Rattling the Bones

I’ve never been a fan of cats. I’m more of a dog person. Since I have Wolf as my face totem (in the east) it makes sense. The only time cats have been nice to me is when they are sick or old. Actually, it’s the case for most animals even birds and stray dogs. Many years ago we were giving a workshop in Quebec city and we were staying at ML’s house. She had a cat who took a liking to me almost immediately. He would lie on my lap when I talked and would sleep at the end of my bed when I visited. I was told that the cat wasn’t feeling well and was having trouble eating. The family worried about him. One night I dreamt that I was in Egypt. There were cat statues everywhere and one actually came to life. Poussière (cat’s name) told me that it wanted me to give ML a message. “I had a great life,” P said “I don’t want them to worry about me. I plan to disappear in April. Tell them they are a wonderful family and I was blessed to be with them for so long.” When I woke up I share...

For as long as I can remember I’ve dreamt in Wolf form. In my early twenties I suddenly started dreaming in Raven form and finally when I reached my late thirties I was able to dream as an Snowy Owl. When I was six years old I used to draw these pictures of a woman half human and half wolf. I can still picture her face and have strong impression of her personality. My father would always ask me: “Who is this woman?” I’d look up at him surprised and state: “Me!” I’ve often wondered after having two children of my own if my parents ever asked themselves any questions about my childhood development. Were they like most other parents out there and thought that most of my childhood experiences were imaginary creations? Did they worry when my eccentric behaviours stretched beyond 10 years old? What did they think of the stories I told and did they believe in any of them? Like I’ve shared before dreaming has always been an important part of my life. So much so that I re...

Totem is a word that comes from the Ojibwe language and it means relation or kinship. It’s clear that at some point in time our ancestors were so closely related to their environment that they experienced deep connections with animals, trees, seasons, and even natural elements. Totem like many other words within the Aboriginal language reaches beyond definition to experience in order to be understood and yet, one thing is for sure we can never fully and completely recapture its full meaning in modern existence because today doesn’t offer yesterday’s totemic world. Now, I find that lots of our totemic connections are romantic and poetic mostly because we don’t spent that much time in our natural habitat. Plus, we’ve influenced our natural environment so much so that many of the plants, animals, and birds especially can no longer be considered wild. They now depend on us to survive. This past summer we gave a workshop in Kingston, Ontario. On our way back home we ...

I live in the country side and every year in October we get two to four days where the house is covered in lady bugs. To make sure they don’t come into the house, we cover the doors with plastic and remove it when the cold has set in. This year, there were no infestation of lady bugs. I don’t even remember seeing any. Not even around Equinox where usually they are numerous and feeding on the autumn flowers of my garden. The missing lady bugs became such an issue this past month that I heard countless neighbours talk about it at the post office and the local food stores. “Isn’t it great: NO LADYBUGS!” cried out this young woman pushing a stroller with twins at the Chambly IGA. “Not really,” responded an older man squeezing the melons and peeking through the apples, “they may be a pain in the ass for a week but they do wonders all summer long keeping the pests away from our harvest.” As I continued food shopping the words of the farmer kept ringing in my mind. ...

Totems pronounced « Do-tems » is a Cree word that means « relations. » In ancient times totems were important to survival. They not only spoke about the people and how their human behaviors or abilities were similar to the animals in their environment but they also spoke of their Spirit Protectors and even magical and cultural status. The totems poles were built to speak of the community. Who was chief, warrior, healer etc…. When someone died a totem pole was sculpted to show that even after death we were connected and to leave a living archive for the people who stayed behind. The whole topic of totems was serious business in so much that it spoke of political, economical and social relations. Certain totems were seen or understood as more meaningful or more powerful than others. If you lived out west for example the Raven was seen as an important totem. Chiefs and strategic warriors were often Ravens. Up north the Bear was seen as an important omen showing the birth of a hea...

Most young people who come across “our home” have tattoos these days. Lots of them were chosen intuitively. Yet, when they find out that we (in our home) live traditionally (shamanism) they are often curious about the meaning behind the animals that are etched on their skin. One young man (a friend of my daughter’s) had this great big Eagle on his back and a Roman armour on his chest. When I asked him if he had any big story or experience to share relating to the tattoos, he was all excited. He explained that every since he was a little boy he knew deep down that he had been a warrior in another life and that the Roman armour was intimately related to him. The Eagle always seemed to be a messenger for him (and so he said). Today, he chose the Military as his life’s career. “A gift from the Eagle,” he said. I always find it incredible that people live SHAMANISM without consciously understanding the meaning of the word. It seems to be at the roots of our human experience. Animalism has b...