Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Mama Jaguar: The Luminous Warrior

As I mentioned last week, there are seven Shamanic archetypes that are "given" to the Shaman through a special ceremony called the Harmony Rite. This week I will discuss Mama Jaguar: the Luminous Warrior.

Jaguar represents deep emotional healing and teaches us to step beyond fear. On the Medicine Wheel she lives in the West and is connected to the moon and shadows. Hers is the way of dramatic transformations, of life and of death. She tears away the pieces of us which no longer serve us so that they may die, and she breathes life in to our core being so that we may truly live.

At first this archetype was a little scary to me, after all she knows my deepest and most hidden unhealed fears. But now that I have come to know her, connecting with Jaguar give me a deep sense of strength.

Before I studied Shamanism, I was terrified of the sleeping in the dark. I imagined all manner of evil lurking in the shadows waiting to get me. I actually used to sleep with the lights on, even as an adult.

Since developing a relationship with Jaguar, I have been able (and now prefer) to sleep in total darkness. Knowing that Jaguar is always with me, helping to dispel negative energies, transform my own negative thoughts and connect me to an inner balance has empowered me.

If you would like to connect with your own Jaguar, set the intention of creating an honest relationship with her and try placing your hands over your second chakra while speaking directly to her. As you may have done with Serpent, imagine what she looks like. Look into her eyes and let her communicate what she is feeling. Let her strip away everything that you fear. Follow her in the jungle until you find the strength you have always possessed.

Read next week for my blog post about the third archetype: Sweet Hummingbird.

6 comments:

  1. I've been reading your blog and I find it interesting.

    I'm curious about these archetypes you are discussing. Doing a little "research" (not from any scholarly sources, just what I found with some quick searches), it appears the first four, for the four directions, come from the Inca Medicine Wheel. The other three you list confuse me, though.

    The name Quetzalcoatl I recognized immediately as the winged serpent god, the Morning Star, of the Aztecs and neighboring people. Very much not Inca like the first four.

    Huascar appears to have been an Inca leader. I couldn't find anything connecting him to the underworld, as your description seems to imply.

    Pachakuti appears to be the Inca name for a flood that destroyed a large portion of their empire. The name seems to mean the upheaval or revolution of space and time or this world. It's used to describe a series of major natural disasters that the Inca saw as the dividing of ages. Or something like that. I can see the connection between that and transformation.

    I'll wait until I read what you have to say about those three, but just wanted to express my curiosity.

    FFF,
    ~Muninn's Kiss

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  2. Muninn's Kiss,

    Thanks for the inquiry. I decided to do this blog series because it seemed there was so little available about this tradition online.

    In the tradition of Shamanism I was taught, the 7 archetypes related to your chakras. You are correct, chakras 1-4 are represented by the medicine animals of the south, west, north and east. Huascar, Quetzalcoatl and Pachakuti represent our 5-7 chakras respectively. Quetzalcoatl is an Aztec god but he is still an archetype. Shamans are not always Inca. There are many traditions of Shaman throughout the world. Pachakuti was also an Inca leader, and is said to have commissioned Machu Picchu. Hopefully this explanation helps.

    Thanks,
    Emily

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  3. recently at a wild place where bobcats and mountain lions roam. actually saw a bobcat across the road from me. He/She looked a little like a Tabby except bigger no tail large feathers coming off his/her face
    I welcomed his vision perhaps being with Jaguar will give me more bravery if I do see a mountain lion.

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  4. Dear Anonymous,

    Thats amazing! What a special vision and connection to Jaguar.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Emily

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  5. Yep, I know there are many different traditions of Shamanism. I'm most familiar of those of Mongolia, Siberia, and Northern Europe. They relate well to aspects of my witchcraft (not Wicca) so I've pursued them some. I've read of similarities between these and ones in the new world, but know no details of the traditions in the new world. I'm mostly just wondering the origin of your tradition, not necessarily specifically, but I've found the history of a tradition, whether that history is mythical (which doesn't necessarily mean untrue) or traceable, helps a lot in understanding the mythos, cosmology, and symbolism of the tradition, and these help understand the practice.

    FFF,
    ~Muninn's Kiss

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  6. Hi Muninn's Kiss,

    I studied under a teacher who was taught at the Four Winds (http://www.thefourwinds.com/tp-overview.php). The Four Winds teaches the Inca tradition.

    Thanks,
    Emily

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