Lady_Elaine
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Posted Wed Apr 04, 2007 3:39 am...
Working with Bird and Feather Totems
by Panther Rose
~from SageWoman Magazine, Spring 1992
The winged ones, our bird allies, bring many gifts to our lives through their songs, their jeweled colors, their grace of flight, their workings within the natural order. To work effectively with bird medicine, I believe it is helpful to have some understanding of feathers.
The largest wing feathers of a bird are the primaries, from mid-wing to tip, and the secondaries, from mid-wing to body. The small overlapping feathers on the wings are called coverts. Long, narrow, pointed wings are suited for long-distance flying over the sea (albatrosses have these). Long, broad and rounded wings such as the eagle's are good for long-distance flying or soaring over land. Short rounded wings, like come owls have, are suited for slow flying through forests and over field, and rounded concave wings such as are found on grouse work well for quick take-offs and rapid escapes for short distances. Birds like the killdeer have pointed flat wings for quick wing action and swift flight.
Hard-edges feathers are for speed and maneuvering; soft feathers enable silent approach. The hawks don't worry about noise. By the time the prey hears the hawk, it's too late. Owls cruise more slowly and rely on their noiseless flight style. The medicine of the wing feathers, in general, is that of motion, lift, flight, power.
The tail feathers are called rectrices (rectrix is the singular), and they also have little shingled feathers called coverts overlapping them. The retrices are all paired and overlap each other, except for one rectrix in the center pair. This feather is often prized as a medicine feather. Tail feathers in general are for balance, steering, guidance and braking, for the bird and for the shaman.
Bird feet used for perching, climbing, catching, carrying and manipulating food have toes that are sharp and curved. Toes for running and scratching are sturdy with large blunt nails, and toes for swimming are webbed. In medicine work, talons are used for psychic defense, for grabbing energy in some kinds of healing work, and for housing the power of birds of prey on staffs, bundles or other ceremonial objects. I have also used talons as acupuncture-like healing tools. The energy in talons is very intense and needs particular care in using and keeping.
Why is this information helpful in totem work? First, because many people using feathers and other totem body parts never truly look at what they are making use of, or bother to learn much about the being whose body that object came from. Each feather is a work of creative artistry, of elegant beauty and admirable function. Second, because these physical details reveal a great deal of information relevant to the medicine the bird is sharing.
All birds regularly replace feathers by molting. So, you are strolling along one day and there at your feet is a wonderful feather that seems to speak to you of portents. How do you know what medicine this feather brings to you? You begin by applying your knowledge and intuition.
First, it helps to identify what kind of bird the feather is from. Practice, experience and a good field guide are all useful. If you cannot identify the specific bird, try to discern whether the bird is a waterbird, bird of prey, perching bird or some other general category. Often just sitting for awhile in meditation with the feather will give you a feel for what kind of bird it is.
Reflect on what you know about that kind of bird:
Time of day or night that it is active
What it feeds on, how it feeds
Whether it is migratory
Terrain it lives in, nesting habits
Parenting habits, social habits
Spatial niche - ground bird, cliff bird, bush-hopper, etc.
Ecological niches, relationship to other species
Kind of song or call
Style of flight and movement
Once you know what kind of bird the feather is from, try to tell where on the bird's body the feather grew. Is it a flight feather, a tail feather, specialized body feather? This wil give you further clues as to the nature of that gift. Look at the qualities that stand out on the feather, examine the size of the shaft, the shape of the feather, its colors and textures. Reflect on the circumstances under which the feather was given or found.
Once again, all these will tell a story of the bird's medicine powers. Use your intuition to divine how that feather should be used, and ask guidance from the spirit of the bird. Be sure to leave an offering when you find a feather, and care for the discarded body of the bird in a respectful manner.
When a feather is found, you should sprinkle it with boric acid to rid it of feather mites. After two weeks, the powder can be shaken out and the feather used. Boric acid is best kept out of reach of children and pets. Another method if to put the feathers in the freezer for a week or two. If feather mites are not dealt with, eventually you will find your feathers looking ragged.
If you cut the whole wings from a bird or skin the bird with feathers intact, it is good to sprinkle salt with the boric acid for its drying qualities. This applies to talons as well. The wings or talons need to be tacked up in a spread-open positions or they will not be openable when dry.
Feather should be smudged when found and ten smudged regularly, especially if they are not kept wrapped, as they will gather energy the way a feather-duster gathers dust, and will become quickly "clogged" and loaded. Always handle feathers with clean hands and minimize touching of feathers of a live bird.
There are many ways to use feathers:
On medicine bundles or totem bags
On mandalas or shields
On staffs and Pipe stems
As medicine fans or for smudging
On prayer arrows or hung in trees to carry prayers
As part of ceremonial regalia
as guardians or energy indicators in a room
In letters, as message carriers
For healing work
Healing with feathers is an age-old expression of totem alliance. There are as many techniques as there are shamans. Here are a few simple ways to use feathers for healing.
For diagnostic purposes, crows, owls and eagles may provide insight. Put the feather on your brow chakra and scan the person you are helping. Or put your hand over your left eye, hold the feather just under your right eye, turning it so that it is perpendicular to you and almost seems to disappear (use a flat type of feather for this(, then scan the aura beyond the feather. Another method is to use a fairly small feather and, holding it very lightly in your fingers, "float" it over the person's aura, noting what effects the subtle currents have on the feather, similar to dowsing.
Some healers use a surgical motion with feathers, employing a primary flight feather as a cutting tool to enter the aura and remove afflictions. Vulture feathers are often used for doctoring. Some prefer to enter the aura gently and work with changes through cooperative methods with the person being doctored. Sweeping and spiraling motions are used for clearing the aura and modifying chakra activity. While work is in progress, you can tap the feather shaft on an obsidian stone to clear it. When finished with healing work, it is good to smudge with sage and sweetgrass.
Different kinds of feathers and different kinds of birds are appropriate for various kinds of work done. I have listed a few examples, but it is the relationship with the bird/feather that is the most important factor, not what a book or teacher tells you is the right feather for any particular task. Each bird, each feather has its own purpose. The big birds, like the large four-footeds, draw the most attention, so will be briefly discussed here as examples of the totem relationship with wingeds.
Eagle
Despite the numbers of people using Eagle in their medicine names, there are relatively few two-leggeds who truly carry that medicine as a totem. Eagle is aloof, flies high and generally avoids human contact, even at the cost of having its nest violated. Eagle sees the larger perspective and traffics in important messages and medicine, having great spiritual strength. Eagle is associated with the sun, with courage, pride and aspiration. Golden eagles are awesome hunters and their energy is of wild canyons, prairies and mountains of the west (though they represent East on most Medicine Wheels). Their feathers, spotted in young males and ghost-marked when older, are the traditional feathers signifying bravery, leadership and connectedness to Spirit, and are carefully kept off the ground. Bald eagles hold different energies than Goldens - usually placed in the North of the Medicine Wheel. The white tail feathers of mature Bald Eagles are prized for the spiritual light they transmit, the purification they emanate.
Hawk
Unlike the lofty Eagle, Hawk is quite willing to engage itself with human activity, and so is a frequent ally of shamanic practitioners. Hawk comes in many varieties, but is generally a message-bringer, protector, journeying totem or helper for success in business or action. Most Hawks are quick to defend their nest space. Their keen senses, speed of flight, fierceness and independent confidence give much power to persons allied with this medicine. Hawk is a good bird to travel with between the realms, and its talons and feathers are versatile in healing use.
Owl
Counterpart to the sun birds is the bird of the moon, Owl. Fearfully associated by many with sorcery and death, Owl is a totem of transformation, moving from West to North to East, from power and dreams, to completion and the release of old patterns, to renewal and return. Owl carried wisdom, vision, prophecy and transmutation in its silent flight and strange nocturnal calls. Totemically, Owls and Cats are closely linked and a person having one as a totem often has the other also. Some owls, such as the Snowy, Barred and March, are daytime hunters and their particular medicines reflect that light. But the majority of Owls are night birds, guardians of that rich time of seeing with the inner sense, commuting with stars and confronting shadows.
Heron
Great Blue Heron, stately monarch of the waterside, teaches patience and attention, accuracy and grace. Heron's elegant feathers, subtle and slate blue, calm the spirit. Heron's medicine is truth, judgment, intuitive knowledge. In flight or walking in its deliberate way through lake shallows, Heron does not like to be hurried or distracted by inconsequential matters. When it comes time to grab its prey, it strikes like a rattlesnake, fast and sure, without compromise. Heron is discipline within beauty.
Vulture
Vulture is patient also, one of the only big birds that does not kill to eat, but rather takes death and through nourishing itself turns it into life. To Vulture, a decaying body radiates heat and light, sparkles. Vulture's amazing physiology can consume and thrive on micro-organisms found in putrefying flesh that would sicken or kill other creatures. This is one reason their feathers are valued for healing. The shaft of Vulture flight feathers is pale yellow, a ray of brightness through the dark vanes. Vultures are protectors, and they possess the totem medicine of justice and karma. Masters of spiraling soaring flight, Vulture rides the air for hours with scarcely a wing beat.
In approaching the realm of the winged ones, we touch the intimacy between Earth and Sky. We learn to lift our eyes, minds, hearts, and to honor the mystery of flight. So used to things dropping downward from the hand's release, it is a rare gift to the human spirit to feel the energy of a bird push from the palm and spring upwards to the winds, the blue freedom of space and destiny.
This article is part of Panther Rose's manuscript entitles All My Relations: A Guide to Totem Medicine. It is, sadly, out of print.
by Panther Rose
~from SageWoman Magazine, Spring 1992
The winged ones, our bird allies, bring many gifts to our lives through their songs, their jeweled colors, their grace of flight, their workings within the natural order. To work effectively with bird medicine, I believe it is helpful to have some understanding of feathers.
The largest wing feathers of a bird are the primaries, from mid-wing to tip, and the secondaries, from mid-wing to body. The small overlapping feathers on the wings are called coverts. Long, narrow, pointed wings are suited for long-distance flying over the sea (albatrosses have these). Long, broad and rounded wings such as the eagle's are good for long-distance flying or soaring over land. Short rounded wings, like come owls have, are suited for slow flying through forests and over field, and rounded concave wings such as are found on grouse work well for quick take-offs and rapid escapes for short distances. Birds like the killdeer have pointed flat wings for quick wing action and swift flight.
Hard-edges feathers are for speed and maneuvering; soft feathers enable silent approach. The hawks don't worry about noise. By the time the prey hears the hawk, it's too late. Owls cruise more slowly and rely on their noiseless flight style. The medicine of the wing feathers, in general, is that of motion, lift, flight, power.
The tail feathers are called rectrices (rectrix is the singular), and they also have little shingled feathers called coverts overlapping them. The retrices are all paired and overlap each other, except for one rectrix in the center pair. This feather is often prized as a medicine feather. Tail feathers in general are for balance, steering, guidance and braking, for the bird and for the shaman.
Bird feet used for perching, climbing, catching, carrying and manipulating food have toes that are sharp and curved. Toes for running and scratching are sturdy with large blunt nails, and toes for swimming are webbed. In medicine work, talons are used for psychic defense, for grabbing energy in some kinds of healing work, and for housing the power of birds of prey on staffs, bundles or other ceremonial objects. I have also used talons as acupuncture-like healing tools. The energy in talons is very intense and needs particular care in using and keeping.
Why is this information helpful in totem work? First, because many people using feathers and other totem body parts never truly look at what they are making use of, or bother to learn much about the being whose body that object came from. Each feather is a work of creative artistry, of elegant beauty and admirable function. Second, because these physical details reveal a great deal of information relevant to the medicine the bird is sharing.
All birds regularly replace feathers by molting. So, you are strolling along one day and there at your feet is a wonderful feather that seems to speak to you of portents. How do you know what medicine this feather brings to you? You begin by applying your knowledge and intuition.
First, it helps to identify what kind of bird the feather is from. Practice, experience and a good field guide are all useful. If you cannot identify the specific bird, try to discern whether the bird is a waterbird, bird of prey, perching bird or some other general category. Often just sitting for awhile in meditation with the feather will give you a feel for what kind of bird it is.
Reflect on what you know about that kind of bird:
Time of day or night that it is active
What it feeds on, how it feeds
Whether it is migratory
Terrain it lives in, nesting habits
Parenting habits, social habits
Spatial niche - ground bird, cliff bird, bush-hopper, etc.
Ecological niches, relationship to other species
Kind of song or call
Style of flight and movement
Once you know what kind of bird the feather is from, try to tell where on the bird's body the feather grew. Is it a flight feather, a tail feather, specialized body feather? This wil give you further clues as to the nature of that gift. Look at the qualities that stand out on the feather, examine the size of the shaft, the shape of the feather, its colors and textures. Reflect on the circumstances under which the feather was given or found.
Once again, all these will tell a story of the bird's medicine powers. Use your intuition to divine how that feather should be used, and ask guidance from the spirit of the bird. Be sure to leave an offering when you find a feather, and care for the discarded body of the bird in a respectful manner.
When a feather is found, you should sprinkle it with boric acid to rid it of feather mites. After two weeks, the powder can be shaken out and the feather used. Boric acid is best kept out of reach of children and pets. Another method if to put the feathers in the freezer for a week or two. If feather mites are not dealt with, eventually you will find your feathers looking ragged.
If you cut the whole wings from a bird or skin the bird with feathers intact, it is good to sprinkle salt with the boric acid for its drying qualities. This applies to talons as well. The wings or talons need to be tacked up in a spread-open positions or they will not be openable when dry.
Feather should be smudged when found and ten smudged regularly, especially if they are not kept wrapped, as they will gather energy the way a feather-duster gathers dust, and will become quickly "clogged" and loaded. Always handle feathers with clean hands and minimize touching of feathers of a live bird.
There are many ways to use feathers:
On medicine bundles or totem bags
On mandalas or shields
On staffs and Pipe stems
As medicine fans or for smudging
On prayer arrows or hung in trees to carry prayers
As part of ceremonial regalia
as guardians or energy indicators in a room
In letters, as message carriers
For healing work
Healing with feathers is an age-old expression of totem alliance. There are as many techniques as there are shamans. Here are a few simple ways to use feathers for healing.
For diagnostic purposes, crows, owls and eagles may provide insight. Put the feather on your brow chakra and scan the person you are helping. Or put your hand over your left eye, hold the feather just under your right eye, turning it so that it is perpendicular to you and almost seems to disappear (use a flat type of feather for this(, then scan the aura beyond the feather. Another method is to use a fairly small feather and, holding it very lightly in your fingers, "float" it over the person's aura, noting what effects the subtle currents have on the feather, similar to dowsing.
Some healers use a surgical motion with feathers, employing a primary flight feather as a cutting tool to enter the aura and remove afflictions. Vulture feathers are often used for doctoring. Some prefer to enter the aura gently and work with changes through cooperative methods with the person being doctored. Sweeping and spiraling motions are used for clearing the aura and modifying chakra activity. While work is in progress, you can tap the feather shaft on an obsidian stone to clear it. When finished with healing work, it is good to smudge with sage and sweetgrass.
Different kinds of feathers and different kinds of birds are appropriate for various kinds of work done. I have listed a few examples, but it is the relationship with the bird/feather that is the most important factor, not what a book or teacher tells you is the right feather for any particular task. Each bird, each feather has its own purpose. The big birds, like the large four-footeds, draw the most attention, so will be briefly discussed here as examples of the totem relationship with wingeds.
Eagle
Despite the numbers of people using Eagle in their medicine names, there are relatively few two-leggeds who truly carry that medicine as a totem. Eagle is aloof, flies high and generally avoids human contact, even at the cost of having its nest violated. Eagle sees the larger perspective and traffics in important messages and medicine, having great spiritual strength. Eagle is associated with the sun, with courage, pride and aspiration. Golden eagles are awesome hunters and their energy is of wild canyons, prairies and mountains of the west (though they represent East on most Medicine Wheels). Their feathers, spotted in young males and ghost-marked when older, are the traditional feathers signifying bravery, leadership and connectedness to Spirit, and are carefully kept off the ground. Bald eagles hold different energies than Goldens - usually placed in the North of the Medicine Wheel. The white tail feathers of mature Bald Eagles are prized for the spiritual light they transmit, the purification they emanate.
Hawk
Unlike the lofty Eagle, Hawk is quite willing to engage itself with human activity, and so is a frequent ally of shamanic practitioners. Hawk comes in many varieties, but is generally a message-bringer, protector, journeying totem or helper for success in business or action. Most Hawks are quick to defend their nest space. Their keen senses, speed of flight, fierceness and independent confidence give much power to persons allied with this medicine. Hawk is a good bird to travel with between the realms, and its talons and feathers are versatile in healing use.
Owl
Counterpart to the sun birds is the bird of the moon, Owl. Fearfully associated by many with sorcery and death, Owl is a totem of transformation, moving from West to North to East, from power and dreams, to completion and the release of old patterns, to renewal and return. Owl carried wisdom, vision, prophecy and transmutation in its silent flight and strange nocturnal calls. Totemically, Owls and Cats are closely linked and a person having one as a totem often has the other also. Some owls, such as the Snowy, Barred and March, are daytime hunters and their particular medicines reflect that light. But the majority of Owls are night birds, guardians of that rich time of seeing with the inner sense, commuting with stars and confronting shadows.
Heron
Great Blue Heron, stately monarch of the waterside, teaches patience and attention, accuracy and grace. Heron's elegant feathers, subtle and slate blue, calm the spirit. Heron's medicine is truth, judgment, intuitive knowledge. In flight or walking in its deliberate way through lake shallows, Heron does not like to be hurried or distracted by inconsequential matters. When it comes time to grab its prey, it strikes like a rattlesnake, fast and sure, without compromise. Heron is discipline within beauty.
Vulture
Vulture is patient also, one of the only big birds that does not kill to eat, but rather takes death and through nourishing itself turns it into life. To Vulture, a decaying body radiates heat and light, sparkles. Vulture's amazing physiology can consume and thrive on micro-organisms found in putrefying flesh that would sicken or kill other creatures. This is one reason their feathers are valued for healing. The shaft of Vulture flight feathers is pale yellow, a ray of brightness through the dark vanes. Vultures are protectors, and they possess the totem medicine of justice and karma. Masters of spiraling soaring flight, Vulture rides the air for hours with scarcely a wing beat.
In approaching the realm of the winged ones, we touch the intimacy between Earth and Sky. We learn to lift our eyes, minds, hearts, and to honor the mystery of flight. So used to things dropping downward from the hand's release, it is a rare gift to the human spirit to feel the energy of a bird push from the palm and spring upwards to the winds, the blue freedom of space and destiny.
This article is part of Panther Rose's manuscript entitles All My Relations: A Guide to Totem Medicine. It is, sadly, out of print.
If you cant explain it simply, you dont understand it well enough.-- Albert Einstein
Blessings Bright and Dark,
Cancer
Dragon
