“Humanity has lost that instinctive tie to the rhythms and patterns of Nature, and with that loss has come a loss of the reality of magic. Nature tries to show us everyday that all forms of life can teach us. As we learn to listen to Nature, we breakdown our outworn perceptions.  We find that magical creation is the force of life inherent in all things. And it is this, above all else, that Nature teaches to those who will learn from Her.”   Ted Andrews

“The foundation for compassion is an awareness that suffering is a natural part of life, whether through the empathic appreciation of another being’s pain or the experience of having suffered oneself. And which beings haven’t at times felt the pain or sorrow that is an aspect of living on this planet? The deeper you go into the soul of another, the more you can feel what they feel, yet paradoxically maintain a certain distance or objectivity.”   Steven Farmer 

In my own life as I go through yet another transition I look back at the many, many teachers who have influenced my path and taught me so much, spiritually and otherwise. I am so grateful for my teachers. Two of whom are quoted above. Ted Andrews taught me largely through his books although I felt and still feel an affinity for his spirit. Steven Farmer I studied with in person at my Angel Therapy(R) course and he did my shamanic release beside the ocean in Laguna Beach. They both took my understanding of Nature and spirit animals to a higher level and stirred within me memories of past lives where animal spirits and animal totems played a major role in my spiritual development. Why am I thinking of them today?  Because as I write this I am waiting to hear if the World Health Organization is going to declare a global emergency regarding the coronavirus outbreak originating in China that is thought to have emerged through eating snakes.

As a retired Registered Nurse and an alternative healer I am always interested in wellness and health challenges of all kinds. I have always loved and been interested in animals so this latest outbreak has gained my attention on those and many other levels. So, in case you require a short update I will review what I know from news reports, before I offer my perspective as to what Nature is telling us.

The coronavirus outbreak in China began, it seems, in Wuhan. WHO (World Health Organization) is meeting in Geneva to discuss this virus officially known as 2019-nCoV and 17 people in China have died from this disease while there are currently 634 known cases in China and it has spread to 9 countries. Three Chinese cities are locked down and millions told that they must wear masks in public. Things are complicated by the fact that it is flu season and therefore it may have been undercover for awhile as the less virulent infections of this virus could be mistaken for flu. Wuhan has 11 million people and the government is building a hospital within 6 days to deal specifically with this crisis. The outbreaks of both the Wuhan coronavirus and SARS started in Chinese wet markets and the selling of live animals (including wolves) in these markets has now been banned. This virus is mutating as experts are studying it and attempting to come up with a treatment. Airports are ramping up health screening procedures and preparing to transport anyone showing symptoms to quarantine zones. The Globe and Mail reports a SARS virologist saying: “This time I’m scared.”  Videos on the internet show patients seemingly in plastic tubes being taken into quarantine and a patient in the Seattle area has been kept in a 20-foot-by -20 foot bio-containment room and treated by a robot with a stethoscope to limit doctors’ contact with the virus.  As I write, a spokesperson on CBC reports that the WHO is divided as to whether or not this is a global emergency and it was a 50/50 vote. Half yes, half say no. So, the verdict from WHO is that it is “too early to call this a global emergency.”

So, why am I going to carry on here and write about it?  The answer can be found in my last two blogs where I discussed how I feel that Nature is drawing our attention to the plight of the animals in the world. Whether or not this disease originated with the eating of snakes – our attention is obviously being drawn to snakes and snake is represented on the medical symbol as you know.  The “staff of Aesculapius” is a commonly used symbol of medicine and a similar symbol “the caduceus” was the staff of the Greek god Hermes and is usually depicted with two snakes and a pair of wings. We instinctively know that snake is involved with healing energy and that their additional associations are rebirth, sexuality, transmutation and transformation.

The snake is frequently the power animal of a healer. Naturally these healing gifts do not come from us but rather through us from Source/God/Divine Spirit. The energy becomes grounded in our body and it is through the body teaches Steven Farmer that this force is focused and expressed. The two “hot spots” as taught by Dr. Farmer are the heart and hands. Reiki practitioners know this as we channel this energy mostly, but not exclusively, through those parts of our bodies. Farmer says: “Don’t fear your healing power. It’s your destiny to relieve the suffering of others, and as you do, you transform your own suffering – from this and other lifetimes – into compassion and love, which is the purest expression of life energy you can have. That is healing, no matter what form it is. The more open you remain the more the master power of the universe can come through you and create miracles.”  (Power Animal Oracle Cards) 

Of the reptile kingdom, the snake has been a great subject of controversy and many religious sources argue over whether it is a devil or a healer. It is used as a symbol in cultures and societies across the world and hopefully this piece I am writing may encourage you to look up the way snake has been represented and the mythology in so many different traditions. I will here only refer to Egypt because I have a personal past life experience of being initiated into the order of Isis in a past life as Hedra during my time as a priestess in the reign of Queen Hatshepsut 1458 BC.  This life, as I have dis-covered over many years, is probably one of the most foundational experiences of the work that I do today at Awakening Spirit. It is the life where I source a great deal of my belief in my own healing power as well as my affinity for animals. As part of my initiation as a devotee of Isis I was required to go through initiations, one of which was developing a relationship with a cobra that I am remembering a little more about as years go by.  I have clairvoyantly seen the cobra that I had a relationship with in Egypt, along with other mysteries.

But, this blog is written for you.   I am asking you to consider why snake is appearing on the world stage at this time?  Why is it appearing on a collective level and a personal level for it is ONE?

My mother told me a story that I have written about in another blog about me and snakes. She said that as a little child of about two that I would pick up a snake in each hand at our family farm and hold them up to the sky. It became part of my personal mythology (although I did not realize it until about the 1980s).  There is a goddess at Knossos depicted holding up a snake in each hand. Did my mother tune in to the fact that I had a life in Ancient Greece or did my mother, Audrey, have a life in ancient Greece?  I will ask tonight as Audrey is now one of my guides.

Where is snake in your life?  What have been your experiences with snake?  Do you recognize it as a symbol of healing and transformation or as a symbol of evil? Do you think its appearance on the world stage is calling us to a greater understanding of its place in New Earth?

Anytime a snake shows up as a totem, and if you are reading this it has shown up as a totem for you – you can expect a death and rebirth in some area of your life. This is very, very, rarely a physical death but rather a transition. Ted Andrews and I suggest that you answer these questions: “Are you needing to make changes but aren’t for some reason? Are you trying to force change too quickly? Are you striking out at people and shouldn’t? Are you not striking and should? (remember a snake uses its bite and venom for defense not just for prey) What is needing to be healed? What new opportunities are surfacing that you need to strike out for and take advantage of?”  (Ted Andrews, ANIMAL SPEAK)  Please answer these in your journal for your own empowerment.

You know, as I watched the news just before I wrote this they, (who are they?), moved the doomsday clock to 100 minutes to midnight. No wonder our young people are suffering from “extinction illness.”  If anything is doomed – it is the old way of living  – when we thought we humans were not responsible for absolutely everything we do to the planet and for every choice we make. Snake is here to tell us we can heal ourselves and we can heal the planet. That is what I believe.  I believe we are learning from Nature in order to create New Earth.

Love & Light,   Monica