Yes, I will probably catch flack from someone for including Native American lore in my Arcanum, since I cannot prove any blood quantum or whatever. But the truth is, NA spirituality is very close to the Truth. It may not be broadly practiced and many still do not believe it has any validity more than source for good stories, but there is indeed great wisdom in it. There's also a great travesty, in my opinion, that NA spirituality is being horded or fiercely protected by some. It's a shame, because if we could all know that We Are All One... If we truly recognized all living things as All Our Relations In Creation... how much better this world could be.

Native Americans do not have the corner on the All Are One concept, but I appreciate the seeming simplicity and yet expansive truth in their ways. I make a disclaimer here and now. I am not schooled in Native American lore more than my own independent curiosity. I am not saying that all Native Americans believe exactly the same thing nor that they specifically believe whatever I report here, precisely as I report it. This is my understanding of it and I fervently wish that more people, Native or not, would at least take a look at the wisdom which has likely been around thousands of years before the rest of the world knew these Natives existed.

The only true generality in their beliefs appears to be that all things... ALL things... are integral and equal. Animals do not serve from some lower rung on the Great Spirit's ladder. It is a cooperative arrangement, whereby the animal people and the human people coexist on the same footing with each other. Sometimes animals kill people. Sometimes people kill animals. When a hunter kills, he does so for food and clothing. He makes the best possible use of all of his kill. He thanks the animal for the gifts he has been allowed to receive from him, appreciating the life given over to feed and clothe his own kind.

Granted, the human people have special abilities which many animals do not have, but the converse is also true. Human people may aspire to the speed, hearing and/or eyesight of certain animal people. Their hearts may soar with the flight of bird people. Their dreams may sparkle from the sight of the star people, and so on. Embracing all of this is the Great Spirit, that breath which IS life, all life.

One of the other pieces I find fascinating is the concept of animal spirit guidance. I have found this to be quite enjoyable, enlightening and helpful. An individual's 'totem' animals may serve as helpful symbols to better know and utilize their our own natural skills and abilities. They may provide a source of strength or focus for assistance when needed. My own main animal is the gryphon and there are great lessons for me in this mythical form. The primary one is how the beast is that of the earth and the skies. He is both powerful and awkward because of his paradoxical form, which by its very design allows him to bridge the two realms.

I have also come to recognize the power of the animal kingdom as messengers. Sometimes I feel as though certain animal contacts were cued, very timely and pertinent in my life. For instance, a noisy woodpecker may appear just when I need to be reminded that as fervently as that bird pecks for food, he manages to do so without hammering his own head off. I need to learn to do this too and one often arrives just as I am about to cross a threshhold of unnecessary aggravation. The bird's annoying hammering makes me pause and delivers to me what he knows about intensity without harming the self.

A particularly good website expounding on this animal message aspect is the Shamanism Animal Spirits Guide. They have a forum to accompany it where one may learn about finding their animal spirit guides and reading the messages of the animal kingdom.