Animal Spirit

Lately I have heard the animal spirits call my name. Not just in painting, but they also made me remember our collection of fetishes from the Zuni Indian Reservation. So I got them out for us to admire for a while.

Long before we moved to New Mexico and got to regularly visit the Zuni reservation, I owned a deck of Jamie Sam's Medicine Cards, all animal cards. Every day, I'd draw a card or two and learn about the symbology and lessons of that particular animal. My favorites back then were always the hawk, the wolf and the hummingbird.

Then we moved to New Mexico and Daniel would be invited to go to the Zuni reservation from time to time to do art workshops with the kids for a day or two. He'd always come home with a few new fetishes.

Each one is unique and beautiful, most still have the little tag with the name of the person who carved them. They feel sacred to me.

My all-time favorites of all of them are the snake fetishes. Especially the white one in the first photo. I love that one!

The Zuni reservation is also where I saw my first and only real rattlesnake! A baby, rattling desperately so I wouldn't step on it. I didn't, but got to admire it for a few minutes while  my heartbeat slowed down again...

As I am suddenly drawn to paint animals, I find that I focus on the spirit of the animal I am painting at the moment. Right now, it's a deer (I'll have it to show you soon) and every time I paint on it and those beautiful eyes look at me with such a gentle spirit, it reminds me to always be kind toward others and myself.  

The coyotes I painted reminded me to have fun and not take my life so seriously.  

The horses from my recent paintings unleashed some great feelings of freedom and personal power. I was born in the year of the horse and this is the year of the horse right now. The horse spirit is definitely playing with me at the moment.

Do you have animals you feel drawn to? Aside from "normal" pets? Do you sometimes see them as messengers?

Wishing you a peaceful beginning to your week. May the gentle deer spirit accompany all of us...

❧ Silke