personal transformation

Raccoon and Fox Guide Us on Our Ever Evolving Healing Journey

Posted by Barbara Techel

From The Enchanted Map oracle deck by Colette Baron-Reid

And here we gooooo…into the last week of September!

I have an oracle reading for you to kick off the week and one I think is packed with lots of good stuff.

As I’ve begun production for my lastest memoir – which is about how animals helped me on my healing journey of working through a childhood wound – what I came to understand is that we are always healing on some level. It’s why I believe we are here on the is earth – to continue to evolve.

The world around us, which includes the vast cosmos, is here to guide us – providing us clues, signs, and messages along our journey.

So I asked the cards: What is it we most need to know as we each continue on our healing journey’s?

The card I pulled: “Heal the Ouch.”

I love that the card I pulled has two animals represented on it — because not all the cards in this deck have animals on them— and wasn’t I just sharing how animals helped me on my healing journey?

Looking at the card I first noticed the flower the raccoon is holding. This speaks to me that being in touch with nature is of great benefit as we continue to take steps on our healing journey. A walk in nature can be so soothing to a soul that is working through a challenge.

The raccoon reaching out to comfort the fox speaks to me of being on the recipient end when you are on your healing journey. To be open to asking for support and then receiving that help with grace and gratitude.

The raccoon is nocturnal and a reminder that when we are working on healing wounds the importance of going inward and spending time in silence. This is where the answers to how we move forward can then find their way to the surface to guide us.

Raccoons also wash their food in water before they eat it. I see water as symbolic to our emotions and the importance of feeling all our emotions so we can cleanse them and live with more peace within.

Raccoons are also curious by nature inviting us to invite curiosity on our healing journey instead of always living in fear. The fact that it looks like they wear a mask is another invitation to begin to look at why we wear certain masks and how we can begin to take steps to reveal more of who we are.

Fox is a creature we only see in the dawn and dusk and they too are also nocturnal. I see this as speaking to getting more comfortable with the space “in-between” and also trying not to worry so much about what is ahead – but trusting in the unknown.

Lastly, turning to the guidebook the line, “forgiveness is the healer of the soul” jumped out at me. It’s about forgiveness not only of other’s and the role they may have played in our wounding, but also forgiveness of ourselves for those times we thought we “should’ve or could’ve” and instead, begin to be gentle and kind toward ourselves as we continue to walk our path of healing.

And as always, if I can be of support to you and an area of your life you may be feeling stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. In my one-to-one oracle reading and guidance sessions (link below to learn more), I always pull an animal card at the end of the reading as your personal guide to help you move forward so you don’t feel alone. I’m always inspired by the animals that present themselves!

Enjoy your week!

XO,

Barbara

Click here to learn more and book a private oracle reading with me.

The Witness and Mountain Goat: Oracle and Animal Guidance for the Week

Posted by Barbara Techel

This morning I felt called to pull our weekly cards from two different decks than I usually use. I’ve also recorded this reading. So if you’d rather listen, than read the message, you have that option.

 

So what is it we need to be aware of this week for our highest good?

From The Mystical Shaman Oracle:  The Witness

Right away I feel called to share that one of the key things I learned in Oracle School is witnessing and observing my own patterns and behaviors. This isn’t always an easy thing to do because with this can sometimes bring shame, pain, and/or guilt.

The Witness card asks us this week to pay attention to those moments these difficult feelings come up. And it’s important to remember that when they do to be gentle and compassionate with yourself. Within these moments that can feel painful and difficult is an opportunity to get to the root cause and begin to make changes to course correct and feel better about ourselves.

To the right of the woman, there is an eye and what appears to be light shining from it. I see this as reminding us to take time in stillness or meditation when uncomfortable feelings come up and tune into our own intuition. I see the eye on the card as representative of the third eye chakra which is about intuition, imagination, thought, and self-awareness.

Additional insight from the guidebook provides this invitation: The witness that has been by your side all along is now ready to become your ally. You thought you were the doer, but today you discover that things happen when you get out of your own way. Witness creation unfolding before you. Change reality by finding stillness and letting your true intent reveal itself.

All answers lie within, even when those answers are sometimes hard to acknowledge. But once we can become aware of them we can practice self-care and forgiveness towards ourselves, which then can help us to not only be more compassionate to ourselves but to also witness others in a more gentle way and also extend that compassion.

What animal ally is guiding us as we learn to be witness to ourselves?

From Messages from Your Spirit Animal Guides Oracle: Mountain Goat

So, yes, it can feel like an uphill and difficult climb when we witness and look at challenging feelings. But mountain goat reminds us that in order to restore balance to our whole being and especially within ourselves, being witness to the why of these feelings, becoming aware, and then working toward change will eventually lead us to feel freer and fully alive and experience more joy.

A line from the song Lonely Goatherd by Richard Rodgers popped into my head – High on a hill was a lonely goatherd. I see this as a reminder of the importance of being alone with ourselves and practicing stillness in order to find more balance in our every day lives.

Additional insight from the guidebook provides this invitation: It’s unrealistic to expect your life to stay completely in balance at all times, as it’s continuous interplay between the various polarities. Even the seasonal adjustments of light and dark slowly and gradually shift in a ceaseless dance. Notice how you feel when something is out of balance, and then take necessary steps to adjust in ways that provide greater equilibrium.

I’d like to add to this a quote I learned from my mom which is “this too shall pass.” When we are in a state of feeling dark, fearful, guilt or shame, it’s a signal to pause and just be with ourselves while also trusting that as it always does, it will eventually pass. Even when we may not have complete clarity of a challenging time in the moment, clarity often comes when we trust we will move through it, and insight will be revealed to guide and help us at some point. So staying in awareness is our friend (along with mountain goat!) to have beside us as we journey forward.

I hope this reading was helpful. Enjoy your week!

XO,

Barbara

Book a private reading with me here.

Cards used for this week’s general reading: The Mystical Shaman Oracle by Alberto Villoldo, Colette Baron-Reid and Marcela Lobos and Messages from Your Animal Spirit Guides Oracle by Dr. Steven Farmer.

This Gift Captures It All

Posted by Barbara Techel

Oh, the depth of heart within this artwork!

I cried hard as a smile slowly came across my face. This precious gift is from my mom and now hangs on my living room wall.

The picture in its entirety – I had to crop top one for Facebook requirements

Sometimes it’s hard to believe this is a complete chapter in our lives that lasted almost twenty years. A path I didn’t plan on taking but that I would end up caring for three special needs dachshunds.

I love gazing at this as a reminder to reflect on all the beautiful memories and profound teachings I gained from three sweet souls. I know with absolute truth that I wouldn’t be who I am today without Frankie, Joie, and Gidget. Nor would John.

I feel blessed to have captured the teachings of each of them in three memoirs, Through Frankie’s Eyes, Wisdom Found in the Pause – Joie’s Gift, and the one I’m currently finishing, I’m Fine Just the Way I Am.

While I don’t know what the next chapter in my life will be, looking at this picture brings me into a space within my heart that feels gratitude…so much gratitude.

There’s really not much more I can say about this special gift because this is definitely a case where a picture speaks a thousand words (times three!!).

XO,

Barbara

Wish to stay in touch? Here’s how:

Subscribe here to receive my bi-monthly newsletter which includes a digest of my blog posts, oracle readings, wisdom from the animal kingdom, first to know special offers and more

and/or…

Subscribe here to receive my blog posts as they are published.