36 - Lizard - Dreaming - Animal Medicine Triples

Animal Medicine Triples

22 - Beaver - Builder 

& 

10 - Turtle - Mother Earth  - Contrary

dropping out of the deck together while I shuffled my card today.

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 a while 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.

Overview:

Make your dreams come true.

Rekindle lost goals or desires.

Expand your vision.

Honour messages in your dreams.

Contrary:

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 holds 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 identify 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.

 

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 feeling 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.

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.

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.

10 

Turtle

Mother Earth

Turtle . . . Great Mother,
      Feed my spirit,
             Clothe my heart,

That I may serve you too.

Contrary:

Pulling the Turtle card in the reverse means that Mother Earth is calling you to reconnect in some way.

If you have become flippant and forgotten to place waste in its proper place instead of throwing it out the car window, she is calling. 

If you have felt alone in your time of need, she is calling. 

If you have been struggling financially or have little to eat, or if you have desired a child and see no pregnancy in the near future, she is your medicine - use it. 

You are not alone... ever. 

You are a child of Earth.

 All acts of pleasure, joy, and abundance are given by the Mother of the creative force. 

Use her energy to aid you, and you will be healed enough to share this energy with others.

The idea of a Turtle helplessly trying to right itself after it has been flipped upside down can also symbolize contrary Turtle. 

You are not a victim, and you are not helpless, no matter how much it may seem like this is the case in your present situation. 

To right the ill-dignified Turtle, you need only list the things you are grateful for, and from that

grateful place in your heart, look for the abundance of alternatives that Mother Earth gives.

Overview:

In Native American mythology, Turtle represented the Earth, the mother from whose substance the bodies of all creatures living on Earth were formed, and the nurturing Force that provides an opportunity for the human spirit to evolve.

As a power animal, Turtle teaches the need for protection. 

Although you should find expression for the creative sources within, and allow your thoughts to reach up to "heavenly" things, it is essential to stay well grounded and to be connected to the power of the Earth. 

In other words, you must keep your feet on the ground of practicality.

Turtle also stresses the need to keep the physical body in balance, and to remember that this is the vehicle through which we experience life on Earth.

Turtle teaches the wisdom of aligning yourself with the cyclic flow of life, and demonstrates that the fastest way is not necessarily the best, for it takes time for ideas to develop properly.

Turtle indicates Earth harmony, and draws you to all that is whole and good and abundant. 

Make haste slowly.

Connect to Earth Mother. 

Ask for her blessings. 

Fertility and manifestation will follow.

In Native American teachings, Turtle is the oldest symbol for planet Earth. 

It is the personification of goddess energy, and the eternal Mother from which our lives evolve. 

We are born of the womb of Earth, and to her soil our bodies will return. 

In honouring the Earth, we are asked by Turtle to be mindful of the cycle of give and take, to give back to the Mother as she has given to us.

Turtle has a shell which is similar to the protection that Earth has employed for

centuries as her body has been defiled. 

Mother Earth's protection has come in the form of Earth changes, new plant growth, the creation of new land masses by volcanoes, and climate alterations. 

Like Turtle, you also have shields that protect you from hurt, envy, jealousy, and the unconsciousness of others. 

Turtle teaches you, through its habit patterns, how to use protection. 

If you are bothered by the actions or words of others, it is time to go inside yourself and honour your feelings. If you are attacked, it is time to give a warning snap.

If you have chosen the Turtle symbol, you are being asked to honour the creative source within you, to be grounded to the Earth, and to observe your situation with motherly compassion. 

Use the water and earth energies, which represent Turtle's two homes, to flow harmoniously with your situation and to place your feet firmly on the ground in a power stance.

Turtle is a fine teacher of the art of grounding. 

You may even be able to overcome some of your "space cadet" tendencies if you align with Turtle medicine. 

In learning to ground, you are placing focus on your thoughts and actions and slowing to a pace that assures completion.

Turtle warns of dangers of "pushing the river," as evidenced by the plodding pace it keeps. 

The corn that is harvested before its time is not yet full. 

However, if it is given the chance to develop at its own rate, in its own season, its sweetness will be shared by all.

Turtle buries its thoughts, like eggs, in the sand, and allows the sun to hatch the little ones. 

This teaches you to develop your ideas before bringing them out in the light.

Look at the old fable of the tortoise and the hare, and decide for yourself whether or not you would like to align with Turtle. 

Bigger, stronger, and faster are not always the best ways to get to a goal. When you arrive, you may be asked where you have been and you may not be able to remember. In that case, arriving prematurely can make you feel very immature.

If you draw the Turtle card, it augurs a time of connecting with the power of Earth and the Mother-Goddess within. 

This is a reminder of the ally you have in Mother Earth.

It does not matter what situation you have created: ask her for assistance and abundance

will follow.

Source: 

Sams, Jamie and Carson, David. 
Medicine Cards 

Santa Fe: Bear and Company, 1988