Blog

I was working on some commissioned birth totem paintings and had started a kestrel, but every time I looked at my preliminary drawing I kept seeing an Owl, so I decided to restart the kestrel on a new canvas and paint the owl. I've been wanting to paint a Great Horned Owl since my encounter with one a few weeks ago. I received an incredible gift from Owl, and decided I needed to honor her with a painting. In the painting I've included the moon, since Owl is a bird of the night. She stands on the planet Pluto, with whom she is closely aligned. In her talon she holds a sprig of Rosemary.

I wrote this poem the day Owl and I met:

Owl found me, not in a dream

But in death. Sacrificing herself

So that I might live.

Going against the law of Man

I chose the law of Nature

And honored her Great Gift.

She flies beside me now into Eternity.

Acknowledging the tang of Death -

Of things that must be left behind,

Owl travels light on silent wings.

Gliding through the Veil of darkness;

The Great Mystery unseen by those eyes

Accustomed only to the blinding light

Of forced (forged?) Reality.

I buried you in a secret place, deep within

The womb of Earth. Away from the eyes

Of those who don’t understand.

Away from the law that says I can’t

Honor your spirit or keep your feathers

But can throw your body into a dumpster;

Dispose of you like garbage.

As if your feathers have no meaning.

As if your life has no significance.

As if denying your power would keep you from

Soaring into your new life.

Ti mah su.*

* http://morningstar.netfirms.com/owltotem.html

The Beaver is the birth totem animal for April 20 - May 20.

Beaver is the builder of the Animal Kingdom, and has a strong sense of family and home.  In building its home, you will find several entrances and exits.

Beaver never limits itself to one escape route.  Beaver's lesson for us is:  'not to paint ourselves in a corner'.  In addition, Beaver is well equipped to protect its creation. - excerpts from "Medicine Cards"by Jamie Sams

The Beaver Totem reminds you that you have to act on your dreams to make them a reality.  It is time for action!  Beaver can show you how to construct wonderful dreams.  In essence, Beaver tells you to believe in your dreams as if they were real.  Build on them as if the dream is your reality.

Beaver Totem is water and earth energy, and incorporates a strong sense of family and home. Beaver medicine is associated with the subconscious, the place where hidden knowledge and forgotten dreams are stored.  Beaver reminds you to live your dreams, manifesting them by using the resources available.

Beavers have a gentle nature and are very industrious.  An achiever is characterized by industriousness; Beaver knows that limitations cancel productivity. With their sharp teeth and paddle-like tail, they are more than capable of protecting their creation.  Totem Beaver tells you to look for alternative solutions to life's challenges and to protect the creations that you put your love and energy into. Read more...

The Heart of Beaver Acts on Dreams is the last painting in my series of twelve 10x10 birth totem animal paintings. Working on the series has been fun, exasperating, challenging, and joyful - as well as a great learning experience both in terms of learning more about painting and learning more about birth totem animals. I definitely found that I related to some of the animals much more than to others, but by the end of each painting I felt I was able to articulate the message of each animal. I think I will continue down this path for awhile to see where it leads, and perhaps start adding other elements of the birth totems - plants, stones, polarity, direction, etc. I also want to keep working on messenger animal paintings - it is said that you will have seven major messenger animals in your life - some you become aware of, others you may not be aware of. These will be animals that appear to you in dreams, or in consciousness, in ways that make you take note. Sometimes you will feel a great kinship with the animal, sometimes a great fear. For instance, if you are deathly afraid of spiders, it makes sense for you to learn about spiders to understand what you fear in yourself.

If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you
and you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them, you will not know them;
and what you do not know you will fear.
What one fears, one destroys.
Chief Dan George