Have you ever had one of your totems kind of just sneak up on you and make their lessons known? That happened to me just a few weeks ago with the Bear totem. I had one of those “Ahhh” moments that we get from time to time. Maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention or maybe I was in one of my clueless periods. Probably a little of both when it comes to me. I usually see an animal spirit working with someone else before I seriously notice that one like Sister Bear might be walking along my path.
My little epiphany came to me a few weeks back when I sat down to do a reading for myself. I decided to do the Grandfather Sun, Grandmother Moon spread from the Sacred Path Cards by Jamie Sams. Basically the result tells you some things to work on in order to achieve a balance between your male and female sides of your being. As I sat there studying the cards and their meaning and how it might relate to me, it hit me and I laughed out loud! “Sister Bear you weren’t even in my radar, but there you are as plain as the nose on my face!”
Bear is not one of my power totems and I can’t think of many times that it has worked with me over the years. The main lesson of Bear is the power of Introspection. That isn’t an area that I usually have any trouble with, in fact, I’ve been accused in the past of spending too much time going inward with my thoughts. My inner cave is a safe haven!
Without revealing what cards came up in that spread, I’ll just say that three were directly connected to the West direction of the Medicine Wheel. That is the home of Bear. One was specific to introspection and goals. One was specific to female energy. Female energy is a part of Bear and the totem medicine it holds.
Bear encourages us to go inward to find the wisdom that already resides within us to the questions we have about life. To be our own adviser. Bear wants us to use our own strengths to overcome our weaknesses so that we achieve great happiness.
Sister Bear did not come charging out of the forest with her teeth bared so that I would pay attention. She didn’t growl or grab me with her claws. She just quietly walked along with me waiting for me to look up and know that it is time for me to find the sweet honey waiting for me at the Tree of Life.
~Mitakuye Oyasin~ We are all related