Okay, here goes - from Animal Speak by Ted Andrews [ISBN 0-87542-028-1] p286:
Moose
Keynote: Primal Feminine Energies and the Magic of Life and Death
Cycle of Power: Late Fall and Early Winter (November)- The Time of Approaching Shadows.
The moose is one of the most ancient and most unique of the power totems. To the Algonquin Indians, it was known as "mong-soa" or "twig eater". To the Athapaskan Indians of Alaska it is Dineega. To the latter there was a tremendous relationship between Raven and Moose. The Athapaskan hunters would protect and talk constantly on their hunts to Raven who they knew helped shape the world. They would pray to Raven to assist in the hunt for Moose. Thus when a moose appeared, it was a special, sacred gift. For anyone who aligns with Moose - no matter how it may occur - a unique and sacred energy is opened.
The moose is an animal of contradictions. It is strange and yet majestic. It seems awkward, but there is a tremendous gracefulness to it. While it makes us smile, it also causes us to catch our breath. Those with Moose as a totem will find these same contradictory feelings stirred in others about them.
Except during the mating season, it is a predominantly solitary animal with a unique ability to make use of its territory - whether it be lake, pond, grassy, plains, or spruce forests. Those with this as a power animal have that same ability.
The moose has an uncanny ability to camouflage itself, in spite of its great size and power. And it uses this ability to its advantage. Those who would align with the moose can also develop this ability. Part of this involves the ancient magic of invisibility, but it also involves an aspect of shapeshifting.
This unique "shapeshifting camouflage" is reflected in the life of the historical Merlin. When he was summoned by kings or needed desperately to recruit other allies, he came silently, disguised as a poor shepherd, as a woodcutter or a peasant. Even sovereigns failed to recognize him in his various disguises. He practiced this concealment habitually.
Despite the size of the moose, it does have a unique ability to move silently and speedily. Its appearance of ungainliness is misleading and deceptive. It is this deception which enables it to survive so well. One reason for their ability to do this is that they have excellent depth perception. They can accurately judge the negotiability of an are. The moose has a speed and grace at negotiating territory others could not. It can move through great depths of snow and through marshes that would trip up many others. This same ability can be strengthened, awakened, and even taught to those who align with the medicine power of the moose.
The moose is often associated with the feminine energies, the maternal forces of the world, and those who align with the moose will find these forces awakened. Part of this revolves around the association with water. Water is the primal symbol of the feminine forces of the universe. It is the symbol of creativity and dynamic forms of intuition and illumination.
The Penobscot Indians of Maine relate tales of how the moose once was the whale, the greatest mammal of the waters. The MicMacs of Nova Scotia tell how when the moose is too persistently hunted, it returns to the sea.
The association with the water and sea is important to understand for anyone who aligns with the moose power. The sea is the point from which all life comes and to which all life returns. it is the great womb of the universe. The moose is often seen in marshy areas and standing in lakes.
They also have a unique ability to plunge to the bottom of lakes, and can remain there feeding for up to a full minute before resurfacing in a burst with fresh greens dangling from their mouths. For those who want to work with the full mystery of moose power, this should be carefully studied and meditated upon. It reflects the ability of the individual to learn to go back to the depths and draw new life and nourishment from it. The moose can teach the ability to move from the outer world to the inner. It can teach how to cross from life to death and back to stronger life. It teaches how to use the thin thread that separates life and death to one's advantage. It is not unusual to find individuals with strong Moose medicine working in soul retrieval.
This aspect of working with life and death and the energies and life forms on both levels is reflected through a sacred tradition of the Athapaskan Indians. To these people "potlatch" is a memorial ceremony to help dispatch the spirit of the dead. The belief is that when people die, they do not leave right away. They stay nearby and so food is burned for them to eat. At first it is once a day, then every other day, then once a week and so on for a year - at which time a memorial potlatch is served. This potlatch involves a sharing of special food, particularly moose head soup, sacred because it is not always available. This service then sends the spirit on.
This reflects much about the inherent mediumship and ability to work with spirits of the dead by those who align with moose medicine and energy. Moose people can learn to go into the icy waters of the void (death) and come back out.
Another reason for its association with the primal mother / feminine energies of the universe is because the female moose is extremely protective of its young. Very few creatures will ever challenge a female moose with its calf. There is a great maternal energy that has a primal strength to it.
Moose also have a highly developed sense of smell and a highly developed sense of hearing. The sense of smell has its spiritual or metaphysical counterparts in emotional idealism and spiritual discernment. The hearing lends to the human the abilities of clairaudience and of spiritual comprehension. When Moose aligns with an individual (which is usually how it happens, rather than an individual aligning with a moose), the individual should pay more attention to that inner voice and that sense of smell. Do things not smell or sound right - even though you can't define why? Trust those feelings, for they will define themselves shortly.
Moose calves are also born with their eyes open, which is very significant. Most of those who are open and resonate with Moose medicine came into this world with their inner eyes already open. It is not unusual to find such individuals getting discouraged when they work to "click on those inner lights", as so many describe their own awakening psychic and intuitive capabilities. These individuals must understand that they came in with their inner lights already on, so there will be no clicking. Learning to trust what they so often think is simply the imagination, etc. is part of the task of maturing into full Moose power.
If a moose calf lives through its first month, it will most likely survive to become an adult. This reflects much about the lives of those who moose aligns with. It is not uncommon to find those with moose medicine having had their most difficult (and sometimes traumatic) lessons in life during their childhood. The survival through this reflects that innate ability to draw from the creative force of the feminine waters of life to strengthen and sustain them. The two most powerful parts of the moose are the paws, which will cut like a knife, and the antlers which are both decorative and defensive. The head and the feet - these two areas are parts of the body most sensitive in those of moose medicine. Foot reflexology and head, neck and upper back massages are important to release stress. I would imagine, although no research has been done on this, that cranial sacral work would facilitate healing and release most beneficially for those of moose medicine.
Along health lines, the moose is herbivorous, and this says much about the dietary needs of those who would truly align with its power. This does not mean that one should become a vegetarian, but rather that it should be a strong part of the diet. It also reflects that the body will respond most strongly to herbal alternatives rather than traditional chemical medicines.
You cannot discuss the power of the moose without also discussing its antlers. Their antlers are the largest of all antlered animals. Antlers are ancient symbols of antennae - of crownings that activate the upper chakras of the head.
Only the male of the species grows antlers, unless there is a hormone imbalance in the female. Maybe this reflects the idea that the male must attune even more strongly (through these antennae) to the intuitive promptings. The rubbing of the antlers to remove the velvet covering has a lot of significance as well. It reflects the need to massage the head area to release the past for the antlers are shed each year.
The moose is a symbol of the sexual energies as well. This sexual energy is a physical reflection of the primal creative energies. That energy has its cycle within the body and within the rhythms of the year.
Autumn is the power time of the moose, and late October and November especially is the month for honoring the moose. The hunting season is over. The mating is being completed, and a new cycle is about to begin. For those of moose medicine the autumn is a powerful time. The smell of dry laves, the sound of their crunch as they are walked upon, touches a primal core, stirring life forces anew within the individual. In many ways it is aligned with Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, All Saint's day, Harvesting Rituals and all the traditional energies associated with this season.
The Moose has always been a powerful omen. When it appears in dreams, it reflects a long, good life. It was known to give strength, and more than one Indian tribe believed that you could travel three times as long after a meal of moose. (The mystical significance of three should not be bypassed here. It is the creation, the new child is born from the womb of the mother.) The hoof was known as a cure for epilepsy. Moose was known to banish headaches and dizziness, and Moose medicine was also considered the antidote for snakebite.
The moose has no enemy that it fears other than a grizzly bear, but even then it can outrun and outswim it. Its maneuverability and intuition, along with its highly developed senses sustain it.
Almost all northern Indian tribes have legends and tales of the moose - reflecting its universality and its great mysticism. The Menomini of Wisconsin even had a moose phatry or clan at one time. The Dog-Rib Indians south of the Arctic Circle (near Great Bear lake and Great Slave lake) speak of Hottah, a two-year-old moose who was the cleverest of all northern animals, and who helped create the Rocky Mountains.
When moose comes into your life, the primal contact with the great feminine force and void of life is being awakened . It is an invitation to learn to explore new depths of awareness and sensitivity within yourself and within your environs. |
