Goose Medicine: Valour

Imagine you’re a flier, a goose. You can soar where you will, wherever your instincts guide you. You’re not fettered by arbitrary boundaries, such as those dividing lines between territories that humankind constructs for political ends. On the other hand, physical boundaries are a bit of an issue. You can likely only thrive (/survive) in locations and climates of a certain temperature, for instance, and – for the fact that you’re not built for mobility there – you’re particulary vulnerable when on the ground (to predators that would love some of your yummy goodness).

Why would you do it? Why set foot on terra firma at all? Well, for one, there’s nourishment there. You can feed while enjoying the security that a body of water affords, sure, but it’s not always an option. Ponds can freeze over, or there just might not be a water body available on the stretch of flyway you’re on at a particular moment.

One of the other times a goose will choose to stay on the ground is when another goose cannot fly itself. It’ll stay there to protect the other, either until it can fly (again), or until it dies.

Because of this self-less attribute, Goose medicine is often described as being symbolic of valour. Many of the people engaged in vocations that help the disadvantaged have Goose medicine: aid workers, philanthropists and people in the medical profession, to name a few. In that light, it’s our tendency to attribute them special status (not that they don’t deserve it). As ever, though, there’s a flipside to viewing the medicine (after all, Goose does fly in both directions, south and north)...

Consider for a second (as difficult as it can be to wrap our heads around) your other manifestation as a flier, as the unhindered being you are aside from the one you now see yourself as, squeezed into your tiny physical form. Why would you have come down to this physical reality? Why would anyone? After all, how much of our lives down here do we spend having to deal with feelings of vulnerability in one form or another? ...emotionally, physically? ...spiritually?

We don’t come down here just to be Goose Valiant, to be the hero (at least, not every time). Instead, we oftentimes put ourselves here in the position of the ‘wounded goose’, in a position of sacrifice as it were.

If you can for a moment imagine yourself ‘flying’ in your pre-incarnation existence: unhindered, infinitely expansive, boundlessly Loving, it isn’t much of a stretch to imagine others in the same light, even other souls whom you perceive as a challenge to you in your present lifedream. Ask yourself why they would have come down here. Why would they have chosen not to remain as they were, without subjecting themselves to the pains and fears that they’re left trying to mitigate (and attempt to pass off to others in the process)? Why subject themselves to the pain that comes from, say, self-loathing, feelings of being unloved and unloveable? Why subject themselves to the pain of abuse that might instigate a hurtful demeanor? In other words, why come down to be the wounded goose?

Some souls do this lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. It isn’t because there’s something they’re not ‘getting’. It’s actually because some of us are strong enough as souls to do that – we’re strong enough to be that hurt, as it were. Not only that, but we’d keep doing it over and over again, for the sake of our collective flock.

It’s been said that our greatest fear is realisation of our own true power. It may be more to the point to say that – on a soul level, at least – our greatest fear is that others will not realise theirs. Challenges have the potential for great transformation, provided we can go down to where they are. The wounded goose is there to illicit awareness, just as importantly as the hero is there in its role. As when a flock is flying its ‘V’, the weaker geese behind also join in to honk encouragement. Together, they act as a wedge, cutting their way through the air as one unit. All are essential. Everything is happening exactly as it should.

As Goose, you’re not built to physically pick another up; they’ll do that on their own, once the intended healing occurs. Just respect their sacrifice enough to stand vigil for them, and hold their space. And on your ‘return’ flight (when you yourself are the wounded), respect the sacrifice you’re making. Oh, yes; you do, indeed, Love that much.

Big Medicine Love to You

~ Black Feather

Shaman's Earthwalk: Moth's pilgrimage

Before venturing out, as I considered enlisting a guide, I noticed a framed (specimen) moth on the way to the door. Hmmm... what would you do with that information? You guessed it; I started heading towards 'the light'...

I'd wanted to go to a woods that I'd seen in the distance when I'd arrived at this new location (in Austria) the previous day, but I picked up on little signs as I was making my way there that suggested otherwise, starting with a white stone in a farmer’s field - in the late-day sun, it looked as though it were glowing against its earthy background. Once I got there, my attention came to a white, round sign fallen down on the other side of a nearby creek (you can bet I took that as a sign. Ha!), and a bird flew by in the direction the creek was flowing from. In the dimming light, I couldn't really see it except for the fact that it had a patch of white feathers that gave it a really bright rump. I looked - and then headed - in the direction it had gone, towards the setting sun (~ the big light!).

I came upon a nativity scene, complete with a guiding star. There was a (plinth) beside it with a double-barred cross on top (sometimes referred to as a patriarchal cross, apparently) and scenes with figures painted on each side. One showed a depiction of Christ with an aura/halo on a similar (double) cross. A dove (with a halo of light as well) flew towards me from below him, and God supported the cross that he was on from above (and - you guessed it - a light encircled his head as well). On the side of the plinth opposite this scene, a figure casually stood on a demon, crushing it underfoot.

As I continued after the sun, a seed (~ thoughts,ideas, beliefs, plans, goals, visions) on its little parachute floated alongside me, suspended in the air. I walked on and on (and on). I started wondering, "Am I really supposed to continue in this direction? What am I doing out here anyway? The sun's almost gone, and I'm not even sure I can find my way back as it is!" I was about to turn on my heel when I saw: a white lighter on the ground in front of me. Well, as far as confirmations go, I figured that was about as specific as a sign could get!

Just ahead, I came upon a carved wooden bear. It held a sign that read “wilkommen holzbau” (‘welcome, wood construction’ ~ a suggestion that something is being built, from your raw potential). It was quite dark now, and in the distance I saw a Christmas light decoration in the shape of pie wedges (like in the game 'Trivial Pursuit' ~ some pieces of information are being brought together at this time that'll bring about a completion of some sort).

I walked past some old apple trees that had the odd shriveled apple on them, past their harvest. I couldn't help but think of how this might relate to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. I believe this sign was suggesting that it's time for a rewrite (or a re-do, anyway!).

Off the side of the road, there was a waterworks structure. Some of the pipes had red (~ passion) accents, and seemed to me to be in the shape of a woman’s (alluring) form. Her outstretched arms gave the impression that she had the same shape as the double cross I'd seen earlier.

I saw a double-steepled church (~ your spiritual beliefs/body) in the distance (on the other side of the valley) that was lit up from the inside. I thought to head towards it as well, but my guidance strongly suggested that - for now, at least - this walk was complete. The clouds parted, and the moon shone through. I got a little disoriented ('lost' is more like it) along the way back, but eventually found my way by following its light like a beacon.

Post-script: I want to mention something about 'Bear' here. Upon first sight, the carved bear had piqued my attention especially because - in healings I've done - I've shared medicine with a lot of people who seem to all be connected to the same bear (energy/clan/constellation?). The sign the bear was holding suggested to me to be aware that - at this time, especially - Spirit is working us into a new form. Bear is symbolic of accessing your untapped potentials through other levels of consciousness, as in the Dreamtime. Even though you may largely feel unaware of it on a conscious level, you are in your own 'healing cave' at this time, preparing for your upcoming springtime.

From what was revealed in this walk, I suggest a couple of specific medicines. One, we're rewriting/re-doing previous versions of what our spiritual beliefs/realities are, on a collective level. Keep in mind that there is no external 'church' to head towards, no point asking someone else for a description of the consciousness that you are coming into through your experience;  head to the light within. And two, your passions - whether devilish or divine - hold a clue to what it is that you're actually wishing to connect to. Again, don't look to some external image in the hopes that you'll be satiated by it. Call upon Bear medicine to show you the reason (and release the need) for those outer projections so that you can know the medicine you're actually after, and then allow that Sacred union to be made manifest!

Big Medicine Love to You

~ Black Feather

Wanna know some Secrets?...

...how about secrets that you've hidden from your self ?

Would you like to know, for instance, why you have a certain anxiety? ...the reasons behind why you're sooo stressed? ...information about a challenging relationship or illness? ...and how about being able to know how to get past it??

---> blackfeathermedicine@yahoo.ca

As most of us do, when you incarnated into your present life, you likely forgot about all that came before. Your past lives and the spirit energies accompanying you in this one have a tremendous influence on your relationships, circumstances, feelings and behaviours!

In truth, we don't come into this life for 'easy' (the majority of us, at least!); we come here to learn, and to grow as souls. Truth be told, in this particular physical experience, we actually learn best through adversity. That said, is this your time to receive a little help? Is this your time to enlist a hand up so that you can move forward?

A clairvoyant reading is a GREAT way to access treasures previously hidden to you.

Move into your personal power by revealing essential things that you've 'forgotten' about yourself !

Contact Black Feather for an insightful, illuminating psychic reading to reveal your own unique secrets now!

---> blackfeathermedicine@gmail.com

Come with questions, leave with answers!

Big Medicine Love to You!!

Return of Innocence

When requested, I do Shaman's Earthwalks for specific people, but this one (done in the countryside near Budapest, where I am at present) may have been more of an 'open message', if you will. For the fact that you're reading this, though, my suggestion is that you consider that you co-created it as a 'message to self '...

Before heading out, I asked for a guide to accompany me, and Salmon presented. Because salmon have that amazing natural ability to return to the waters in which they were born, I took its appearance as both a reassurance that I would intuitively know which way to go, and that keeping my eye out for bodies of water wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

Having never been in the area before, I asked my hosts if there were any creeks or rivers in the vicinity. My (lovely) neice pointed me in the general direction of a local lake, and I headed out. After just a couple of blocks, though, I caught sight of the village water tower looming through the fog... 'Water from above', I thought?

I continued on, making mental notes of the signs I saw along the way. As per usual when I do a grouse walk (and as much as I could), I left off interpretation until after the walk was completed.

I walked past the tower (north: the direction suggesting completion of a cycle in life, wisdom to be gained, and guidance) and up a narrow dirt road running alongside a massive field of (harvested) corn stalk stubs. I saw a couple of kill sites, likely where a resident hawk had taken pigeons, and some blue-coloured (discarded) items, both of which are - for me, personally - reassurances that I'm on the path intended.

I saw corn in small, spilled piles that I presumed had fallen off farming/harvesting equipment as it had turned onto the road from the adjacent field. Corn can represent gold, wealth and riches. By the fact that it was spilled and left, the suggestion was that something valuable (and 'sustaining') had been lost along the journey. Whose journey, I wondered... mine? yours? ours?

I actually saw quite a few discarded items, only some of which my inner knowing suggested were relevant. There were empty drink/water bottles, for instance (~ a thirst for spiritual connection, for the answers from spirit that will quench that thirst and restore energy and creativity), and a vacuum cleaner (~ attempting to clean up a mess, likely involving someone who has hurt you - your vital energy having been sucked away).

Then there was the sound of a pheasant. I heard it, but couldn't see it (through the thick fog). Pheasant most often represents issues associated with 'ego'. I usually take Pheasant's appearance as a sign of (a need for) movement through who we're taught to believe we are to a realisation of who/what we actually are.

A woodpecker came from the direction of a transmission line that ran through the cornfield. It flew along the road a short ways and then into the woods. That made it pretty clear which way to go!

As I'd mentioned, I'd never been to the area before, but I knew I needed to head into the woods that were in front of me. Just to be on the safe side, I took a compass bearing to get an idea of which way the road ran, and then headed in. Not far along, I found two (white) plastic bags with what looked like dark, bloodied forms inside. I opened them, and found five tiny, 'discarded' black puppies. As much as I recognize a responsibility to be non-judgemental as a messenger, I had to fight to keep my heart from dropping through my chest. I stayed for a while, sending energy and a prayer, including gratitude for the sign I was given. It seemed to be calling attention to lost innocence and playfulness, and perhaps a conditioned loyalty that (obviously) wasn't/isn't serving. Moving on...

...an underground den. Woodpecker's appearance did suggest looking beneath the surface of things...

...and an old, crumble-down homestead (a suggestion to look to the influences from a childhood home, I wondered?).

To be honest, I don't have all the answers as to the full relevance of the messages that presented on this particular walk. Partially, I believe, it's an issue of 'permission'. It seems to me that these were intended as pieces of a bigger jigsaw, the missing pieces of which you yourself may (or may not 'yet') want to investigate. If you feel that you'd appreciate some help, though, I'd be more than delighted to accompany you on the journey you're undertaking, shapeshift your old reality, and help you move into awareness of your future self!

For the moment at least, I'll pass on the two signs that followed...

...I caught a brief glimpse of a running deer: a note to be gentle with yourself...

...birds singing, and (late-season) pink flowers. While I have much to say about those as a signs, I'll leave it in your BigMedicine hands (for now, at least). No need to look for an other angel to drop out of the sky; the messages, the encouragement, the Love you seek... it's all around you. It is you.

Big Medicine Love to You

~ Black Feather

contact: blackfeathermedicine@gmail.com

Stag Medicine: the call of Your nature

This is a truly magical time of co-creation. It's autumn (here), and the rut is on. I can hear stags calling out, day and moonlit night.

As majestic as Stag is, it doesn't do its bellowing for the sake of its ego; that's a human motivation, based on judgement and an unrequited (and impossible) desire for external approval. Stag calls pro-creative opportunities to it for the simple fact that - in its relationship to source - it's a naturally creative being.

The message I take from Stag is to loudly ('provocatively', even) communicate what emmanates from source through you, but not to worry about whether you (or I) will be heard or not.

Perhaps you feel that you've tried oh so many times before and never got anywhere. As it is for the young bucks that hang around at the fringes hoping to 'get some', maturity on a soulful level comes in divine timing. All the previous seasons' efforts have added depth to your voice, substance to your Being.

Don't work for what you see someone else has. Be at your own centre. Express what's inside you that demands expression. You will call what you need to you, but only by being genuine and true to your own nature. (Oh, and throwing a little 'flair' in won't hurt anything - tell me that bit of grass in the antlers doesn't just scream 'stunning'!)

Big Medicine Love to You

~ Black Feather

Octopus Medicine: do you realize how Big you are?

You’re an octopus!

Octopi can be so huge (physically), yet they’re able to squeeze themselves into the tiniest of spaces, like a glass jar, for instance. We’re all octopi, actually, the thing is though, we see the world through our glass veil without realizing that the tendril dangling in front of our eyes - the very water that flows around and through us - actually is us.

When working with someone, I’m always intrigued that I see what it is that Spirit intends as a message to them. It's testament to how truly expansive we are as energetic beings, to how far we extend past the apparent limits of what we perceive as our physical bodies.

When someone comes to me for guidance, I’ll sometimes do a card reading for them or a vision quest, but personally, I Love the experience of having the participation of the living, breathing, physical world. I may do a Shaman's Earthwalk for them; with my heart tuned to the awareness that I’ll be shown a(n unmistakable) sign, I’ll go on an intentional walkabout. I can’t say I’m surprised by what comes up, but I’m always amazed.

It may be that specific animals reveal understanding. On one particular occasion, I was shown Hawk and a kill site. In that instance, Hawk and its meal were sent as symbols to clarify what was ‘eating away’ at that person’s power.

After a distance energy healing on a woman’s dog during which I was shown a vision of a blue ball in an energy stream from the dog’s mouth (~ the place of ‘communication‘), I was guided to a specific spot in an unassuming roadside woods where - having been ‘told’ I was in the right place - I looked down at my feet to find a similar small blue ball, complete with dog toothmarks in it! The woman confirmed that her dog had once had an identical ball years ago, soon after he first came to her. I gave her this ball, and she took it back home with her (where her dog was at the time, 4,000 miles away) as part of their healing journey.

This is just a small fraction of what our interactive environment wants to impress upon us through our participation with it. It’s testament to how we shape our world and how it - in turn - shapes us.

If you’ve ever ‘primed’ a dream, you know how effective diving into those other levels of consciousness can be for solving problems or receiving inspiration. Try doing the same thing with your waking dream. Even though you feel ‘awake’ during your (for most people) daylight hours, those other levels of consciousness are active at the same time; an ocean of activity is alive and thriving under the surface of your awareness. Before you set out for a walk, ask of the Universe (/‘yourSelf ‘) for guidance on a problem you’ve been chewing on (or that‘s been chewing on you, Ha!). As you’re thinking about this idea now, I can assure you that you’ve already extended those great, long, energetic arms of yours, reached into the great Void from where all things are possible (Octopus' eight arms symbolise infinity and infinite possibilities), created and put physical signs down on the path you're going to walk. That's how 'Big' you are!

In an evolutionary sense, your animal mind is much older (and, I would argue, more effective) than your rational mind, your Spirit mind older still. Signs are all around you. I’m here to remind you that you’ve put them down on the path for yourself.

Big Medicine Love to You

~ Black Feather


*If, for some reason, you feel that you’re not able to make such a journey yourself (perhaps you’re not physically mobile at present, for instance) or you‘d just like some help with this, contact me and I will help you.


Contact: blackfeathermedicine@gmail.com
Phone: +44 779 891 2317

This Is Why I Call It a ‘LifeDream‘…

Photo: Wolfgang Staudt

This story is a great affirmation of the amazing power we have to manifest messages to ourselves as we walk our life path. I originally wrote it as a description of Pigeon medicine in May of 2010, after Pigeon appeared in an intuitive portrait I‘d done for someone.

I was having one of those days when you 'know' you're exactly where you're supposed to be...

After I dropped my wife, Jenny, off to do a Reiki healing on her mom (a miracle in itself), I went for a hike to rejuvenate. I went to a local park that I‘d seen on a map of the area, not realizing it was a campground rather than a hiking area. My logical mind thought about getting back in the car and looking elsewhere, but I felt that Spirit had other plans for me.

I wandered past dirty picnic tables and through the faint trails between the connector roads and empty site lots. It was still off-season, and what few campers there were at that time eyed me suspiciously - why would anyone be wandering around here anyway? I imagined that theft happened pretty often here, it being so close to town. You could hear the expressway - it wasn't exactly a wildlife area, unless you count the empty bottles and chip bags, signs of the previous night's parties.

Listening to my intuitive promptings about where to go, it appeared after a while that I was being left feather hints (Wolf often leaves them for me as sacred path signs). I got to what seemed an unlikely spot in the middle of a trail. Squirrel! I'd been thinking of getting my cashews out anyway... but he left. Funny, you'd think he'd be used to handouts from campers (yeah, I know, I shouldn't feed the wildlife). Ok, that squirrel was gone, but I could see another one just ahead, sitting on a stump, busily eating, watching me from a distance (but pretending not to notice me, I thought). Looking around, it wasn't exactly picturesque. This spot didn't really have a view at all, but it did have a log to sit on (imitate Squirrel, I wondered? After all, he was eating his lunch). I'm supposed to have my lunch here? I sat down and opened up my bag. Then I saw a mound of feather fluff (a kill site), and I knew I was supposed to be there.

As I was just about done, I could see a man walking down the trail towards me. Ordinarily, I'd have been at least a little surprised, but I can't say that I was today. Earlier, I'd seen what I'd describe as a 'serviceable' camper parked just outside the park boundary - people living on the fringes, I thought, perhaps not wanting (or able) to pay even the off-season fee. If I wouldn’t have stopped for lunch (thanks, Squirrel!), I’d have missed the upcoming encounter altogether. He walked with a stick he'd picked up. He was a thin wisp of a man. If you were to ask me to imagine a hermit... He seemed a little surprised that I was being friendly to him.

"I was hoping this was a park with hiking trails", I said, after exchanging some quick pleasantries.

He gave me directions to an out-of-the-way area, tucked between a sports field and - again - the highway. It didn't sound like anything you'd find on a guide-map. I headed that way anyway, since it was in the direction of my car, thinking that I could at least look polite about following his directions (even if I did decide to drive off). And on my way there, I saw a rabbit. Rabbit is about fear, but he's also about changing directions. As I got to the car, Rabbit came out of the bushes I'd seen him disappear into a second ago, and he continued down the road towards a sports field (in the direction the man had suggested). "Looked like rain", he'd said. I figured it as a good sign; I picked up the hat and raincoat I'd left in the back seat and followed my furry little buddy.

I found the trails all right. It turned out that they were behind a school. Hmmm... I was going to learn something today, wasn't I? Again, it wasn't exactly what you'd call 'pristine wilderness.' There were burned out stumps where kids had been playing with matches, for instance, and an old mattress - a make-out mattress(?) I didn't want to know. With how I'm describing things, don't think for a second that I didn't appreciate the nature that was there. I wholeheartedly believe that even though kids came there for other reasons altogether, nature gives herself to heal them, unconditionally.

The path ahead of me finally started to look a little more promising/picturesque. So why was Spirit urging me to go right? That way would take me to the top of a small ridge that was blocking the sound of traffic from the roadway (the busy traffic to and from the ferry terminal, no less). Ordinarily, I wouldn't have been there at all, headed towards that noise, on a nature walk especially. "But what's that little bright blue thing, part-way up?" I wondered. When I got to it, it turned out to be just a piece of cast away plastic. Thinking on the significance of it though, "...blue does symbolize clarity."

It wasn't really a trail that I was on at all; it was more like bushwhacking. Once at the top of the ridge though, I did feel as though I was in ‘the right spot‘. I looked around, thinking that perhaps Spirit was leading me to an animal sighting. Who would it be, I thought, and why would they be here, of all places? After all, the highway was right there, and I could imagine the activities of kids scaring pretty much everything off during the school-week. Mind you, cougars had to hide somewhere, and there had been the rare sightings around the city after all. Could I even hope for something as exciting as that here? I looked around, and then I looked up...

...and then I looked down. There was a nondescript piece of crumpled fabric at my feet. I considered it for a second. I thought that perhaps my 'mission' was to intuit who might have left it (not that I'd ever done that before), but then I considered that it didn't really matter... "I think I'm here to receive".

I grabbed a fold and tugged it up from the ground. The forest had started to reclaim it; it must have been there for some time. It looked like a throw rug, or a wall hanging maybe, but I couldn't quite make out the design (at first). "It used to be quite colorful once," I thought. It didn't take me long - likely because of my experience discerning images in my portraiture work - before I made out the lighthouse. I spread it out a little better, took this photo, and accentuated it's image when I got home:

I'd been considering my path at the time, and found myself doing much more healing work (and teaching) than I ever would have imagined. This lighthouse seemed to be an unmistakable sign that I should continue this work, I 'gushed' thanks, and then, thinking I'd gotten all I'd been sent for, headed back to Jenny's mom's, .

As I rounded the corner before mum's house, I already had the feeling that I'd be arriving too early. I looked in through the front window - Jenny was still working on her. I walked towards the shops, thinking I'd perhaps pick up a present for Jenny.

I noticed "The Haunted Bookshop", and went in (as Spirit knew I would), curious as to whether I'd pick something up - a 'presence', perhaps? (Sorry about the bad pun, but I really couldn't help myself.) Usually, I'm not one for used book stores, but - considering the day I'd been having - I was at this point assuming I was fated to go in.

I looked around aimlessly until I noticed that I was in front of the 'art' section. I didn't see anything that interested me. I considered a stack of magazines. I closed my eyes and pulled one out. It was on colour mixing - a little dated, and not necessarily anything I didn't already know. I thought that perhaps coming in was just about killing time after all, and headed for the door.

Before I tell you what happened next, I'll tell you (for those of you who don't know) that Jenny and I had been working at manifesting a move to Edinburgh (and working at keeping the faith on it actually happening …considering that we’d been picking bottles off the beach for food around this time, it didn‘t seem in any way ‘realistic‘). I turned right into a shelf of books about Scotland! There were two right in front of my face that I couldn't ignore if I tried: one had a large graphic of the Scottish Thistle on its cover, and the other... a lighthouse being built! "The Lighthouse Stevensons: The Extraordinary Story of the Building of the Scottish Lighthouses by the Ancestors of Robert Louis Stevenson" by Bella Bathurst.

Besides delivering messages, Pigeon medicine is also about returning home... I'd never been there before, but I couldn't help it at that moment... Scotland. felt. like. home.

There are people who would read my story from which you'd hear the words 'coincidence', perhaps 'crazy' even, but you know what? I'm really happy, and I'm pretty damn sure I'm on the right path. You want answers? Look inside, and open your eyes.

All the Love you can handle, and then some

David J. (Mac)Nagy


As I mentioned, I originally wrote this in May of 2010 (as “Pigeon Medicine - This is why I call it a LifeDream“). Remembering my time on the beach back then, it all seemed so unlikely, but as of today, I’ll have been in Scotland for 6 incredible months!

In honour of all the signs on your life path,
Big Medicine Love to you,

~ Black Feather

Contrary Beaver - overcoming blocks to dream-building!

Photo Credit: earthdeva

I got a nudge to beware Beaver’s contrary medicine - in a card reading I did for myself, Beaver appeared ‘belly up’ for me. Beaver is about building (your dreams, especially), and I’ve been having trouble finding the energy - even the will - to do it lately. It seems to be a pattern of mine that I’ll work on a project for a while, and then - once it appears as though things are coming to fruition - I’ll give up on it (or - worse yet - sabotage it in some way). Contrary Beaver presents questions that beg asking, such as:

• Have I been carrying beliefs that have kept me from acting on my dreams/projects?
• Have I been working hard but not seeing any progress?
• Have I been beating myself up, saying “It’s my fault! I‘m just (lazy, clumsy, stupid, etc…)”?
• Am I resistant to working in community?
• Do I have a specific fear that has kept me from creating?
• What barriers/obstacles have I built that keep me from realizing my creations?

I asked for a vision for clarification, and saw a white dreamcatcher with the long nozzle of a black vacuum cleaner attachment through it at an angle. The image reminded me of something I’d seen once that someone had invented as a beaver ‘deceiver‘...

Growing up in Northwestern Ontario, I was pretty familiar with beavers (and humankind’s relationship to them). The vision I was given brought a specific memory to mind of a device that a landowner had used in what he thought was a humane way of keeping some resident beavers from flooding his property. Using a backhoe, he’d dug a trench through and under their dam and installed a long, steel culvert. The intake end was under water about ten feet into the beavers’ pond, and the outflow about ten feet behind the dam (on the downstream side).

Beavers are attracted to the sound of running water; it makes them kind of ‘squirrely‘ (no offense intended to my Squirrel-medicine friends!). It’s what motivates them to build and repair their dams. For the fact that its intake was under water and the beavers wouldn’t hear the water escaping from there, the idea of the culvert was that it’d keep draining the pond and prevent its level from rising. To that end, it worked. The beavers repaired the damage to the gap in the dam around the culvert‘s circumference, but the water was going through the culvert instead and wasn’t trickling over the dam any more. The beavers didn’t know what to do. They’d sometimes head to the downstream end of the culvert to try to cap it, but there was a grate installed on it, rendering their attempts useless.

As I said, the pond level didn’t rise. The land didn’t flood, and the landowner felt he’d done well by the beavers for the fact that he hadn’t resorted to shooting or trapping them. But the crux of the problem for the beavers was that they need the level in their pond to rise (or, at least, be ‘maintained‘) in order to survive. Once they’ve eaten what’s available to them near their pond’s edge, they have to go further onto land. Because they’re so slow on land though, being further from the water leaves them more vulnerable to predators. They’ll sometimes dig canals to extend their access, but if the water level drops, one way or the other, they’re screwed; either they can’t get to their food and they can’t eat, or they get eaten.

Because my guides gave me a vision that they knew would bring this memory to mind for me, I interpreted the dreamcatcher scenario to mean that there was something sucking at my energy, diverting the flow and keeping my dreams from ‘sticking’. Since Beaver’s main domain is water, and water is symbolic of emotion, Beaver medicine is also about paying attention to how (/whether) your emotions motivate you as you work towards the building of your dreams. As essential as I believe emotions are, Beaver’s medicine was challenging me to consider whether I was acting out behaviours based on emotional impulses that weren’t actually serving me. I realized that I wasn’t likely to get anywhere with this by examining it on a conscious level. I needed to find where this bypass was. It was pertinent that it was a dreamcatcher I’d been shown, because that’s where I received some further help...

That night, I had a dream where a teenager was acting spoiled and throwing things at me. This included a canoe, which is a frequent dream symbol of mine that reflects how I propel myself through life. There‘s also a reference here to emotions, too, since you‘d use a canoe in travelling over water. To my surprise, he was also fixing an outboard motor, a task that I couldn’t imagine I’d know how to do myself. He was threatening to throw more things at me (shoes). Instead of moving away from him though, I went towards him, all the while talking about how I imagined he must not have gotten enough love and attention when he was younger (admittedly, a little snidely). I was close enough to see that he had green eyes (~ the colour of new beginnings). His arm was still arched, ready to throw, but it was obvious from the hopeful look on his face that he was considering what I was saying, and he just held it there. The closer I got, the gentler I became. I made it clear to him that I was interested in him, that I loved him. I also told him that I was really impressed that he had the skill to fix things.

Upon waking, I analyzed the dream and came to the realization that this was where my creative energy had been getting syphoned off. I’d now connected with my inner teenager. He has skills and abilities that I’ve been missing out on. He’d been damaging/sabotaging things - throwing tantrums within my subconscious, essentially - as a way of communicating how much he’d been hurt (how much I‘d been hurt in my youth). Unfortunately (as is the case when we act out instead of speaking up), he’s actually been hurting himself doing it. I reentered the dream in a meditation, and asked him to help me repair the beaver dam. My thought was to dive down into the pond and try to plug up or crimp the end of the pipe shut. Neither of those solutions seemed to fit. We ended up pulling the culvert out from the downstream end, and filling a lot of the space in using the pile that had originally been removed with the backhoe. I wanted to fix it to completion, but left it to the beavers, as they’d be able to do a better job of it than we could. We didn’t stay around to watch them - being mostly nocturnal, they do their work under cover of night.

My thoughts about those beavers hadn’t left me since seeing that culvert being installed years ago. Regardless of how diligently the little creatures worked, I imagined they were likely starving, or really, really stressed about having to go far from the safety of their pond to satisfy their belly rumblings. Not to mention, they must have gone a little crazy; I mean, can you imagine never receiving confirmation that the work you’ve done has helped feed you? It would give you the idea that there was the hand of an omnipotent negative power at work, undermining your earthly efforts …(although I realize that’s the human/egoic response).

In nature, when beavers’ food sources are exhausted in a certain location, they’ll instinctually move to start a new pond, but in the case where you can smell that there’s food closeby, you’re working like mad and it doesn’t make sense that you’re not getting any closer to it, what do you do? Without affirmation, how long do you keep doing what you’re doing before you swim off to start again? And when you get there, aren’t you just going to worry that the same thing is going to happen all over again?

Through this investigation, I’ve realized how much of an impression the ’beaver deceiver’ incident had made on me. Coupled with my inner teenager’s need to express how hurt I’d felt as a youth (but couldn‘t communicate), I’d carried the belief that even the most industrious of efforts won’t provide nourishment. We develop behaviours based on our social interactions, but we also carry these medicines as a result of our relationship to nature.

Photo credit: Ben Christen

If the problem of being blocked in your endeavours resonates with you and you’d like some help with it, contact me - I’d be more than delighted to help you investigate your medicines. Alternatively, I suggest these two meditative ‘investigations‘... one: dive into your water (however that looks to you) to see what’s diverting the creative energy being offered to you from source. Investigate and deal with who or what it is that might have an interest in keeping your heart-centred dreams/projects from coming to fruition. And two: if you’re ‘hungry‘, visualize climbing up on shore and going after what it is that you believe will nourish you. I’ll say this to you: You are not slow on land. You don’t have anything to fear, other than what you imagine might be out there (predators? What predators?).

If it’s your first time trying a meditation like this, don’t worry if it seems difficult to visualize. You may feel that it’s ‘just imagination’, but - even if just for the sake of it as something entertaining to do - try it. It will (at the very least) trigger new medicine paths for you.

Or, since we all have free choice and there really is no such thing as a ‘wrong’ decision, do nothing. Since water will naturally continue to flow, though, not facilitating your natural inclination to create will make you crazy... I hear trickling, trickling, trickling… must build! Anyone in the community up for moving some ‘mud and sticks’ around?

Big Medicine Love to You

~ Black Feather

“circumstances”

…are a catalyst. You energetically create them, as a way of igniting/initiating/evoking your power. They emanate from your source as a way of deliberately activating and accelerating your spirit energy.

Through ceremony or ritual, they serve to heat up your intention. They add fire energy to your desire by creating passion, instilling enthusiasm, and fostering commitment.

All the while, you’re provided with divine security and protection through your transformation.

They offer you a view into your relationship with your own spirituality, religious attitudes and beliefs, provide you the opportunity to gain a broader perspective, and allow for a psychic view into the truth of what is really going on in your life. They present the opportunity to realize the deeper emotions of your soul, call you to the secretive, seductive, otherwise unknowable shadow aspects of your own, personal power that you’ve not yet realized.

They guide you to your own innate ability to *reincorporate parts of your self, to realize your multi-faceted nature, to your capacity for expanding in multiple directions. They are divine direction from your higher self. Although it might not appear that way, they are always ‘on track with your life’, in the way that they lead you towards your innermost self, towards your brilliantly intuitive soul. Allow them to guide you towards True success, power, and influence.

When you’re feeling low on energy, especially, your source is transmitting the message to surrender your attachments, as a means of gaining clarity. Allow for the rise of the instinctive, primitive feelings that they prompt. Make an ally of your resistance, to bring out your untamed animal power, your connection to your wild side… sexy, tough, strong. You’ll find strength, groundedness, and stability through this ancient wisdom. With its rise comes an ability to get a handle on life, to take control. Your innermost being is providing you capable, knowledgeable, and useful assistance. Your power is intimately connected to the right hand of God, the macrocosm within the microcosm. Reap the abundant harvest that the rise of this in your personal power provides; allow your visions to come to fruition.

Get a handle on what’s beneath the surface, the loyalties you cling to that keep you from realizing your mysterious depths. Emotional issues and unconscious desires may seem a strange and foreign area of life, but they’ll give you access to the vastness that is your passion and spirituality.

You are naturally suited to this (element). It is you. You will not leave yourself behind. You will not leave yourself without support. You will not leave yourself without a way of communicating your needs to others. Through journeying with your emotions, you will see clearly!

Enter the space of feminine creation. On the other side is freedom, unity, a whole new beginning and dimension of your being. Your inner children provide innocence, surrender, peace, and protection. They allow for the natural expression of femininity, vulnerability, softness, sensuality. They are the seat of your power. Through the perspective that you gain by re-incorporating them, you are able to own your energy and influence.

*Each healing that I’m blessed to participate in manifests differently depending on how I‘m intuitively guided. That said, much of what transpires can be described as ‘soul retrieval‘. Here’s a very basic definition… When you undergo something traumatic enough in your life (either physically or emotionally) such that your soul feels as though it might not be safe to remain in your body, it'll send off parts of itself for safe-keeping. If you're in a serious car accident, for example, and it appears that you might not survive, off a piece goes, for the sake of ‘safe-keeping’. Soul retrieval is the process you go through to get those pieces/fragments back so that you can be whole again. It can involve the discovery of identities whom you were in past lives and helping them ascend so they can rejoin their soul-group (in effect, connecting to you), or finding parts of you that became disconnected earlier in this life, as in the case of challenges experienced during childhood. While what you imagine the process to be like may leave you feeling a little unsettled - even apprehensive - at first, once you realize the gifts/benefits you gain from reincorporating one soul fragment, you’ll find yourself surprisingly, pleasantly excited to retrieve others!

If what’s presented in the article above appeals to you, contact me for a Free consultation, and I’ll do my best to advise you in what my guidance suggests would be most helpful to you on your healing journey.

Big Medicine Love to You!

~ Black Feather



(For those of you who follow my writings out of an interest in channeling and symbolism, what follows is - as ’functional’ as I can offer - a literal description of the visual messages I transcribed to arrive at the article (in italics) above:)

a chrome lighter with the lid open

(((((((())))))))
(with a flame in the centre)

looking through (the flame),
at the black (spaces) in between church windows

(figure)
starfish hairband/antenna/
candle, unlit
wraps of leather around (her) black hair
a (rock) hand holding sheaf (sp?) of grain

hand like a sea (‘clinger’/) dog

goose, merganser

the void under a white dress - seated

(thanks to the work of Kelly Sullivan-Walden for contributing to this translation)

Photo Credit

Robin Medicine: Bravery(?) has its Rewards!

Sha-moose and I have been busking on the Royal Mile the last couple of days. I wanted to share with you how incredibly rewarding it's been by relating one of the experiences I was blessed with...

I have to say that I was a little nervous about busking to begin with. Actually (who am I trying to kid?), I had some altogether serious butterflies in my belly. I did try my best to be grateful for them, though; after all, they are symbolic of a beautiful transformation to come!

I had set up with a chair, a puppet, and a sign that reads "Ask Sha-moose... for a vision of clarity". I put a couple of 'suggestion' questions (that people often ask) up, too: "Will I find True Love?", and "What's my animal Power?"

As Sha-moose was amusing me between vision quest requests (you can read that as: doing his best to keep me from 'chucking butterflies'), I noticed a group of teenage boys at the edge of my vision who seemed to have been watching me/us for a while. They came up as a group and one of them asked (I might have imagined it, but he seemed to be asking kind of smugly), "So... What's the meaning of Life?"

...

I said that I could tell him what the meaning of life might be for him (in hindsight, I'm ever so grateful that he decided to follow through). He waited for me to continue. (Sha-moose) said to him that he'd seek a vision, and added (as he often does) that it helps to hear the voice of the person that he's visioning for; he'd receive a vision regardless, but it can take longer otherwise. He asked the boy if he'd mind singing, and - without waiting for a reply - put the feather over his Moosey puppet eyes and got into it. Again, perhaps my imagination, but it seemed to me that - since he'd been (bolstered) to take it this far - the young man wouldn't want it to seem that he was backing down now.

He sang. And I can't begin to tell you how beautiful I found it. I was so overwhelmed that I lost all thought. I couldn't even remember what song it was, although I was sure I'd heard it before - a love song that included the name "Cynthia" (I think).

Immediately, I saw a vision of a Robin. After just a couple of lines into his song, Sha-moose interrupted and started extolling Robin's Medicine. Robin is the first bird to sing in the morning. Robin's red breast is the colour of the rising sun. By being the first to express his true self, he calls forth the dawn. He's a solitary singer; he doesn't need to convince anyone else.

Robin sings. That's what it does, what it is. Robin's song is Robin; it's his nature, just as much as his feathers and (even) his perch are. Just by doing, by singing his/her own unique song, he's available for others to see as an example, and be encouraged by his Be-ing to express what it is their own souls are calling for them to express. The colour of the dawn is on his chest. The colour of the dawn is the colour of the new self that is You, constantly being (re)born, calling you to Be. Creative expression is you. The new dawn, the sun and its power, the New Self, is you!

Although I wasn't looking directly at him, I could tell how moved he was (I certainly was), and I could tell, as well, how moved his friends were by what had transpired.

While the boy might have been coerced(?) into his actions out of a sense of bravado, the rewards were great. Not only was he himself inspired, but his friends were undoubtably inspired as well; and what's more important to a teenager than his/her friends? It's the early bird - getting past the idea of what a worm looks like (read as: being hampered by feelings of insignificance, playing small) - that receives the nourishment. I believe that, if any of us refuses to express the creative Truth that we are, we'll be presented with an opportunity, one way or another. Being 'inspired' to go out busking, forced me past my own reservations about looking the Fool, for instance. As I can wholeheartedly attest to, you won't be disappointed that you did; they feel like butterflies, and they do come out that way, too!

I'm always very appreciative when I get to thank someone for sharing their medicine with me, but this exchange hit a particularly high note!

Big Medicine Love to You!!

~ Black Feather


(As ever, if you feel that you'd like some help expressing your own Truth, I'd be more than delighted to share medicine with You!)

more Sha-moose

How to DreamSurf

I‘ve got a couple of treats for you. One is a great technique that I came up with to facilitate lucid dreaming (realizing you‘re dreaming while you‘re in a dream). The other is a PowerDream. I was listening (and called in) to an interview on the Awakening Zone with Robert Moss (that was amazing, by the way!) during which Robert mentioned the aboriginal/shamanic practice of ‘dream-giving’, telling a dream in such a way that the receiver is given power by owning the dream themselves. I had a dream that same night that really fits, and I’d Love to share with you.
But first, my non-fail technique - after using it, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you find yourself lucid dreaming the first time out! (I’d say I’m really proud of the fact that I came up with this my ‘self ‘, but I appreciate that every great inspiration is a result of being a good channel). What I recommend is this:

First, think about what you dream about most often (or ‘a lot’, at least). This (item/action/person?) will act as your ‘cue’; it’ll be what wakes you up to the fact that you’re dreaming while (for example) the Pope is toasting marshmallows over a campfire for you. Next, grab yourself some sticky-notes, and write “Am I Dreaming?” on them. Now, go around your waking lifespace and stick those notes on images/pictures of the ‘cue‘ item that you picked (for people who may be more ‘literal’ than visual, you might want to stick your notes on text) . For instance, my wife’s sister shows up in her dreams most often, so she’d go around sticking her notes on letters from her sister, or on (family) photos with her in them. For me, it’s water, so I might put mine of a magazine cover I have laying around, on drawings I’ve done that include water in them, or on my drinking glass. Get creative with it (not that it’s necessary for the exercise, I’d just be thrilled that you did)! Put an image of your dream cue on your desktop and post a virtual “Am I Dreaming” sticky on that!

For some of you, it might take a few days for this to result in full dream awareness, but don‘t worry if it does; you will get what you need out of the process! I will say, though, that when you do, Please, re-cycle the karma by sharing your dream/experience with me!

blackfeathermedicine@yahoo.ca

I trust you to stay open-minded about what I’m going to say next - as Kelly says herself in the interview, I Love nightmares. If I’m having one, I know I’m ripe for something really, really great to follow it. I see them as a precursor to a rebirth, to another ascension stage on my personal journey (and who doesn‘t love the gifts that come with that?). What I find lucid dreaming most helpful for is resolving nightmares. And, now that I‘ve said that, I’ve got yet another great treat for you, and I have a feeling it’s going to be the best one for You, personally…

Robert mentioned a few things in the interview about what you can do to resolve nightmares, but - unless you’re really practiced or have a shaman or dream practitioner coaching you - they can be hard to remember while you’re being chased or _ _ _ _ (I’ll leave it up to you to fill in the blank - I’m pretty sure you don’t need me to give you a nightmare suggestion)! The tip I’m going to give you will empower you to do something about what’s happening while you’re in your nightmare (to get the Pope to stop burning your mallows, for instance). If you’re having nightmares lately, make your cue something related to that. Then, once you’re aware that you’re in a dream that’s a nightmare, start saying “I Love You” to whatever (situation) it is that’s troubling you (or to whatever‘s chasing you). I’m getting confirmations all over my body that you’re going to be extremely happy with how will this works!

Now for the other treat I was talking about: sharing a PowerDream. I highly recommend that, once you finish reading this version of the dream I had (once you get to the *), you continue the dream-story by carrying on the visualization to see what happens next, or by simply paying attention to what happens afterwards in your lifedream as a result of hearing/seeing/owning this dream…


“SurfDream”

You’re in Australia, headed down to the water/beach with a young, blonde-haired man. He’s there to help you - he’s really experienced at surfing. There are lots of white barnacles on the way down the beach’s sandy slope. You’re both making your way over them in flip-flops, but while they seem sharp to you and you go slowly, gingerly, you notice that your guide is moving over them very quickly. You realize watching him that you don’t have to worry about being so careful and you go fast over them, too (and you’re fine)! Standing at the shore, you see other people with their boards having Great fun in the water. Your guide points out that this is the perfect place for you. Even as a beginner, it’s obvious to you that it has the most awesome beginner waves, and you start heading out to find your very own ‘sweet spot’.

To your surprise, rather than paddling out, you’re actually standing, riding your board, moving it forward by pumping your weight up and down on it. You have a couple of things in your arms, but it doesn’t seem to matter; before you know it, you’ve moved over the incoming waves and you‘re sitting on your board out in deeper water, with guides as good as your friend floating all around you. They’re really excited! You’ve taught them a new trick - they all got out by paddling with their arms as they laid on their bellies! One of the items you’ve been holding is a long, grey ‘foamy/floatie‘, about two centimetres in diameter and as tall as your self. It doesn’t seem to ‘do’ anything, and you wonder why you’ve even been carrying it. You might be a little nervous as you wait for your first wave, but you realize that doesn’t make sense, since you’d actually ‘surfed’ out the way that you did, which should have been far more difficult! *


Please let me know how this dream continues for you, especially as it continues in your LifeDream!

blackfeathermedicine@gmail.com


I have to say that I really debated whether to include the part about carrying the ‘stuff ‘ in my telling of that dream, but my guidance seemed to be suggesting I leave it in. We don’t incarnate into these earthly forms to be baggage-free; part of the ‘fun‘ of our experience is to overcome our challenges! I can well imagine for some of you that something interesting happened with it during your ride, but - for those of you who found it problematic - I’d be more than delighted to help you relieve yourself of whatever it is that you’re carrying, to help you drop your stuff. It got you to where you are, but you’ll be able to enjoy your (next) wave much, much more without it!