Hashing out my stories

Posts tagged “animals

Pretty please with sugar on top!

Please nominate “Totem Shift” for an Amazon Kindle Scout publishing contract! (Read an excerpt – follow link to read and nominate!) 

TS Nom ad 2

The Storming Archives is the story of a woman who has always possessed “Storming” abilities. She travels to the dreamworld through a mirror in “Delwyn of the Realms,” then meets her fellow Stormers and faces her Last Sorrow in “Portal Stormer” – preparing for the ultimate mission in “Totem Shift.”

About Kelly Proudfoot:

An Aussie living in the USA and author of “Delwyn of the Realms” and “Portal Stormer” (Books 1 and 2 in the Storming Archives). Kelly gains inspiration from her own narcoleptic experiences – as well as astral projection, the dream world and her over-active imagination!

*Get Delwyn of the Realms and Portal Stormer free until 11/23/15 (Kindle editions – Books 1 and 2 in the Storming Archives.)

Freeby

and

Stay posted for giveaways – coming soon!

 

Advertisement

Dream Blogging – Caring for the Totems

sunbathing-crocodile-1359137-m

As noted in my recent blog about dreaming – the Self is often represented by animals and appears when some kind of order is being restored within ourselves. I had this dream early in the week and it featured three animals. The main theme is providing sustenance and care for the animals – therefore my Self.

I was walking through the bush (not really a forest) and the conditions were similar to a drought. The first animal I saw was an alligator – running down a dirt wall – or maybe the banks of a dry river. I wasn’t afraid but it was rushing at me and I felt like I needed to provide food and water for it – due to the drought. I walked on and saw a dry river – with only a muddy puddle and a little water.

dry-river-263962-m

Somehow I knew that there would be rain or water soon and that there was a lake filled with water somewhere close. As I tried to locate it, I saw the alligator going in the direction of the lake and felt somewhat relieved.

Then I saw a brown horse – a little thinner that it should have been. (In Chinese Astrology – my sign is the Horse – element: fire. This represents an impetuous nature – strong and capable – but sometimes willful and passionate. Definitely me!) I felt sorrow over it’s condition and called it over to me.

horse-in-field-2-1420173-m

It came over and followed me to a field of wheat. I sat down and it lay its head in my lap as I fed it grasses and wheat. I was happy to feel the energy coming from the horse – as there was such a need for it to get well. (There was a lot of emotion at this point.)

Then I went on into a dense part of the bush – where it was almost a forest – and it was dark. I found a huge tree that was also like a tall row of cupboards (inside – it was hollow and dry). There was a cute little chipmunk on one of the shelves higher up and it scampered down to my hands.

chipmunk-3-532798-m

It was so tiny and adorable and I felt a rush of love for it. When I looked around – I could see that it had been gathering food for itself – but still felt that I needed to take care of it.

THEMES: Taking care of the Self

SYMBOLS: Sustenance, nurturing, food, dry river, wheat, tree, drought

EMOTIONS: Love, devotion, compassion, concern

ARCHETYPES: Animals – alligator, horse, chipmunk

INTERPRETATION: As mentioned earlier – the theme was about healing and taking care of the Self. I have been concerned with my own health lately and have been eating whole foods and trying to stay away from junk, etc. (I have also started taking multi-vitamins and have noticed great improvement in my general health as well as some weight loss.)

First – the alligator as a totem can represent the mother or mothering nature within. The alligator can be ferocious and attacks with vigor – runs fast on land and is deadly in the water – stalking with great levels of stealth. When they take their prey, they tumble and twist under water – doing the death roll – in order to either stun or kill it. Then they stash their meal in an underwater larder.

The alligator guards the borders between water and land and can be both hostile and gentle. They represent primordial energies, survival, power and wisdom. The fact that I needed to find it water might show that my own habitat – and my body – need water. (It’s funny – we are having plumbing problems this week!) My energy levels have been getting better but I sense that this dream is telling me to step it up. The alligator going off to find the lake shows that I’m able to take care of myself and that I’m resourceful.)

The Horse – as mentioned – is my main totem and symbolizes power (in the dream it was somewhat depleted), impatience (very true for me!), transforming wounds into wisdom, sexuality, stamina and freedom. Horses live in groups – so it could indicate that I need to take care of the group/family as well as myself. (Trying the best I can!) The fact that I was feeding and nurturing it – then feeling its strength coming back – shows that again, I’m on the right track.

The chipmunk was probably a symbol of the child in me – taking care of itself (as I had to do when growing up) – but still needing attention. The chipmunk represents agility and mobility, youthful energy, scattered energies (true for me lately!), hoarding, organization. I feel that the chipmunk was letting me know that it was ok – but I felt that I still needed to keep an eye on it.

SUMMARY: Pretty self-explanatory – taking care of myself and others. The Self has been revealed and has advised that I need to continue living healthily – physically and spiritually. Restoration, organization, using my power wisely and living an authentic life are the key messages here.


Dream Blogging – Gang of Animals

animals-814760-m

I had this dream yesterday – but was so tired last night after work – so I’m posting it late!

In the dream, I was walking down a road on an overcast day. I saw a gang of animals heading towards me on the footpath. There was a dog (pitbull), some cats and a strange, floating pinecone with an owl’s face peering out of the front. (The pinecone was horizontal, flying low.) It was a fantasy creature obviously – but in the dream I was mystified – trying to find out what kind of creature it was.

One of the cats was white with ginger patches. It had a large paper bag attached to one of its’ back legs – as though it had worn the bag for pants, but had stepped out of one of the leg holes. The leg was poking out of the other side of the bag – and was bloodied and broken. When I got closer to try and help it, I noticed that it was distressed – but it kept floating along with the other animals.

The dog seemed protective of the cat – but at first I thought that it was responsible for the cat’s injuries. Then I realized that the cat had been in a car accident and that it was quite old. When I tried to pick the cat up – it felt like a bag of bones. It purred when I petted it and I tried to help – but I wondered if the purring was just a stress reaction. I decided to follow it home to see if I could alert the owner and once we got to its’ house – the owner showed up.

She was an older hippy woman who pulled up in an old, white car that was beaten up and neglected. There were dirty, stuffed animals along the back window of the car. She was concerned about the cat – who was now lying on the grass in the front yard – waiting to be attended to.

THEME: Concern, dealings with animals, travelling, old and beaten up.

SYMBOLS: Cat, Dog, Strange creatures, road, car, stuffed animals, paper bag, injuries.

EMOTIONS: Concern, compassion, confusion.

ARCHETYPES: Old woman, animals.

INTERPRETATION: Some of this was obvious to me – as I’ve said in my previous dream interpretation – I’ve been feeling old and beat up lately! Walking down the road in the middle of the day – travelling through middle age. (The road was sloping slightly downwards.) The animals coming towards me represent various elements of my psyche wanting to be analyzed – or the process of the integrated self. For example: the dog was in good health but had a twinge of pink on its’ nose – hence the reason why I’d thought it had bitten the cat’s leg.

The other cats were fine – ambling along – but the old, injured cat represents how I’ve been feeling of late. I don’t know if it was jet lag or a virus – but I’ve been very tired for the last couple of weeks and have had strange symptoms – such as sore hips, stiff joints and glands swelling up. I think the flimsy bag on the cat’s leg symbolizes my haphazard attempts at taking care of myself! I try to soldier on and tell everyone that I’m fine when I’m not – for fear of appearing old and feeble.

The pinecone owl stumped me at first – but then I realized that it represented the mystical or spiritual side of myself that I’m still trying to understand. The pinecone symbolizes seeds spent – therefore old age. (I’m not dead yet – at 48!!) The owl is a nocturnal animal – so am I. It also represents wisdom and secret worlds – so maybe the fact that it was half-pinecone means that I’m entering the realm of the crone. (It’s funny – as I’ve always loved pine trees and owls!)

I think the lady also represents myself. The car symbolizes how I travel through life. (Roughshod and breakneck – sometimes!) The stuffed animals in the back window could symbolize aspects of myself that have taken a back seat – or have been neglected.

SUMMARY: Again – to slow down and take care of myself – but also, to acknowledge the hidden aspects of my true self. I need to accept getting older and rejoice in this new phase. I have been leaning away from spirituality over the past few fears – towards atheism. Maybe the mystical realms don’t have to be necessarily attached to a religion per se. Nonetheless – I have been feeling the lack of connection to that side of myself. Time to explore!

90327119_bd17bf7c49