How about this for an example of life mirroring art, albeit in a rather mysterious way?
I wrote a story once called ‘A Wailing in the Wood.’ It was suggested by a fallen log that I saw lying in a wood close to where I used to live. It startled me for a second because, from that angle, it looked just like a wolverine staring at me. I could see the eyes, ears and legs quite clearly, even though I realised immediately that it was one of those situations where a random shape impresses itself upon our imagination and shows us pictures. So I wrote a variation on the shape-shifting theme, about a victim under a rare curse forced to shift from inanimate object during the day to a fearsome wolverine at night.
About a year later I went into the wood one day and found two fresh paw prints in the soft mud by the stream. They were big, and in direct line of the ‘stare’ of my imaginary creature. It was from that spot that I’d seen it originally. The paw prints were unquestionably made by a mustelid (weasel family) and the largest mustelid we have in Britain is the badger. I measured the prints and they were twice the size of a male badger’s paw. I know my mustelids, and I know that the only one bigger than a badger is a wolverine. So I posted my find on a BBC wildlife discussion forum and my opinion was confirmed – only a wolverine, I was told, could have made those prints. We don’t have wolverines in Britain. Or, at least, we’re not supposed to. We get regular sightings of big cats, but I’ve never heard of a sighting of a wolverine. So what made the prints, and why just there?
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17 comments:
Wolverine prints can sometimes look similar to a dog print. Perhaps the soft mud distorted the print just enough to look like a Woverine's?
Or maybe there really are Wolverines in Britian now, but they just haven't been documented by the 'proper authorities' (whoever they are) so, officially, they don't exist yet.
I was very careful with the identification, Victoria. It was definitely a mustelid, not a dog. The print was fresh and very clear.
Result of illegal importation? Migration? (though I doubt it)
Or maybe it's a Werewolf. Awooooo, werewolves in London... :)
Maybe, but why just there, exactly where I'd seen the imaginary 'wolverine?' Bit of a coincidence, don't you think?
How fantastic Jeff, you're manifesting wolverines!!! That's the power of a creative imagination. I love this, it's a reminder that we live in a magical universe.
Ooh P.S. Have you had a look at what a wolverine means in the realm of totem animals? I'm going to check...
Here we go...
Wolverine heralds the awakening of passion for life
and the ability to absorb all the lessons that come our way.
This passion can be a gift or a curse, depending on how it is used.
One can be a glutton for food (a detriment) or a glutton for knowledge (a benefit).
Wolverine is the keeper of animal secrets.
Wolverine teaches us never to surrender,
to pursue what we desire until we reach our goals.
Honor your Wolverine spirit through silence, discretion
and a ferocious appetite for the truth.
Wow, Mel, this sounds good. Oddly, it does have some echoes of what my ex said about the way I've changed since about that time. 'Keeper of animal secrets.' Yes, I like that. My friendly Robin has learned a new trick now. He flies up and hovers in front of my face, presumably to get my attention.
I have to say, though, that two people told me quite independently that my totem is the bear.
The bear? Off I go again.... ;)
I love the connection you have with the Robin, I think he's waiting for you to hear his secrets. I wonder what he would say...
I'm told that bears are supposed to be gruff and aloof, but helpful. What's yours?
I don't know Jeff, whenever I've journeyed I've met different beasts at different times. I met a black panther not long after my beloved Grandfather died and that made enormous sense then. I also find myself drawn to this animal and then that, fickle? Moi?
My birth totem is the Snow Goose, turtle clan though.
Single minded and stubborn ;)
Panther? How? 'Snow goose' has a lovely ring to it. Single minded and stubborn is just female.
Clout?
Mathilda is on her way...
Ah, the panther is often a symbol of darkness, death, and rebirth.
The panther often signals a time of rebirth after a period of suffering and death on some level. This implies that an old issue may finally begin to be resolved, or even that old longstanding wounds will finally begin to heal, and with the healing will come a reclaiming of power that was lost at the time of wounding. Also, the Black Panther is very mystical, she finds the most power in darkness. Black Panther understands death and teaches people not to fear it, for out of death comes rebirth.
(copied from:theblackpaper.com)
You're a mine of wonderful information, Mel. Thank you for that. There have been lots of sightings of a panther on the loose in the Derbyshire Dales. The closest sighting to me was at Ashbourne golf course, about five miles away as the crow flies. Do I want to meet it? Er... I've had a terror of big cats all my life.
You didn't say how you'd met one.
Oh dear, never thought that Mathilda might come and deal the blow. Is it too late to take it back?
'Fraid so Beazley!!
The Panther meeting, well...
I like to delve into journeying myself so after my Grandfather's death in 2004 I decided to try a shamanic healing. The first animal I met was the black panther and she invited me to ride on her silky back through the rest of the journey. After that I met a dolphin diving through a river and a very colourful crow, kind of a crow-parrot ;)
How interesting. My ex did a series of sessions with a shamanic healer and found it very interesting, accurate and instructive. I went through a period of entering some sort of 'waking reveries' in which I had some very interesting experiences and encounters.
Is Mathilda open to bribery? What can I offer?
'waking reveries' that sounds interesting Jeff, an in between state?
Let me see, blackberries might do the trick as I know she has plenty of pickled woodlice now ;)
That's cheating. The brambles aren't even flowering yet. You city people!
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