Post by Spirit of the Lynx on Jul 4, 2007 19:01:16 GMT -5
From: taraluna (Original Message) Sent: 10/28/2003 9:03 AM
MOOSE
Primal Feminine Energies & the Magic of Life & Death
Cycle of Power: Late Fall & Early Winter (November), The Time of Approaching Shadows
The moose is one of the most ancient & most unique of the power totems. To the Algonquin Indians, it was known as "mong-soa" or "twig eater". To the Athapaskan Indians of Alaska it is Dineega. To the latter there was a tremendous realtionship between Raven & Moose. The Athapaskan hunters would protect & talk constantly on their hunts to Raven who they knew helped shape the world. They would pray to Raven to assist in the hunt for Moose. Thus, when a moose appeared, it was a special, sacred gift. For anyone who aligns with Moose-no matter how it may occur- a unique & sacred energy is opened.
The moose is an animal of contradictions. It is strange & yet majestic. It seems awkward, but there is a tremendous gracefulness to it. While it makes us smile, it also causes us to catch our breath. Those with Moose as a totem will find these same contradictory feelings stirred in others about them.
Except during mating season, it is a predominatly solitary animal with a unique ability to make use of its territory-wether it be lake, pond, grassy, plains, or spruce forests. Those with this as a power animal have this same ability.
The moose has an uncanny ability to camouflage itself, in spite of its great size & power. It uses this ability to its advantage. Those who would align with the moose can also develope this ability. Part of this involves the ancient magic of invisibility, but it also involves as aspect of shapshifting.
This unique "shapeshifting camouflage" is relfected in the life of the historical Merlin. When he was summoned by kings or needed desperatly to recruit other allies, he came silently, disguised as a poor shepard, as a woodcutter or a peasant. Even sovereigns failed to recognize him in his various disguises. He praticed this concealment habitually.
Despite the size of the moose, it does have a unique ability to move silently & speedily. Its appearance of ungainliness is misleading & deceptive. It is this deception which enables it to survive so well. One reason for their ability to do this is that they have excellent depth perception. They can accurately judge the negotiability of an area. The moose has a speed & grace at negotiating territory that others could not. It can move through great depths of snow & through marshes that would trip up many others. This same ability can be strengthened, awakened, & even taught to those who align with the medicine power of the moose.
The moose is often associated with the feminine energies, the maternal forces of the world, & those who align with the moose will find these forces awakened. Part of this revolves around the association with water. Water is the primal symbol of the feminine universe. It is the symbol of creativity & dynamic forms of intuition & illumination.
The Penobscot Indians of Maine relate tales of how the moose once was the whale, greatest mammal of the waters. The MicMacs of Novia Scotia tell how when the moose is too persistently hunted, it returns to the sea.
The association with the water & the sea is important to understand for anyone who aligns with the moose power. The sea is the point from which all life comes & to which all life returns. It is the great womb of the universe. The moose is often seen in marshy areas & standing in lakes.
They also have a unqiue ability to plunge to the bottom of lakes, & can remain there feeding for up to a minute before surfacing in a burst with fresh greens dangling from their mouths. For those who want to work with the full mystery of moose power, this should be carefully studied & meditated upon. It reflects the ability of the individual to learn to go back into the depths & draw new life & nourishment from it. The moose can teach the ability to move from the outer world to the inner. It can teach how to cross from life to death & back to stronger life. It teaches how to use the thin thread that separates life & death to one's advantage. It is not unusual to find individuals with strong moose medicine working in soul retrieval.
This aspect of working with life & death & the energies & life forms on both levels is reflected through a sacred tradition of the Athapaskan Indians. To these people "potlatch" is a memorial ceremony to help dispatch the spirit of the dead. The belief is that when people die, they do not leave right away. They stay nearby, so food is burned for them to eat. At first it is once a day, then every other day, then once a week and so on for a year-at which time a memorial potlatch is served. This potlatch involves a sharing of special food, particularly moose head soup, sacred because it is not always available. This service sends the spirit on.
This reflects much about the inherent meduimship & ability to work with spirits of the dead by those who align with moose medicine & energy. Moose people can learn to go into the icey waters of the void (death) & come back out.
Another reason for its association with the primal mother/feminine energies of the universe is because the female moose is extremely protective of its young. Very few creatures will ever challenge a female moose with its calf. There is great maternal energy that has a primal strength to it.
Moose also have a highly developed sense of smell & a highly developed sense of hearing. The sense of smell has its spiritual or metaphysical counterparts in emotional idealism & spiritual discernment. The hearing lends to the human the abilities of clauraudience & spiritual comprehension. When Moose aligns with an individual (which is usually how it happens, rather than an individual aligning with a moose), the individual should pay more attention to that inner voice & that sense of smell. Do things not smell or sound right-even if you can't define why? Trust those feelings, for they will define themselves shortly.
Moose calves are also born with their eyes open, which is very significant. Most of those who are open & resonate with Moose medicine came into this world with their inner eyes already open. It is not unusual to find such individuals getting discouraged when they work to "click on those inner lights", as so many others describe their own awakening pyschic & intuitive capabilities. These individuals must understand that they came in with their inner lights already on, so there will be no clicking. Learning to trust what they so often think is simply the imagination, etc is part of the task of maturing into full Moose power.
If a moose calf lives through its first month, it will likely survive to become an adult. This refelcts much about the lives of those who moose aligns with. It is not uncommon to find those with moose medicine having has their most difficult (and sometimes traumatic) lessons in life during their childhood. The survival through this reflects that innate ability to draw from the creative force of the feminine waters of life to strengthen & sustain them. The two most powerful parts of the moose are the paws, which will cut like a knife, & the antlers which are both decorative & defensive. The head & the feet-these two areas are parts of the body most sensative in those of moose medicine. Foot reflexology & head, neck, upper back massages are important to release stress. I would imagine, although research has been done on this, that a cranial sacral work would facilitate healing & realease most beneficially for those of moose medicine.
Along health lines, the moose is herbivorous, and this says much about the dietary needs of those who would truly align with its power. This does not mean one should become a vegatarian, but rather that it should be a strong part of the diet. It also reflects that the body will respond most strongly to herbal alternatives rather than traditional chemical medicines.
You cannot discuss the power of the moose without discussing its antlers. Their antlers are the largest of all antlered animals. Antlers are ancient symbols for antennea-of crownings that activate the upper chakras of the head.
Only the male of the species grows antlers, unless there is a hormone imbalance in the female. Maybe this reflects the idea that the male must attune even more strongly (through the antennae) to the intuitive promptings. The rubbing of the antlers to remove the velvet covering has a lot of significance as well. It reflects the need to massge the head area to release the past for the antlers are shed each year.
Autmn is the power time of the moose, & late October, November especially, is the month for honoring the moose. The hunting season is over. The mating is being completed, & a new cycle is about to begin. For those of moose medicine the autumn is a powerful time. The smell of dry leaves, the sound of their crunch as they are walked upon, touches a primal core, stirring life forces anew within the individual. In many ways it is aligned with Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day, Harvesting Rituals & all traditional energies associated with this season.
The Moose has always been a powerful omen. When it appears in dreams, it reflects a long, good life. It was known to give strength, & more than one Indian tribe believed that you could travel three times as fast & three times as long after a meal of moose. (The mystical significance of three should not be bypassed here). It is the creation, the new child born from the womb of the mother. The hoof was known as a cure for epilepsy. Moose was known to banish headaches & dizziness, & Moose medicine was also considered the antidote for snakebite.
The moose has no enemy that it fears other than the grizzly bear, but even then it can outrun & outswim it. Its maneuverability & intuition, along with its highly developed senses sustain it.
Almost all northern tribes have legends & tales of the moose-reflecting its universality & its great mysticism. The Menomini of Wisconsin even had a moose phatry or clan at one time. The Dog-Rib Indians south of the Artic Circle (near Great Bear Lake & Great Slave Lake) speak of Hottah, a two year old moose who was the cleverest of all northern animals, & who helped create the Rocky Mountains.
When moose comes into your life, the primal contact with the great feminine force & void of life is being awakened. It is an invitation to learn to explore new depths of awareness & sensitivity within yourself & within your environs.
Derived fron "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews
MOOSE
Primal Feminine Energies & the Magic of Life & Death
Cycle of Power: Late Fall & Early Winter (November), The Time of Approaching Shadows
The moose is one of the most ancient & most unique of the power totems. To the Algonquin Indians, it was known as "mong-soa" or "twig eater". To the Athapaskan Indians of Alaska it is Dineega. To the latter there was a tremendous realtionship between Raven & Moose. The Athapaskan hunters would protect & talk constantly on their hunts to Raven who they knew helped shape the world. They would pray to Raven to assist in the hunt for Moose. Thus, when a moose appeared, it was a special, sacred gift. For anyone who aligns with Moose-no matter how it may occur- a unique & sacred energy is opened.
The moose is an animal of contradictions. It is strange & yet majestic. It seems awkward, but there is a tremendous gracefulness to it. While it makes us smile, it also causes us to catch our breath. Those with Moose as a totem will find these same contradictory feelings stirred in others about them.
Except during mating season, it is a predominatly solitary animal with a unique ability to make use of its territory-wether it be lake, pond, grassy, plains, or spruce forests. Those with this as a power animal have this same ability.
The moose has an uncanny ability to camouflage itself, in spite of its great size & power. It uses this ability to its advantage. Those who would align with the moose can also develope this ability. Part of this involves the ancient magic of invisibility, but it also involves as aspect of shapshifting.
This unique "shapeshifting camouflage" is relfected in the life of the historical Merlin. When he was summoned by kings or needed desperatly to recruit other allies, he came silently, disguised as a poor shepard, as a woodcutter or a peasant. Even sovereigns failed to recognize him in his various disguises. He praticed this concealment habitually.
Despite the size of the moose, it does have a unique ability to move silently & speedily. Its appearance of ungainliness is misleading & deceptive. It is this deception which enables it to survive so well. One reason for their ability to do this is that they have excellent depth perception. They can accurately judge the negotiability of an area. The moose has a speed & grace at negotiating territory that others could not. It can move through great depths of snow & through marshes that would trip up many others. This same ability can be strengthened, awakened, & even taught to those who align with the medicine power of the moose.
The moose is often associated with the feminine energies, the maternal forces of the world, & those who align with the moose will find these forces awakened. Part of this revolves around the association with water. Water is the primal symbol of the feminine universe. It is the symbol of creativity & dynamic forms of intuition & illumination.
The Penobscot Indians of Maine relate tales of how the moose once was the whale, greatest mammal of the waters. The MicMacs of Novia Scotia tell how when the moose is too persistently hunted, it returns to the sea.
The association with the water & the sea is important to understand for anyone who aligns with the moose power. The sea is the point from which all life comes & to which all life returns. It is the great womb of the universe. The moose is often seen in marshy areas & standing in lakes.
They also have a unqiue ability to plunge to the bottom of lakes, & can remain there feeding for up to a minute before surfacing in a burst with fresh greens dangling from their mouths. For those who want to work with the full mystery of moose power, this should be carefully studied & meditated upon. It reflects the ability of the individual to learn to go back into the depths & draw new life & nourishment from it. The moose can teach the ability to move from the outer world to the inner. It can teach how to cross from life to death & back to stronger life. It teaches how to use the thin thread that separates life & death to one's advantage. It is not unusual to find individuals with strong moose medicine working in soul retrieval.
This aspect of working with life & death & the energies & life forms on both levels is reflected through a sacred tradition of the Athapaskan Indians. To these people "potlatch" is a memorial ceremony to help dispatch the spirit of the dead. The belief is that when people die, they do not leave right away. They stay nearby, so food is burned for them to eat. At first it is once a day, then every other day, then once a week and so on for a year-at which time a memorial potlatch is served. This potlatch involves a sharing of special food, particularly moose head soup, sacred because it is not always available. This service sends the spirit on.
This reflects much about the inherent meduimship & ability to work with spirits of the dead by those who align with moose medicine & energy. Moose people can learn to go into the icey waters of the void (death) & come back out.
Another reason for its association with the primal mother/feminine energies of the universe is because the female moose is extremely protective of its young. Very few creatures will ever challenge a female moose with its calf. There is great maternal energy that has a primal strength to it.
Moose also have a highly developed sense of smell & a highly developed sense of hearing. The sense of smell has its spiritual or metaphysical counterparts in emotional idealism & spiritual discernment. The hearing lends to the human the abilities of clauraudience & spiritual comprehension. When Moose aligns with an individual (which is usually how it happens, rather than an individual aligning with a moose), the individual should pay more attention to that inner voice & that sense of smell. Do things not smell or sound right-even if you can't define why? Trust those feelings, for they will define themselves shortly.
Moose calves are also born with their eyes open, which is very significant. Most of those who are open & resonate with Moose medicine came into this world with their inner eyes already open. It is not unusual to find such individuals getting discouraged when they work to "click on those inner lights", as so many others describe their own awakening pyschic & intuitive capabilities. These individuals must understand that they came in with their inner lights already on, so there will be no clicking. Learning to trust what they so often think is simply the imagination, etc is part of the task of maturing into full Moose power.
If a moose calf lives through its first month, it will likely survive to become an adult. This refelcts much about the lives of those who moose aligns with. It is not uncommon to find those with moose medicine having has their most difficult (and sometimes traumatic) lessons in life during their childhood. The survival through this reflects that innate ability to draw from the creative force of the feminine waters of life to strengthen & sustain them. The two most powerful parts of the moose are the paws, which will cut like a knife, & the antlers which are both decorative & defensive. The head & the feet-these two areas are parts of the body most sensative in those of moose medicine. Foot reflexology & head, neck, upper back massages are important to release stress. I would imagine, although research has been done on this, that a cranial sacral work would facilitate healing & realease most beneficially for those of moose medicine.
Along health lines, the moose is herbivorous, and this says much about the dietary needs of those who would truly align with its power. This does not mean one should become a vegatarian, but rather that it should be a strong part of the diet. It also reflects that the body will respond most strongly to herbal alternatives rather than traditional chemical medicines.
You cannot discuss the power of the moose without discussing its antlers. Their antlers are the largest of all antlered animals. Antlers are ancient symbols for antennea-of crownings that activate the upper chakras of the head.
Only the male of the species grows antlers, unless there is a hormone imbalance in the female. Maybe this reflects the idea that the male must attune even more strongly (through the antennae) to the intuitive promptings. The rubbing of the antlers to remove the velvet covering has a lot of significance as well. It reflects the need to massge the head area to release the past for the antlers are shed each year.
Autmn is the power time of the moose, & late October, November especially, is the month for honoring the moose. The hunting season is over. The mating is being completed, & a new cycle is about to begin. For those of moose medicine the autumn is a powerful time. The smell of dry leaves, the sound of their crunch as they are walked upon, touches a primal core, stirring life forces anew within the individual. In many ways it is aligned with Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, All Saints Day, Harvesting Rituals & all traditional energies associated with this season.
The Moose has always been a powerful omen. When it appears in dreams, it reflects a long, good life. It was known to give strength, & more than one Indian tribe believed that you could travel three times as fast & three times as long after a meal of moose. (The mystical significance of three should not be bypassed here). It is the creation, the new child born from the womb of the mother. The hoof was known as a cure for epilepsy. Moose was known to banish headaches & dizziness, & Moose medicine was also considered the antidote for snakebite.
The moose has no enemy that it fears other than the grizzly bear, but even then it can outrun & outswim it. Its maneuverability & intuition, along with its highly developed senses sustain it.
Almost all northern tribes have legends & tales of the moose-reflecting its universality & its great mysticism. The Menomini of Wisconsin even had a moose phatry or clan at one time. The Dog-Rib Indians south of the Artic Circle (near Great Bear Lake & Great Slave Lake) speak of Hottah, a two year old moose who was the cleverest of all northern animals, & who helped create the Rocky Mountains.
When moose comes into your life, the primal contact with the great feminine force & void of life is being awakened. It is an invitation to learn to explore new depths of awareness & sensitivity within yourself & within your environs.
Derived fron "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews