Animals Advise Us

This visionary hunter, strategist, and wisdom-keeper sees the world in detailed depth, and summons the powers of stealth, speed, and strength in service to the quest for prey. 

Lakshmi, the white owl, in Hinduism is connected to humility. The owl asks Lakshmi's devotees not to be trapped by wealth and its splendour.

The owl is a supernatural symbol across several cultures of the world. As a companion to deities, shamans, witches and goddesses, the presence of an owl invokes a sense of mystery and mysticism. They hunt at night, and sing haunting calls to each other. Being able to turn their heads almost 360 degrees makes them the most powerfully observant predators, wielding night-vision and the power of stillness and camouflage.

The Inimitable Jellyfish

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Jellyfish seem to exist in a world without gravity and where everything is happening in slow motion. Serenely guided by the movements of the water, sometimes these solitary drifters accidentally end up in clusters due to water conditions. Being among some of the world’s deadliest venomous creatures along with living a go-with-the-flow lifestyle has made their simplicity into their greatest evolutionary strength. A group of jellyfish swimming together can be referred to as a “bloom” which implies a collaboratively moving flowering garden. These magnificent ancients have been around for more than 500 million years, and exhibit a compelling contrast between their evolutionary hardiness and fragile weightless diaphanous appearance. Where are you keeping things simple and reliable for yourself? What currents are you floating along on, and have any unfortunate passerby organisms been entangled in your tentacles? Where are the currents taking you these days?

At least one species of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, may be able to cheat death. When threatened, this species is capable of undergoing cellular transdifferentiation, a process whereby the organism's cells essentially become new again.

The code of the honeybee is to conform to the wisdom of the hive, to remember the symbolic dances relating to collecting nectar and communicating with other bees. The bees have a collective consciousness around labor and duty, and this awareness forms the basis of their collaborative nature. Bees represent teamwork and ecological integration at it’s most generative. As pollinators they are travelers and explorers. As members of the hive, they adhere to behavioral norms and instinctive directions. These incredible beings inspire us to wonder about how we are manifesting aspects of the collective consciousness that works for the well being of both the hive and the ecosystem nourishing it.

These small, alert, social beings are so present and grounded in their instincts, it makes them intuitively responsive to every detail in their environment. With many varied predators in their habitat, the mouse must protect itself with vigilance and preparedness. These resourceful and efficient mammals live socially and territorially, navigating predators using social tactics or individual versatility.

Mice evolve rapidly, and are an exploratory species, so can be found in the mythologies of many different cultures. Mice and cats have a long-standing enmity in the popular imagination. Like Tom and Jerry. Mice probably became antagonistic figures for the human species when grain storage became a feature of agricultural development.

Along with cats, elephants have a recognizable narrative with the mice. Sometimes like in Dumbo, the mouse is a supernaturally powerful being ina tiny package. The mouse’s ability to unsettle much larger species with it’s presence makes it a compelling underdog, or instigator when it shows up. The mouse is a disruptor or catalyst, and a sign of action.

Wild Boars are a matriarchal species, and are known to retire to solitary lives in their habitats. In dreams boars may represent an unearthing of impulse or unconscious motivation. They originate in South East Asia, and show up in Hinduism and Buddhism as figures of transformation. Boars in Greek cultural memory were objects of sacrifice at altars and in mythology.

According to Hindu mythology, when the world began to sink under evil and ignorance, the god Vishnu was incarnated as the boar Varaha. He dived into the cosmic ocean to rescue goddess Earth, who is shown standing at the head of the boar. In this avatar, Vishnu also embodies the infinite nature of the cosmos: rows of gods, sages, and animals are carved upon his back.

King Cobra dwells in forests and swamps of South and Southeast Asia, and is the world’s largest venomous snake, sometimes 7 meters (22 ft)  in length. These snakes like to climb and rest in trees, observing the forest floor from above. In the regional mythologies of the places of their origins they are closely connected to the Hindu deity Shiva, and demigod figures in Hindu and Buddhist Mythology, the human-snake chimeras, The Nagas.

Something that sets the King Cobra apart from others that they demonstrate a warning behavior before striking. By spreading their hood and raising their neck up they exhibit a performance of power that gives threatening presences a chance to retreat. In our human lives we also come up with ways to avoid conflict by presenting our power and potency in a performance.

The way snakes shed their skin in sheaths as they grow into adulthood becomes an illustration of the constant dance of creation and destruction represented by the Hindu deity Shiva who is always shown with a pet cobra wrapped around his neck. The King Cobra is also an ambassador for hidden wisdom and emergent potential. Just think of this combination of coiled muscle, lethal venom, and razor-sharp fangs being mobilized to strike. 

The king Cobra is known for having the habit of hunting and eating other snakes. They are diurnal, and considered to be apex predators. Their potent venom is a deadly gift that sets them apart from other predatory snakes.

Cats have been looking out for humans for a very long time. Our relationship with them began as agriculture developed, because humans were keeping stores of grain that attracted rodents. The presence of cats in human mythology is so commonplace, it makes perfect sense that nowadays they rule the internet where we worship them as videos, memes, and so many digital forms. Cats are not as domestic as dogs, and aren’t known for their trainability or obeisance. They are wild, and they are protective.

The Luna Moth is a grand and mystical visitor, usually taking witnesses by surprise with their iridescent and scale. Their wingspan can exceed 7 inches, and they show up in late May or early June. 

They live well on white birch, hickory, walnut, sweet gum, and sumac trees. The brevity and massive beauty of this creature’s life cycle can represent rapid transformations and new beginnings in life. 

In Roman mythology the Luna Moth is connected to the moon’s cycle and the divine feminine. The moth in their most visible form is not hunting, but in the midst of a mating cycle. The moths goal is to partner up and reproduce during a 100 day cycle. 

When i see a Luna moth I cannot help but imagine their presence as a sign of fertility or upcoming abundance. 

Being a nocturnal aerial creature requires echolocation awareness. Bats hunt the Luna Moth, who has evolved a special echolocation disruption wing shape to evade detection. The shape of the Luna Moth’s wing keeps them from being detected by beating the air to create an audio camouflage effect.

The Octopus uses their abundant intelligence and versatile facade to survive the perils of the oceans and seas. With color-adaptive skin that communicates or camouflages based on conditions, the octopus moves through the day centered in chromatic self-expression and shapeshifting. Their tentacles give them the unique ability to grip to surfaces, or move things around as needed in their environments. They are an ancient and highly evolved creature.