By: J Nighteagle
One of the ways you can come to understand Nature and what she says to you through animals is by examine the symbolism of the habitats. The landscapes, the habitats, the countryside in which animals are observed and experienced can add much to your understanding of the role they will play in your life as totems. Keep in mind that the inner, spiritual forces often unfold as forms within Nature. This means then a mountain crest has much greater significance then just being on top of a big hill.
Different worlds-different landscapes-reflect different states of beings. We can discover much about our own state of being by orienting ourselves to the landscapes within our live. Many societies recognized the importance of landscapes and spatial shapes and forms. They saw them as dynamic symbols. We can discover much about our own life situation by orienting our selves to our landscapes and life within it. To do this appropriately, we must consider:
1. The predominate elements and character of the whole, natural and artificial, i.e the trees, flowers, the ground, etc.
2. The spatial symbolism.
3. The form or pattern of the terrain ( soft, hard, broken, sloped, etc. )
4. The relationship of a specific area to the whole region.
5. The general cyclic pattern( seasonal, yearly, etc. )
6. The predominate colors.
7. The predominate wild life.
Continued next week.
