Nature’s Powerful Reflections of Resonance ~ Plus Bear Magick & Medicine

Just sharing a short post reflecting the powerful nature experiences and medicine that took place each day over the weekend, back-to-back. Very potent and mirroring of the shamanic energy I’ve moved more deeply into over the last two years. This also reflects the rising Schumann resonance that hit an all-time high for Earth this weekend, spiking on Easter itself.

Laura had just sent me a link this morning about this (I wasn’t familiar with this term) and shared about its connection to the collective’s awakening. The link basically explained this as the natural resonance or frequency of the Earth that had a huge peak this weekend (Easter was its spike, as mentioned) to the highest recorded value it’s been.

I call it “a return to natural harmony,” which has been my focus since I first really started connecting dots on my own awakening path.

Anyway, beginning Friday there were some very pronounced experiences that took place alongside a lot of beautiful and instant nature reflections, as manifestation to things in the moment taking place or being thought or spoken of.

This included a magnificent sighting of a Bald Eagle on our Fallen Leaf Lake hike while Lynne was visiting, not more than maybe 1/2 an hour after talking about Bald Eagles with someone we met along the way.

The Eagle swooped ahead of us through the trees, then circled round over the edge of the lake and disappeared to the left, later to be found by us sitting atop a tree where he sat waiting and connecting with us for quite some time. Lynne got some great shots with her zoom camera (just received them so here’s one above), but during the time I was watching him he tucked his head under and plucked out one white feather that floated off into the wind. I thought that was quite significant.

Then the next day when my parents surprised us for a visit, we took them on a walk and right when we got to an opening where two benches sat overlooking the lake, a Sun Dog appeared above Tahoe and we sat there for about 10 minutes taking its beauty and symbolism in together. I love how in these photos the sun appears as a hexagon.

And on Easter, yesterday, (right after seeing this lenticular cloud appearing like a UFO over Lake Tahoe’s portal) Dave and I decided to drive up to Tahoe Meadows for a snow shoe hike, which took us to the top overlooking the lake.

We made it there just as the snow was about to blow in, which it did on our descent back along with strong winds that made the journey double the work, along the way passing through trees with singing and visiting Chickadees – all quite magickal.

But it was on our drive from the top, back into Incline Village where we were going to get a drink at the Lone Eagle Grille overlooking the water, that we came upon a mother Black Bear and her three yearlings.

We hadn’t seen bears since our RV adventure on the Magick Bus up in the Montana and Canadian Rockies area where we encountered Grizzly Bears several times (twice on one hike along our path – one of which was a mother Grizzly with three cubs too, as well as a few times off the side of the road close to our car, and Black Bears a couple of times).

I also had some potent Bear dreams and visions while on that journey, eventually leading me to purchase a Native-made copper ring with Bear totem on it.

But yesterday it was a Black Bear family that graced us with their presence, although their fur had turned golden and reddish, making them appear a bit like Grizzly Bears, minus that signature pronounced shoulder hump.

Anyway, we caught glimpse of a yearling running across the road, then slowed and saw that he’d been going over to where mom and the others were pine cone foraging.

At first we only saw mom and two yearlings, but after a few minutes, a third appeared. This being very symbolic to a significant unfolding taking place in my life.

They were not newborn cubs, given their size – their mom likely had them last Winter -so now were yearlings coming out of hibernation and looking for food. Young bears stay with their mom about two years and are born during hibernation. You can still see the mother’s nipples in the photo above.

We stopped to observe them, sitting in our car just across from them. They were completely absorbed in eating and not at all disturbed by our presence in observing them, which allowed me to watch and receive what they had to share.

This reflected to me a time in my own life where I am nurturing what I’ve received in inner reflection during my own period of hibernation. A time of nourishing my soul needs in Spring’s cycle of renewal and creative birthing.

Eventually all of the yearlings made it over by mom and I was able to capture some video I shared on social media – Instagram and Facebook – along with these photos here.

So much bear magick and fearless ancient medicine! Not to mention, empowered Sacred Feminine energy and that Divine Mother embodiment that has become so deeply experienced within me.

I love their strength and transformative energy. They remind me of the courage I have within to call upon in order to take action without fear, while remaining grounded and in rhythm with Earth and Nature’s cycles.

As I observed them, it was a reminder of observing myself in every moment and self-reflecting – something I do all the time by stepping outside of myself and remaining detached, as I review what I am doing, thinking, or feeling.

Their coming out of hibernation (just like I’ve been quieter during the Winter months) also was reflective for me in that creative rebirthing taking place in my life currently after having gone through my own vision quest, returning with even greater comfort in the solitude of my own company,  enjoying exploring the dark and unknown, going deeper into intuitive trust, and with Nature as my constant companion and guiding force.

Their coming out mirrors my own vulnerable, but strengthened reveal.

It has been a time of deep soul searching during the Magick Bus journey and these Winter months, really seeding what eventually I would bring forth into the world anew. And that was done through decisions made from the power of my Spirit.

Bears teach us about knowing the timing on things and aligning with the “when” and “where,” which specifically messaged me in trusting how things are unfolding with my life and new, and especially with something I’ve been waiting to hear about.

In the meantime, the teaching of laws of respect and boundaries that Bear brings forth continues to get reiterated for me. Both in strengthening, anchoring, and voicing my own, as well as mindfully being present and mutually honoring of those around me.

And because of this mutual honoring, there was no need for mother Bear to feel threatened, nor did I disrespect her boundaries invisibly understood.

In this way we could mutually be in a safe space together and share the love, connection, and reflective wisdom.

I loved watching the yearlings rolling the pine cones with their big paws, while trying to get the nuts from the cones. This was a reminder of keeping that playful energy alive (so reflective of the time spent with Lynne the days leading up), and simply of my own inner child that thrives on playing, laughing, giggling, and being imaginatively silly and in the moment with the energy moving through me.

While Bears reflect the natural leader abilities within us when they show up so profoundly, they also summon us to relax into our vitality, bringing that forth in innocent, creatively passionate channels of self-expression.

Such beautiful gifts and reflections received and integrated.

Thank you.

Animal Spirit Guide Support ~ Enter The Enchanted Forest

I’ve posted this link (below) before, but felt guided to share it again so that you can take a moment to breathe in your intentions and discover what animal spirit guide is by your side right now with a message of support to assist you with them.

This is a great way to put closure to the current year, by focusing on the energy that will open doors for you in the new year.

Take your time to focus and be clear with one particular area of your life you would like support with, or something larger you are wanting to manifest for the year ahead.

I decided to explore The Enchanted Forest twice.

The first time was in asking a broader question to assist me with 2016 intents I have.

The second time was in asking a very “now” question to support some anxiety I’ve been working through around putting closure to this year and accomplishing projects at hand in order to do so.

My animal spirit guide wisdom was perfect.

For the first I received:

The Butterfly ~ Transformation, Acceptance, Gratitude

The ultimate symbol of transformation is now an integral part of your life.  Be glad, for you are the butterfly!

The butterfly energy will allow you to continually transform, gradually lifting your level higher and higher as you cycle through the stages of birth, crawling, cocooning and flight for each new stage of your life.

And as you go through this process, over and over, learn to accept that each stage is a necessary part of transformation.  Butterfly energy will help you not only accept, but actually enjoy the early crawling stage, as you learn new skills and new ways of being.  This energy will also help you understand that the chrysalis stage, wrapped in a cocoon with direction unclear, is a necessary state before you can emerge in your full glory.

And as you finally emerge as a butterfly, something that will happen to you many times in your lifetime, stretch out your beautiful wings and fly, enjoying life to the fullest, engrossed within this moment and this moment only, as you drink the nectar of the garden and give thanks for the many blessings of your life.

And then, of course, you will do it all over again, for you are the butterfly.

This made so much sense on a multitude of levels, especially since I continue to be in the chrysalis stage within my cocoon and will be for a while longer. And also because long, long ago butterfly had been received to me as my symbol for my life’s work.

The second I received was equally perfect in message to assist me with flow right now:

The Doe ~ Effortlessness, Awareness, Intention

You are blessed indeed to have the beautiful doe as your power animal.  She appears delicate, but she is very strong.  Her strength comes from her deep connection to all that surrounds her.  She will teach you to stand within the moment, quiet and observant, sensing all that is, feeling each leaf of the forest as a deep part of your being.

She will also teach you lightness, lightness of the spirit and of the feet.  With a deep intuitive sense of what is, you will know exactly when to take action and to do so decisively, moving quickly and gracefully in response to your knowing.  She will teach you to sense the world around you so deeply and instinctively that you are always one step ahead of the events coming your way. 

Let her light spirit fill you with the freedom and joy of being, so that you bound and leap through life effortlessly, always sure-footed, always deeply attuned, even when entering a new part of the forest.  She will help you welcome the new experiences of life, giving a joyous welcoming to new beginnings.

As the doe, you will learn to be fearless, to trust your intuition completely and know that a deep awareness and connection with the world, combined with a belief in yourself, is the best possible protection there is.

That was definitely supportive and I could feel a release and relief in reading Doe’s message reminder to me to sink deeper into right now.

So now it’s your turn!

Take your own journey into the Enchanted Forest here to receive a supportive message:

The Enchanted Forest ~ Power Animals Unleashed

And if you DO journey into the Enchanted Forest, I’d love to hear what Animal Spirit Guide was awaiting you. Please leave a short note in the comments with the friend that met you there.

Magickal blessings to you!!

From the Animals’ Point of View

This is so good! Hope it makes you giggle too.

Thank you Dawn for sharing it with me.

And thank you so much to http://greenstag.net/search-meaning/ for creating it!

Dragonfly symbolism

This is a fantastic blog by Jennifer Moore on the magickal symbolism of dragonflies. Yesterday, the first full day actually in Alaska, as our journey was detoured/delayed a day due to weather, but ultimately energetic callings where I was needed, I was surrounded by giant dragonflies at the lake here.

The photos you see in my share, are of one of the dragonflies, and of the pair that were in a dance, that I rendezvous’d with yesterday.

Upon arrival to the lakeside cabin home for the next few days, I explored the path by the lake to the row boats when dragonfly medicine was all around me.

These beautiful, giant dragonflies with wingspan of 4-5 inches were flying around me on the dock and two seemed to be in a mating dance.

The dragonflies continued to fly at me while out on the row boat as well, while exploring beaver lodges and listening to the haunting loons.

Jennifer’s share so beautifully expounds on these magickal creatures that are both of the air – symbolizing change – and water – the subconscious, dreaming mind, and mutable nature. When they skitter across the water they demonstrate deeper thoughts surfacing and of our being mindful of our wishes we intend.

One dragonfly I saw seemed to have become water-logged and was stuck on the surface of the water, rather than skittering along, and its wings were unable to lift it up to fly again…so save it I did and off it flew to a tree limb to dry.

These nymph creatures are simply enchanting in every way and everything they are about, as shared in Jennifer’s article, is so perfect in symbolism right now for me.

Last night, the first night here in Talkeetna, as the eerie, but beautiful, calls of the loons echoed across the lake, I dreamed of an adolescent moose I was communicating with on a path in the forest. But that’s a “moose” of another story. 😉

Magick is abound and the creatures of Alaska are making me feel welcome already. I look forward to their continued wisdom and messages.

Dragonfly Wellness

I’ve been drawn to dragonflies for some time now, perhaps because I love rivers and lakes and these peaceful creatures are mesmerizing as they flit and skimmer across the water.   They have brought me great peace, and even their life spans symbolize change and transformation.   The first year or more of their lives, they live in the water as nymphs.  When they metamorphose into the flying creatures we recognize as dragonflies, they live only a few weeks.  I like to compare this pattern to a person who has spent her whole life working her way to her truest path and then finally has the strength and means to express her purest nature.   Even if for a short while, this person will flit and skim across the days of her life, inspiring those around her to live joyfully, as well.

According to Jessica Palmer in her book, Animal Wisdom, in…

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Visionary Art to Shift You into New Realities – Full Series of the “ARK” & Eternal Harmony Now Available

Dance of the Twin Flames

I’m happy to announce that my latest series, Universal ARKitecture, is now available in its fullness at my website www.taniamarie.com. Having such a full plate these days, I had gotten behind on updateing my website, but you can now check out the series and the latest at the link, which literally just got completed (for now). 😉

While I feel refreshed, having caught up with things, there is still quite a lot more new announcements that will be coming in. For now, you will find hints of what’s to come on the home page.

But this post is simply to share my cherished series with you all together for the first time. This is a momentous occasion for me that feels like when a mother gives birth to her children. And interestingly there are nine, so that sort of equates to the nine months of labor in a way, not to mention the perfection of a full cycle coming to closure and renewing.

All nine of these sacred animal spirit paintings can be purchased as originals or various giclees on both canvas or fine art paper to suit your desired size and affordability.

Note: “The Power of Silence” original is no longer available. But you can still purchase original-sized giclees of it and the quality of these giclees is astounding. 

If you have any questions about any of these, about sizes, or if you would like to purchase several to have in your sacred space, spiritual center, yoga studio…contact me with requests.

I just today shipped off all 9 original sized giclees on canvas overseas to a healing center and I couldn’t be more honored, as this is the perfect mirror of how I see the paintings I create being utilized – to support others through the energy they convey and that they are imbued with, which assists shifting into new and empowered experiences.

Explore the series of 9 and read about their collective and individual meanings here: Universal ARKitecture

I have also written individual posts on each that you can peruse by name on this blog.

Eternal Harmony – The Journey Home

With the updates, I have also been able to finally add the beloved new piece, Eternal Harmony – The Journey Home to my website for purchase of giclees as well. Many people had shared resonance with this piece, so I had announced giclees available a couple of weeks ago, but hadn’t officially gotten it up on my website until today.

Giclees are still available at Pre-Order Special price on this piece until September 22, 2013. So you have just under a month still to place orders and receive 20% Off.

If you are interested in pre-ordering, contact me for info and purchasing details.

Pricing and info can be found here:

Eternal Harmony – The Journey Home Special Pre-Order Discount Prices

After September 22nd, you will be able to purchase it directly from my website here at regular prices:

Eternal Harmony – The Journey Home

Payment Plan Options Available – Contact me at tania@taniamarie.com with inquiries and orders for any of the visionary art your heart is feeling drawn to.

Unicorn of the Sea – Dream Messages from the Narwhal

Photo: http://savethenarwhals.org/

Last night I had an unusual dream in which I was swimming with a Narwhal. This Animal Spirit has never shown up before, so I found it particularly interesting and worth looking into. The dream was extensive, overlapping other elements, but the part involving the Narwhal was quite beautiful.

I had first been swimming in relatively shallow waters, that almost seemed to be inside some large vast area, which was like a large, dark cave. As I swam I engaged with different sea creatures including what seemed to be a shark, but upon the shark approaching it turned into this lovely Narwhal with a very long tusk.

It gently swam around me and seemed to almost delicately dance with me in the water, as it gingerly moved its tusk around, front and back, to my sides, between my legs, yet without ever touching. It seemed to be very conscious of not hurting me with it and yet engaging with me in an energetic and beautiful way.

Narwhals are rarely seen, very social, Arctic whales that swim in pods like the dolphins. In general, not much is fully known about these unique cetaceans. In the winter they are found deep-water beneath the ice packs in groups of 5-10, but in the summer they migrate to shallow, ice-free summer grounds and congregate with larger groups – they often travel in groups of 20 or 30 and form herds of up to 1,000 during migrations. Rarely are they far from ice, but some times in the summer they enter estuaries, deep fjords, and bays.  They are a very vocal species of whale, making clicks, squeals, and whistles to communicate and navigate. They are darkest when born with mottled blackish-brown markings on white background and with age they become whiter – old males becoming almost completely pure white (just like our Unicorn friends).

The most visibly unique characteristic of the Narwhal is its single (rarely double) very long tusk, which ultimately is a  tooth. All Narwhals have two teeth in their upper jaw, otherwise they are completely toothless. After the first year of a male’s life, his left tooth begins to grow spirally outward from the left side of the upper jaw and forms a left-handed helix (counterclockwise direction). The tusk continues to grow throughout life and can get 12-18 feet long and has a hollow interior. Roughly 1 in 500 males have two tusks, which happens when the right tooth also grows out. Females have shorter, straighter tusks and only one is recorded to ever have 2.

There are different theories about their tusks, although uncertain – perhaps used as a jousting weapon in courtship and dominance rivalry, in obtaining food, and/or for channeling and amplifying sonar pulses, which they emit. The tusk is not used in hunting. Tusking is a behavior in which male narwhals rub their tusks together – perhaps determining dominance in the group. Another broadly accepted theory for the tusk’s role is as a secondary sexual characteristic much like the lion’s mane or peacock’s feathers. It may also be a sensory organ.

In any event, in my dream it seemed the use of the Narwhal’s tusk was more aligned with the channeling of sonar pulses in an energetic sacred water dance.

In medieval times, Narwhal sightings were linked with the Unicorn legends. Medieval Europeans believed the washed-ashore tusks to be the horns from the mythical and legendary Unicorn and were considered to have magic powers, including the ability to cure poison and melancholia. For this reason, they were very valuable to the Vikings and other northern traders.

Animal Spirit Guides/Totems/Power Animals are essential to shamanic practice, as shamans believe that everyone has power animals. These power animals act as guides or angels, imbuing their individual energy, power and wisdom to guide, heal and protect you. They provide the wisdom of their kind and are not only limited to mammals, but can also be reptiles, insects and sea creatures. Any living creature can serve as a power animal and plants and trees can serve as plant spirit guides, providing their own wisdom.

So of course when the very unique Narwhal showed up for me in a clear dream I could recall, it seemed significant to do some research and understand this mystical creature and its messages of energetic support to me – both in terms of its natural behaviors and its mystical symbolism. Being one who pays attention to and reads signs, I know there was something to learn, a code to unravel, it was a key to unlock something, or it was a magical connection to support change, the current experiences I’m navigating, and new doors I’m going through.

The one thing I HAVE always known of the Narwhal is that it is considered to be the “Sea Unicorn.” And that in and of itself sheds layers of deep and meaningful symbolism. They are also known as the shape-shifting servant to the Sea Goddess and since the tusk is connected with that of the Unicorn’s, they carry similar wisdom of its magic, but rather than reigning the realm of the faeries and forests, the Narwhal reigns as the enchanted being of the sea.

Other meanings of their wisdom and symbolism I found include:

• nourishing others
• interaction between people and nature
• understanding the meaningfulness and depth of issues – diving below the surface – they’re known to dive extremely deep in very chilly, dark, unknown ocean bottoms to search for food
• understanding more deeply than others in general
• freedom/resisting captivity (they are not known to do well in captivity at all and tend to die there)
• their ability to break the ice lends to being able to poke holes in false fronts and the theories of others
• ability to detect subtle changes in the environment in order to avoid becoming trapped
• the body as a weapon
• balance
• achievement
• mystery – so much about them and what they do and how they spend their time is unknown
• magic – their tusks were used to make cups thought to negate any poison

I found its behavior in my dream, interacting so intimately with me, to be significant too, when I discovered that they are shy of humans, even though quite social among their kind exclusively. There was definite deliberate connecting being made. And upon further investigation of this information and coming to understand their unique qualities and symbolism, shared here and received through sensing, I can definitely connect the dots why this magical being journeyed with me last night. Not to mention, I did ask questions to be revealed in dream time when my head hit the pillow. 🙂

Always grateful for the gifts received.

Prints Now Available of the First 5 Paintings of Universal ARKitecture – Plus, Once in a Blue Moon Revealed for the First Time

As I mentioned a week ago, I completed the 5th painting in my new series, Universal ARKitecture, called Once in a Blue Moon and this felt like the first cycle of energetic closure in the series before embarking on the the next cycles within the 28 pieces still to come! (there will be 33 in all).

These new pieces are VERY precious channelings that I so enjoy creating. I look forward to the rest that will emerge in their synchronous unfolding, and the energy they will each have to share.

For those who have been inquiring, I’m so excited to announce that prints are finally available! Yay! AND, for the first time I am able to provide professional, vibrant and clear images of the paintings that have never before been seen, which will provide much more to the experience of them now that they’ve been captured with clarity. This will also be the first time that Once in a Blue Moon has been revealed and I felt it appropriate to do so when all five were ready as a group to launch together. The first four I blogged on over the months, as they each came into manifestation. You can search them by name in the blog if you want to read about any of them again.

As always, the in-person experience is a whole other thing, but these images are sure to evoke an energy shift nonetheless, in viewing them.

Personal observational note that just clicked: Since this is the first time I’ve seen them all together in one place on-screen as well, it was the first time I saw something symbolic about them and why doing the first 5 feels like the first cycle of closure. For those that remember my In Lak’ech series, you will recall that they represent each of the 5 elements – Fire, Earth, Air, Water, and Spirit. As I viewed these first new 5 together it suddenly hit me that energetically they also resonate with the elements in a way, in a slightly different order – Earth, Fire, Water, Air, and Spirit. Although they each clearly could have overlapping elements in each, this could also be a new energetic vibration of the elements channeling through for 2012. Very cool and fun to explore the meanings! Especially if you realize the symbolism shifts between both sets. 🙂 And very interesting that the only element that remained in its original #5 placement is Spirit, which both have the rabbit symbolism and Nestor in them. The other elements reversed order in groups of two – Earth and Fire switched places and Water and Air switched places.

To view the print options available for each painting, and to order, please view them here on my website. Originals also available:

Universal ARKitecture

If you have any questions about them, you may email your inquiries to me at tania@taniamarie.com

I’m excited to introduce the first five paintings in the series together, in the order they were channeled:

Garden Of The Gods by Tania Marie

Temple Of The Sacred Heart by Tania Marie

Visions Of Atlantis by Tania Marie

The Child In Us by Tania Marie

Once In A Blue Moon by Tania Marie

Sacred Bone, Tattoos and Stones: Mayan Portal Mysteries Unraveling

My sacred tattoos, including Hunab Ku (Galactic Butterfly) on my sacrum at bottom

I’ve been receiving a lot of intuitive nudges on the sacrum and coccyx, both literally and energetically. With my own experiences in having sudden pains over the last several months in that area (physically due to a fracture of the tailbone I had about 11 years ago, but energetically linked to much more), hearing from a few others on issues or focus on this area, and even clients and friends getting sacred tattoos on their sacrum, it all started to hit me again, as to the significance of this region. I then was reminded about the connections that had taken place for me about 8 years ago and how it all is energetically linked with the now.

March 5, 2004 I got my second sacred tattoo. It was the Hunab Ku symbol (or Galactic Butterfly, as it’s also known).

This symbol is called the Galactic Butterfly which is said to represent all of the consciousness that has ever existed in this galaxy. This is all of our physical ancestors both human, animal, reptile, fish, shell fish, plants as well as the consciousness which organized all of the raw material from a whirling disk into stars then planets and solar systems. Big Meaning. So big that the original Maya had no symbol for this. In their civilization it was like having no name for God. Just knowing the concept was good enough. Later this pattern was devised by Toltec or Zapatec weavers as a pattern for blankets and this is where Jose Arguelles came across it. He called it Hunab Ku. The indigenous peoples call it “The Galactic Butterfly”. Butterflies are seen as ancestors returning for a visit to physicality. Wearing one of these symbols is very powerful as it broadcasts your reaching to actively join the consciousness of our galaxy. ~ Ian Xel Lungold

I was intuitively drawn to place this Galactic Butterfly on my sacrum. At that time in my life, everything was just intuitive for me in what I did. I would then come to see later, the significance and reiteration of why I would be drawn to certain things. And right after I got this tattoo, a whole unraveling started to take place, as I also got my first computer and was able to do research and uncovered deeper meanings to so many things that were emerging in my life at the time, including this tattoo, the placement and the paintings that started to channel. I had opened a doorway that created a flood of energy , experiences, and information into my life in new ways from that point on. The symbol itself, Hunab Ku, had come to me while I was in a bookstore with my brother after getting my first butterfly tattoo, by just being drawn to a book where it was in and I had always had in back of mind that if I ever got another tattoo that that would be it. That was like somewhere near 1998-2000. And then several years later it emerged, after staying with me all that time.

What I discovered, alongside the meaning of this symbol, was also the significance to my own life and soul history and path, as well as the connection with the sacrum bone.

As I shared in my book, Spiritual Skin:

Brian Stross’ “The Mesoamerican Sacrum Bone: Doorway to the Otherworld,” addresses in great depth some of what I came to realize about the potency of my placing the Mayan Hunab Ku (otherwise known as the Galactic Butterfly) on my sacrum. He states:

The sacrum bone has been viewed by some cultures as a “sacred” bone, and been seen as related to reproduction, fertility, and reincarnation. … “in Mesoamerica the sacrum represented one index of the more generalized but variously manifested ‘portals’ or doorways permitting translocation of shamans, spirits, and deities between worlds or levels of the cosmos.”

Brian Stross continues to share:

In Mesoamerica the sacrum, along with closely associated bones, is apparently seen as sacred in some Indigenous societies even today, though surely less so now than in earlier times. The name “sacrum,” designating the more or less flat bone with eight holes located at the base of the spine, comes directly from Latin os sacrum, meaning ‘sacred bone’.  Sugar points out that while most bone names readily reveal their origins, it has long been a mystery why the sacrum bone (os sacrum) should be called the “holy bone.”  “That it is a translation from the Greek hieron osteon merely pushes the inquiry back from the first Latin use in about 400 AD to the time of Hippocrates (about 400 BC)” (1987:2061).  Following the trail through several explanatory hypotheses about the origins of the name sacrum, Sugar introduces evidence that the sacrum in tradition was the bone necessary for resurrection, identifying it as the “almond” or luz of the Hebrews and the ajb of the Arabs, and ultimately deriving its conceptual underpinnings from the ancient Egyptians (1987:2062‑2063).

Upon finding that some Mesoamerican Indian languages also named this bone with words referring to sacredness and deity, one may well ask why societies distant from one another refer to the sacrum as a “sacred” or “holy” bone.   Presumably such naming practices reflect independently, rather than through diffusion, the cultural importance of this bone, and one can suggest plausible explanations, based on observational logic, for its being termed “sacred.”  The word “sacred” for our purposes can be defined as “worthy of veneration, reverence, and respect on the one hand, and protected by tradition and ritual against symbolic or actual abuse on the other.”

The sacrum bone is, among other things, the fulcrum of support for the human torso, and as such is well designed to take great physical stress.  It is what we sit on, and by sitting we place ourselves at rest in a position that can be maintained without significant movement for long periods of time.  Perhaps more importantly from perspectives of symbolism and cultural importance, it is located next to the reproductive organs, which are of utmost significance for the species as well as the individual, and are surely of great significance in most if not all societies.  In its proximal location, the sacrum could well be thought to share significant qualities with the reproductive organs, and even to transport material from the brain to those organs.

Several cultures around the world assume that the sacrum participates directly in procreation by channeling seminal fluid through the spinal column to the penis, most notably ancient Egyptians and some cultures of India.  Its location on the body and the formal similarity of spinal fluid to semen provide an observational basis for these conclusions.  Even Leonardo da Vinci, with such a fine grasp of human anatomy, must have made a similar assumption, for he placed in his drawing of a human male a seminal duct leading from the sacrum at the bottom of the spinal cord to the penis (Huxley 1974:64).

Sacredness of this bone is also related to a belief found in various parts of the globe that the sacrum is the “resurrection bone” from which residual raw material remaining after death a person will be reborn, presumably by attracting the spirit residing within.   This notion may spring from the observation that as an especially hard bone, the sacrum resists disintegration through time, and is often among the very last visible remains of a body that has been left on the ground or that has been unearthed long after burial.  A rational basis for attaching importance to the sacrum bone can thus be constructed from empirical observations and conclusions underlain by a kind of observational logic.

Stross goes on to share some fascinating insights and research presenting the ritual and symbolic significance of the sacrum in Mesoamerica  and its place in conjunction with a shamanic world view. His findings also present things pointing to the fact that:

…the sacrum as a focal part of the pelvic girdle represents a metaphor for the cosmic portal linking this world with the Otherworld while emphasizing the generative or (pro)creative aspect of the life cycle, just as the jawbone as a focal part of the skull represents another metaphor for the cosmic portal, but one emphasizing the analytical or destructive aspect of the cosmic cycle.

He then continues with a discussion of the human pelvis in shamanic worldview:

A pillar of five fused sacral vertebrae within the pelvic girdle supports and balances the human torso.  This pillar, the sacrum, is attached to four more fused vertebral bones together called the coccyx, but otherwise known as the tailbone.  The sacrum (or the sacrum and the coccyx together) is a pivot, a support, and a focal center in the human body….Some Mayan names for pelvic bones or for the rump region suggest that the procreative area of the human body was in the past identified by Mayans as a figurative “fire” composed of the coccyx surrounded by figurative pelvic “hearthstones,” three being the traditional number of stones in the Mesoamerican hearth.  Two of the pelvic “hearthstones,” the hipbones, are similar in form, like mirror images, while the third, the sacrum, is different.  The pelvis, so closely connected to the creation of new life, somewhat resembles a skull and shares other features with the skull…

Dictionaries of Indigenous Mesoamerican languages do not often include words for sacrum or coccyx for understandable reasons, but there are a few that do, and related concepts such as Spanish rabadilla ‘coccyx, lower extremity of vertebral column (including that of a bird)’ and rabo ‘tail, hind end’ can sometimes be found when the more explicit form are not available.   In those Mayan languages for which we have translations of sacrum and coccyx, the words usually relate the sacrum to notions of ‘god’ and ‘sacred’, while the coccyx is related to ‘fire’.  For example, Yucatec Maya has a word for sacrum, k’ul, which also means ‘sacred’ and ‘holy’ (Barrera Vasquez 1980).   Itzá Maya has the word k’uul ‘hip, tail bone’ (Hoffling and Tesucún 1997:402), which surely derives from the Itzá root k’u ‘sacred, holy’.

The Tojolabal Maya word for sacrum s‑bah h‑wawtik (literally “sacred image, sacred self”) is based on the verb wawtikan ‘to worship, deify,’ and ultimately derives from the root waw ‘man’ (Lenkersdorf 1979 (2):666; (1):395).

In Choltí Maya data limitations render uncertain what the word xun‑xun means besides ‘coccyx’, but in a near linguistic relative, Chontal Maya, the root xun means ‘trivet, the three stones of the hearth’. For the Yucatec Maya a bird’s coccyx is called the “griddle of the rump” (xamach it), and in Chol Maya the base of a bird’s tail (its rump or coccygeal region) is called simply and literally “fire” (k’ahk) (Aulie et al 1978:21).

And the references continue in different Maya and Aztec languages that all come back to the same referencing to this sacred bone. Stross continues:

Language data of this sort, based on languages of today and the recent past, can tell us about perceptions in earlier times that do not necessarily reflect current understandings of worldview and important concepts as identified by a contemporary speaker, just as many English speakers use the word “secretary” without realizing that it reflects the notion of keeping “secrets,” or the word “sacrum” without thinking that sacredness is or ever was attached to it.  Because language generally lags behind culture change, our language data has here informed us more about past worldview than about the present one.   One might look long and hard at contemporary western culture without finding much evidence outside of books for a concern with the sacrum.  Somewhat more productive would be looking to mythology and other ancient narratives with a practiced interpretive eye, for even in oral narrative meanings are on multiple levels and are not always obvious, as we can see from the Popol Vuh‘s mention of Blood Woman’s impregnation by a “skull.”   However, through information preserved in language and in narrative, particularly when in written form, we are able to determine that some Old World perceptions of the sacrum and pelvic region, if not identical, were at least similar and comparable to those in Mesoamerica, and that data from the Old World links the “holy bone” or sacrum directly to resurrection, which implies passage through at least a figurative cosmic portal or doorway between this world and the other world.

…If the human body can be said to have “portals” or loci of transformative power where the body’s interior is connected with the external world, and perhaps also with the Otherworld, the sacrum in the pelvic girdle is likely one of these, while the jawbone in the skull constitutes the other.

The Coccyx Pendant, another very interesting linking Stross reveals:

A small unprovenanced, but apparently Classic Maya pendant found in the Ahaw collection is in all three dimensions precisely the size and shape of the human coccyx.   On it is carved a representation of a human figure.  This Coccyx Pendant, of apple green kosmochloric jadeite, has a laterally drilled hole for suspension, not visible in a frontal view.   The top half shows a head framed by rolled hair, circular earspools and arms held in the “crab‑claw” position of Maya rulers who usually cradle a serpent bar in this position.  Below this upper head, a second head occupies what should be the hip region, visually illustrating the notion of the body having an upper and a lower “skull”.   The lower head, manifested in the structural position of the sacrum, has a pronounced elongated chin that is simultaneously of the appropriate shape and position to be the coccyx of the “sacrum” (in this case the “sacrum” is the second skull that is visually manifested as a head).  In other words, a little knob at the bottom of the pendant represents a miniature version of the whole pendant, which itself represents a coccyx.  The shape and iconography of the Coccyx Pendant constitute strong evidence for the hypothesis suggesting Mesoamerican concern with the sacrum, and the notion of two “skulls”; and it suggests also the importance of the coccyx to the Maya during the Classic period.

Since Stross was focused on revealing the sacred connection with the sacrum and coccyx in his writings, he didn’t mention how the significance of this Maya coccyx pendant being created in jadeite, also spoke to this sacredness. When I read it I immediately was reminded of the marbled green “Dreamtime” Jade Sphere we have in our Joyful Earth Crystals collection (pictured right) and the link with this sacred bone area and Mayan “sacred stone.” Jade is known as a sacred stone by the ancient and some current primitive tribes. It allows you to access the knowledge used during the Mayan “dreamtime,” as it help you connect with the elders of the Mayan culture. The Mayans revered jade as the “Sovereign of Harmony” facilitating peace with the physical, emotional, and intellectual structures, as well as with the materialistic world. It was said to bring accord to the environment, to transmute negativity and instill resourcefulness. It promotes balancing of your needs with the requirements of the day, allowing you to nurture the things that are of prime importance to well-being.

….Frederick Starr has written of other native Mesoamerican traditions that connect the coccyx with sexuality, noting in this connection that in Mexico the coccyx is sought by prostitutes in the belief that men’s power (sexuality) is lodged therein (1899:100).   It is appropriate here to recall that some of today’s Maya call the coccyx bone the “fire,” recalling another of the Mesoamerican metaphors for the cosmic portal, i.e. fire.   Not to dwell on this metaphor, it is worth mentioning at least that a fire is a superior transformer of materials (making the milpa fertile, creating edible food for people, etc.), that not infrequently individuals referred to in the literature as shamans demonstrate their control over fire in one way or another (as for example by placing hot embers in their mouth), that the three hearthstones characteristic of indigenous Mesoamerican homes enclose the fire and establish the center of the house, and that of course fire is clearly another sort of portal or gatekeeper between worlds.

…If the body can be viewed as a microcosm, then its form is either a template for or a reflection of other cosmic levels, and its form is our only guide to the appearance and operation of these other levels, incomplete as this guidance may be.  The body has two ends regulating the passage between the inside the body and outside of it, and at these two ends are portals.  One end has the mouth; on the other end are the anus and the water producing urethral orifice (and in females there is also the entrance to the birth canal).  Concentration of power is in the bony appurtenances surrounding these portals, and most focally these bones are the lower jaw and the sacrum (sometimes including the coccyx).  On a slightly more inclusive scale, these bones are the upper skull and the lower “inverted skull.”

…A serpentine conduit, the spinal cord being protected by the bony vertebrae, joins the two skulls. The vertebral column, because of its durability, is where the power is presumed to be concentrated.  The soft portals of the body (mouth and anus) are also joined during life by a winding serpent‑like digestive tract composed of soft and perishable parts.  Things come into the body through the mouth portal, where they are transformed in composition (destroyed) by the actions of the jaw.  They pass through the serpent conduits in the body (spinal column, intestinal tract), and they pass out of the body, transformed in the pelvic portal (created) by the more mysterious actions of the sacrum.  The male body creates new life (ultimately delivered from the sacral region, and according to some the sacrum proper).  The new life is then transferred into the female womb (itself backed up by a sacrum).

Much that goes into the body, observational logic would dictate, is crushed into pieces in the mouth, transformed in the stomach and intestine, and exits by way of the anus, which by a continuation of the logic should itself be viewed as a portal, and surely it must be, though that has not been explored in this study, for lack of data.

In the worldview outlined above as “shamanic,” the body’s form and functions can be considered our most basic guide to understanding the appearance and functioning of other cosmic levels, operating thus to generate and/or reflect them.  In that way the metaphors and allegories relating the body to other elements in the world allow these elements and their combinations to be comprehended relatively easily, consistently, and with a plausible logic based on observing nature, and especially our bodies as parts of it.

This speaks to the Kundalini Serpent Energy 

Stross concludes more with:

For example such observational logic treats the earth as a living being, so for the Huasteca Nahuatl speakers the soil comprises its flesh, while stones are its bones and water is its blood (Sandstrom 1991:238).  Vegetation is the earth’s clothing (Alcorn 1984:57). This logic continues in treating the mountain as if it is a person, with analogous anatomy and physiology.  The mountain has a “head” and a “foot”, grass that “clothes” its body, and animals that live in the remote parts of it.  It “drinks” water from the top (as rain) and the water is passed out from lower down (as springs).  Similarly the water is passed down to earth from the bottom part of the heavens, and sometimes likened to urination by the sky deities (Thompson 1970:253).  The earth, if likened to a human or animal body, needs to eat, and sacrificial food is placed at special places or portals [mouths of the earth].  The portals can be sacred places in the natural landscape such as particular caves, springs, mountaintops, and sacred trees. The portals can also be located on human-made miniature representations of the earth (or its parts) within the cosmos, such as altars, wayside crosses, and small temporary pits dug in the earth for placing sacrificed “food” in the center of the cornfield.  Just as some seeds need to pass through a bird’s intestinal tract before they can sprout, so the shaman initiate may see the need to pass through a long cave with two entrances (the earth monster’s intestine) in order to be purified and empowered, as can be observed in a well known long cave in San Luis Potosí when done by Teenek shamans.  This may be conceived as being swallowed by a serpent and passed out the other end.   Things like water, and spirits, etc. have to pass from one level or medium to another by means of the portals or “doorways” which are not always open, just as the animate mouth and anus are not always open.  Sometimes specific activities, times, and / or rituals are required to open them.  Blood appears to be a particularly useful substance in this respect, but music, dance, and chanting are frequently found in portal opening contexts.   Chanting clearly comes from the upper skull (assisted by the chest), but dance can be said to reside prominently in the hips (assisted by the legs and feet).

And here is an interesting table he includes that lays things out clearly:

TABLE 1   Transformation Zones

 

	FOCAL REFERENT	EXTENDED REFERENT	NUMBER OF VERTEBRAE	REALM
Portal 1	Jawbone	Skull	7 Neck Vertebrae	Middleworld
Conduit	Spinal Cord	Spinal Column	8 + 8 Intermediate Vertebrae	Conduit
Portal 2	Sacrum	Pelvis (Inverted Skull)	9 Sacral/Coccygeal Vertebrae	Underworld

Alongside promising to share this information with someone who was inquiring, I’ve received big nudges of its importance, have had my own personal connections and experiences with this that are coming full circle, and in hearing of many also sharing tailbone and sacrum experiences of late, as well as many feeling compelled to work with the Root Chakra energies for integrative healing (I feel, holding a key to a lot), there is something to this. 

I could draw many conclusions for you, but I think it best to let it percolate and find its own meaning for each. What I know for myself is nothing is arbitrary, everything has meaning and purpose, based on things I’ve been working with, receiving and feeling, combined with my major tailbone issues accompanying this and now subsiding and healing with miracle activations on my visit to Tahoe and working with Root Chakra energies, only to remain as a random bruising feeling at odd times in sacrum (an energetic reminder) and all the things I’m channeling with portal energy, having others activating their own sacrum portals with sacred tattoos (some that I have designed) and starting to connect their own dots with it….needless to say, I do experience the connection. 🙂

If you want to read Brian Stross’ writings in fullness, including many interesting images to accompany you can do so here: The Mesoamerican Sacrum Bone: Doorway to the Otherworld

If interested in support with designing your own “sacred bone” portal tattoo you can contact me at tania@spiritualskin.com

 

The Child In Us – New Painting #4 in the Universal ARKitecture Series

The Child In Us by Tania Marie – 24″ x 24″ Acrylic on Canvas Now Available

I’ve been quite immersed in projects, so my new series was on hold for a couple of weeks (boo), but percolating in the background nonetheless. I was so happy to be “back in the saddle” again (Laura Bruno will get a giggle out of that) and flowing the creative channeling once again.

As I’ve shared, I am in process of creating a 33 painting new series called Universal ARKitecture, and this painting comes to us at #4 and is called, “The Child In Us.” It actually didn’t start out to be this painting, as I got ahead of myself and had started creating #5, always being a few steps ahead and anxious about that one (I only now realized the synchronous unfolding of how the painting that would have been #4 is now #5, my favorite and meaningful number, which perfectly aligns with what will be in that painting, as you’ll come to see) 🙂

However, it was miss Joy, my sweet lop-eared bunny companion who set mom straight!  Every time I was working on the painting, or trying to, as it was challenging energetically, she kept trying to bite it and was running off with my paint brushes and kept trying to get my attention. Finally I realized that the energy of this canvas, the first step in order to get to the next painting, and the timing was off. And once I consciously received the light bulb click, embraced this message, and allowed the animal spirit that was trying to get through come in, everything started to flow and magic took place. The energy of the next painting was also much larger and could not be contained in this canvas (24″ x 24″), needing a 48″ x 48″ instead, which the next one will be. The energy of squeezing a big energy into something too small for it was painful! And once I embraced the realization everything flowed peacefully.

Every one of these new paintings becomes my new favorite, so this is no exception. I am so in love with this tender little amazing porcupine! I just want to squeeze him with a giant hug!

For now, I’ve just taken a quick photograph to share, but today I’m actually having the paintings so far that I’ve completed, photographed professionally, so I will be able to share higher resolution and higher quality images shortly. All of these paintings are available and will be posted shortly on my website here: Universal ARKitecture. If interested in this one, or any you have seen me post so far, you can contact me at tania@taniamarie.com. Prints will be available as well once I get good high res photos going.

Each of these paintings in the series conveys an animal spirit wisdom, which I am capturing along with the essence of the specific animal spirit that channels through to me. They are all endangered species as well, bringing conscious awareness to our animal friends and a return to natural harmony on Earth.

Porcupine wisdom includes:

• Innocence

• Trust in Spirit

• Renewed sense of wonder

• Creating your own path

• Protection of boundaries

• Defense when threatened

• Allowing others their path

• Non-interference

“Universal ARKitecture” of the New Earth – A New Series of Visionary Paintings Emerges

Garden of the Gods by Tania Marie

An “ark” by definition and historical understanding was a vessel built by Noah to house and keep safe his family and pairs of every animal of the Earth. It is also known as a sacred chest where the ancient Hebrews kept the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments. In either form, it is seen as a sacred and protective structure that contained the promise of a new life where a new architectural system of life codes would be embraced and instituted to start anew.

We have arrived at a place of empowering renewal, where the embracing of a new code of life is upon us once again. Cycles repeat themselves, as is apparent throughout the history of this Earth for every ancient civilization that has walked upon it. There are always messages, signs and guidance being provided to catapult us into a new co-creative experience,  when we come to embrace conscious, loving presence and courageous responsibility. To me, this means the end of a way of life is completing and a new form is in process of being embraced into manifestation.

Temple of the Sacred Heart by Tania Marie

According to shamanic belief, everything is alive and carries with it a wisdom and power. Shamanism is found in all cultures of the Earth and is the world’s oldest healing tradition. This ancient, worldwide practice involves engaging with spirit helpers and the forces of the natural world to develop relationships, solve problems and perform healing. Shamans travel to the parallel worlds where time and space have no meaning and use the powers of those worlds, the subconscious and the realities of this world to cause change. They are able to go within and enter an altered state of consciousness at will, in order to contact and utilize a hidden reality that most do not consciously perceive.

According to the shamanic and ceremonial traditions of the Inca, there are those known as naguals. Naguals are a form of very powerful shamans that unlike man that is driven by psychological ego desires, they have none. They are conduits of Spirit, receiving orders from an indefinable and indescribable source. Almost a non-entity, they have learned to break the psychological conditioning of the cognitive division that keeps us cut off from our sources. They can magically assume the physical manifestation of a different entity by shifting into its energy pattern, yet remain the same in Essence, since everything is energy. There are considered to be two different forms of shapeshifting wherein either the luminous body changes into a power animal or the physical body on the Earth plane changes into an animal.

Power animals are essential to shamanic practice, as shamans believe that everyone has power animals. These power animals act as guides or angels, imbuing their individual energy, power and wisdom to guide, heal and protect you. They provide the wisdom of their kind and are not only limited to mammals, but can also be reptiles, insects and sea creatures. Any living creature can serve as a power animal and plants and trees can serve as plant spirit guides, providing their own wisdom.

Depending upon the culture, the gifts each animal provides can vary, yet there are many consistencies across the board as well. It is important to let the animal speak to you in the way meant for you and to be limitlessly open to their sharing. Shamanic practice honors with awareness the wisdom and life in all things on Earth, understanding and believing that everything has something to teach. Many western cultures do not get taught to value animals and the gifts they have to help support our lives and the world at large. Yet, animals show up for us in many ways and they are believed to communicate with us by drawing our attention to things, sometimes through repetition. They try to get our attention because they have some wisdom to impart and are most eager to be of service.

Visions of Atlantis by Tania Marie

We are all connected and we have each been part of all of the cultures, races and religions on the Earth. Animals are transcendent beings that speak to us in a boundless way, free of judgments or enculturated restrictions, which our ego minds may otherwise be closed off to. It is this reason I feel I was guided to bring forth their messages through my new series of heart-channeled creations, “Universal ARKitecture.”

It wasn’t something mentally contrived that I set out to do. I simply was supporting the intuitive visions and love I felt in my heart to express through channeled images I find an innate instinct and joy in creating. After I started to do so, it became evident what was simultaneously manifesting, as I followed my heart.

“Universal ARKitecture” was communicated to me several years ago and it basically speaks of sacred vessels, which I see as these paintings being channeled into creation. They house within them messages, codings, energy, keys….spoken through the many voices of the animal spirits of the Earth, uniting us through a Universal language of heart energy that is of the Earth and beyond. These medicine beings (naguals/power animals/spirit guides) hold antidotes for a new “ARKitectural” plan and code of life for creating the New Earth experience.

Their Essence will encompass an ecclectic tapestry of interwoven threads that may span and honor the many ancient, forgotten civilizations and world religions of the Earth’s history, as well as intertwine Earth and Cosmic dimensions. The power animals and shape-shifting “naguals” emerge through timeless energy portals to share their wisdom and powers. These channeled images I feel are supportive in guiding us with some of the keys for co-creating a loving New Earth with conscious, unconditionally compassionate awareness, embracive remembrance, visionary innovation, and empowered hearts.

I am seeing 33 paintings in total, providing loving, subtle energy to support a new existence as a Conscious Global Human Being, collectively connected in Universal Oneness.

It is my hope that these paintings will also help to bring conscious awareness of the animals on the Earth (endangered and misunderstood) – lending a voice to their expansive soul journeys, aid in supporting their precious lives, while providing deeper understanding and compassion amongst us all. We are all connected. Every living being holds infinite intelligence integral to the circle of life. Each has its own unique Essence that creates a colorful thread in the tapestry of magnificence we know as Universal Consciousness.