Right before we left in March for our one-month adventure to Northern Florida, I had redone the vulture card for the animal oracle deck I am working on. It was dark and the colors appeared muddy and every time I’d look at the card it just didn’t sit right with me.
As I assembled collage papers together to create a new version, I was drawn to lighter and softer colors. As the new card came together I really liked what I was seeing and I’m so much happier with this new version.
While in Florida we visited Manatee Springs State Park hoping to catch a glimpse of some manatees. We did see one up close for a few seconds before it dove deeper and out of sight. From a distance, we were also able to see the outline shape of a mother manatee and her calf, plus another even further in the distance. It was so energizing being in their presence.
Equally as fascinating were the large black birds that were everywhere! While I believed they were vultures, I wasn’t quite sure because they looked different than the turkey vultures I see here in Wisconsin. Observing a woman taking photos of them, I asked if she knew what they were and she told me they are black vultures.
They weren’t intimated at all by people roaming the park. When I, or someone else, got near them, they’d hop forward or fly up into a tree nearby. And as often happens when vultures are around, I heard a few people say how ugly they are. This made me sad.
Vultures are one of those creatures that are so misunderstood. Oftentimes they are referred to as disgusting because of the thankless job they do of taking care and digesting the corpses of animals that have perished. But did you know that this helps to limit infections and bacteria from spreading to other animals? It’s what I learned in Ted Andrews’s book, Animal Speak. Perhaps if others knew this, they wouldn’t dismiss the vulture and its important role. Besides the fact, this is what the vulture must do in order to sustain itself and survive.
So much wisdom in this and the cycle of life. I also thought about a time in my life when I thought of them as ugly and called it ‘gross’ that they eat perished animals. I thought about those I heard that day calling the vulture ugly. While I also reflected on the times in my life when I’ve inwardly thought of myself as ugly.
As I sat down at my writing desk this morning to continue working on writing messages for the remaining cards my animal oracle deck, I knew I had to begin with the card I’d made to represent Vulture.
Halfway into writing the message, I realized why I had to remake that card before I left because I don’t see the vulture as ugly. It was many years ago when I set the intention to bring more animal wisdom into my life and I was able to then view vultures from a different perspective and I now honor and value their purpose.
The vulture is beautiful in its own way and this had me reflecting on how I’ve grown into loving myself so much more than I used to. While I can still have my moments of not liking something about my appearance, I’ve grown so much more comfortable in my own skin and I can let it go easier than in the past.
Not only do I wish for others to see the beauty and worth in the vulture I also wish for others to see this in themselves. And as I experienced in 2017 when I danced with the wisdom of Snake, not only did I come to respect and honor them, I, in turn, learned to do the same for myself.
We each have a purpose for being here (and FYI – this does not have to tie into a career). We each matter and we all contribute in a unique way which adds to the collective.
So I believe Vulture has one last thought for today and that is to see yourself in a kinder and softer way. Appreciate your role in this world and love yourself just as you are.
XO
Barb
