Daily Animal Medicine Doubled

6

Snake

Transmutation

Contrary:

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 beaten, ingested, integrated, and transmuted if one has the proper state of mind.

Thoth, the Atlantian 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 place, creates passion, desire, procreation, and physical vitality. On the emotional place, it becomes ambition, creation, resolution, and dreams. On the mental place 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.

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.

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. Continuity Transmute all poisons.  Shed the skin of the past.  Honour the change in progress.

Source: 
Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. Medicine Cards (Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988).

1

Eagle

Spirit

Eagle . . .

      Fly high,

             Touch Great Spirit.

Share your medicine,

       Touch me, honour me,

              So that  I may know you too.

Eagle medicine is the power of the Great Spirit, the connection to the Divine.  It is the ability to live in the realm of spirit, and yet remain connected and balanced within the realm of

Earth. Eagle soars, and is quick to observe expansiveness within the overall pattern of life.

From the heights of the clouds, Eagle is close to the heavens where the Great Spirit dwells.

The fathers of Eagle are considered to be the most sacred of healing tools. They have been used for centuries by shamans to cleanse the auras of patients coming to them for healing.

Within the belief systems of Native American tribes, Eagle represents a state of grace achieved

through hard work, understanding, and a completion of the tests of initiation which results in the taking of one's personal power.  It is only through the trial of experienced the lows in life as well as the highs, and through the trial of trusting one's connection to the Great Spirit, that the right to use the essence of Eagle medicine is earned.

If you have pulled this symbol, Eagle is reminding you to take heart and gather your courage, for the Universe is presenting you with an opportunity to soar above the mundane levels of your life. The power of recognizing this opportunity may come in the form of a spiritual test.

In being astute, you may recognize the places within your soul, personality, emotions, or psyche

that need bolstering or refinement. By looking at the overall tapestry, Eagle teaches you to broaden your sense of self beyond the horizon of what is presently visible.

In learning to fiercely attack your personal fear of the unknown, the wings of your soul will be supported by the ever-present breezes which are the breath of Great Spirit.  Feed your body, but more importantly feed your soul. Within the realm of Mother Earth and Father Sky, the dance that leads to flight involves the conquering of fear and the willingness to join in the adventure that you are co-creating with the Divine.

If Eagle has majestically soared into your cards, you are being put on notice to reconnect with the element of air. Air is of the mental plane, and in this instance, it is of the higher mind.

Wisdom comes in many strange and curious forms and is always related to the creative force of

the Great Spirit.

If you have been walking in the shadows of former realities, Eagle brings illumination.

Eagle teaches you to look higher and to touch Father Sun with your heart, to love the shadows as

well as the light. See the beauty in both, and you will take flight like the Eagle.

Eagle medicine is the gift we give ourselves to remind us of the freedom of the skies. Eagle asks you to give yourself permission to legalize freedom and to follow the joy your heart

desires.

Contrary:

If you have pulled Eagle in the reverse, you have forgotten your power and connectedness to the Great Spirit. You may have failed to recognize the light that is always available for those who seek illumination. Heal your broken wings with love. Loving yourself as you are loved by the Great Spirit is the lesson which the contrary Eagle brings.

On some level, Eagle is telling you to seek higher ground on which to build your nest. The nest is the home of the heart and cannot remain in a swamp. If your nest is in a swamp, this may be connected to your belief that your wings are clipped by an impossibility in your present status.

Eagle's nest is high in the mountains, where the air is clean and the movement free.  It may be your time for a Vision Quest so that you can commune with the Great Spirit. Fasting and praying will surely bring an answer. Seek lofty ideals, and illumination will be close at hand.

Overview:

Eagle helps you to see beyond the mundane levels of visible existence, for Eagle as a power animal is your connection with your soul Self - your High Self.  Eagle can help you to reach for the shy while still keeping your feet firmly on the ground, and thus combine lofty ideals with practical reality. Eagle can show you that principles and

actions are equally expressions of the spirit.

In American Indian cosmology the eagle "flies closest to the sun," meaning the illuminating light of the Great Spirit. 

Therefore, Eagle as a power animal brings enlightenment, which is a sudden flash of illumination of seeing into spiritual truth which hitherto were obscured of unknown. Fly like an Eagle.  Connect with spirit.  Feel the freedom found in Oneness. Let your spirit soar.

Source: 

Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. 
Medicine Cards
Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988