[Vilturj] Totem Philosophy Time.

[moonvoice]

Okay, a discussion is going on at Totem Animals at the moment, about Dolphin.

Now, someone mentioned that dolphin was about Love. I briefly mentioned that dolphin also is capable of acts that humans would consider terrible - gang-rape etc. that don't on the surface seem very loving.

Two people replied indicating that they thought this wasn't part of the dolphin's medicine.

My questions are these:

Should we ignore the more 'negative' aspects of an animal's medicine? Why or why not?

What are the dangers of ignoring or accepting the more destructive aspects of an animal's medicine?

Is it wise to reduce an animal's medicine to one or two themes only? For example, should dolphin be understood primarily as 'love', and should say the beaver be understood primarily as 'industriousness'?

What are the positives and negatives of thinking this way?

x-posted to totemoftheweek

Comments

[ayellowbirds.livejournal.com]

i've actually come to rather dislike dolphins for just these reasons- and i'm not certain i'm comfortable disliking an entire species.

i've had it in my head for a while to make a set of divination cards or using animal symbols, and one of the things i've had to consider is how my view of certain animals differs from the mainstream. Most folks probably wouldn't see Fly as a healer, but i've learned about the application of certain kinds of maggots in medicine, so that practice informs my views of Fly's medicine. You mention Rabbit in the discussion- i always see Rabbit as being a lunar messenger first, then the rest of the associations.

Even in reducing something to just a couple themes, there's still the many different meanings that people might attach to those themes.

[moonvoice.livejournal.com]

I actually like Fly medicine, though it depends on the type. I see them all the time, and a lot of the time - particularly in their breeding season - they're stunning, hardy and adaptable animals.

As for Dolphin... I acknowledge that Dolphin is my shadow totem, but I'm not going to let it stop me from working with the energy.

How many divination cards would you want in the deck? Like... when do you know where to stop? :)

[ayellowbirds.livejournal.com]

i don't really know... i suppose i'd keep adding more as they came to me. i need to find something to make them out of, though