19 - Buffalo - Prayer and Abundance

Animal Medicine Doubles with Beaver falling out of the deck while shuffling

19

Buffalo  

Prayer and Abundance

Buffalo . . .
     

       You bring us the gift of life.

Hear our prayers,

            

              Smoke rising,

                   Like Phoenix,

We are reborn,

      

         Within the sacred words.

In the Lakota tradition it was the White Buffalo Calf Woman who brought the sacred pipe to the people and taught them to pray. 

The bowl of the pipe was the receptacle that held tobacco, an herb with male and female medicine. 

The seeding life.

In the coming together of male and female, the connection to the divine energy of the Great Spirit was made. 

As the pipe was loaded with Tobacco, every family in nature was asked to enter into the pipe and share its medicine as prayer and praise to the heavens.

The smoke was considered to be visual prayer, and was very sacred and cleansing.

All animals are sacred, but in many traditions White Buffalo is most sacred. 

The appearance of White Buffalo is assign that prayers are being heard, that the sacred pipe is

being honoured, and that the promises of prophesy are being fulfilled. 

White Buffalo signals a time of abundance and plenty.

Buffalo was the major source of sustenance for the Plains Indians. 

It gave meant for food, hides for clothing, warm and soft robes for long winters, and hooves for glue.

The medicine of Buffalo is prayer, gratitude and praise for that which has been received.

Buffalo medicine is also knowing that abundance is present when all relations are honoured as sacred, and when gratitude is expressed to every living part of creation.

Because of its desire to give the gifts that its body provided, and because of its willingness to be used on Earth for the highest good before entering the hunting grounds of Spirit, Buffalo did not readily stampede and run from hunters.

To use Buffalo medicine is to smoke the pipe in a sacred manner, and to give praise for the richness of life to be shared with all races, all creatures, all nations, and all life. 

It means smoking for others to that their needs are met, praying for the good of all

things in harmony, and accepting the Great 

Mystery as part of that harmony.

If you have drawn the Buffalo card, you may be asked to use your energy in prayer. 

You may also be called upon to be an instrument of someone else's answer to a prayer. 

This could portend a time of recognizing the sacredness of every walk of life, albeit different from your own. 

To honour another's pathway, even if it brings you a sadness, is a part of the message that Buffalo brings. 

This may be a time of reconnection to the meaning of life and the value of peace. Most assuredly this time will bring serenity amidst chaos if you pray in earnest for enlightenment and the power of calmness and give praise for the gifts you already have.

Buffalo medicine is a sign that you achieve nothing without the aid of the Great Spirit and that you must be humble enough for that assistance and then be grateful for what you receive.

Contrary:

To receive Buffalo upside-down is a signal that you have forgotten to seek help when it has been needed. 

If your hand is closed in a fist, you cannot receive the bounty of abundance. 

In understanding the significance of the reversed Buffalo, you may well ask yourself. 

(1) Have I forgotten my eternal partner, Great Spirit? 

(2) Am I pushing myself too fast in the physical world and keeping myself from seeing the importance of reunion with the Source of all life? 

(3) Have mI forgotten to honour the ways of others and to afford them the same respect that I wish to receive for myself? 

(4) Am I feeling like my life is being used for the highest good at this time? 

(5) Have I forgotten to be grateful for my life, my possessions, my talents, my abilities, my health, my family, or my friends?

(6) Is it time to make peace with another, or to make peace with some inner conflict I have so that I may walk in balance again?

Become Buffalo. 

Feel the smoke of prayer and praise change your Buffalo robe to white so that you may be an answer to the prayers of the world.

Overview:

The Buffalo was the most sacred of all animals to the American Indian because it gave entirely of itself providing not only food, but also materials for clothing, housing, cooking utensils and equipment, and weapons. As a power animal, 

Buffalo is thus concerned with provision and abundance, with sustenance and sharing. It stresses the importance of being prepared to share one's energies with others, and to recognize other

people's needs.

Buffalo is also symbolic of Wakan-Tanka - the Great Spirit in manifestation, who was also referred to as the Great Everything - and is a reminder that whatever talents and abilities we may have they all derive from the source of the Great Provider. 

So Buffalo as a power animal serves as a reminder that everything we possess is but temporary, and that true happiness can never be attained alone; it comes through sharing what one has, and what one is, with others. Sharing and caring.

Make way for abundance. 

Release fear of lack or scarcity. 

Open yourself to receive.

Source: 

Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. 

Medicine Cards

Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988

  

22

Beaver

Builder

Beaver . . .
      Teach me to build my dreams,
            Including others too.

One mind,
       One thought,
            Heart as one,
                  Lessons learned from you.

Beaver is the doer in the animal kingdom. 

Beaver medicine is akin to water and earth energy, and incorporates a strong sense of family and home. 

If you were to look at the dams that block woodland streams, you would find several entrances and exits. 

In buildings its home, Beaver always leaves itself many alternative escape routes. 

This practice is a lesson to all of us not to paint ourselves into corners. 

If we eliminate our alternatives, we dam the flow

of experience in our lives. 

A doer is characterized by industriousness, and Beaver knows that limitation cancels productivity.

Beaver is armed with very sharp teeth that are capable of felling whole trees. 

Imagine what those teeth could do to the limbs of predators. 

From the rear, Beaver is armed with a paddle-like tail that aids in swimming as well as in guarding its behind. 

This tiny mammal is well equipped to protect its creation.

To understand Beaver medicine, you might take a look at the power of working and attaining a sense of achievement. 

In building a dream, teamwork is necessary. 

To accomplish a goal with others involves working with the group mind. 

Group mind constitutes harmony of the highest order, without individual egos getting in the way. 

Each partner in the project honours the talents and abilities of the others, and knows how to complete the piece of the puzzle that belongs to them. 

In working well with others, a sense of community is achieved and unity ensues.

If Beaver has appeared in your spread, it may be time to put your ideas into action or to complete some project that has been neglected. 

The Beaver card could also be asking you to

settle differences with fellow workers or friends. 

Beaver tells you to look for alternative solutions to life's challenges and to protect the creations which you put your love and energy into.

Sometimes Beaver brings you a warning to watch your back. If this is your message, you will know it by the position in which the card falls in your spread. 

If the card falls in the South position, it is to remind your child-self that trusting is okay but caution is necessary.

Use discernment and all will be fine.

Overview:

Beaver is the construction worker of the animal world and its dam-building methods characterize its industriousness and productivity. 

As a power animal, Beaver stresses the power of work, and especially of teamwork, to accomplish what is necessary and obtain a sense of achievement.

Beaver as a power animal can help you to develop more harmonious relationships with others, and acquire a sense of involvement in any project.

Beaver's practice of providing alternative ways of entering and leaving its home is a reminder that there is more that one way of solving your problems. 

Beaver is also cautioning you to protect what you have achieved or acquired through your own efforts.

If you are currently engaged in any creative endeavour, Beaver is encouraging you to put

your ideas in practice. 

It is not enough to be a dreamer: you need to be a doer if you want your dreams to become practical realities.

Be constructive in all your endeavours and look for ways of providing alternatives.

Work at it.

Make today count. 

Build toward manifesting your dreams and goals.

Contrary:

If Beaver has dunked its head under water and is contrary, you are being asked to open new doors to opportunity and to stay aware. 

This could also usher in a time of laziness or

apathy. 

Find what is damming the flow, and remove the impasse. The questions that may arise when Beaver is contrary are: 

(1) Have I forgotten to allow room in my life for new experiences? 

(2) Am I willing to work with others? 

(3) Am I resentful of having to work?

(4) Do I express my creativity by doing, or just be dreaming about it? 

(5) Has my mind created so many obstacles to productivity that I feel like a failure before I begin?

Meditate upon Beaver's determination and willingness to work. 

Visualize the goal you wish to accomplish, and be willing to work with others to achieve that end.

Source: 

Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. 
Medicine Cards 

Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988