WOLF TOTEM

[SunKat]

Medicine: Guardianship; Strength; Protection; Balance; Loyalty; Intuition; Communication and Guidance Cycle of Power: Year Round; Full Moon; Twilight

WOLF IS THE PATHFINDER AND GUIDE. IN THE PRESENCE OF WOLF, TEACHING IS TAKING PLACE. WHEN THE RAVEN IS PRESENT, THE TEACHINGS ARE OF THE UNSEEN WORLD.


The Wolf is a powerful, swift, and cunning brother of the woods. The Wolf is said to have a special relationship with his two-legged brothers and sisters. Stories abound about young two-legged being raised in the forests by Wolves. Wolves are said to possess many human qualities such as love, loyalty, and friendship. They also make for powerful enemies of those who would tip the fragile balance of nature.

Despite myths and misinformation of their fierceness and blood-thirst, Wolves are friendly, social and highly intelligent. Their sense of family is strong and loyal, and they live by carefully defined roles and rituals. Wolves are the epitome of the Wild Spirit of Pristine Nature. The Arctic or White Wolf is probably the purest breed, surviving in an isolated area around the Arctic Circle. The great symbolism of the White Wolf suggests it is Sacred, Holy and Pure. The White Wolf as your Totem indicates that you have a loyal and powerful Guardian and Protector around you at all times.

Wolves are very ritualistic in as many ways as humans. They live by carefully defined rules. There are specific territories and boundaries that are sacred, and their social behavior is based on a hierarchical structure with Alpha Male or Female leading and directing the Pack. Every member of the pack learns its role from birth. Every member of the pack knows its position in relation to its other members. This ritualistic behavior that ranks the Wolves are part of Wolf Magic and Medicine. The Alpha Male does not rule supreme; nor is the Pack a democracy. Wolf teaches the balance between authority and democracy; how to use ritual to establish order and harmony within your life and family; and to understand that true freedom requires discipline and following Natural Law.

The Alpha Male and Female often mate for life; and all members of the Pack show care and affection for the pups. If you were to keep company with Wolves, you would find an enormous sense of family within the Pack, as well as a strong individualistic urge. If the mother and father are unable to care for their young, another member will adopt them. Some wolves even serve as baby sitters for the pups. Wolf Medicine teaches this strong family loyalty and support system; respect and honor for the family, both the elders and the children.

Wolves do not fight (or attack) unnecessarily; in fact, they often go out of their way to avoid any trouble. Wolf uses Raven as aerial spotters for possible food sources and to alert them of any danger that may be ahead. In return for this service, Raven shares in the feast Wolf provides by the Prey. Raven is the Holy Messenger, Magic and Shape Shifter that is closely associated with Wolf and may be considered part of Wolf Medicine as well.

Wolves do indeed have the capability of being fierce of going “tooth, fang and claw”; but they don’t have to demonstrate it. They are extremely strong and powerful; however, often only a glance, posture or growl is all that is necessary to determine dominance and/or keep the peace. Part of Wolf Medicine is to learn who you are and to develop strength and confidence; but to know that you do not have to physically demonstrate and prove yourself to others.

Wolves are predators by nature; however, they prey most often on the sick, the young and the old, or disabled. Deer is the most common prey animal (and may also be part of your totem). Wolves travel great distances in their hunting (up to 15-25 kilometers in one night), and they possess the stamina and strength that enables them to cover these distances and for extended periods. While they can maintain speeds up to 28 MPH for short distances, they seem to be able to trot at about 5 MPH indefinitely.

Wolf Medicine tells you that slow and steady gets the prize; but you have the capability of speeding things along should it become necessary. The predatory nature of the Pack when it hunts emphasizes the importance of teamwork and cooperation within the family or group. There really is no such thing as a “lone Wolf.” Wolf will travel great distances in search of Truth and Knowledge and return to the Pack to teach and share their Medicine. Wolves usually consume all they capture, to the point of gorging themselves. The Arctic or White Wolf has an expanding stomach that allows for even more food storage because the scarcity of prey in their environment. This can indicate a need to make use of all that is available to you to make the most out of what you have. Wolf reminds you not to waste as much as to remind you to keep your spirit alive and nourished.

Wolves have a complex communications system using body language. The movement of the head and even the tail, direct eye contact and facial expressions all have great meaning; and each Wolf learns from the time they are pups how to read and respond. Those with Wolf Totems are usually expressive with hands, posture, face or some other manner. Wolf teaches you to empower your verbal communications with appropriate body language.

Wolves also have a complex system of vocal communications the howl; whine; growl whimper and even the bark. The howls they are famous for have a variety of meaning: a signal to others or to locate the other members of the Pack; to warn; to mourn; to greet; to make territory; and sometime to just howl for sheer joy of howling. The mournful cry of the Wolf is the sound that links this World with the one beyond.... Wolf is the pathfinder.

Wolves have extremely keen senses, particularly that of smell which is said to be 100 times greater than humans. This sense of smell endows Wolf with great Discernment, and the sense of smell has often been associates with Spiritual Idealism in metaphysical circles.

The Wolf has excellent hearing sensitivity, and is a reminder that you should listen to others, especially those closest to you; but also to yourself your most inner thoughts and words. This will strengthen and enhance your own intuition and discernment. This idea is even further emphasized by the thick coat of fur the Wolf has. Fur and hair have long been symbols of psychic abilities. The Wolf has both an inner and an outer coat, giving it the ability to reflect the archetypal forces associated with psychic insight. The White Wolf has an extremely dense hide and coat that can enable it to survive sub-zero temperatures in the Arctic. Each spring he must then shed this thick outer coat perhaps symbolic that you should also shed the outer layer of your Self to reveal what is truly underneath; and to also indicate that after each “winter season” there is a rebirth of spiritual growth.

Wolf brings with him a strong sense of faithfulness, inner strength and intuition. But the Wolf also brings learning. Sometimes one needs to cross barriers, take risks, go beyond the limited compass of 'normal' behavior in order to learn and grow, although crossing these boundaries may seem repugnant, even painful. But fear not the inner power and strength you feel when you spend time alone. Instead come to know your deepest self and even in the darkest places, with Wolf as ally, you will find closeness and spiritual companionship. You are never alone. Above all, Wolf will teach you, through your experience, to trust yourself and not to fear or reject those parts of you that you don't yet understand or know. Wolf will guard you as it teaches, sometime gently and sometimes strongly if not harshly but always with love.

"May Wolf ever walk beside you and grant you rest in his shadow,
May his paws ever guide your path and your howls be heard by all..."

[2mj4o0me7ynpe]

Hi Rebecca.  I didn't mean to infer that these roles only applied to shamans, so sorry if that is what came across.  I don't claim to be a great writer, lol.

Of course these roles apply universally, because not every artist or healer also journeys to the otherworld, and if they do allegorically in an imaginative way, it's not necessarily with any spiritual intent, which is another defining feature, if we are going to take a modernist view.  It's just that those roles happen to be classic shamanic roles, too, especially that of medicine man/woman or healer. I believe that humans have the capabilities to be almost anything they want, as even if we're not naturally gifted, the brain can in most cases rewire itself to what we want to become. 

 

[Rebecca Hessey]

Yes, that is what came across in my mind.

You mention that perhaps we are of the same pack. I would say yes, for are we not all connected?

[2mj4o0me7ynpe]

I agree.  Though I read on another site somewhere about the different types of wolf and their colors and what that means. For the most part, mine has been a grey wolf, but when I was really ill and going through my shamanic death she was definitely a browny color, and after reading the meanings of the colors on the site the brown color relates to physical health and healing and understanding the connections between mind and body, so in retrospect that fitted really well with what I was going through.  But in essence I guess wolf is wolf, and beyond that still we are all connected as beings of the same human species. :3  Welcome to the human pack, woof, woof!

[2mj4o0me7ynpe]

You can also journey to the upper world to find out for sure, but that involves learning a core shamanic technique, ideally from another shaman in person. 

[Todd McLelland]

Thank you so much for sharing! Its always great to get other peoples insights on things!