Believe Nothing.
Entertain Possibilities.

What is called for here is an intuitive ability to discern the message carried within the cry of Hawk. The shrillness of Hawk’s call pierces the state of unawareness, and asks you to seek the truth.

  
The Ancients recognized this magnificent bird of prey as a messenger bringing tidings to their Earth Walk, the Good Red Road, from the world of the grandfathers and grandmothers who lived before them. If Hawk were to magically cry, it was a sign to beware or be aware. This could mark the coming of a warring tribe, the birth of a child, or the celebration of counting coup. Hawk’s cry signaled the need for the beholder to heighten awareness and receive a message.

  
Hawk medicine is a totem that is filled with responsibility, because Hawk people see the overall view. Hawk is not like Mouse, who sees everything through a magnifying glass. Hawk medicine people are aware of omens, messages from the spirit, and the color of the calling card you gave them three months ago. No detail slips by them unnoticed.

 
If Hawk has circled and landed in your card spread, you are to be aware of signals in your life - so notice and receive them. Hawk may be teaching you to grab an opportunity which is coming your way. On the other hand, Hawk may be bringing you the message that you should circle over your life, and examine it from a higher perspective. From this vantage point you may be able to discern the hazards which bar you from freedom of flight. Remember: Hawk has a keen eye and a bold heart, for Hawk flies close to the light of Grandfather Sun.

CONTRARY: If you are operating from Shadow ...
  

If you have drawn Hawk reversed, it may be because you have shut down your powers of observation on some level. If something in your life has become too painful to feel, too unbelievable to hear, or too dark to see, it is time to examine the point at which you chose to let yourself become emotionally involved and to no longer be the observer. When you allow your emotions to override your perceptions, the message from Hawk cannot penetrate the chaos and confusion. At this point, you are asked to be mindful of the honest observer’s neutral position, which allows the message to be intuitively and clearly understood, without emotion coloring its true meaning.

  
Emotional coloring is a tendency of Hawk medicine people when they are off-balance. Their emotions cloud their vision and lead to a crash landing. The ego can clip the wings and leave Hawk grounded. Also, if Hawk believes that those who cannot fly the same way he/she does have weaker perceptions, then the winged messenger has not understood his or her own medicine.

  
Freedom of flight is a privilege, and being a messenger is an honor. The responsibility for delivery of the message is up to you. Take your flight and forget about interpreting the omen your own way. Let the receiver decide what the message means. After all, unless it was sent specifically for you, you would be tampering.

  
Hawk in the CONTRARY position teaches you:
1) To open up to the powers of observation
2) Not to tell others how to think or behave
3) To take care of your own emotional baggage before you being receiving omens, visions or messages
4) To remember that all gifts are equal in the eyes of the Great Spirit

Skunk is teaching you that by walking your talk and by respecting your Self, you will create a position of strength and honored reputation. The carriage of your body relates to others what you believe about yourself. There is no need to bully, aggravate, torment, or overpower other beings when your sense of “self” intact. As with Skunk, the resonant field of energy around your body is relayed through the senses. Self-esteem permeates the body’s energy, and is instantly recognized on an extrasensory level by others.

  
Learn to assert, without ego, what you are. Respect follows. Your self-respectful attitude will repel those who are not of like mind, and yet will attract those who choose the same pathway. As the odor of Skunk attracts others of its kind, it repels those who will not respect its space.

 
Skunk medicine people have the ability to attract others, and they are very charismatic. At the same time, the other side of their natural power is to repel those who seek to take energy from them without recycling the gifts they have taken.

 
Skunk medicine people also know how to use the energy flows that will attract a lover. Some people call this sexual magic, as it is akin to the musk scent that animals excrete to attract a mate. It can be dangerous to leak sexual energy if you are not looking for a mate. It puts you into a games condition that may feed your ego but not how others feel about you. If you are attracting others who have an interest in you, you are in a sense saying, “I’m available.” This can cause hard feelings when the truth comes out. It also leaks energy that you could have used in a more constructive way.

 
In Skunk medicine, it is good to learn how to handle energy flows. Modern psychologists call this body language. In tribal teachings, this is your personal medicine which you are showing to others. Use your medicine well, and know that you are known by your reputation. How you use your energy will attract either honor or disgrace. You may want to examine what energy you are putting out that creates your present situation.

 
If you have chosen this symbol, you are being asked to notice the kinds of people who are attracted to you. If they emulate favorable characteristics, have enough self-esteem to recognize those characteristics within your Self. Walk tall and be proud of the accomplishments you have made. Bear in mind that what you believe about your Self is your ultimate protection. Project self-respect!

CONTRARY: If you are operating from Shadow ...
   

Skunk medicine operating through the contrary or reversed position indicates that your self-esteem may seem to others as if you are putting on airs. Observe whether or not you are repelling others in your vicinity because of envy, jealousy, or a projection of THEIR low self-esteem. Examine your feelings. Be truthful with your Self. Right the situation by assuming the attitude of Skunk: NONCHALANCE. In assuming nonchalance, you are neutralizing the effect of leaking energy.

 
In leaking vital energy, you may be stinking up your environment. This is similar to dumping all of your woes on anyone who will listen. If you are doing this, it may be time to shut your mouth and go within. You may also be leaking sexual energy and repulsing the object of your interest. That person may be too shy to tell you to lay off. Look deeply at your self-image and how others are reacting to it.

 
To balance the causes and effects of your actions and energy flows, you must decide whether or not you need to spray in the direction of others to repel their envy, greed, jealousy, or over-amorous tendencies. On the other hand, you need to always maintain your “right to be”. Self-respect is the key to all of these situations, whereas ego is merely what you believe yourself to be. Skunk says, “If your ego is not your amigo, you know it stinks!”

By observing the graceful pounce of Mountain Lion, you will learn how to balance power, intention, physical strength, and grace. This relates, in human terms, to the balance of the body, mind, and spirit. The giant feline never wastes anything. It only kills what it needs for survival. The female lion is the hunter who graces her table in a style akin to mother energy.
  

If Mountain Lion has come to you in dreams, it is a time to stand on your convictions and lead yourself where your heart takes you. Others may choose to follow, and the lessons will multiply. If you have pulled the card of Mountain Lion, you may be asked to review the purpose behind your personal beliefs. You may need to discover whether or not your plans include a pride of cubs wanting to be like you or to share in your dreams. If you are already a leader, the question may be whether or not the time has come to push the cubs out of the cave. If you are aligned with cat medicine, you are considered to be “kind of the mountain”, and never allowed to be human or vulnerable. The pitfalls are many, but the rewards are great.

  
In assuming the place of power that Mountain Lion affords, you must constantly be aware of keeping peace. However, you can never make everyone happy unless you lie to yourself or others. This is human nature. Therefore the first responsibility of leadership is to tell the truth. Know it and live it, and your example will filter down to the tiniest cub in the pride. Responsibility is no more than the ability to respond to any situation. Panic is not a part of this sacred medicine.

The basic idea of ancient initiations was to break down all the former notions of “self” that were held by the shaman-to-be. This could entail brutal tests of physical strength and psychic ability, and having every emotional “button” pushed hard. Taunting and spitting on the initiate was common, and taught him or her to endure the duress with humility and fortitude. The final initiation step was to be buried in the earth for one day and to be reborn without the former ego in the morning.

 
This ritual is very similar to the night of fear practiced by natives of Turtle Island. In this ritual, the shaman-to-be is sent to a certain location to dig his or her grave and spend the night in the womb of Mother Earth totally alone, with the mouth of the grave covered by a blanket. Darkness, and the sounds of animals prowling, quickly confronts the initiate with his or her fears.

 
As the darkness of the grave has its place in this ritual, so does the cave of Bat. Hanging upside-down is a symbol for learning to transpose your former self into a newborn being. This is also the position that babies assume when they enter the world from the womb of woman.

 
If Bat has appeared in your cards today, it symbolizes the need for a ritualistic death of some way of life that no longer suits your new growth pattern. This can mean a time of letting go of old habits, and of assuming the position in life that prepares you for rebirth, or in some cases initiation. In every case, Bat signals rebirth of some part of your Self or the death of old patterns. If you resist your destiny, it can be a long, drawn out, or painful death. The Universe is always asking you to grow and become your future. To do so you must die the shaman’s death.

CONTRARY: If you are operating from Shadow ...
   

If Bat is still hanging upside-down in the cave and immersed in darkness, you have met its contrary medicine. This position leads to stagnation of the spirit and a refusal to acknowledge your true destiny - which is always to use the talents you have to the fullest. Is there some area of your life that has dammed up and therefore stopped your desire to create? If so, look at surrendering to the death of that stagnation.

  
Bat can also imply that in the reversal of your natural cycle of rebirth you are trying to go at life in a backward mode. This is a breech birth, in a sense. This type of occluded understanding of how to go about freeing yourself can lead to a still birth if you struggle too long in the birth canal. The final outcome can be death of the body. Some people think themselves into a corner with obstacles that are illusionary. By the time they decide what to do, the opportunities are gone and old age is upon them. All of their dreams have passed them by. Reversed Bat says to use your mind, courage, and strength to insure an easy labor and quick delivery into your new state of understanding and growth. Surrender to the new life you have created from thought and desire, and bravely greet that dawn.

 
If you are concerned with today and tomorrow but not much further, you may forget to see further down the road. Tribal teachings say that you are responsible for future generations because you are the ancestors of the future. Whatever you do today will affect the next seven generations. Every decision, every thought, is to create a state of stagnation or rebirth for those that follow you on the Good Red Road. If you are blocking yourself, you may be blocking the generations to come.

 
Bat flies at night, and in the night are born your dreams. These are the dreams that build future civilizations, so nourish them well.

However many rivers you have already crossed, a time will arrive when your tenacity and inner resolve are again put to the test. Such moments can be terribly disheartening and exhausting, and they threaten to destroy your sense of progress. You may feel as if you are in a confrontation with a brick wall, as the hurdles that seemed insignificant before appear insurmountable now. The tension is exacerbated by weakened resolve and the fear of making foolish decisions that could undermine what has been accomplished.

When you find yourself in a crisis where everything seems at the point of breakdown, avoid reacting aggressively, getting defensive, or trying to combat the problems head-on. Like being caught in quicksand, the more you struggle, the more you’ll be sucked in. Surviving difficult challenges depends upon your ability to stay centered, focused, and as calm as possible. Reacting emotionally to a crisis will only compound the difficulties. Be firm, yet flexible, and work steadily to resolve the situation. It may take a good deal more time and energy than you expected, but adopting a nondogmatic approach and keeping things in perspective is the solution now.

Trying to restore harmony and at the same time avoid extremes of attitude or behavior can feel like taming wild animals that are running in every direction at once. Nevertheless, what is really at issue is more subtle than you think. Can you remain uncompromisingly focused on your goal? Take time to examine what has been motivating you, and weed out any half-truths or grandiose and egoistic ideas you may have been harboring. Looking for the quickest way out of a bad situation isn’t necessarily going to help, and may actually divert you from the step-by-step work of taking responsibility for your actions. Any halfheartedness on your part will weaken your credibility and eventually create mistrust in others. Feigning aloofness, making a show of strength, or any other face-saving ploys aren’t going to help, either; you’ll just look foolish and will still have to deal with the real challenges.

  
Be as creative as possible and stay very alert while plotting a course through this minefield of difficulties. Only by deeply trusting in yourself and the power of intuitive guidance can you find a resolution. Even if you disagree with what others have to say, do not react or argue, but stay open and hear them out. When a breakthrough seems imminent, remember to remain alert. The real moment of resolution will become apparent in due course; it cannot be forced. Resoluteness requires cool detachment, patience, and unwavering purpose. Being flexible enough to move with the changes without compromising your vision is the key to success.

  
The image of Bodhidharma, the sage who carried the teachings of Buddha from India across the Himalayas to China, portrays the uncompromising integrity and absolute focus that is possible when we are deeply rooted in our truth. Thanks to Bodhidharma’s tenacity and strength of character, he finally reached his goal, and Buddhism took hold and spread throughout the East. This is resoluteness - the unwavering quality that makes it possible to endure all kinds of mental and physical handicaps, external pressures or emotional intrigues, whenever they arise on your path.    

Ancient cultures throughout the world revered those who were exceptionally gifted or beautiful as manifestations of God’s grace on earth - a link between the divine creator and humankind. Today we call such people “stars”, but what we really revere is their celebrity and fame rather than their individual qualities. To be a true star, however, is to radiate well-being and an attitude that says, “I feel at home with myself and with the world”. Everyone, in this sense, has the potential for stardom; it is our birthright, regardless of our physical appearance, social standing, abilities, or the whims of fashion.

  
Despite what the cult of stardom would have us believe, real beauty and the grace that surrounds it is never contrived. It is a luminosity that emanates from within, ephemeral and ageless, a natural glow that arises from living a balanced life. Like the lotus blossom that appears above the muddiest of waters, the lifelong challenge we face is to transform the dark and the difficult into light, fragrance, and ultimately, the flower of consciousness.

Beauty and our perception of it manifests in myriad ways. For a scientist, it might appear as a flash of clarity when one of the mysteries of the universe reveals its hidden design. For a painter, it could be in the interplay of shifting color or light and shadow in the landscape. A composer might hear music in the night sky or in sunlit waters. The creative impulse in us springs from those moments of grace when all the divergent elements of life seem to harmonize perfectly; when, everywhere we look, we perceive the brilliance and mystery of a masterwork that transcends the knowable. Our expressions of creativity are essentially a homage to the Tao.

  
Awareness of beauty is inextricably bound with a sense of impermanence. Everywhere in nature beauty is born, fades, and returns again to beget beauty, in a continuous, creative unfoldment. We create many problems for ourselves by wanting to demystify and possess beauty and grace, to reproduce an essentially ephemeral experience and make it permanent. When all efforts fail, as they inevitably must, we become stuck in an impossible longing to re-create what was lost through some contrivance of our own. If we can manage to withdraw from this desire to grasp and possess, the experience of grace becomes a source of inner nourishment that deepens our aesthetic pleasure and joy in life.

 
Learn simply to greet beauty when it comes, to reflect upon it and become one with it, with no demands or expectations. Contemplate beauty and allow it to infuse your life; you will be beautified by it, and an aesthetic sense will naturally arise in you. Recognize that beauty is fleeting; meditate on the transitoriness of all things, which will kindle in you the desire to be aware in every moment and to give life’s beauty some form of expression. This moment is an invitation to shine and to give of your best, graciously and wholeheartedly. Let your model be Mother Nature, whose elegance and generosity knows no bounds, and whose capacity to beautify is never less than perfect. The beauty of nature is love.      

The Receptive is yielding and passive. It is the sign of devotion, the yin principle that complements and balances The Creative, the yang principle. Her symbols are earth, the cow, in contrast to the dragon of heaven. Together they comprise a complete cosmology - out of which life is brought into being and into which it returns at death. In human life, the most obvious manifestation of yin and yang is the relationship between female and male. However, the interdependence of these principles is also present in the relationship between parent and child, teacher and student, guru and disciple - and within each of us, in the apparent duality of our sensory, physical experience of life, and the more subtle spiritual experiences, or the body and the soul of being.

Receptivity is dependent on the dynamic spark of creative inspiration to be activated into productivity, just as creativity is dependent on, and nourished by, the fertile ground of emptiness. When The Receptive complements The Creative, it functions as a womb, an empty canvas on which an infinite variety of creations can be made manifest. This image is best represented as Mother Nature in that she nurtures and supports all living things, generously bestowing form and beauty.

  
Receptivity is a fine balance; it is docile, open, nurturing while being intensely devoted and strong enough to persevere through even the most difficult of times. When this yin principle is in a negative manifestation it envies, complains, and competes for authority, generating chaos and dissolution. Or else, like a couch potato, does nothing but wallow in passivity and indolence expecting every whim to be catered to.

  
The strength of receptivity is in its depth, its infinite capacity to absorb and support action. Just like the darkness of space which sustains all matter, it is a reminder that this is not the moment to act impulsively but to take time, give space, and consider the far-reaching effects of any action that might be taken. If you push now, however resolute you may feel, you are steering away from your goal, toward confusion and difficulty, and it is more than likely many others will be dragged along with you. Waiting doesn’t mean weakness, or uncertainty; rather, by recognizing that for now your energies are best placed supporting others, you are not only acting intelligently but with sensitivity. Once you put the full weight of your support behind anyone or anything, they can’t help but be strengthened by it. Any enticements toward making your own power plays or claiming your share of the limelight would be untimely. The power of your presence is bolstered by your total devotion to what you intuit is the wise way to go. Knowing clearly where and with whom to invest your energies will require a cool, detached perspective. Carefully considering others’ objectives will help you support the plans that ring true for you.

 
Lao-Tzu referred to the Tao as the Divine Mother that in her absolute emptiness is eternally birthing all things and the cosmos itself. The essence of emptiness is present within each o f us, and like a blank slate receives whatever we write upon it. The dark vast qualities of yin are indeed great, and to appreciate its support is to be humbled in gratitude.  

The time of Standstill arises when all that was once humming along seems to grind to a halt. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, doors of communication are closed and progress seems impossible on any front. One thing is said, another is heard. Difficulties and delays pile up to the point of paralysis and finally it’s impossible to know how or even if to proceed. It’s like trying to shovel snow in a blizzard - however diligently you try to restore the sidewalks to their pristine, pre-blizzard condition, the pesky whit stuff keeps piling up, and finally you’re so exhausted you can’t go on.

These outer circumstances can also provoke an inner crisis and leave you feeling as though you have failed somehow, or that life has forgotten about you. Feelings of disorientation can arise, as the plug seems to have been pulled on so much of what you assumed would continue along a track you so recently had all mapped out and under control. To the extent that you have linked your identity with the hum gone so suddenly silent, it can challenge your very notions of who you are.

The current impasse may be operating on many levels simultaneously, so it’s important not to get snowed under by self-doubt or depression. From a different perspective that might not be apparent right now, the entire dynamic of life is unfolding to perfection. It’s just that it is not what you hoped for or expected. In times like this, the best course is to take care on a fundamental level of all the little things that are in need of maintenance, attention, or in some cases elimination. This also applies to ways of doing, being, relating, and thinking. Any attempt to hang in there out of duty, or because you don’t know what else to do, will not be helpful at this time. It’s time to STOP! And see that the only result of spinning your wheels is to bury yourself deeper in the snow.

   
Creative work can still happen when there’s a freeze on, but it happens in an atmosphere of peaceful and cozy retreat. It’s an ideal time to take a break, turn your focus inward, and become attentive to all the little intimate things that contribute to your inner strength and nourish your sense of well-being. If you’ve been hoping for some miracle or miracle-worker to come along and change things, recognize that this hope is just another way of being stuck. By doing your part to melt the ice from within and restore the connection with your trust in life, you will be giving yourself a much needed rest from useless struggle. And as a bonus, you’ll also be preparing yourself to emerge when the time is right, already in tune with the spring thaw that is bound to come.