My Challenges With A Double Totem

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

I’ve been blogging this month about Power Animals or Personal Totems sharing about my own, a snowy owl and snake. Yes, a snake And an owl!!!

Snake Bracelet

What was fascinating when I learned that? Not that I had a double Totem but that one of them was a snake. There was a time in my life when even a picture of a snake terrified me. I couldn’t look at National Geographic magazines because one never knew what would be on the next page. Visits to the Zoo never included the Reptile Exhibit.

It wasn’t always that bad. But as a child coming upon a garter snake in my backyard or the fields behind my house did startled me.

What brought on the terror?

When I was in fourth grade, I was chased by a group of boys who had caught a couple of snakes on the school grounds. Their idea of fun was to put the snakes down the neck of my dress. (This was in the fifties and girls did not wear pants to school not that that would have made a difference).

Since they were between the school building and me, safety did not lie in that direction.

I ran---
Down the sidewalk away from the school‑‑‑

Determined, they followed me‑‑‑

I was tiring and they were gaining‑‑‑

What to do?

I dashed inside the first doorway I came to‑‑‑the Mausoleum.

Empty. No people, no sounds, no safety.

Where to hide? I saw the sign for the stairs. Yanking open the door, I started down. When I reached the ground floor, the very bowels of the building, I turned down one of the aisles. Collapsing in a corner, I awaited my fate. There was nowhere else to go.

Surrounded by crypts, I wrapped my arms around my knees and sobbed.

I have no memory how long I was there before an older man, who I learned was the caretaker found me.

What happened next is hazy. I know he took me upstairs (by then I was hopelessly lost). Obviously I got home but I’ve no memory if he called my parents or I finally walked the ten or so blocks home.

What I do remember is that after that experience, my fear of snakes was so strong I became hysterical if I saw them in any form.

Top shelf is dragon cup with snowy owl and wizard below

The last time was when my seven year old son brought a rubber snake home and tried to show it to me. My friend, who was there at the time, heard me screaming and rushed to the bedroom. I was wedged between the bed and wall. My young son was having a great time terrifying his mom.

That life event showed me that I had to do something. I couldn't be that vulnerable. So, when an opportunity presented itself for me to learn NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) I jumped at the opportunity to attend an introductory workshop. So desperate to alleviate my fear of snakes, I even volunteered to be the subject of the evening. With my breathing fractured, my heart racing and my palms sweaty, I went through the process using the event of being chased by the boys with the snakes. To my great relief and gratitude, I left that workshop no longer terrified of snakes.

It isn’t that I want one for a pet but my heart stays calm and my breathing regular if I see one on television or in a magazine. Since I do not like thriller or many adventure movies or programs, the prospect of coming upon a snake is reduced. But I can once again leaf through National Geographic magazines.

What I find intriguing about all of this is that other members of the reptile family have not been sources of terror.

Not that I want to come up close and personal with a crocodile or alligator or a Komodo dragon but I remember being fascinate by chameleons as a child. Did you know that if you step on their tail, it comes off and they grow a new one? Geckos are another member of the reptile family that fascinates me.

What would have happened if I had not done the work to eliminate my terror of snakes years before I learn it was one of my Power Animals? My guess is that I’d never read about them and learn that they represent wisdom and healing and are a symbol of transformation (rebirth and resurrection) in many cultures.

Transformation: A snake transformed Adam and Eve’s lives in the Garden of Eden. While I have nothing that dramatic in my own life, my life has had several transformations‑‑‑times when an abrupt turn or out-of-the blue change/shift occurred. Some I’ve sought out and others just seem to happen.

I will admit I’m more involved with my Snowy Owl totem but I do not ignore my Snake totem. I have a snake bracelet (see above) and a couple of snake fetishes. However, I embrace the dragon and they are all over my house. Check back next Monday and see why.

Do you have a favorite animal? Or a least favorite? Is there a story behind that? Please share!!!

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

© 2016 Judith Ashley

Power Animals

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

Last week I talked about the snowy owl mask my circle sister, Heather, made for me. This week I’d like to talk a bit more about power animals or personal totems.

There are formal ways to ascertain what your power animal is and also informal ways. Today I’m talking about the informal process. In some ways it’s as simple as asking the question: Are you a dog person or a cat person?”

In other words what animals are you drawn to?

I see red tail hawks no one else sees. They are an anomaly in a tree’s structure. While the red tail hawk is not my primary power animal, it is one of my animal totems.

I can also spot whales spouting when other folks miss them. I have a physical or visceral reaction to seeing the sleek black back break water. My breathing fractures if I’m so lucky to see one breach.

But what brings me the most comfort is the snowy owl.

My horse drum

This owl has many of the same characteristics as all other owls but it is more diurnal than nocturnal. In the arctic tundra there aren’t a lot of trees so some actually build nests on the ground (or on ledges on cliffs). I’ve only seen snowy owls in person a couple of times. Once was in a raptor rescue center and the other was when I flew into Logan airport decades ago and all these white birds were on the grassy areas between the runways. At that time in my life, I didn’t even know what they were—only that I was smitten by them.

If you want to find someone who can help you formally figure out your power animal, here are a couple of ideas:

Check with metaphysical stores near you. They may know someone who holds classes or helps people identify their totems.

Look for shamans. Again your metaphysical store may be the best place to look.

A process called “journeying” is involved. Journeying is facilitated by drumming so check out stores that sell drums (not the drum sets musicians).

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

© 2016 Judith Ashley

Inspirational Images

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

I’m what’s known as an organic writer. I have a general idea of the story and some scenes are clear to me. What I know is if I start writing, the story will appear on the page. I have written six full length novels, over 600K words total and five short stories, over 50K words total for a grand total of over 650K words that way.

However, when it comes to writing blog posts, my process is somewhat different. I don’t turn into a plotter with outlines, charts, and character studies but I do have more than a general idea of what I want to talk about.

For example: I did a series on Relationships and another on Making Your World A Better Place. Most recently I wrote four posts on Peace. You can read these posts by scrolling down or using the Archive feature on the right. 

This month I’ve started talking about aspects of being a writer. At Romancing The Genres, I’ve a post on my book covers.

I’ve a post here also about the covers.

Today I’m showing you inspirational photographs. These pictures help me stay connected to the spiritual thread that runs through all my writing.

Originally I thought the apples would be on the cover of Sophia but after seeing a draft I knew they didn’t work. You’ll see the final Sophia cover in a couple of weeks!

The spruce cone is from a tree in the yard of my long-time friend, Judith, who lives in Ohio. When I visited her in 2015, I had finished Hunter. Since sacred geometry plays a role in Gabriella it was important to me to have a visual that spoke to me. As soon as I saw the cone, I knew I had to bring it home with me.

Although the bird on Sophia’s cover is a blue bird, Gabriella’s power animal or totem animal is the blue jay. The characteristics of these birds are not similar at all. If you are interested in the energetic differences there are books you can read or you can observe them on your own and see what messages come to you. Also, I’ll share my perspective another day.

I’ll share a funny story about blue jays on Wednesday that will give you a clue as to their personality.

 

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

© 2016 Judith Ashley