Whispers of Magic. Knowing Your Animal Totems.

The day my former husband showed up at a water ceremony with a raven wing in hand, my heart knew the prayer I’d set in motion years earlier had finally come full circle. He offered a blessing to me, waving the sacred smoke of burning cedar my way, with the wing of this magical black bird. He then gifted me the wing with the synchronistic words, “This is Yours.”

A chill shot through me, his words of praise and appreciation were healing nectar for my mother heart, as I had wanted nothing more than peace within our now unconventional family.

Everything is magic, or nothing is magic. By choosing the worldview of magic in all things, a gentle doorway may open to the whisper of animal totems, a realm where animals become guides, teachers, and symbols for your growth along the life journey. Synchronicity and guidance reveal truth when you see animals in your path beyond just coincidence, particularly noticing when the timing of their appearance relate to presence of your emotions, life questions and prayers.

The power of that Raven wing blessing three years ago would prove to be pivotal in mending a relationship of two friends, whose connection had gone astray through a painful and difficult marriage. I held back my tears for the moment, as I continued to prepare for the group ceremony that would be starting in less than an hour.

Mark’s arrival with the raven wing before the water ceremony was nearly four years to the day since I had broken down in tears in my office, crying in the arms of a friend, grieving the anger and separation with the man who had once been my beloved. A band of ravens arrived outside my office window, squawking like crazy, when I declared with a powerful prayer that the painful, trying relationship between the father of my children and I was to change!

I had a few ideas then of how to initiate such a healing process. But life, of course, would reveal its own unfolding in a way I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams. I never could have foreseen that my animal guides would be so instrumental in supporting my prayer, nor that it would unfold effortlessly with a series of openings in our communication over the coming years.

I was scared, nervous and frankly overwhelmed by the tension between us at that time that was thick enough to cut with a knife whenever we found ourselves in the same room together. I realized the only thing I could do was turn it over to a higher power, and not try to implement any plan or action steps.

This situation, like so many things in life that have felt much bigger than me, could only transform through surrender and a strong prayer.

The morning after the water ceremony, I awoke with my heart feeling open and very tender, the raven wing beside me on the altar in my bedroom. When I closed my eyes, I felt waves of sweet energy swishing through me, waves of emotion: Grief and loss. Growth and love. The mysterious ways of the Great Spirit once again had humbled me. Wiping the sleep from my eyes that morning, I reflected on the night before, and my personal journey with “Call of the Raven,” the totem name of the ongoing drum circles I led at that time. My heart felt as if it had been cracked wide open, with joy and gratitude for my life path. I didn’t really realize until that night how the Raven medicine has carried me over the last four years on a journey that would align me with the calling of my soul and ultimately a huge healing for my heart. In Northern California, the ravens always showed up whenever I found myself on the cusp of something seemingly insurmountable. I have learned that raven medicine opens a portal to the great mystery, to the place of the void, where magic happens. These clever, powerful black birds are said to carry messages between the worlds.

Honestly, I never knew how true that actually was until the morning after receiving the raven wing, as I sat in deep reflection on my sunny porch. Raven helped to heal my heart by opening a portal to the Divine Creator so that I could take the powerful steps

I needed to move toward my own wholeness, while holding a vision for the healing of my family.

All I needed to do was stand firmly in my commitment, continue to show up for myself, my two children and following the cues along the way. This messenger, Raven spirit, has also been my guide to the steps I have taken into leadership and sharing my healing gifts with greater presence, certainty, and connection to my own divinity.

As I reflect on this now, my heart smiles to acknowledge the power of the Great Mystery and the satisfaction of knowing my children now have both of their parents breaking bread together as friends and guardians for their precious lives.