HAWKS - Visionary Power & Guardianship

Hawks are the most intriguing and mystical of the birds of prey.  They are the messengers, the protectors, and the visionaries of the air.  Hawks and owls have the keenest eyes of all raptors.

 

Hawks vary in size, appearance, and environments.  There are so many different species that it is sometimes difficult to tell them apart.  There are marsh hawks, forest hawks, sea hawks, and prairies hawks.  The environment in which your hawk is found will tell you much about how its energies are likely to manifest within your life.

 

Even when people cannot tell one hawk from another, they can recognize it is a member of the hawk family.  All hawks are impressive and stir the imagination.  Their hunting ability, their eyesight, and their powerful flights and other behaviors are dynamic symbols.

 

In most raptors, the colors of the male and female of the same species are very similar.  It is almost always the female who is larger though.  This has much to do with the fact that the mother guards the nest.  Many hawks mate for life, the red-tailed hawk being one example.  The length of time tat mated birds stay together is often determined by the number of seasons they spend raising the young.

 

An examination of the specific species of hawk and its behaviors will reveal much.  For example, an osprey is sometimes referred to as a “fish hawk,” based upon its primary diet.    This magnificent bird is often mistaken for an eagle because of its nearly all white head, but it is the only large hawk that is clear white underneath.  It is most numerous in coastal regions, as if its white breast reflects the white foam of the waters in which it hunts.  Other examples are the Cooper’s hawk, the goshawk and the sharp-shinned hawk who feed frequently on other birds.  Although they eat rodents and such, most of their food is feathered.  This reflects the old idea that what you eat, you become.

 

We do not have the space to explore all the characteristics of every hawk, but we will examine one species more closely.  That species is the most numerous member of the hawk family, the red-tailed.  It is named for the distinctive coloring on its tail feathers.  Only the mature red-tails have this coloring.  The immature also have lighter colored eyes, distinguishing them from their more mature relatives.

The red tail is very symbolic.  It has ties to the kundalini, the seat of the primal life force.  In the human body it is associated with the base chakra, located at the base of the spine the coccyx or tail bone.  Those who have a red-tailed hawk as a totem will be working with the kundalini.  It can also reflect that this bird becomes a totem in your life, only after the kundalini has been activated.  It can also reflect that the childhood visions are becoming empowered and fulfilled.  It may pop up as totem at that point in your life where you begin to move toward your soul purpose more dynamically.

 

The red-tailed hawk is a member of the buteo family or the group of soaring hawks.  The ability to soar and glide upon the currents is part of what hawk can teach.  Although it is a part of this species, it is most often seen perched on treetops and utility posts, using its phenomenal eyesight to locate prey.  It teaches how to fly to great heights while still keeping your feet on the ground.

 

Hawks are occasionally harassed and attacked by smaller birds.  This is very significant for those of you who have a hawk as a totem.  It indicates that there are likely to be attacks by people who won’t understand you or the varied and different uses of your creative energy.  They may attack your ability to soar.

 

The red-tailed hawk is usually a permanent resident in an area, although occasionally it may migrate.  This permanency reflects that as a totem, this hawk will be with you permanently once it shows up.

 

Although incorrectly called a “chicken hawk,” the red-tail feeds mostly on rabbits, rodents, and snakes.  It has an adaptable diet which has helped it to survi9ve.  The red-tail was often accused of and shot for killing chickens when in reality it was one of the bird hawks, such as a cooper’s hawk. 

 

It is generally accepted that red-tails mate for life.  Both the male and the female help care for the young.  Two or three eggs are laid in the spring.  They vigorously defend their nests against any intruders.  They cling to their home territories for years.  And they can live up to 14 years in the wild.

 

This “14” is significant.  The 14th card in the tarot deck is the card for Temperance.  This is the card that represents the teaching of higher expressions of psychism and vision.  It can be used in development of astral projection—new flights out of the body.  It has ties to the activation of your vital energies (kundalini), and the bold expression of it.  It is tied to the archetypal forces that teach beauty and harmony in moderation.  It holds the keys to higher levels of consciousness.

 

Rising to a higher level can bring a rapid development of the psychic energies.  The red-tailed hawk helps us in balancing and using those senses appropriately.  It teaches the balance necessary to discover our true purpose in life.  If you have a red-tailed hawk as a totem, meditation on the 14th tarot card will help you to see how this hawk will lead you to use your creative energy in manifesting your soul purpose.

 

The red of the red-tail reflects a greater intensity of energy at play within your life.  It reflects an intensity of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual forces.  This bird is a catalyst, stimulation hope and new ideas.  It reflects a need to be open to the new or shows you ways that you may help teach others to be open to the new.

 

To the Pueblo, the red-tailed hawk was known as red eagle.  Its feathers and energies were used in healing ceremonies and for bringing the rains and waters necessary for life.  To the Ojibwa, the red-tailed hawk represented leadership, deliberation, and foresight.  “Hawk is akin to Mercury, the messenger of the gods.  Hawk medicine teaches you to be observant...Life is sending you signals.” 9   The red-tail can spread its wings to great width, and it can teach you to use your creative energies in the same way.  It can extend the vision of your life.

 

The beak and the talons are always commented upon by observers.  They are the most striking features of any hawk, especially the red-tail.  It is a fearless bird.  It will even take on poisonous snakes.  It has a scaled leg to help protect it against poisonous bites, and immediately upon grasping its snake prey, it tears off the head.  On one of my trips to Colorado, while traveling through Kansas, I was fortunate enough to see a red-tail swoop down upon a snake.  Within seconds it had taken flight again, cutting across my path.  I could see the head of the snake dangling by just a few threads of skin.  It happened so quickly, that by the time I realized exactly what I had observed, the red-tail had disappeared.

 

Because of the strong energy (the intensified life-force) activated by this totem, and individuals with it must be careful in how they express themselves.  There will unfold within you the ability to tear off the heads of any snakes in your life, or anyone or anything seen as an enemy.  Your comments and actions will be like the hawk’s beak and talons—strong and powerful, but with a capability to tear and/or kill.

 

The feathering of the red-tail actually has two phases.  Both of these are significant to anyone with this totem.  Its feathering is a little lighter during the summer and darker during the winter.  The lighter is often symbolic of more joyful and sociable kinds of energies.  The darker phases can reflect a time to be alone or to withdraw a little.  The red-tail and its color phases also help us to guard against blazing so brightly and intensely that we get burnt out.

 

The sky is the realm of the hawk.  Through its flight it communicates with humans and with the great creator spirit.  It awakens our vision and inspires us to a creative life purpose.

 

 

 

THE EVIL IN ME

We are all born with a dark side.  We live in a world of duality.  For every action there is a reaction, good and bad.  Take for instance the Internet.  Although it’s like a huge spider web that connects us all, and gives access to greater knowledge, it is also used in negative ways as well.  There’s child pornography, and those who use it to spread their hatefulness of others.

Even now as I write, someone is going to hate this post, while others will like it.  That’s just the way it is.  And this is why we have to be more accepting of each other and exercise a little forgiveness.  The evil in me is the evil in you too.  I can accept the title of asshole occasionally, because I can be one.

The other morning I went to the laundry matt, because the bed comforters are too heavy for my washer.  I use there side loader and can wash both comforters at the same time, and save the wear and tear on my own washing machine. 

The lady who tends the machines and makes change made a comment about how nice I was on this day.  She was like, “You’re usually a little uptight when you come in here.”

Somewhat offended, I started to reiterate what had happened to me on one visit months before.  Of course she knew the story though, because I had complained to her about the dude who had made me move my car so he could power wash the parking lot.  Being a paying customer, I was upset by the inconvenience and asked her why this wasn’t being done after business hours?

Anyway, as fast as I started rehashing the story, I stopped. I began to sense all that negativity as I spoke and I didn’t want to reinforce her judgment from our previous run in, because regardless, our view points were conflicting.  Nothing I said was going to change that.  So I told her, “Well you know, we all have our good days, and we all have our bad days.” 

She asked me to repeat myself, then thought about it for a second, then agreed with me, “You got that right,” she replied with a chuckle.

It isn’t always that easy to recognize when you’re wrong. Sometimes you think you stand on the side of righteousness, yet in another’s reality, you’re being a real asshole.  It’s just a matter of perspective; whose eyes you use to view any given situation.

To be compassionate of others is to be compassionate to yourself.  Forgive others and you will be forgiving of yourself.   After all, we are all human.  To be human is not to be perfect, but to be accepting of our own faults, as well as the faults of others.

 

 

COLOR HEALING – (Part 3) Feng Shui

Feng Shui is the Chinese ancient art of placement.  Without getting to heavily involved in the practice, we will discuss creating an environment with colors that will nurture your family home or office.

Ying is the blackness that absorbs colors; Yang is the whiteness that reflects color.  Color can cure and it can be used to invoke emotions and enhance spaces. 

Depending on where you live will help determine what colors would be best to use.  If you live somewhere hot, like Florida or in desert conditions, you will use more beiges and terracotta’s. But if you live in the Midwest or the Northern states, where the weather is cooler, the use of such colors could invoke depression.  And of course that also depends on the size of the windows in a particular room, and the amount of light that shines through. 

The following is taken from “The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui, by Gill Hale.

RED:  is stimulating and dominant, it reduces the size of rooms and increases the size of objects.  It is useful as an accent color.  It is not suitable for dining rooms, children’s bedrooms, kitchens or workshops.  It is associated with warmth, prosperity and stimulation, but also anger, shame and hatred.

YELLOW:  is associated with enlightenment and intellect, it stimulates the brain and aids in digestion.  Its positive qualities are optimism, reason, and decisiveness, while its negative are craftiness, exaggeration and rigidity.  Suitable for hallways and kitchens, but not for meditation rooms or bathrooms.

GREEN:  symbolizes growth, fertility and harmony; it is restful and refreshing.  Its positive associations are optimism, freedom and balance, and its negatives envy and deceit.  Good in therapy rooms, conservatories and bathrooms, but not in family rooms, playrooms or studies.

BLUE:  is peaceful and soothing and is inked with spirituality, contemplation, mystery and patience.  Its positive associations are trust, faithfulness and stability.  Negatives are suspicion and melancholia.  Blue can be used in meditation rooms, bathrooms, therapy rooms and as a means of enlarging spaces, but not in family rooms, dining rooms and studies.

PURPLE:  encouraging vitality, purple is impressive, dignified and spiritual.  Positive associations are excitement, passion and motivation, negatives are mournfulness and force.  Use in bedrooms and meditation rooms but not in bathrooms or kitchens.

PINK:  is linked with purity of thought and has the positive association of happiness and romance with no negatives.  Suitable with bedrooms but not kitchens or bathrooms.

ORANGE:  a powerful and cheerful color, orange encourages communication.  Its positive qualities are happiness, concentration and intellect, and its negative is rebelliousness.  Use in living or dining rooms and hallways, but not in small rooms or bedrooms.

BROWN:  suggest stability and weight.  Its positives are safety and elegance, while its negatives are dinginess, depression and aging.  Good for studies but not for bedrooms.

WHITE:  symbolizes new beginnings, purity, and innocence.  Its positive qualities are cleanliness and freshness, it negatives cold, lifelessness, starkness.  Use for bathrooms and kitchen, not suitable for children’s rooms and dining rooms.

BLACK:  is mysterious and independent.  Its positive qualities are intrigue, strength and allure, while its negatives are death, darkness, and evil.  Often used in teenagers’ rooms and in bedrooms, it should not be used in young children’s rooms, therapy rooms, studies or living room.

PEACH:  BEWARE!  Using the color peach in your bedroom is asking for trouble if you are married. “Peach Blossom Luck” is a well-known concept in China, meaning a husband or a wife with a roving eye.  A married person maybe drawn into adultery.  A single person, however, will have an active social life but will probably be unable to find a life partner.

And of course every room should include accents of the “Elemental Colors:” Earth, wood, fire, metal and water.  For example, a vase with a green stemmed red rose sitting on the kitchen table.  The green would represent the wood element, while the red flower would represent the fire element; and of course the water element is included within the vase. Earth elements would be browns like a jar of sand, or baskets.  And of course a kitchen contains a metal elements such as the facet or stove and refrigerator. 

 

SYMBOLIC QUALITIES OF THE PARROT

 

 

Parrot  is a bird of the sun.  Its bright colors and sunshine aspect are what gives it its magic.  Its feathers can be used in prayer sticks for powerful healing rites and to invoke the energies of the sun at any time of the year.

In the Pueblo tradition, it is a bird associated with the gathering of salt.  The places where salt was found were considered a gift of the sun.  Since the parrot was to the Pueblo a bird of the sun, there is the correspondence.  Parrots come in a variety of colors.  Anyone with a parrot as a totem should do some study of colors and their effects.  The parrot is a wonderful teacher of the power of light an colors.

Some parrots have been taught to mimic humans.  Because of this ability, the parrot has been considered a link between the human kingdom and the bird kingdom.  Parrots, in this sense, could be linked to ambassadors, diplomats, and interpreters for the bird realm.  They have a magic that will enable you to understand others more effectively.  They can help you awaken a sense of diplomacy.

 

 

(From Ted Andrews book, "Animal-Speak)

COLOR HEALING – (Part 2) The Dictionary of Colors

(The following information is from the “Healer’s Manual: A Beginners’ Guide to Energy Therapies,” by Ted Andrews)

 

WHITE

Keynote:  Purification, purity, amplification
Physical Applications:  All systems of the body.  White contains the entire light spectrum.  It is strengthening.  It is cleansing and purifying to the entire energy system.  It can awaken greater creativity.  When in doubt as to what color to use, you can seldom go wrong with white.  It is also beneficial to begin and end a color therapy session with white to stabilize the energy system of the individual and to give it an overall boost.  It amplifies the effects of any other color used with it in a healing session.

 

BLACK

Keynote:  Protection, grounding, strengthening
Physical Applications:  Effective in polarity therapy when combined with white.  Black also contains the entire color spectrum within it.  It is a color that has had many confusing correspondences in the past.  Many individuals shy away from using black in color therapy and healing, but I have found it to be beneficial at times.  Black is a protective color.  It is grounding and calming, especially to extremely sensitive individuals.  It activates the magnetic or feminine energies of the body, strengthening them.

Black should be used sparingly, as too much black can cause depression or aggravate such emotional/mental conditions.  Black is most effective when used in conjunction with white, balancing the polarities of the individual, especially in cases where the individual seems to be losing control.  It can activate the subconscious mind which can put life and all of its craziness into proper perspective.  It should rarely be used by itself, but always in combination with another color.

 

RED

Keynote:  Strengthening of the life force, will and sexuality; stimulating
Physical Applications:  Circulatory system, sexuality.  Stimulating to the overall energy levels of the metabolism, lower extremities, most blood conditions.  Red is a stimulating color.  It will energize the base chakra.  It warms and activates.  It awakens our physical life force.  It can be used for colds, poor circulation, anemia, and mucus ailments.  Red strengthens the physical energy and the will of the individual.  It can stimulate deeper passions, whether they be of sex and love, courage, hatred or even revenge.

Too much red can over-stimulate and aggravate certain conditions.  High blood pressure is an indication of too much red energy within the system.  Red can be used to raise the body’s temperature and to energize the blood.  It is also balanced by the color green.

ORANGE

Keynote:  Activation, construction, optimism, energy reserves
Physical Applications:  Muscular system, eliminative system, emotional aggravation and causes of physical problems.  Orange affects the second (spleen) chakra center.  It is the color of joy and wisdom and creativity.  It stimulates feelings of socialness.  It is tied to our emotional health and the muscular systems of the body.  Too much orange affects the nerves, and it should be used balanced with shades of green-blues.  Orange can assist us in healing conditions of the spleen, pancreas, stomach, intestines, adrenals, food assimilation, and depression. 

Individuals experiencing emotional paralysis can be helped with the color, especially the peach shades.  Peach is a color that strengthens the aura and gives it a little extra cushioning in recovery processes.  It and most shades of orange can be used to revitalize the physical body.  It makes a good tonic after a bout of illness, for it is strengthening to the eliminative system of the body.

 

YELLOW

Keynote:  Mental activity, intellectual power and ability, awakening
Physical Applications:  Digestive system, gastro-intestinal tract, adrenal activity, left hemisphere brain activity.  Yellow predominantly affects the solar plexus chakra, and it is stimulating to the mental faculties of the individual.  It can be used for depression.  It helps awaken an enthusiasm for life.  It awakens greater confidence and optimism.  It is also effective in the treatment of digestive problems.  It is beneficial to the stomach, the intestines, the bladder, and the entire eliminative system as well.  It is very effective to the treatment of most headaches.  It helps to balance the gastrointestinal tract.  The golden-yellow shades are healthful to both the body and the mind.  It can be used to facilitate the learning capabilities of an individual.

Yellow is a color that catches the eye.  It is one of the first colors that most people notice.  It is also a color that can create or indicate anxiety and mental problems.  Excessive amount or exposures to it should be balanced with colors from the blue spectrum.

GREEN

Keynote:  Balance, growth, calming
Physical Applications:  Circulatory system, sympathetic nervous system, conditions aggravated by emotions.  (Green should never be used to help heal tumorous or cancerous conditions, as green helps things grow) Green is most predominant color on the planet.  It balances our energies, and it can be used to increase our sensitivity and compassion.  It has a calming effect, especially in inflamed conditions of the body.  It is soothing to the nervous system.  The brighter greens, leaning toward the blue spectrum are powerful in healing most conditions.  Green can also be used to awaken greater friendliness, hope, faith, and peace.  It is restful and revitalizing to overtaxed mental conditions.

Green strongly affects the heart chakra, and it is balancing to the autonomic nervous system.  It can be applied beneficially in cardiac conditions, high blood pressure, ulcers, exhaustion, and headaches.  It should never be used in cancerous or tumorous conditions, or with anything of a malignant nature, as green also stimulates growth.

BLUE

Keynote:  Peace, faith, aspiration, creative expression
Physical Applications:  Respiratory system, eyes, ears, nose, throat, venous conditions.  Blue is cooling to the body’s system.  It is relaxing.  It is quieting to our energies, and it has an antiseptic effect.  It strengthens and balances the respiratory system.  It is also excellent for high blood pressure and all conditions of the throat.  It is beneficial to venous conditions of the body.  Blue is very effective in easing all childhood diseases, along with asthma, chicken pox, jaundice, and rheumatism.  It is one of the most universally healing colors for children.

Blue can also be used to awaken intuition and to ease loneliness.  It is very effective when combined with the warmer color in the orange and red-orange spectrum.  It awakens artistic expression and inspiration. 

INDIGO

Keynote:  Integration, purification, altered states of consciousness
Physical Applications:  Endocrine system, reproductive system, infection, most conditions of the head and face.  Indigo and the deeper shades of blue are dynamic healing colors on both spiritual and physical levels.  This color activates the brow chakra, and it is balancing to all conditions associated with it.  It strengthens the lymph system, the glands, and the immune system of the body.  It is an excellent blood purifier, and can be sued to assist in detoxifying the body.  It is a color that is also balancing to the hemisphere of the brain and all nerve synapses between them.

Indigo can be used effectively to treat all conditions of the face (including the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and sinuses).  Indigo also has a sedative effect, and it can be used in meditation to achieve deeper levels of consciousness.  It can awaken devotion and intuition.  It can be used for problems in the lungs and for removing obsessions.  Too much Indigo can cause depression and a sense of separateness from others.  It can be balanced effectively with soft orange shades.

 

VIOLET

Keynote:  Purification, transmutation, practical spirituality
Physical Applications:  Skeletal system, nervous system, some venous conditions, cancerous/tumorous conditions.  Violet is a color that affects the crown chakra.  It also affect the entire skeletal and nervous systems of the body.  It is very antiseptic, purifying on both physical and spiritual levels.  It helps balance the physical and the spiritual energies.  Violet is effective in cancerous conditions of the body.  Arthritis can be eased by a violet light that leans more toward the blue shades.  Violet also helps the body to assimilate nutrients and minerals.

Violet also stimulates inspiration and humility.  It assists in stimulating dream activity.  In meditation violet can help open us to our past lives, especially those which are presently affecting our health.  A true violet is fifty percent blue and fifty percent red.  It is the balance of the physical and the spiritual.  It is a reminder that we need both aspects within our life for balanced health.  Violet helps to restore a proper perspective both in regard to the mundane aspects of life (including the physical well-being), and the spiritual aspects, helping to keep them practical.

 

AQUA (Turquoise and other light blue-greens)

Keynote:  Multi-purpose healing
Physical Applications:  Respiratory system, strengthening to the metabolism.  Aqua is cooing the system.  It can be beneficial in easing all feverish conditions and for balancing all systems of the body.  It can also be used to cool and ease inflammation.  It combines both the  beneficial effects of blue and green.  It vitalizes all systems.  It is also purifying.  It can be used in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis, especially with children  Regular color breathing with aqua can prevent intense attacks of asthmatic conditions.

 

BLUE (Royal)

Keynote:  Purifying
Physical Applications:  It helps the body assimilate oxygen.  It assists in the exchange of gases, externally and internally.  It can clear a foggy mind and it is an aid to negative  physical conditions that affect the brain.  It can help ease depression and emotional problems that can aggravate  physiological conditions.

 

BROWN

Keynote:  Grounding and stabilizing
Physical Applications:  Brown is also an effective color in healing.  It is especially effective in stabilizing overexcited states.  It calms and grounds emotions and extreme mental conditions.  Brown can help awaken common sense and discrimination.  It brings us back down to earth.  It is effective for any kind of spaciness.  Brown, when it shows up in the human aura, can reflect a need for grounding.  When it takes the shade of what I call “puke brown, “ it will often reflect infection in the body or that area of the body in which it overlays in the aura.  Brown can be used to stabilize all systems.  It have also found it effective to use in cases of hyperactivity with children, especially with combinations of colors in the rust to deep brown range.

 

GOLD

Keynote:  Strengthening and amplifying
Physical Applications:  Immune system, cardiac conditions.  Gold is a color that can strengthen the energies associated with the entire immune system.  It can be sued with other colors to amplify the effects without overexciting the system.  It is very strengthening to the heart.  It is effective to use in regard to all cardiac problems, especially as a powerful tonic after heart surgery.  Gold is powerful stimulant to the immune system of the body.  It helps awaken the individual’s own abilities to assist the body in restoring homeostasis.  It can also awaken renewed enthusiasm. 

LEMMON

Keynote:  Mental stimulation
Physical Applications:  Digestive system, left hemisphere brain activity.  Lemon is vitalizing and stimulating to the brain.  Thus, is effective in treating and alleviating conditions associated with it – i.e. Alzheimer’s, senility, etc.  It can be used to help stimulate the brain’s natural abilities.  It always has a shade of green within the spectrum, and in lemon, the green works as a cleanser.  Lemons assists us in bringing toxins to the surface so the can be cleaned out.  These may be physical toxins as well as emotional toxins.  Lemon is also effective in treating digestive problems and appendicitis.  It facilitates the natural digestive process, helping the body assimilate nutrients more effectively.  Lemon is good for tissues and bones.

 

PINK

Keynote:  Smoothing
Physical Applications:  Skin conditions and inflammations, immune system.  Pink is a soothing color on all levels, physical and otherwise.  Mentally and emotionally, it can be used to soothe conditions of anger and feelings of neglect.  Pink can be used to awaken compassion, love, and purity.  It can be used in meditation to discern greater truths.  It is comforting to the emotional energies of the individual.  Physically, pink is most effective in the treatment of skin problems and conditions, especially when combined with aqua.  It also stimulates the thymus gland and ease stresses upon the immune system of the body.

 

PURPLE

Keynote:  Intense purification
Physical Applications:  Detoxifying the body.  Purple is considered by many to be a high vibrational color.  It is this high vibration which gives it its ability for purification.  It is effective to use when strong detoxifying of the body is needed, as in the case of cancerous or pre-cancerous conditions.  Purple is purifying to the body, but because of its high vibration it should be used sparingly.  Too much purple can create or aggravate depression.  It can be used to stimulate venous activity in the body.  It can also be used for headaches.  The red-purple range is beneficial to balancing the polarities of the body.  The blue-purple range is effective in helping to shrink (such as tumors) and to cool, easing inflammations. 

 

SILVER

Keynote:  Amplification and intuitive clarification
Physical Applications:  Discernment of the cause of dis-ease.  Silver can be used to amplify the effects of other colors, much in the manner of white.  It is also effective in meditation, in discovering the metaphysical source of an illness or dis-ease.  Unless we discover the source, the likelihood of its remanifestation is high.  Silver can also be used to help discover and apply the creative imagination.  It activates innate intuition.  It is stimulating and balancing to the feminine energies, and especially the yin meridians.

SYMBOLIC QUALTIES OF THE DRAGONFLY & DAMSELFLY

Since we are working with color, I thought it only appropriate that we study the dragonfly as well, since dragonflies are symbolic of the power of light. The following is from Ted Andrews book, "Animal-Speak."

 

Dragonfly and damselfly are very ancient with estimates of having been around for over 180 million years.  They have a beautiful, jewel-like coloring.  The bright colors take time to develop, reflecting the idea that with maturity our own true colors come forth.  This is part of dragonfly medicine.

For many it is difficult to tell the difference between a dragonfly and a damselfly.  Dragonflies have broad bodies and enormous eyes.  Damselflies are more slender and delicate.   When dragonflies are at rest, they hold their wings out like a glider.  Damselflies will fold their wings over their backs when at rest.  Dragonflies will often eat while in flight, and damselflies will always land before eating.

Both are known for their fast flight and their dazzling aerial feats, as if imitating how light itself can be moved and directed.  They twist, turn, change direction in an instant, hover, move up or down, and even fly backwards.  Dragonflies are sometimes known as mosquito hawks.  Both the damsels and dragons are excellent hunter of flying insects.  They can spot a movement forty feet away.  They use their sharp, spiny legs and strong jaws to capture their prey.

Dragonflies and damselflies inhabit two realms– water and air.  The significance of these should be examined.  In their early life—as a nymph—they live within the water.  As they mature and go through their metamorphosis, they move to the realm of air.  It is not unusual to find individuals with dragonfly totems to be very emotional and passionate in the early years, but as they get older, they learn to balance it with greater mental clarity and control.  Sometimes it can indicate that the emotions have gotten shut down because of emotional issues in the early life.  Remember that the dragonfly and damselfly are always found around water.  There must be expressions of the emotional and the mental together.

If a dragonfly has shown up in your life, you may need some fresh air in regard to something emotional.  You may need to gain a new perspective or make a change.  It may even indicate that you are neglecting your emotions.  Are you being too rational about everything?  Are you not keeping the color of emotions alive?

Dragonflies are very territorial.  They will lay their eggs within their territory near the water.  The egg eventually develops into the nymph stage of metamorphosis in this insect, and remains as a nymph for almost two years, before it transforms into an adult dragonfly or damselfly.  This can reflect a number of possibilities  for those with this totem.  It can indicate that an approximate two-year period of change is about to reach its culmination.  It may reflect that you are coming into a two-year period.  Only by examining your life and activities will you begin to understand its specific role.

Just as light can bend and shift and be adapted in a variety of ways, so can the archetypal forces associated with the dragonfly.  It is one of the most adaptable of insects.  It is why it has been able to survive for so long.  Dragonflies have two pairs of wings, but if need be, they can fly with one.  Their eyes are kept clean with special combs on their legs and by washing the eyes with water drops collected in the mouth.

Their main predators are frogs and birds.  Particularly the frog should be studied by those with this totem.

Their realm is the realm of light, and they are only out during the day, as they are cold-blooded.  Summer is their most powerful time, as they need the warmth and light of the sun.  For those with this totem, this will be important to consider.  Spending time outside in the sun near fresh water sources will be beneficial for restoring and changing health conditions for the better for those with this totem.

Although some have color pigments in their skin, for most the colors are caused almost the same way rainbows form.  Structures in their shell scatter and refract the light, making them look iridescent green and blue.  As they age, they may pass through several color changes.  This ability to reflect and refract light and color has caused it to be associated with many forms of magic and mysticism—including color magic, illusion (causing others only to see what you wish), and more.  Dragonfly’s magic is the power of light and all that has ever been associated with it.

Dragonflies and damselflies are often depicted in Japanese paintings, representing new light and joy.  To some Native Americans, they represent the souls of the dead.  Some stories speak of the time in which they used to be real dragons.  Often we assume that dragons have to be gigantic beasts breathing fire, but the fantastic creatures of the Faerie Realm often come in many shapes and sizes.  Dragonflies because they are mythical relatives of the ancient dragons are wonderful links to working with nature spirits.

The dragonfly and damselfly reflect and work with the sun and light.  The light changes throughout the day.  The dragonfly and damselfly undergo their own transformations.  If they have shown up, look for change to occur.  Are you resisting change when you shouldn’t?  Dragonflies remind us that we are light and can reflect light in powerful ways if we choose to do so.  “Let there be light” is the divine prompting to use the creative imagination as a force within your life.  This is part of what dragonflies and damselflies teach us.

 

Life is never quite the way it appears, but it is always filled with light and color.  Dragonfly can help you to see through your illusions and thus allow your own light to shine forth.  Dragonfly brings the brightness of transformation and the wonder of colorful new vision.