Artempowerment: The Wolf and I

I was raised and given the last name of adoptive parents whose last name was Woolf. I have always identified with the wolf and, at fifty, had the wolf tattoo'd above my ankle to remind me of the gifts of the animal. Wolf is considered a medicine being associated with courage, strength, loyalty, and success at hunting but much more. Wolf represents tenacity, protection, instinct, confidence, cunning, and ferocity. Wolf people need a tribe, a community but can do well alone for a time.

Sometimes complex trouble(s) can overshadow our doings. We can run into a problem that takes some time to figure out, actions to take, outcomes, and avoid as much drama as possible. I find myself at this place this last week or so.

Wolf people tend to run into complex issues of all kinds and we do have a wild nature. Sometimes we need to make a decision about who is a wolf in sheep's clothing around us. We need to really listen to our soul to know who to trust and how much to trust. Again, a lesson I am learning right now. Staying closer to my traditions should help me follow my instincts better. I must spend time with the totem of the Wolf, my guardian, in order to develop stronger intuition and remember what it felt like to be wild and free and making best choices. It does not need to be complex; it can be simply seeing things in a simple way.

A wolf seems fearless, except with humans, and for a reason. When we fear, or feel under threat, it can throw us off our harmony and balance. Our Premier said, after the group of protestors came to his home where his wife was alone said that his wife said she, for the first time, felt darkness in her heart. A wolf person can have darkness in their heart, of course, but chose not to use it except for extreme protection. Darkness colludes with Ego and the outcome would never be good. We are cautioned to keep darkness out of our heart.

Wolf people need gatherings, need a pack, but they also need times of solitude. It is during that time that the wolf person learns about self-reliance, about things that are deep in the soul, and a quest of sorts to dig into who one is and who one hopes to be and how. It is in solitude that we learn about personal power, energy, self control and heightened animal instincts. It is then that a wolf tends to do more howling at the moon.

And, yes, there is a dark side to wolf totems and people. Sometimes we can be too aggressive. Sometimes we can blow up, seemingly without provocation. But, wolf people tend to do much to avoid confrontation but we will stand our ground if called for.

We can call on our Wolf Guide when we need help with Wolf things. But, it takes a strong, spiritual person to handle Wolf Medicine. When one needs help with emotional boundaries (yes, I do) we can call on the Wolf Spirit. I have defended who I should not have. I have used words I should not have shared because I trusted the wrong person not to yap like a coyote trickster.

At all costs, I need to stand alone for a time, do some howling and learn the lesson of boundaries and trust that the wolf teaches me about.

To step into this, I worked on a journal page about the Wolf and its teachings.