Having come through 2 of the hardest and most growthful years that I can remember, I am seeing things 20/20, of course. All of the cycles we have been through are making sense. Here at the wrap-up of the end of 3 seven-year cycles, a shorter 11 year cycle, and even shorter cycles within those larger ones, my animal relations are showing up to show their support, speak their messages and offer their medicine and teachings.
It started a few weeks ago when Peter was in California to pick up the RV we’d stored there in March (thinking we would be back). I awoke early one morning to the sound of a female voice saying “Relations” insistently, and 3 knocks on the wall above my head (the wall is the same my pillows rest on and is an outer wall facing west). I woke up immediately, knowing there was something special going on. I wrapped up in my robe and walked outside to the area outside my bedroom. From that vantage point, I looked to the north and saw 3 pronghorn antelopes clustered together around our well head. They were all looking at me, as if they had been expecting me. Now antelope are curious creatures, so they will study you for a bit before moving on (unless you scare them off). But these three…there was something about the way they stood together there and watched me, as if there were a conversation going on. I watched them and listened with my heart…there were no words at that point, but a feeling of having been “seen” and “received”. They began to disperse, and I thanked them for their medicine. Later, when I sat down in conversation with my inner guidance, I was told that the antelope medicine for me in particular was this:
-isolate yourself
-be thick skinned like the antelope-with a thick hide, you can survive in the harshest of conditions and tough times
-don’t be so easily influenced by outside forces
-your psychic awareness is increasing
I was interested in this guidance as it pertained easily with our situation here in Del Norte CO. I set the intention to internalize this “medicine” from my Brothers the 3 bachelor antelope that woke me that morning. They have subsequently visited many times, hanging around our 40 acres as if to make sure I am getting the message.
Then, the following week, early one morning I heard a “screeeeee!!!” outside and ran out to see 3 golden eagles circling over our land. I watched as one of them dive bombed another, screeching….but it all seemed in play, as they flew peacefully off to the north once I watched them for a few minutes, where it appeared that they were joined by a fourth eagle. It is unusual to see eagles flying together, so I took this to be another opportunity to listen for a message. When I asked my inner guidance what my particular message was from the 3 eagles, I was told:
-that eagle is a symbol for divine masculine energy, the will and ability to get things done
-to call on eagle for strength, action, focus, determination and perseverance
-that the lack of energy and confidence I was experiencing would be remedied by the “masculine” energy of eagle
I chose to internalize this medicine as well, and found that I reached out and asked 40 women to pray for me for these qualities. It worked! My energy took off, and my ability to stay focused rather than confused and lethargic was remarkably different. I also sought the counsel of a lovely Ute medicine man, who assisted me in bringing insight to an outstanding issue and balancing our land. His piece of the puzzle proved to be very important.
By this time, I became intrigued with the consistent number THREE that was showing up. I have always loved the number three, and according to numerologists, 3 is my “life path number”. I did some research and found that the number 3 is associated with:
-the Trinity (interpreted in many ways-Body, Mind Spirit/Masculine, Feminine, Divine Union/beginning, middle, end/birth, life, death)
-3-D world, physical manifestation
-movement and ability to overcome duality
-creativity, growth, synthesis
-completion of a cycle
My youngest son wondered aloud what the next set of three would be…he intuited that there was a third chapter to the story. And there was! As I have been busy watching for the third set of 3, they were right under my nose the whole time.
We experienced owning a hot tub for the first time in our lives here at our home in CO. Our favorite times to steep in the hot brew are in the dark of night, when the Milky Way is so intense it feels smothering, and the early morning with our tea, when it is a very active time for the birds.
At the edge of the patio, about 30 feet from the hot tub, are two bluebird houses. They are inhabited by the bluebirds in early spring, who raise their babies then move to the gutters of the house. Then the summer tenants of swallows move in to raise their young. We watch with interest as the transition takes place. There is much squabbling and flitting about, but eventually there is coexistence.
But there was something special about it this year. Perhaps it was because of the forced stillness of my ankle injury, perhaps because it was just the right time….but I noticed the birds behavior with more interest. The bluebirds alit outside my kitchen window and, head cocked, peered in with a seeming purpose at me while I cooked or washed at the sink. The swallows circled repeatedly over my head while in the hot tub with equal intentionality, as if they were trying to get my attention. I noticed, but I was looking for something “more grand” or unusual for the last chapter of three. Would it be a trio of elk, or a bobcat family, or elegant hawks?
It finally dawned on me today as I walked toward the north on our property; three bluebirds, a mother, father and fledgling child came from behind me from their perch on my house and alit in an olive tree directly in front of me. I stopped and watched them; I felt an invitation to expansion in my heart. OH! I can be a bit thick at times, such an introvert that I am wrapped, fascinated, in my inner thoughts, and will sometimes miss the obvious in the “outer world”. Suddenly, I saw the 3 swallows that had been flying around my head for days in my mind, replayed the mornings of watching the swallows feed their babies in the houses and the first one emerge victorious, calling out as it flew for its first time, flying gloriously with its parents. 3 bluebirds, 3 swallows.
Helllllloooooo… it is these common, “every day” creatures that are the final message of grace for my ending of this cycle in my life. I sat this morning with my inner guidance after pulling information about these sweet birds, and this is what I was told applied to me:
-swallows migrate for thousands of miles to always return home safely and are a symbol of constancy, faith and fidelity
-bluebirds are associated with happiness, rebirth, and prosperity and are a sign of goodness in the future
-bluebirds and swallows both have associations with home, hearth, and love and loyalty to the family
-bluebirds and swallows are both ancient symbols of spring, hope, resurrection and new life
And the REAL kicker:
-swallows and bluebirds are interchangeably associated as a frequent motif for tattoos on sailors. It was said that after a journey of 5000 sea miles, a sailor earned a swallow or bluebird tattoo on one side of his chest, and another at the completion of another 5000 or more miles. They were a harbinger of land being near, of a long journey coming to an end…
I am almost in tears as I write this. The amount of support and love I am being given at this time of completion of this cycle in my life is almost overwhelming. And it is also affirming of how connected we are if we but allow ourselves to be. I am so grateful to All of Life, all of my relations, whether winged or two, four and no-legged, for their reflection that I am loved, and that all is well.
