine was for the healing of women. I now walk in this path. It is an honor to walk the Elk Path. I am Swiss Austrian, Apache, Lakota, and Cherokee. Thank you for this posting as I would like to get to know others on the Elk Medicine Path.
This is beautiful. “Elk medicine is the medicine of the nobility of the heart, the protection of women, grace, integrity, gentle power, and love. ” I had a vision of deer which I ran with but it told me to get on it’s back and we rode to my ancestors. Then it turned into a reindeer and we rode to the Northern Scandinavian Indigenous Sami people. I’m 75% Scandinavian and this felt like such a confirmation of my deep connection to Mother Earth and my Ancestors. I think it presented as Deer to remind me of my gentle heart that is my true nature but The Elk Medicine, teaching stamina and all its other qualities is making my heart sing. I know I am on the Elk Path now of gentle strength.
My grandfather gave me the name Little Elk.
Few days ago, I was laying in my bed listening to music before sleep, have a deep feelings in my heart and sudently saw a vision of elk with white coat some black dots, he was walking through the woods with the herd of cows, looking at me and suddenly from his chest a heart flight to mine solar plexus. Still trying to figure out what it means.
I met one of my spirit guides last night in a dream; I was in a forest in winter and came upon a partially frozen pond. In the middle of the pond struggled a great white elk, panic in its eyes. I jumped in the freezing water, and struggled alongside the elk until I had helped it out of the pond and onto land, at which point it looked me in the eye, turned, and wandered back into the wood. I woke with the most profound sense of comfort and knowing, and knew at that point elk had given me a beautiful gift.
I’ve been smiling all day. I don’t use cards, but rather use the relationship and appearances of animals in my life as signs. Elk’s appearance to me seems to be one of those signs, and only after researching Elk’s meaning have I realized how pertinent Elk’s appearance is to my life at this moment. Thanks for this page!
What a blessing indeed to have a visit from Brother Elk! Not only did he come with a message but it would appear that it is sacred in its purpose…the elk was white! Thank you for sharing your visit from your Elk totem.
Thanks Beverley!
Its been a pretty surreal experience for me- I’m only 27, and of part Irish and Anishanaabeg ethnicity, but was raised entirely as a suburban, white kid. I have really only just begun looking at the world from an indigenous, spiritual perspective (it’s hard for me not to fall back into the perspective of facebook and iTunes!).
I’ve been communicating with a number of people from Toronto’s indigenous community for a while now, and always kind of hoped I’d have a visit of some sort- but I didn’t think it would hit me in the face like this one did! Once more, this write up was really informative and helped me figure out what the whole experience meant.
Keep doing what you do!
I was looking for a Native American message about taking the Sacred Path and stumbled upon Elk medicine. It applied to me and what I’m going through now. I want to learn more about using the medicine wheel, and resurface the knowledge I have learned about it from a Shaman (Cherokee) in order to share and teach its usage to children
Thank you for stopping by! I would recommend not only reading all that you can about the Medicine Wheel and also consulting with the Shaman who has already started helping you on your path. He or she can best guide you in teaching the children the proper use and meanings of the wheel.
Elke. Deer. Bones. From the dry ground. Nourish my spirit. Ahi