Spirit Lodge - Totem Animals - Page 66

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Totem Animals

Page 66

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Bear Medicine	Birth Totems	Coyote Medicine	Dragon Ranks	Dragonfly Medicine	Eagle Medicine	Four Animal Helpers	Grey Wolf Medicine	Hawk
Heron Medicine	Horse	Magpie	Raccoon	Salmon Medicine	Spider Medicine	Swan Medicine	Thunder Being Medicine	Totem Loss Disc

GOLDFINCH
By CinnamonMoon

*Ted Andrews/Animal-Speak
Keynote: Awakening to the Nature Spirits
Cycle of Power: Summer Solstice and Summer Season

The gold finch is named for its summer costume of shiny yellow feathers on its body. It also has
black wings and a black cap on its head. This color combination is very significant.

Black and yellow are the colors of the archangel Auriel. These colors in meditation and ritual are
used to invoke that aspect of this being that oversees the activity of nature spirits--the fairies,
elves, and devas. The high point of activity of nature is during the summer, its highest point
being at the solstice itself.

The presence of goldfinches usually indicates an awakening to the activities of those beings that
are normally relegated to the realm of fiction. Goldfinch can help you deepen your perceptions
so that you can begin to see and experience the activities of the nature spirits yourself. This
deepening of perceptions is reflected in the black cap--awakening to that which is normally
hidden from view.

Goldfinches are usually permanent residents, and in those areas where they are found, you can
also find the fairies and the elves. Goldfinches like border areas and young brush growth found
at edges and borders. Edges and borders are intersections where there are natural doorways to
that other realm of life.

Even their nesting habits reflects this link to the border areas, the 'Tween Places.' They build
their nests in a fork or on an outer branch high in a tree. It is usually made of thistledown. Thistle
has a long association with nature spirits and the healing aspects of animals. Blessed thistle was
once used to invoke the god Pan. Thistle has been a symbol of endurance. It is through
endurance and persistence that we can open to the Realm of Faerie once more. Goldfinches are
birds that can help us connect with those nature spirits that can show us how to heal animals--
wild and domestic.

Goldfinches are rarely silent. This in itself is a reminder that Nature is speaking to us constantly
and that we should learn to listen and communicate with it from all levels. It reflects that the
nature spirits are around us at all times.

In winter, the male loses its black cap, and the bright yellow turns to an olive yellow. This also
reflects the connection of goldfinch to the world of the nature spirits. In the winter, they
withdraw, working more within the earth, rather than in the outward expressions which are more
evident in the spring and summer. It does not mean they are not there, but rather that they may
not be as easily perceived.

The goldfinch also has an undulating (an up and down movement) flight pattern. This rhythm
and pattern can be used in visualization to help loosen the subtle energies of the arua and
facilitate leaving the body. The wave pattern also reflects the ability of a goldfinch to lead us to
the inner and to the outer realms, from the human to the Faerie, from the physical to the spiritual.
*From the Animal Spirits website:

Goldfinch's Wisdom Includes:
Understanding the value of change, Ability to resolve family conflicts in a healthy manner,
Creating balance in dealing with different peoples, Understanding the power of voice.