moonvoice (ravenari)

Brolga as Totem

The brolga is a social crane found in Australia, perhaps most commonly known for its showy, athletic courtship dances, which involve metre high jumps, the flinging and catching of grass, bowing and calling. The brolga is a tall crane, and often confused with the sarus crane. As a social animal, the brolga tends to gather as smaller family groups, into one large 'flock.' However, the family groups move and interact separately to the greater group.





Brolga as a totem animal represents: (this list is not exhaustive)

Beautiful dancer. Grace. Indigenous wisdom. Folklore. Stories within the land. Storytelling. Australian magic. Courtship. Relationships. Flirting. New beginnings. Joyfulness. Joy in movement. A good party. Spiritual dancing. Loving partnership.

You can read the full file here: http://www.wildspeak.com/vilturj/totems/wbrolga.html

Original AVAILABLE - $75 USD
18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

This is probably one of my favourites, but I'm biased as this is one of my ongoing animal guides. :)

Common Bronzewing as Totem

The common bronzewing, like its name, is perhaps the most common pigeon native to Australia. The common bronzewing bears some very cool iridescence along its wings. Despite being very common in many areas and habitats, it is not often seen, because it is an extremely cautious and wary bird by nature. They are always found close to water, and will sometimes band together to search for their food, which consists predominantly of seeds.





Common Bronzewing as a totem animal represents: (not an exhaustive list)

The value of silence, knowing when to speak, being able to settle down almost anywhere, being cautious, things are not what they seem, optical illusion, illusion, taking things seriously, taking your time, wariness.

18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Komodo Dragon as Totem

The Komodo dragon is the largest living species of lizard (growing to 2-3 metres). It is also quite venomous, and alongside the venom, carries a serious cocktail of harmful bacteria within its mouth. Komodo dragons tend to be apex predators in the environments that they live, and mostly survive on carrion; though they do hunt and eat pretty much anything they can catch (including children). They are one of the few vertebrates capable of 'virgin births' or producing offspring without the presence of a male; this is known as parthenogenesis.





Komodo Dragon as a totem represents: (not an exhaustive list)

Size matters, the completion and finishing of projects, taking nourishment from the dead, communing with the dead, fierceness, confidence and arrogance, poisoning others, being poisoned, ambush and attack, surviving on little, antagonising those you care about, creating life without the help of others

Original AVAILABLE - $80 USD
18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Pronghorn as Totem

The Pronghorn is an American ungulate that is the only living member of its family. The males have prominent horns, and the females - for the most part - have none (if they do have them, they are small or mis-shapen). The are one of the fastest land animals in the world, and can sustain runs at high speeds for longer than the cheetah; this makes running/fleeing and relying upon their instincts one of their primary methods to evade predation and danger. They are quite common, and predated upon by humans, as well as large canines and felines. Their young are sometimes hunted by large raptors.





Keywords for Pronghorn as a totem animal (obviously not exhaustive):

Scent magic, scent wisdom, and using smells to connect to people and places, being fleet of foot, quick on your feet, being highly skilled in a few arenas rather than generally skilled in many arenas, quick wits, being able to see into the heart of the matter, seeing what’s going on, being an important communicator within your community.

AVAILABLE - $75 USD
18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Asiatic Dowitcher as Totem

The Asiatic Dowitcher, a medium-large wader bird, is often confused with the Bar-tailed Godwit. It feeds along muddy sites, coasts, or near shallow water, quickly prodding its large beak into the soil to look for its food in a distinctive 'sewing machine' motion. It has a yelping call, and while it breeds in Northern Asia, it is sighted throughout Southern Asia and North Australia.





Keywords for Asiatic Dowitcher as a totem animal (obviously not exhaustive):

Wetland wisdom, gaining nourishment from water and water imagery, a need to move around, restlessness, shifting energies, sticking together with friends and family, sensing what’s going on around you, feeling out a situation, sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, probing around.

AVAILABLE - $75 USD
18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

Bush Dog as Totem

The bush dog is a canine that is very rare, despite being found throughout Central and South America. Like the takahe, when it was first discovered (as fossils), it was thought to be an extinct animal until found alive. The bush dog is also known as the vinegar dog, and vinegar fox. They are diurnal carnivores that primarily hunt rodents, and live in small, tightly-knit family packs; they constantly whine to each other to stay in touch throughout dense forest floors. Out of all the canines, it is most closely related to the maned wolf.





Keywords for Bush Dog as a totem animal (obviously not exhaustive):

Hidden wisdom, shyness, keeping to oneself and to a small community, family dynamics, clashes with rodent energy, savannah energy, needing a pack, attachment to family and the concept of family, playing a part.

AVAILABLE - $75 USD
18.5 x 20.5cm (or 7.4 x 8 in)
illo's board, fineliner, aquarelle, pencil, metallic and iridescent paint

I've been doing totem artwork for a long time. As long as I have actually been doing art. Back in highschool, the totems I drew were less stylistic and more realistic, and I tended to focus on the skeletal systems of animals. I wanted their bones and that's what I drew. Consequently my art folio from way back then, has a lot of ram and cattle skulls in it.

When I was Wiccan, I continued drawing animal totems, though at this stage I didn't invite the actual totem animal energy to hang around me, or even come into my body. And back then, over 9 years ago, I drew most of the stereotypical favourites; frog, white buffalo, bear, wolf and so on. The process of drawing the animal totems made me feel amazing, and very connected. But the animals themselves didn't feel quite right.

I started drawing animal totems more seriously a few years ago. I developed a process that worked for me. Back then, it was a lengthy process. Firstly, I would see what animal energies wanted to be drawn. I'd do this by going for walks and holding my intent to draw an animal energy in my mind, and seeing what I saw, or opening animal encyclopedias up to random pages, using internet searches and databases and what have you. Over and over again, I was drawn to drawing Australian animal energies, or those of rare animals or animals under-represented as totems.

Then, I would try to commune or connect with the animal through meditation or even a more encompasisng form of trance-work / journeying. If I could connect with the animal, I would ask them if they would honour me by staying with me while I drew them, to add more 'authenticity' to the piece. So that, in essence, anyone who held a picture of an animal I drew could hopefully access the animal energy through that picture. The first animal that ever went from 'hanging around' me, to actually jumping into me was red kangaroo. Boy, that was a weird experience. I ended up rushing through my very first totem illustration of red kangaroo, because it was just too weird.

But after that, animal after animal after animal wanted to drop in. I could only really handle one at a time, at first. And certain animals had kinds of energies which made me want to, or actually rest afterwards for a few days at a time. And then something clicked into place and I could tap into many animal energies (with a few exceptions, some just don't want me to draw them), until finally I had drawn hundreds of animal totems, and given away, or sold many of those illustrations to those who wanted a deeper connection to the animals they cared about.

So these days, a significant part of my shamanic practice, is actually through my artwork. With almost all the animal artwork I do, particularly my 'as totems' series, there is significant time spent with an animal energy both during conception, the execution, and often for a few days afterwards. It is how I generally develop new relationships with animals, and nowadays I know I'm getting a good 'connection' to an animal's energy when I get four or five compositions and clear colour palettes dropping into my head.

Using my creative practices as a vector for my spirituality is a really fantastic way of 'living' the shamanism outside of soul retrieval and healing, and more ritualised practices. It's also a great way to give homage to animal totems, because with each finished product, I have a living piece of artwork that is both a signature of where an animal has taken me, and how I have processed that energy.

So for those of you who create, art, write, dance, drum, craft and so on, do you feel there's anything spiritual about it? Conscious or otherwise? Do you seek something 'more' than just the sum of the parts?

sylvertongue do you want to email me at ophelias.diary@gmail.com to yay or nay this piece? :)

( Southern Bobuck as Totem )

Western Scrub Jay – Delayed Gratification

Keywords:

Unusual yet functional family units, scrub wisdom and connection to scrub spirits, theft and appropriation, urban wisdom, growth in urban areas, material wealth, saving something for later, delayed gratification, problem solving, creativity, adapting and learning, great intelligence.

( full essay under the cut )

Man, it's been a while since I've done one of these!