3 - Elk - Stamina - Contrary & Snake - 6 Snake - Transmutation - dropped in today doubling your Daily Dose of Animal Medicine

6

Snake

Transmutation

Snake. . . come crawling,

      There's fire in your eyes,

             Bite me, excite me,

                         I'll learn to realize,

The poison transmuted,

       Brings eternal flame.

            Open me to heaven,

                  To heal me again.

Snake medicine people are very rare. 

Their initiation involves experiencing and living through multiple snake bites, which allows them to transmute all poisons, be they mental, physical, spiritual, or emotional.  

The power of snake medicine is the power of creation, for it embodies sexuality, psychic energy, alchemy, reproduction, and ascension (or immortality).

The transmutation of the life-death-rebirth cycle is exemplified by the shedding of Snake's skin.  

It is the energy of wholeness, cosmic consciousness, and the ability to experience anything willingly and without resistance. 

It is the knowledge that all things are equal in creation, and that those things which might be experienced as poison can be eaten, ingested, integrated, and transmuted if one has the proper state of mind.

Thoth, the Atlantean who later returned as Hermes and was the father of alchemy, used the symbology of two snakes intertwining around a sword to represent healing. 

Complete understanding and acceptance of the male and female within each organism creates a melding of the two into one, thereby producing divine energy.

This medicine teaches you on a personal level that you are a universal being.

Through accepting all aspects of your life, you can bring about the transmutation of the fire medicine.

This fire energy, when functioning on the material plane, creates passion, desire, procreation, and physical vitality. 

On the emotional plane, it becomes ambition, creation, resolution, and dreams. 

On the mental plane it becomes intellect, power,  charisma, and leadership. 

When this Snake energy reaches the spiritual plane, it becomes wisdom, understanding, wholeness and connection to Great Spirit.

If you have chosen this symbol, there is a need within you to transmute some thought, action, or desire so that wholeness may be achieved. 

This is heavy magic, but remember, magic is no more than a change in consciousness. 

Become the magician or the enchantress: transmute the energy and accept the power of the fire.

Overview:

Snake is a reptile that is able to shed its skin and live through a traumatic life death-rebirth experience.

So as life and with transmutation from one experience to another, and from one level of existence to another.  

Snake teaches you to recognize that you are an eternal being experiencing mortality, you are constantly shedding anything that has served its purpose, in favour of something which is of greater value.


Snake has transformational ability and supplies the power to use Fire energy in a correct way. 

Continually Transmute all poisons.

Shed the skin of the past. 

Honour the change in progress.

Contrary:

If you have drawn this symbol in the reverse, you may have chosen to mask your ability to change. 

Look at the idea that you may fear changing your present state of affairs because this may entail a short passage of discomfort. 

Does this discomfort keep you from assuming the viewpoint of the magician within? 

Is the old pattern safe, reliable,and a rut? 

In order to glide beyond that place which has become safe but nonproductive, become Snake. 

Release the outer skin of your present identity. 

Move through the dreamlike illusion that has insisted on static continuity, and find a new rhythm as your body glides across the sands of consciousness, like a river winding its way toward the great waters of the sea. 

Immerse yourself in that water, and know that the single droplet which you represent is being accepted by the whole.  

Feel Snake's rhythm and you will dance freely, incorporating those transmuting forces of the universe as a part of your sensual dance of power.

3

Elk

Stamina

Elk . . .

Your antlers reach for the sun. 

Show me that strength
 and stamina are one.

Contrary:

If Elk has appeared in the reverse position, you may be stretching the rubber band to the breaking point. 

Be careful of undue stress levels, or you might just create an illness to force you to take a break.

On another level, you may not be honouring your desires for companionship with the opposite sex, and you may have forgotten the excitement of mating season. 

If this is the case,you may find that your best option is to invite friends of the opposite sex for dinner or an afternoon outing. 

This is not to say that you would be sexually interested in these friends; it is merely suggesting that the exchange of opposite energies could be rewarding.

If you are in a relationship, it may be that the honeymoon is waning and that you need to

stir up some excitement. 

Persistently creating a "change of pace" is the kind of stamina needed for any relationship to last.

In all cases, Elk is telling you to look at how you choose to create your present pathway, and how you intend to perpetuate it to reach your goal.

Your best weapon is the same as Elk's: to stop when you need to, to persist when you need to, and to allow room for change and exchange of energies.

Overview:

Elk stresses friendship and co-operation - the sense of unity that comes from belonging to

a group or community. 

It emphasizes the need to establish relationships. If you are engaged in some kind of competitive activity, whether in your working life or in a personal relationship, you may feel threatened and under pressure. 

You need some equilibrium. Elk shows the value of

friendships and of sharing your interests and experiences with others.

Elk stresses the importance of finding time for refreshment and reflection, and of renewing one's strength. Elk has to do with stamina and the need to go to those of the same gender for support. Bonding and renewal.

Persistence brings rewards. Support your health and stamina. 

Honour your ability to endure.

Non-Contrary:

Elk wandered through the forest looking for a partner. 

The mating season was in full swing, and the bucks that usually traveled with the other males had dispersed to find mates for the season. 

As Elk bellowed his mating call through the forest, his bugling alerted Mountain Lion that a feast could be in the making.

Mountain Lion circled Elk, getting closer to his prey moment by moment. 

Elk sensed the impending danger when the forest grew suddenly silent. 

He broke for the high country when he

spotted his pursuer, but Mountain Lion was far behind. 

As Elk made a running leap for the timberline, Mountain Lion gained on him, but Elk continued to run onward, displaying tremendous stamina.

 Finally Mountain Lion gave up, having spent his energy in spurts as he tried to jump over boulders to reach Elk. 

Elk paced himself, making headway as he climbed skyward toward the high country. 

Elk had no other defence except his ability to go the distance, setting a pace that allowed him to utilize his stamina and energy to the fullest.

Elk medicine teaches that pacing yourself will increase your stamina. 

Elk medicine people may not be the first ones to arrive at a goal, but they always arrive without getting burned out. 

If you have taken on too much recently, it might be a good idea to look at how you plan to finish what you have started without ending up in the hospital.

Elk have a curious kind of warrior energy because, except at mating time, they honor the

company of their own gender. 

They can call on the medicine of brotherhood or sisterhood. 

In discovering the strength which is gained from loving the gender that is your own, you will feel

the comradeship that arises from similarity of experience. 

This is a special medicine that allows the friendship of others of your same sex to overcome potential competition or jealousy.

If you have picked Elk medicine, you may be telling yourself to seek the company of your

own gender for awhile. 

You may need a support group to realign yourself with the stamina of the warrior/warrior-ess energy that you are a part of. 

This communication with others of your own

sex allows you to air your feelings in safety and to get feedback from others who have had the

same experience. 

You may need a new sense of community - communication in unity.

Elk could also be telling you to look at how you are holding up physically to the stresses

in your life, and to pace yourself so that you maintain an equilibrium of energy over the distance you plan to cover. 

Vitamins or high-energy foods may be one solution, along with some personal quiet time for replenishment.

Source: 

Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. 
Medicine Cards

Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988