"When we die...the energy's going to change. But it's going to go on 'cos it's the Life Force. We came from there...it's in the shell, but the shell is not me. The shell doesn't define me, it just holds me together for now." ~~Apache Shaman Ernesto Alvarado
The aim of Native American Magick is to attune oneself to the Great Spirit and to keep that relationship alive. To the Native Americans, nature is alive with meaning, symbolism and the powers of communication. There is no real difference between animate (birds, animals) and the inanimate (rocks, trees, hills). The Great Spirit is in ALL of creation.
Totems are a kind of guardian from which the Native Americans would receive instruction. They are helpers whos strength and protection offer support in times of trial. The word totem comes from the tribal language of the Algonquian-Ojibwa people from around the Gret Lakes area. Specific animal totems can symbolize actual birth influences. Listed are the twelve individual birth totems, a kind of Native American zodiac, where similarities do occur to that of Western zodiac.
The Falcon: March 21- April 19 / Element clan totem: Hawk (Fire)
The Beaver: April 29- May 20/ Element clan totem :Turtle (Earth)
The Deer: May 21- June 20/ Element clan totem: Butterfly (Air)
The Wolf: June 21- July 21/ Element clan totem: Frog (Water)
The Salmon: July 22- August 21/ Element clan totem: Hawk (Fire)
The Brown Bear: August 22- September 21/ Element clan totem:
Turtel (Earth)
The Owl: September 22- October22/ Element clan totem: Butterfly
(Air)
The Rattlesnake: October 23- November 22/ Element clan totem:
Frog (Water)
The Hare: November 23- December 21/ Element clan totem: Hawk
(Fire)
The Goose: December 22- January 19/ Element clan totem: Turtle
(Earth)
The Raven: January 20- February 18/ Element clan totem:
Butterfly (Air)
The Spider: February 19- March 20/ Element clan totem:
Frog (Water)
To find out the descriptions of these, I suggest a book from the essentials series titled Native American Magic by James Lynne Page. (which is where this is taken from)
