Animal Teachings.........~

[Pharm Girl]

The Beaver and the Canoe


A long, long time ago after the first winter, the people had hunted all
over their hunting ground. They had crossed the rivers and lakes to
follow the animals that were seeking a comfortable place to pass the
winter. Pretty soon the warm sun came back, melting all the snow on the
ground and melting the ice on the lakes and the rivers.

The people were way out in the bush where they had been hiding
from the cold winter wind. Now that the air was warm they wanted to go
back home at their summer camp. They walked around the lakes and
knocked down some trees to make a bridge over a small river, but when
they came to the big river it was too deep and too cold to swim across.
They set up camp to look for a way to cross the big river. Tchikabesh and
his father went up the river to look for a place to cross.

They went over to Grandpa’s camp and asked him, "How are we
getting home?"
Grandpa looked at them and said, "If we are to get home, we must
have faith in Mother Earth. She will have the answer."
Tchikabesh and his sister went for a walk along the big river and they
stopped to rest at bank of the river. They were both looking at the river.
Tchikabesh wondered what Grandpa had meant and decided to ask his sister.
"Sister, what did Grandpa mean when he said to have faith and that
Mother Earth has the answer?"

She sat in silence, trying to remember the teachings of Mother
Earth. As she was looking across the river, she saw a beaver coming
towards them.
"Look Tchikabesh, look what’s coming towards us. Be very quiet,
maybe it will come out of the water."'

The beaver got out of the water and just sat there staring at them for a
moment then went back into the river and disappeared. Tchikabesh and
his sister went home all exited at what they had seen. They ran inside the
camp to tell everyone of their meeting with the beaver.
Grandpa looked at Grandma and she prepared a ceremonial supper
for the spirit of the beaver and her grandchildren. Grandpa went to
gather some wood for the fire.
All was quiet that night, the stars were sparkling and the moon was
shining.

Tchikabesh dreamed of going towards his sister by the river and she
was dreaming of her brother coming towards her. Tchikabesh and his sister
had entered the same dream where the beaver spirit was waiting for
them.
The beaver spoke to them, “Come on, we will go travel and see where
I live."


The children got on the beaver’s back. They went up the river and
they were amazed at the sight away from the shore. The little ripples on
the water sparkled from the sun above. The beaver took them to the
island in the middle of the big river. Once there the children jumped off
the beaver’s back onto the island.

"Look we’re dry!" exclaimed Tchikabesh's sister.
"There was a lot of room on the beaver," Tchikabesh said.
They both looked at the beaver and it laid there motionless. Tchikabesh
walked over and touched the beaver and the beaver’s back disappeared.
His sister looked inside the beaver’s body to see the ribs, the muscle and
the skin holding the beaver together in one piece.

"Sister, is this how the beaver floats on top of the water?" asked
Tchikabesh with a questioning look on his face.
“It looks solid and dry too," she replied.
"Do you think it could be made‘?” Tchikabesh asked.

Then the beaver’s body disappeared and the beaver’s back appeared.
The backbone was still connected to the tail. It looked like a flat
piece of wood with a long handle.
"What is this?" his sister asked.
Tchikabesh picked it up and said, "It fits nicely in your hand and its very
light."

That was when they woke up. The whole family was glad when they
woke up and waited eagerly for what they had to say. Tchikabesh and
his sister took turns telling about where they had been and what they had
seen. Then the family got together by the fire to discuss how they could
use what the children had learned from the beaver.
Grandpa spoke in understanding of the message the beaver spirit had
brought to the people through the children.

"Children, the beaver spirit has shown us the way to cross the big
river. We must gather our materials from Mother Nature and we will
make something to carry us across, just as you crossed on the beaver’s
back.

In this way, the people created the first canoe.

[Pharm Girl]

The First Snake

A long, long time ago, the Creator was resting in the
paradise he had created. He heard someone crying behind the rock he
was sitting on. He sat up to look over the rock and saw a mouse crying.

Wondering what might be wrong he asked the mouse, "What is wrong
my friend? With big tears in her eyes, she said, "I am so small and
afraid of everyone because they are so big.” "My little friend," the
Creator said, "In time you will understand your size." The mouse
stopped crying but wondered what the creator meant.

Soon she went on her way. Then the Creator went for a walk to see if he had forgotten something. He heard the pine say, "I cannot move. How will I see the world?" Walking on, the Creator was wondering if all of his creations
understood him. He walked all day long listening to all his creations and
soon he realized that all of his creations were discontent about some
aspect of their lives.

The beaver was unhappy because his legs were too short, the moose thought he was too big and he wanted to fly, the birds
couldn’t see the bottom of the lake, the fish wanted to walk around on
land and so on. Then night fell for the first time. The Creator began to
ponder upon a way to teach his creations to accept themselves for what
they were and be happy.

As the night passed the Creator continued thinking and began to come up with a plan. In the morning He gathered everyone together to teach them a lesson. Before their eyes He created a creature which had no arms or legs. The creations pitied this poor creature. They wondered how it would get around, feed itself and they didn’t expect it to survive. Then the Creator introduced his new addition to the world.

The Creator said, ‘This new creature I have created will
teach you to understand that the world is made up of many different
kinds of animals and plants. His name will be Kinebik. (Snake)
He will teach you all many things, if you watch him." The snake tried
to smell the other creatures but he could not. He stuck his tongue out into
the air and was able to identify each and every one of them by the scent
lingering in the air.

The snake began to move, twirling and coiling its body, trying to move forward. He began to wiggle from side to side, finally moving forward. He wiggled and wiggled and then began to slither along the ground. The animals "oohed" and "aahed", amazed at how quickly Kinebik slithered across the ground. Their eyes followed Kinebik as he quickly learned how to get around without arms or legs.

Kinebik looked at all the other creatures standing over him. He began to
try to stand erect as they were. He wiggled and coiled his strong, slim
body until he could look them in the eye. Kinebik began to listen to the
other creatures. Through the vibrations in the ground he heard their
amazement as they watched him rise. He then slithered into the lake and
began to swim among the water creatures.

The other creatures began to look at each other and were suddenly amazed to see each other’s features more clearly and with new respect. Then they looked at themselves and were ashamed of the way they had been complaining about themselves.

They suddenly realized that they all had special features which had been
given to them by the Creator for a special reason. They felt humbled by
the snake who could do so much with so little. They then began to feel
proud of who they were and grateful to the Creator for giving them their
special features.

[Pharm Girl]

The Mosquito

A long time ago before the people of the land came to understand the
mosquito, the people were afraid of the little blood sucker. It would
suck your blood and fly away. Then they would get a big red bump
where ever it would bite you and the bump would get itchy to create a
sore.
One day, a young boy watched the mosquito taking some blood from it’s
arm. Once the mosquito finish eating it flew away. The boy followed it
into the woods. He heard voices behind some bushes where the mosquito
had gone. One of the voices was of woman, a caring woman, who was
concerned of her children. He heard her tell the mosquito, "Have you
brought enough blood to do the test so we could send him some medicine?"
The boy went home and told his grandfather of what he had heard in
the woods. Grandpa smiled and he lifted a rabbit from behind the lunch
box. "Your uncle send you this rabbit and some labrador tea for your
supper tonight. The voices you heard in the woods were from the mosquito
and Mother Earth who were looking at your blood to send you the
medicine you need to feel better of the sickness you’ve had for a
while."

[Pharm Girl]

Story of the Clam

based on an Algonquin legend "Tchikabesh"

Long ago when the giants were hunting people and eating them, the
people made their houses deep in the woods so the giants wouldn’t
find them.

One day Tchikabesh wanted to go see these giants his
sister had been talking about. "Sister,” Tchikabesh said, " I want to visit the land of the giants to see how they live."

She was scared for her brother but she knew that he was
different from the other people. Her brother was a special boy who was
gifted to understand the creatures and the creatures had helped him on
the many journeys he had taken before. "Be very careful, Tchikabesh, the giants could smell you and chase you until they catch you," she said.
He left early the next day, walking along the lake.

He decided to go for a swim. He jumped into the cold water and jumped right out. A clam was stuck on his big toe.
"LET GO!" Tchikabesh yelled out, tugging at it.
The clam let go of the boy. "You stuck your toe in my mouth as I was yawning and I just snapped," said the clam.

Chuckling at the boy, the clam knew it was an accident. Tchikabesh excused
himself and told him he was going to the land of the giants. The clam
asked the boy if he could tag along. The boy put him in his bag and he
started to walk to the land of the giants.

After days of walking they began to see great big moccasin tracks.
Tchikabesh stepped into one track and he started to count for every step he took. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven," he counted.

The clam saw the tracks and said, " If the tracks are that size, the giant
should be as tall as the biggest tree we have back home." They followed
the tracks, hiding behind the trees for protection. Tchikabesh came out of the
woods and saw a great big lake. Across this great big lake they could see
the house of the giants. It was so big. He could hear the giants talking.
They were talking about hunting the people on their next hunting trip.
"I could almost smell him," the giant woman told her husband.
"Me too,” he said and stepped out of his house.
"It is one of the people. Where is my hunting club‘?" said the giant.
Tchikabesh heard what the giant was saying so he started to run. For seven days and seven nights he ran and he could hear the giant’s foot steps. Thump, thump, thump. They were getting closer and closer and Tchikabesh could almost see him when he ran into his house. The clam told him to put him on the roof.

That’s when the giant found their house. The giant hit the roof
with his giant hunting club, but his club broke. He grabbed his big ice
chisel and hit the roof and the chisel broke. He tried hitting with his
arrow and the arrow broke. He hit with his hand and broke his fingers.
The giant went home because he knew the house was protected by a
strong spirit.

One that could not be broken.

[Pharm Girl]

Cedar Meets the Wind Spirits

Long ago Cedar was living in the summer place where he lived happily in the golden sunshine. He decided he would like to have a change, some excitement in his life. He asked his mother, Summer, if he could go on a journey to see the world.

The next morning he left on his journey. He headed towards the west where he met Western Wind, a very tall, powerful spirit. Western Wind blew on him. At first he blew gently. Cedar swayed gently in the wind. Little by little he blew stronger and Cedar began to sway faster. He blew harder and harder until Cedar was almost touching the ground. In this way Western Wind taught Cedar to be tall and strong.

Having spent several days with Western Wind he moved on to the north. There he met North Wind, a wise but severe spirit. North Wind began to blow on Cedar too. Again Cedar began to slowly shiver and as North Wind got colder Cedar shivered more and more. In this way North Wind taught Cedar to be humble and respectful.

After several days he moved on to the east. There he met Eastern Wind, a gentle, caring spirit. Easten Wind began to blow on Cedar. Soothing and warming Cedar he began to reach up into the sky. The wind blew harder and harder and Cedar reached higher and higher. In this way Eastern Wind taught him to be caring and compassionate.

Having spent several days with Eastern wind he moved on.
Next he met Southern Wind, an understanding and nurturing spirit. He began to Blow on Cedar also until Cedar began to feel at peace with himself and to respect Himself for who he was.

[Pharm Girl]

Long ago the Creator was saddened of what the people were doing on earth.

The paradise he had created was being messed up.
He thought of a a way to get the people to clean up after themself. He created a little a little creature that would teach his people to be more responsible.

The creature descended to earth and he followed the Creator’s
instruction. He flew to the peoples' camp and saw the big mess and
wondered how the Creator had given him such a big task. He landed on a
very beautiful piece of meat. He ate until he was very full and started to
leave little white specks behind him. The little white specks began to move
and went inside the meat. When the people came to cook the meat they
were disgusted at what they seen.

The people went after this bad creature that was spoiling their nice piece of meat. And everytime this creature landed on a piece of meat it would multiply by the hundreds.

The people didn’t know how to handle this creature that was over running their camp. The people were getting sick. Accept at Tchikabesh's house.
Everybody went to see to see how he kept these creatures away.
His house was clean and everything was put away. The people began to
clean up and put all their stuff away.

Soon after the creature disappeared, but it came back whenever the place became dirty.

The creator was happy.

[Pharm Girl]

"Those who return to the ways given to us in the original teachings, and live a natural way of life will not be touched by the coming of the Purifier. They will survive and build the new world. Only in the ancient teachings will the ability to understand the messages be found.



"It is important to understand that these messages will be found upon every living thing, even within our bodies, even within a drop of our blood. All life forms will receive the messages from the twins.. those that fly, the plants, even the rabbit. The appearance of the twins begins a period of seven years will be our final opportunity to change our ways. Everything we experience is all a mater of choice.



"Many will appear to have lost their souls in these final days. So intense will the nature of the changes be that those who are weak in spiritual awareness will go insane, for we are nothing without spirit. They will disappear, for they are just hollow vessels for any thing to use. Life will be so bad in the cities that many will choose to leave this plane. Some in whole groups.



"Only those who return to the values of the old ways will be able to find peace of mind. For in the Earth we shall find relief from the madness that will be all around us. It will be a very hard time for women with children for they will be shunned, and many of the children in these times will be unnatural. Some being from the Stars some from past worlds, some will even be created by man in an unnatural manner and will be souless. Many of people in this time will be empty in Spirit they will have Sampacu. No life force in their eyes.

[Pharm Girl]

The wild Turkey.............. ...~

Turkeys have been a symbol of thanksgiving and abundance long before the Piligrim's "first meal" in 1621 with the Native Americans.

Native American Indians view the turkey as both a symbol of abundance and fertility. Indeed, the turkey was the guest of honor (sacrificial, that is) in various fertility and gratitude ceremonies.

The Creek tribes still practice the turkey dance during its annual fire festivals. The feathers of turkeys are also used in ritual.

The turkey was thought to be sacred to ancient Mexican cultures. The Aztecs, Mayans and Toltecs viewed the turkey as a "jeweled bird" and also referred to it as the "Great Xolotl." Male turkeys were honored for it's beauty and essence of cocky pride.

Turkeys are at their peak of power in the autumn months. As fall season animals, turkeys are also symbolic of:

harvest
new beginnings
cycles
preparation

Animal symbolism of the turkey also deals with male virility and pride. This isn't surprising when we observe male turkeys in the wild. They are quite noble looking as the strut & fan their impressive plumage for all to see.

[Pharm Girl]

Dragonflies

As a creature of the wind, the dragonlfy totem represents change. It's iridescent wings are incredibly sensitive to the slightest breeze, and so we are reminded to heed where the proverbial wind blows - lest we run into stormy weather.

Dragonflies are also creatures of the water, and any creature whose habitat is in, or around water carries symbolism relative the the subconscious, or "dreaming" mind and thoughts.

This is because in the animal world, water is symbolic of the subconscious mind ("deeper mind," "dreaming mind") and relates to the thoughts we have in relaxed/meditative/sleeping/subconscious states.

Dragonflies carry messages that deal with deeper thought - and they ask that we pay attention to our deeper thoughts and desires.

[Pharm Girl]

The Fox..........~

In Native American lore, fox animal symbolism deals with two interpretations. One perspective (Northern tribes) observes the fox as a wise and noble messenger. The other (Plains tribes) views the fox as a trickster playing pranks, or worse - luring one to demise.

Other generalized fox symbolic meanings deal with

focus
determination
right-action

It is noteworthy to observe the fox while it is on the hunt. We see its entire body is pointed like an arrow - straight and tightly aimed. This is a symbolic message for us to set a determined, and powerfully focused mindset in order to "hit the target" of our desires.

The red in the fox is representative of a solar emblem. As a solar emblem the fox animal symbolism deals with:

passion
desire
intensity
expression

The fox encourages us to think outside of the box and use our intelligence in different, creative ways. The fox also brings us a message to try to approach our circumstances differently that we normally would. Be aware of some of our habits, and try a different angle of action.

The fox also a reminder that we must utilize all of our resources (seen and unseen) in order to accomplish our goals. Sometimes this means calling upon some unorthodox methods.

Furthermore, the fox is a sign to be mindful of our surroundings.

[Pharm Girl]

The Blue Jay..

The Jay is fearless when it comes to protecting its partner, young and territory. So too are those with this animal as their totem. They will defend their positions against adversaries who seem much more powerful than themselves – often with successful results.

Blue Jay animal symbolism resonates truth, faithfulness, and solidarity because they are vigilant in their tasks. They also keep the same mate for life, which is symbolic of endurance, patience and loyalty.

The Jay is an excellent symbol for those wishing to honor their long-lasting bond between friends, family and lovers.

[Pharm Girl]

Just as the Spider weaves a web, so too must we weave our own lives. The Spider symbol meaning here serves as a reminder that our choices construct our lives. When the Spider appears to us, it is a message to be mindful of the choices we are making - and ask ourselves:

How are my choices affecting my life?
How can my choices improve my life?
How are my choices affecting others in my life?

Not only do Spiders and their webs draw attention to our life choices, they also give us an overview of how we can manipulate our thinking in order to construct the life we wish to live.


“The means to gain happiness is to throw out from oneself like a spider in all directions an adhesive web of love, and to catch in it all that comes”

--Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy