Photo by Diane Luff

MESSAGE FROM TURTLE

Two wild animals whose energies I resonate with very strongly came into my presence during the week of my birthday this year.

On Tuesday, July 1, I was walking through my yard to dump a buckets of weeds  in the woods on my property.  Suddenly my left foot stepped on what I thought was a large rock in the grass.  There shouldn’t be a rock in that location, so I was completely surprised to step on one.

Looking down, the “rock” was a beautiful reddish brown with yellow inside the squarish patterning.

“Oh, my.  It’s a turtle,” I realized.

I’ve never had a turtle in my yard before.  It was a Box Turtle, common to Connecticut and considered endangered.  It was about 5″ long, which a friend told me meant it was about 5 years old.

Turtles are associated with longevity and being grounded.  I always need to be more grounded.  Native Americans learned to walk carefully and to feel their way through their feet, something I haven’t been able to accomplish.

TURTLE medicine is about the Divine Feminine, the Earth Mother.  When I asked the turtle for a message, it said, “Look more carefully where you are walking, and walk gently on the Earth.”

Turtles can live to be very old and are a symbol of longevity.

I am grateful to have had this beautiful experience.

 

MESSAGE FROM OWL

The next day, a friend came over in the evening to help me celebrate my birthday.  We sat in my living room where there’s a large bay window.

“Oh my,” Diane exclaimed.  “An owl just soared towards the window and practically hit it.”

I was skeptical.  It was still very light outside, and owls are night animals.  I had been sitting on my sofa with my back to the window, so I hadn’t seen anything.  I stood up and turned around.  I didn’t see an owl.

Then, quite suddenly, the owl was there.  It landed on the lawn facing the house and remained there a few minutes.  Then it took off and landed on the electric wires the run in front of my house.

We went outside to admire the bird and Diane took some photos and a short video.

I was stunned by an owl appearing on my birthday and coming directly into my yard to get my attention.

In the 1980’s I had purchased a set of Medicine Cards*.  OWL turned up immediately when I did a spread to identify my totem animals.

When I connected with OWL after doing the spread, I was taken onto it’s back and we flew through the woods together.  It was night, but the owl and I could both see clearly.  It was powerful and inspiring to ride on the back of OWL.

In Native American tradition, OWL is traditionally located in the East, the place of illumination, and that’s where OWL appeared in my spread.

Owls can see and hear in the dark, and when OWL is your totem animal, it means you have the ability to psychically sense what is hidden, what others cannot see or hear, and what others may be trying to hide, even from themselves.  This is why Owls are associated with wisdom and insight.

The Medicine Cards book says,  “If you have Owl medicine, these night birds will have a tendency to collect around you, even in the daytime, because they recognize a kinship with you.”  (p. 121) This had never happened to me before, but an owl showing up on my birthday was a strong message.

As a culture, we have forgotten that age is associated with wisdom.  As a society, we do not respect the elderly and think they are a burden and wish to discard them or shut them away.  But OWL tells us that wisdom is to be valued.  And TURTLE tells us that long life is to be valued.

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*Medicine Cards, by Jamie Sams and David Carson, © 1988.