Spirit of Bald Eagle

Role: Illuminating Force

Lesson: Soar Above

Element: Air/Water

Wind: East Illumination

Medicine: Connection to Grandfather Sky

Keywords: Illumination. Ability to See. Keen Sight. Strength. Rising Above. Courageous. Intuitive. Hidden Spiritual Truths. Creativity. Healing. Connection to Spirit Guides & Teachers.

Illumination

In Earth Medicine, we recognize the Eagle (all members of the Eagle family) as a symbol of a powerful, spiritual energy. Because the Eagle soars so close to the Grandfather Sky, it is believed that Eagle hears the voice of the Great Spirit and is thus a link between the Divine and the Two-Leggeds (humanity)

Bald Eagle feathers are treasured and revered amongst the Native People, for they are recognized as containing a very powerful Medicine energy/magic). While speaking in Truth, seeking to bridge differences, or in asking for guidance and Illumination for a course of action, the Eagle feather is held during ceremonies to draw in such spiritual illumination.

As a means to speak with spiritual clarity and Truth, the Speaker will hold an Eagle feather, either as it is attached to a Talking Stick, or held in the hands. This serves as a connection to the Divine, so that all words that are spoken, are spoken from Higher Intent, and also as a means of asking that the Ancestors and the Great Mystery speak to and through, the Holder of the Feather.

Thus, One who flies with the Eagle, has a responsibility along the Good Red Road, to operate from Higher Intent, to develop the latent abilities of Illumination, and then freely share this Illumination with Others. Obviously, this is no small task, or one to ever be taken lightly, for the ramifications are very far reaching, as are the Gifts and blessings for the Self and Others, which ripple outward from this particular attribute.

The Path to Illumination is one often fraught with boulders and stumbling blocks that serve as a schoolroom for the developing soul. A broad range of experiences (both pleasurable and exceedingly painful), are met by the one beside whom Eagle flies as it is from the depth of experience that true wisdom is forged and from wisdom, comes the Illumination of the Soul, or Enlightenment. However, as while encased in the Robe of Physical Life, there exists the possibility that the personality center may arise that Eagle soul may examine his/her current level of growth and integration.

In some instances, one such manifestation of the Personality Center may be a sense of self-aggrandizement or self-importance, as these are individuals who have an intuitive grasp on mysteries that elude other less observant and/or intuitive individuals. This arcane knowledge often gets the Eagle individual noticed, and where the soul has not sufficiently integrated the lower vibrations of the personality center, arrogance may surface. Or the converse may be true wherein the Eagle Soul has not acknowledged the splendor and beauty of his/her soul. In this instance, what is obviously apparent to Others as to the Gifts and Quality of Being that exists in the one beside whom Eagle soars, will be non-apparent to the Eagle Individual, and the lesson then becomes acknowledging and embracing the Light of their own Spirit.

Soul of Bald Eagle will possess an innate ability to see, dream, feel or know secret or hidden spiritual truths, both of the other realms and planes of Being, and the hidden truths of Others. Such powerful insight and perception (think of the eagle’s powerful vision and ever-alert and intense eyes), comes from both a plethora of past life experiences whose memory bubbles just below the surface of conscious recollection, and partially from present lifetime experiences which serve as lessons in developing and honing the gift of Insight.

For the one who is able to find the splendid dance of balance between self-love and humility, celebration of Self and celebration of the All, the dance is a beauty to witness, as the Eagle Spirit unfurls the wings of their Soul, like their winged Totem dancing upon the Wind as they fully embrace and inherit the brilliant Gift of true Illumination.

Intuitive

The Eagle, as he soars amongst the clouds and floats upon the unseen currents of air, dwells in close proximity to Grandfather Sky. From his connection to the Grandfather, Eagle also seeks to rekindle his connection to the creative force of the Great Spirit. As such, Eagle intuitively understands that we are never far from Home, or completely dis-connected from the Source of All That Is.

Bald Eagle is one of the Totem Animals that dwells simultaneously within two realms. Such dualistic Totems symbolize the need for Balance between two points, or the requirement that the Soul whom Eagle flies beside, learns to dance between two planes. In the instance of this Totem, Bald Eagle is considered to be a Water or Fish Eagle, as the primary source of the Bald Eagle’s diet consists of fish that the Eagle will capture in fresh water rivers, streams and lakes. Yet he also exists in the realm of Air, living on the wing and soaring above the mountain peaks.

Earth Medicine teaches us that each elemental clan symbolizes various aspects of our walk along the Red Road. Water represents our emotional and spiritual Self, while Air represents our intellect and conscious mind. Hence, Eagle must dive into the water with precision in order to retrieve her meal of fish, which she will clutch firmly in her razor sharp talons, then to rise once more to greet the sky. Within this behavior of Bald Eagle, lies the clue as to the nature that it represents within all two-leggeds who have the Soul of Bald Eagle.

Water, as intuition, psychic attunement and emotions, represents your Soul’s ability to intuitively assess situations, individuals and circumstances with an immediate grasp. Yet water also symbolizes a depth of emotion and feeling that is nearly fathomless. Love is given whole-heartedly and without restraint, a trait that can often lead to your being hurt by souls who have not reached sufficient maturation and integration with their own Emotional Centers. Then, it is imperative that one learns the value of appropriately timed detachment (as represented by the Air), and the quality of discernment so that the beautiful nurturing and loving energy that flows so effortlessly through you is not "wasted" on those who have not earned this most precious of Gifts, and shared instead with those of a similar depth and maturation who are able to reciprocate what has been received.

With each successive incarnation, the Soul learns how to move swiftly from one realm to the next, to know when to utilize the psychic/intuitive gifts and depth of emotion, and when to soar above and revisit the condition of the encounter or experience with detachment. This is one of the primary factors in the Life Path of one with this Totem.

Ultimately, the Soul will reach the Zenith of this Life Lesson, and the Eagle’s desire for reuniting with the Great Spirit will be fulfilled as the Eagle Soul learns to love and nurture the Self.

Courage

Wherever Eagle soars, the Native People have recognized this splendid bird as a symbol of strength & courage. The builders of the American Constitution likewise acknowledged this majestic creature’s aura of strength, and established it as the national symbol of America.

In the wild, the Eagle is the undisputed king/queen of the skies with no other bird equaling the Eagle in either size or hierarchy. And it is in watching the heart stopping dives as the Eagle pummels downward to capture their meals of fresh fish that one truly begins to understand the connection between these mighty birds and the keyword for this Totem of Courage.

Like their totem Ally, the two-legged who has Eagle flying beside them, will often exhibit great depths of inner strength and courage. Often times, they will encounter situations in their flight along the Red Road of Physical Life in which they will need to call upon that courage in the face of overwhelming adversity. Does this mean that the Eagle Soul feels no fear? Hardly, yet once the fear has been felt and acknowledged, the Eagle Soul will then establish a plan of action in order to confront and resolve the situation as these are the problem-solvers that will find a possibility in what appears to be an impossible scenario. In facing their fears we witness the Eagle demonstrating the literal meaning of Courage.

Whenever faced with situations, people or circumstances in which fear is felt, one with this Animal Spirit might call upon Bald Eagle to bring the Courage to face what must be done. In so doing, they are not only recognizing and giving thanks to the role of this Totem in their Life, they are honoring their own Divine Essence of the Eagle Within.

Rising Above

Much as the Eagle soars majestically, held aloft on the Four Winds and leaving the ground far below, so does the Soul who has Bald Eagle as their Power Totem, possess the same ability to Rise Above the mundane.

In many respects, this keyword is linked to the preceding one of Illumination, for it represents the Soul’s ability to integrate the lessons of the physical world, to leave behind the trappings of the past and the darker shadows of the human mind, so that one might soar on the winds of illumination and awareness. Only once the Lower Personality has been thoroughly embraced, understood, resolved and integrated, will the Soul have the freedom to Soar. The road “there” is not an easy one to take, nor for the faint-hearted, yet it is a Journey that all of us must make in order that our Soul may evolve beyond the need to incarnate into flesh.

This process is begun by uncovering those habits, beliefs and actions which are either self-destructive or cause pain for another, and is the crucial first step in the Journey of integrating the personality to the Soul. Many lifetimes may be spent in this first step alone as to face one’s own Inner Truth in complete honesty may be painful and require a good deal of detachment, it also requires that we embrace those aspects of ourselves that we may see as less than desirable. Yet once the Soul has acknowledged these Truths then the greatest step has already been taken.

Next in this process (once our stumbling blocks have been identified), is to evaluate what lessons they have presented in our life. This is then initialed by once again evaluating the Self in honesty, by asking if these lessons and issues have been resolved, for if they have not been, they will simply re-present themselves again and again, becoming exponentially larger, until we are “forced” to confront and resolve them.For some who chose to evade and fool themselves, this can ultimately manifest physically with the individual either becoming so ill that they are left under the surgeon’s knife, in the hospital, or they transition, only to come back in the next life and face those very same lessons yet again.

If indeed, one can honestly affirm that those lessons have been thoroughly acknowledged, learned and absorbed, then the unfolding of the Soul begins and with it, the ability to rise above the mundane. This, as stated earlier, is a very involved process and must always be approached in conscious awareness, yet the freedom of the Soul on the wing, able to rise above those things that have caused one so much pain, anger or torment in the past, is a glorious unfolding to behold.

Connection to Spirit Guides and Teachers

As an Animal Totem, the Eagle has long been revered by the Native People for the proximity in which he/she soars to the Great Spirit. Because of the Eagle`s ability to fly so near to the roof of the sky, to view all that which lies below from a viewpoint similar to that of the Great Mystery, this mighty bird is believed to be a conveyor of messages between the Blue Road of Spirit and the Red Road of Physical Life.

Like their Spirit Animal, the two-legged beside whom Eagle soars, will have an aspect of him/herself that will be attuned to the voices of the Ancestors. This ability to tune into other realms and hidden knowledge may be seen by those lacking in such sensitivity and attunement as "day dreaming" or "spacing out." The truth of the matter is that the soul of the Eagle individual is in a near-constant state of receptivity, though they may not be consciously aware of the messages they are receiving from Spirit Guides, Totems and Teachers, the messages are coming through none the less.

The more that the Eagle Soul can learn to tune into his/her feelings, intuitions and visuals received, the greater this perception and ability to tune into ancient wisdom becomes. For some, the knowledge received will be expressed as "automatic writing" or trance channeling, others will express this ability via creative artwork in the form of beautiful illustrations that convey a deep spirituality, for others still, such knowledge and connection to the Higher Self is expressed via deeply stirring music.

Regardless of the medium through which such a connection to both the Spirit Guides and Higher Self is established, the end result is that these are the souls that carry profound messages for the rest of Humanity. Through conveying such messages in their non-judgmental and beautifully presented manner, the messages and knowledge passed along is received on a deeper level, and thus both the Messenger and the Recipient benefit from this beautiful Talent.

Creativity

The Eagle is recognized in Earth Medicine as a Winged One that is a symbol of Creation. In particular, the Thunder Eagle (or Thunderbird) is revered as a powerful Spirit that heralds great change and unlimited happiness that arises through the fountain of the Divine Creative Spark.

Eagle’s place in Native American culture is quite significant, as very few Totem Animals are believed to possess such a broad and all-encompassing range of Medicine. For Eagle, the greatest creation is Life, either in the saving of the life of another (as through the strong healing emphasis associated with this raptor), or in the act of procreation. Like the legendary Phoenix, the Eagle is a Animal Totem of Transformation and Regeneration, a Spirit in a continual creative process.

The two-legged who is blessed to have this Spirit Animal fly beside him/her, will be an individual that has entered onto the Good Red Road to express themselves creatively. This Divine Spark of Creativity may manifest in a multitude of channels, from music to making intricate and stunning jewelry, producing beautifully illustrated paintings to conceptualizing impressive architectural designs. Whatever medium this creative genius asserts itself, these will often be amongst the most skilled of artisans, poets and musicians.

Indeed, the entire existence of the Eagle individual will seem to be a creative process, and life will be seen with a sensitivity that is both esthetic and deeply spiritual. Herein lies the key for the Eagle Soul, as the art they create will contain deeply spiritual overtones and undercurrents, their music, writing or art will transcend their captive audiences to a higher vibration where all life is celebrated with a deep reverence and joy.

The irony perhaps is that often these souls are not fully aware of the talent they possess, as like the white crown feathers of the adult Bald Eagle, the two-legged beside whom this raptor travels will mature into his/her supreme talents. Such profound creativity must be reclaimed with a willing heart, yet one that is willing to fully embrace the responsibility to convey the realms of ethereal beauty, mysticism, music and art that is often invisible or unheard to the average two-legged. Yet when the Bald Eagle Soul has fully embraced both his/her talents and the responsibility to pass along their Vision, the physical world is not only made more esthetically appealing, the spirituality inherent in the visions conveyed will call to Others to reach for that sense of Beauty, Peace and Illumination within.

On the currents of the Four Winds
you ride the sky
held aloft by unseen hands
that hold you close to the Grandfather

Far below lies the world of Man
a realm in which you also dwell,
yet always from within
comes the ache to rejoin the Great Spirit

Caught between two realms,
you remind all who witness your beauty and strength
of the eternal struggle of the two-legged
to rise above the mundane
and feel the Soul take flight

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