Totem Animals

I've been watching a lot of youtube videos lately and last night I discovered CharmingPixieFlora and one of her videos caught my attention; finding your totem animal;

And since I've been practising meditation a lot lately I decided to give it a go and find my totem animal. I actually found it really easy to relax and meditate. I've never thought a drum could allow me that. I always imagined it would distract me but it was just perfect. Here is my squibbed note afterwards;

Did you see the part about a Hedgehog? First, please excuse all typos and spelling errors. I'm too concerned with getting the information down before I forget. Well it had me thinking all night and the next morning I was kinda feeling that I'd denied the Hedgehog. Out of the 3 animals only the hedgehog was spontaneous (I had been thinking of owls and panthers a lot lately). At the time I did struggle to move past the hedgehog and I think it was because I wasn't prepared for it to be a hedgehog (how many time can I say hedgehog :). So I tried again this morning and again the hedgehog was the first animal I came across, I asked him again and this time he kinda smiled and scurried off. I followed and found him sitting playing with a panther cub and the owl was standing aloft seemingly watching them. So again 3 animals appeared to me, the same 3 animals.

Is this some indication that I'm confused? What does this mean?

After a little pondering I looked up a hedgehog totem and wow, after the last few weeks it makes so much sense. How could I have dismissed it the first time? I kind of feel awed to be honest.

Hedgehog's Message and Medicine

I need to research totem animals better because I don't really understand that much about them. Will I always have a hedgehog as my totem? Can you have more than 1 at any one time?

Answers to these questions I need to find :)

Cuteness 

Back to Basics; Meditation

I've been casting a circle every wednesday (although it isn't the best day for some of the things I want to do) since the beginning of January and it's going okay. It's Wednesday because its the only free time I'm getting at the moment I've settled on my wording and the setting up of my altar. However, last week I decided that I really should be starting at the basics; Meditation and Visualisation. They seem to be the corner stone of spell-crafting and circle casting, so I really need to be practising, and so that is what I've been doing.

I've been running a bath every evening, adding a herb blend for purification (I had no muslim so I had to put the herbs in a bath glove and tied the end! Haha Wicca on a shoestring :) and a little essential oil (Juniper). I light my candles and put on my native american music (The World in Our Eyes by J.Reuben Silverbird) which I've decided is my meditate CD because knowing me I'll find it easier to slip into meditation mode if I stick to the same music.

So relaxing. I do the usual relaxation methods (tensing body parts then releasing them etc) then once my mind and body feels peaceful I . The first time I kept trying to concentrate on the candle, then I would close my eyes keeping the candle in my third eye. I really suck! I can do it for a few minutes before my thoughts zoom off 100 miles an hour. I persevering though and I can feel the time getting longer each attempt.

The other night, after a few concentration attempts, I managed to relax and I let my mind take me where ever it wanted to go.

I was at a waterfall in a small clearing. I was stood watching an old native american play a flute. At my shoulder was a small owl and at my feet was a panther. I think it was the music putting images in my head but I went with it. I didn't do anything, nor did the guy. I was just stood there watching.

What struck me afterwards was that I kept the scene in my mind for around 10 minutes. Maybe the music helped, or maybe I can do it longer but I'm just trying too hard :/ or it wasn't that long it just felt it. I don't know. All I can do is keep practising :)