THE ESSENCE: When Standstill appears, it is a symbol of pausing, the act of observation, and breathing space. It represents the benefits of temporary non action as well as what happens when one is stuck. THE INVITATION: When things seem to stall or stagnate, or when you feel stuck, this symbol appears as a reminder…
THE ESSENCE: The staff is the symbol of authority. It holds the power to temper extremes. The staff helps you find the right course of action, the “way of the middle,” and aids you to maintain your balance after you begin walking in that direction. Moses carried a serpent staff through the desert, and with…
THE ESSENCE: From galaxies in the sky to diminutive shells at the beach, the spiral is found extensively in the natural world. Its shape in the form of a coiled serpent has been used since ancient times as a tool for growth and transformation. The spiral is a guide for entering deep into one’s consciousness…
THE ESSENCE: Soul Retrieval is a practice that helps you recover a part of yourself—your energy, your enthusiasm, or your innocence—that you have lost. At first, we’ll use soul retrieval to recover from our hurts and heal our childhood wounds. Later, we learn to journey to recover our original nature—that self that never left the…
THE ESSENCE: This is the source of dark power. The Sorcerer represents the destructive aspect of the human psyche and the self-centered behavior that harms others. It symbolizes the unconscious beliefs and ideas that foster separation, conflict, and scarcity. THE INVITATION: When the Sorcerer enters your circle, you’re being called to look at how your…
THE ESSENCE: The Smoky Mirror represents the aspects of what is implied yet cannot be immediately known in the world, the mystery of how things come together and how they fall apart without obvious causality. This symbol also represents the shadow of the human psyche, the parts of the self that one disowns. The Smoky…
THE ESSENCE: The Serpent is the life force of Mother Earth. The coiled serpent of the Kundalini brings passion, healing, and renewal. She offers us the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, and reminds us to shed the past the way she sheds her tired, old skin. Serpent comes to…
THE ESSENCE: The Seer represents the capacity to reach beyond the obvious details of life, into the Hidden Realms where information is available to those with the discernment to perceive it. This symbol represents psychic perception, intuition, and the capacity to know something without prior exposure. The Seer knows truth, always seeks truth beyond all…
THE ESSENCE: To sacrifice means “to make sacred.” The sacrifice is an offering of gratitude made from the heart, a feast of love prepared for Spirit. In olden days, sacrifices sometimes involved rituals in which blood was offered to the gods. For example, in the Bible, Yahweh preferred Abel’s sacrifice of one of his lambs…
THE ESSENCE: The rattle is the Spirit-caller, carrying the shaman’s prayer to the four directions. The body of the rattle is like the Earth spinning on its axis. With the aid of the rattle, the medicine woman instills a desired destiny in her future, closing with the prayer, “Great Spirit, may your will be done!”…
