25 - Fox - Camouflage

While doing my usual shuffling method three cards flipped up along with today's animal medicine Fox:

 18 - Lynx - Secrets 2

9 -  Badger - Aggression  

36 - Lizard - Dreaming

   

25

Fox

Camouflage

Fox . . . 

      Where are you? 

          Under the ferns?

              Becoming the forest,

                    So I can learn?

Are you watching,

      Invisible to me?

Trying to teach me,

    To become a tree?

Wiley Fox has many allies in the woodlands, including the foliage, which offers protection and much medicine. 

Fox is seemingly able to vanish amidst the lush

undergrowth of the forest. 

This flora is Fox's ally. 

The ability to meld into one's surroundings and be unnoticed is a powerful gift when one is observing the activities of others.

Another natural gift of Fox is the ability to adapt to winter by changing colour, like the chameleon.

Its rich, white, winter coat allows Fox to blend into the snow when the leaves no longer linger. 

Fox medicine involves adaptability, cunning, observation, integration, and swiftness of thought and action. 

These traits may also include quick decisiveness, and sure-footedness in the physical world.

Fox's ability to be unseen allows it to be the protector of the family unit. 

If danger arises, Fox is johnny-on-the-spot. 

Nanih Waiya, Great Spirit in the Choctaw tongue,

honours Fox with the duty of keeping the family together and safe. 

This is accomplished through Fox's ability to observe undetected, without making others self-conscious. 

Fox is always concerned with the safety of family members and is an excellent talisman for those traveling far afield.

If Fox has chosen to share its medicine with you, it is a sign that you are to become like the wind, which is unseen yet is able to weave into and through any location or situation. 

You would be wise to observe the acts of others rather that their words at this time. 

Use your cunning nature in a positive way; keep silent about who and what and why you are observing. 

In learning the art of camouflage, you need to test your ability to pull this off.

One test of exercise that may be helpful to you is deciding to be invisible. 

In doing this exercise, you might try to visualize your body as part of your surroundings, full

of the colours of the location you are in. 

See yourself in your mind's eye, moving with

stealth and grace, unheeded by others. 

If you do it right, it works!

You can leave a party unnoticed or become as unobtrusive as a piece of furniture, watching the developing drama of the subjects you are studying.

While learning from Fox, you might also gain confidence in your ability to know instantly what will happen next. 

After observing for a while, you will become aware of a certain predictability in given situations and be able to quickly make your move. 

Fox medicine teaches the art of Oneness through its understanding of camouflage. 

This applies on all levels, from rocks to God.

With Fox medicine, you are being asked to see all types of uses for Oneness.

Much like the clowns at the rodeo, Fox can keep the raging bull from stampeding a friend or family member. 

Fox can use silly tactics as a brilliant camouflage move. 

No one could guess the sly power behind such ingenious maneuvers.

 Blend in.

Avoid being the center of attention.

Become protective when needed.

Overview:

Fox is associated with cunning, primarily because f its ability to observe the movements of others without being seen. 

As a power animal, Fox stresses the power of

adaptability and integration coupled with the quality of quick-thinking and decisiveness

when the time is ripe.

Power animals always express the positive aspects of the characteristics they share with their physical counterparts, and Fox is not exception. 

Fox as a power animal teaches not the cunning of deceitfulness, but cunning of discretion; not the wilyness of being sly, but the willingness of being unobtrusive. 

It also stresses the importance of waiting patiently for the appropriate opportunity to make your move.

It is possible that your principal problems derive from your desire to prove yourself, and to make your presence felt. 

If you are feeling threatened, or the victim of

controversy and criticism, or envy and jealousy, you are in need of Fox's help in becoming less noticeable and in achieving your aims unheeded and unimpeded by others.

Camouflage and be less noticeable.

18

Lynx

Secrets

Lynx . . .
      You know the secrets
            So very well,
       The Dreamtime and the magic,
              But you'll never tell.

May I learn to hold my tongue.
    Observe like the Sphinx,
       Powerful, yet silent,
               The medicine of Lynx.

It is said that if you want to find out a secret, ask Lynx medicine. 

Unfortunately, it is difficult to get the silent Lynx to speak. 

To be confronted by the powerful medicine of Lynx signifies that you do not know something about yourself.

Lynx is the keeper of the secrets of lost magical systems and occult knowledge.

Lynx has the ability to move through time an space, and to go into the Great Silence for

unraveling any mystery. 

Lynx is not the guardian of secrets, but the knower of secrets.

The problem lies in getting Lynx to instruct you. Lynx would rather be off chasing a bird or kicking sand in your face than running circles around you.

Lynx medicine is a very specific type of clairvoyance. 

If this medicine is strong in you, you will get mental pictures concerning other people and the exact things they have hidden, either from themselves of from others. 

You will see their fears, their lies, and the self-deceptions. 

You will also know where they have hidden the treasures, if there is any.

You never speak of these revelations - you simply know.

The only way you can coax information about yourself out of a Lynx medicine person (in case you have forgotten where you hid the treasure) is to respect the practices of his or her tradition. 

If you go to a Gypsy with Lynx medicine, you show your respect by paying with money after the reading. 

If you go to a Choctaw medicine person, he or

she will reach into your midsection, or use other traditional methods to help you. 

A blanket or tobacco should be given in exchange for the medicine he or she has performed for you. 

This operative is known as the law of the Lynx people, and is practiced by Native American, Gypsy, Sufi, and Egyptian cultures, among others.

If you have pulled the Lynx card, you can be sure that "secrets" are afloat in your life at this time. 

If this is your personal medicine, you should listen to your higher self.

Be still and pay attention to the revelations you receive either in the form of mental pictures or through a high singing voice in your ear. 

Perhaps you will receive information in the form of omens. 

You can be sure that Mother Earth is signalling you in some manner.

If Lynx is at your door, listen. Brother or Sister Lynx can teach you of your personal power and of things you have forgotten about yourself. 

Lynx can lead you to lost treasures and connect you to forgotten brotherhoods of sisterhoods.

Some medicine people believe that the Sphinx of ancient Egypt was not a Lion but a Lynx. 

This Lynx does not say much. With an enigmatic smile, the great cat watches over the sands of forever.

Overview:

The lynx is a large, feline creature with a pretty and smiling face. Some shamans describe it as a "knowing" smile, and one might compare it with the self-satisfied smile of someone who knows something you don't.

In some American Indian mystical traditions, the lynx is regarded as the "Keeper of Secrets" and the knower of that which is hidden. 

So Lynx is associated with the deeper truths and with clairvoyant and divinatory skills.

As a power animal, Lynx can teach you things you don't know - or have forgotten - about yourself. 

Lynx is a silent animal and emphasizes the necessity of going into the silence in order to understand "hidden" knowledge and to obtain facets of ancient wisdom.

Watch Lynx's antics carefully on your journey, for it will rarely, if ever, speak.

Watch where it is leading to and from. 

As you record your impressions, later, consider

that thoughts and mental pictures come to mind. 

They may not appear to have any relevance at first, but this may be Lynx's way of imparting hidden knowledge to you.

Lynx may lead you to things that are lost or hidden, or to recall a forgotten incident which has relevance to your life now. 

It may be the whereabouts of a missing object, or a person with whom you have lost contact. 

Lynx may encourage you to consult an oracle for advice or to seek some means of divining the future. 

Secret Service

Be still and silent. 

Become the one who watches. 

Honour secret wisdom you hold.

Contrary:

If Lynx has appeared in the reversed position, it is time to shut your big mouth.

Something you are jabbering about has let the "cat" out of the bag. 

Are you defiling a sacred trust, or have you broken a promise to a friend? 

If not, you may have pulled a good boner on yourself by blabbing your latest idea to the friend of a competitor. 

Watch your tongue and see if you are able to refrain from gossiping, or talking about your latest romantic conquest. 

Look and see if, in your present state, you are able to listen and truly be interested in someone else's stories or ideas. 

On this level, Lynx is telling you to become worthy of trust. 

Then the secrets will be available to you.

You might look at choosing to have your brain in gear before your babble starts, or your foot may have to replace your tongue. 

This is the "know it all" syndrome. 

Fine - if you want to talk, just sew up your ears.

After all, talking leaves no room for hearing or

learning. 

Lynx is a tough teacher, and if you have let the cat out of the bag, be ready for the consequences.

Become Lynx and wear the Mona Lisa smile. 

Only you will know what you are smiling about.

The cat will not have your tongue - you will - as well as the power over it.

   

29

Badger

Aggression

Badger . . .

      Badger . . .
            Badger . . .

Until you reach your goal,
       Know the inner power,
              That lives in your soul.

Badger is vicious, and attacks with powerful aggression. 

Badger is quick to anger and quicker to pounce. 

The power of Badger's medicine is aggressiveness and the willingness to fight for what it wants.

The very thought of facing Badger makes other animals run for cover. 

Like Skunk, Badger's reputation precedes it. 

Its hissing fangs will tear less aggressive opponents to shreds.

Badger is the medicine of many powerful medicine women, for Badger is also the keeper of the medicine roots. 

Badger sees all the roots of Mother Earth's healing herbs hanging in its burrow home. 

These roots are a key to aggressive healing.

Roots can ground negative energy into the Earth by allowing illness to pass through a body into the ground as neutral energy. 

Badger medicine people are quick to act in a crisis, and they do not panic.

If Badger medicine is part of your medicine, you are quick to express your feelings, and you do not care what the consequences are. 

Badger people oftentimes insist on carrying the ball for the touchdown. 

This attitude, however, does not endear them to

their teammates.

Badger medicine may also point to the aggressive healer who will have the courage to use unconventional means to exact a cure. 

Like the mother who sits for days nursing a child with high fever, Badge is willing to persist.

Badger people can be vicious gossips, or may exhibit a chip on the should, if they are out of balance. 

You can be sure that people with Badger medicine will be aggressive enough to make it to the tops of their chosen fields, because they do not give up. 

They are also the finest healers, because they will use any and all methods to ensure healing, and will not give up on the critically ill.

A Badger person is often the boss, and the one what everyone fears. 

That same boss will surely keep any company afloat. 

Badger gets the job accomplished. 

Badger is certainty is a source of strength.

If Badger has pushed its way into your cards today, it may be telling you that you have been too meek in trying to reach some goal. 

Badger asks you how long are you willing to sit and wait for the world to deliver your silver spoon.

In this medicine, the key is to become aggressive enough to do something about your present state of affairs. 

Badger is teaching you to get angry in a creative way and say, 

"I won't take it any more." 

You must follow-up by keeping your eye on the goal.

Honour the healing process as you express those inner feelings.

Be aggressive, but do not cut others to ribbons on the way-that is too much aggression. 

Use your anger to stop your lolling around, so that your doldrums of apathy are a thing of the past. 

Badger is powerful medicine when properly used for self improvement.

Remember that Badger may be signalling a time when you can use your healing abilities to push ahead in life. 

Heal yourself by aggressively removing the barriers that do not grow corn. 

Cut away the dead wood and use Badger's aggression to seek new levels of expression. 

Use Badger's medicine roots to keep grounded and centred in the process.

Overview:

Badger is a quick and aggressive animal which will fight ferociously for what it wants. 

It lives in burrows and feeds of the roots of plants. As a power animal, Badger teaches the need to fight for your rights and to defend your principles against any attack.

Badger emphasizes that you should take the initiative in any difficult situation, and not just accept it meekly. 

If the problem is an emotional one, Badger encourages you not to keep your feelings bottled up inside but to let off steam. 

Have a good cry. 

Blow your top. 

You will feel better afterwards.

Badger is helpful in healing and harmonizing, encouraging you to look for unconventional means if necessary to affect a cure or result. 

Roots and herbs can help to restore your health. 

If the problem lies in a work situation, or is one concerning human relationships, the solution can be found at the roots.

Take charge of your life. 

Go for it. 

Trust your abilities.

36

Lizard

Dreaming

Lizard . . . will you dream with me?

      Travel across the stars?

            Beyond the place of time and space,

                  There live visions from afar

Lizard sat lolling in the shadow of a big rock, shading himself from the desert sun.

Snake crawled by, looking for some shadow to coil up in and rest. 

Snake watched Lizard for awhile as Lizard's eyeballs went side to side behind his enormous closed lids. 

Snake hissed to get Lizard's attention. 

Slowly Lizard's dreaming eyes opened and he saw snake.

"Snake! You sacred me! 

What do you want?" 

Lizard calmly replied..

Snake spit his answer from his forked tongue. 

"Lizard, you are always getting the

best shadow spots in the heat of the day. 

This is the only big rock for miles. 

Why don't you share your shade with me?"

Lizard thought for a moment, then agreed. 

"Snake, you can share my shade spot, but you have to go to the other side of the rock and you must promise not to interrupt me."

Snake was getting annoyed. 

He hissed, "How could I bother you, Lizard? 

All you are doing is sleeping."

Lizard smiled knowingly. 

"Oh Snake, you are such a silly serpent. 

I'm not sleeping. 

I'm dreaming."

Snake wanted to know what the difference was, so Lizard explained. 

"Dreaming is going into the future, Snake. 

I go to where the future lives. 

You see, that is why I know you won't eat me today.

I dreamed you and I know you are full of mouse."

Snake was taken aback. 

"Why Lizard, you're exactly right. 

I wondered why you said you would share your rock."

Lizard laughed to himself. 

"Snake," he said, 

"You are looking for shade and I am looking for shadow. 

Shadow is where the dreams live."

Lizard Medicine is the shadow side of reality where your dreams are reviewed before you decide to manifest them physically. 

Lizard could have created getting eaten by Snake if he had so desired.

Lizard is the medicine of dreamers. 

Whether dreamers smoke you or dream you,

dreamers can always help you see the shadow. 

This shadow can be your fears, your hopes, or the very thing you are resisting. 

But it is always following you around like an

obedient dog.

If Lizard dreamed a space in your life this day, it may time to look and see what is following along behind you. 

It is your fears, your future trying to catch up to you, or is it the part of you that wants to ignore your weaknesses and humanness?

Lizard may be telling you to pay attention to your dreams and their symbols.

Make a dream log and record all that you remember. 

Be sure to pay attention to each individual symbol or recurring pattern. 

If you do not remember your dreams upon waking

in the morning, set an alarm for 2:00 or 3:00 Am, or drink a lot of water before you go to bed and allow your bladder to wake you up. 

Dreams are very important. Pay attention to

them.

If Lizard has turned up in the contrary position, you may be having a nightmare.

This is a sign of inner conflict. 

Look to the nightmare for a clue to the nature of this conflict. 

What are the feelings your nightmare causes?

Breathe through these feelings and let the sensations flow out of your body. 

See the truth in what your nightmare is suggesting. 

It could be the simple message that you are confronting your fears and therefore do not need to experience nightmarish events in your day-to-day life.

Another message of Lizard reversed is that you may need more sleep or dreamtime. 

It could also imply that you have a lack of dreams for your future.

Imagination is the door to all new ideas and creations. 

As you examine the dreaming process, you will find that the subconscious is processing all of the recorded messages it hold concerning the events you experienced during the day. 

These messages can be suppressed feelings bringing inner conflict, or they can be new ideas or goals, other dimensions of awareness, future events, warning signals, or desires and hopes.

In one sense, contrary Lizard is insisting that you look to your imagination for new experience. 

This is necessary when life becomes dull or full of boredom. 

On the other hand, contrary Lizard may also apply to those who dream too much, refusing to use the dreams as tools to manifest that same vision in their lives.

All levels of awareness are accessible through dreams. Remember, life is not always as it seems. 

Are you the dreamer? 

Or are you the dreamed?

The lizard is a creature found in shady areas during the heat of the day, and is symbolic of the shadowy side of reality - the plane where that is coming into manifestation is being fashioned. 

This plane is sometimes referred to as the "Dreamtime" - the astral plane of constantly changing patterns and shapes.

Lizard is concerned with your dreams of the future and of formulating what you want to become physical realities.

Lizard is thus connected with your subconscious mind, and your hopes and fears.

It can help you to identify those recurrent problems that follow you around like your

shadow; they must be confronted before they will depart from you. 

Your aspirations must have emotion breathed into them to make them manifest.

Next time you encounter Lizard on your journey, look carefully behind you.

Record your observations in a log and note especially any symbols and signs so that you

can identity those that are recurring. 

Ask Lizard to help you to understand what you see.

Keep a dream log, too, so you can become aware of what is occurring both in your dream state and your shamanic state of consciousness.

Make your dreams come true.

Rekindle lost goals or desires. 

Expand your vision. 

Honour messages in your dreams.

Source: 

Sams, Jamie and Carson, 

David. Medicine Cards 

Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988