The strength of Bear medicine is the power of introspection. It lies in
the West on the great medicine wheel of life. Bear seeks honey, or the
sweetness of truth, within the hollow of an old tree. In the winter,
when the Ice Queen reigns and the face of death is upon the Earth, Bear
enters the womb-cave to hibernate, to digest the year's experience. It
is said that our goals reside in the West also. To accomplish the goals
and dreams that we carry, the art of introspection is necessary.
To become like Bear and enter the safety of the womb-cave, we must
attune ourselves to the energies of the Eternal Mother, and receive
nourishment from the placenta of the Great Void. The Great Void is the
place where all solutions and answers live in harmony with the questions
that fill our realities. If we choose to believe that there are many
questions to life, we must also believe that the answers to these
questions reside within us. Each and every being has the capacity to
quiet the mind, enter the silence, and *know*.
Many tribes have called this space of inner-knowing the Dream Lodge,
where the death of the illusion of physical reality overlays the
expansiveness of eternity. It is in the Dream Lodge that our ancestors
sit in Council and advise us regarding alternative pathways that lead to
our goals. This is the power of Bear.
The female receptive energy that for centuries has allowed visionaries,
mystics, and shamans to prophesy is contained in this very special Bear
energy. In India, the cave symbolizes the cave of Brahma. Brahma's cave
is considered to be the pineal gland that sits in the center of the four
lobes of the brain.
If one were to imagine an overview of the head, the top of it would be a
circle. The South would be the forehead, the North the back of the
skull, the West would be the right brain, and the East the left brain.
Bear is in the West, the intuitive side, the right brain. To hibernate,
Bear travels to the cave, which is the center of the four lobes where
the pineal gland resides. In the cave, Bear seeks answers while he/she
is dreaming or hibernating. Bear is then reborn in the spring, like the
opening of spring flowers.
For eons, all seekers of the Dreamtime and of visions have walked the
path of silence, calming the internal chatter, reaching the place of
rites of passage-- the channel or pineal gland. From the cave of Bear,
you find the pathway to the Dream Lodge and the other levels of
imagination or consciousness. In choosing Bear, the power of knowing has
invited you to enter the silence and become acquainted with the Dream
Lodge, so that your goals may become concrete realities. This is the
strength of Bear.
CONTRARY:
If you have Bear reversed, your internal dialogue may have confused
your percepton of your true goals. In seeking answers or advice from
others, you may have placed your own feelings and knowing aside. The
time has come to regain your authority, for no one knows better than
yourself what is proper and timely for your evolution. Reclaim the
power of knowing. Find joy in the silence and richness of the mother's
womb. Allow the thoughts of confusion to be laid to rest as clarity
emerges from the West, nurturing your dreams as the Earth Mother
nourishes us all.
Bear in the contrary position is teaching you that only through being
your own advisor can you attain your true goals. Anything less than the
doing of that which gives you the most joy is denial. To achieve
happiness you must know yourself. To know yourself is to know your
body, your mind, and your spirit. Use your strengths to overcome your
weaknesses and know that both are necessary in your evolution.
Journey with Bear to the quietness of your cave and hibernate in
silence. Dream your dreams and own them. Then in strength you will be
ready to discover the honey waiting in the Tree of Life.
