Eagle as Totem
Eagle Totem for
merexcursion
The eagle is one of the greatest and most admired birds of prey. It has served as inspiration to many societies. Their ability to soar and hunt amazes and thrills those who are witness. Eagles, in fact are so good at getting food they spend very little time hunting. The fact that they are good at feeding themselves from the land and still soar to great heights in the sky reflects much about the hidden significance of the eagle who comes as a totem. They will teach a balance of being of the Earth but not in it.
Every society which has had contact with eagles has developed a mythology and/or mysticism about them. In the ancient Aztec tradition, the chief god told the people to settle at a place where they find an eagle perched on a cactus eating a snake. This place would become Mexico City.
The eagle was sacred to Zeus, who often changed into the form of an eagle to help himself control thunder and lightning. The Sumerians worshiped an eagle god, and the Hittites used a doubleheaded eagle as a symbolic emblem so they would never be surprised. The eagle has also been associated with Jupiter, and it was a strong emblem for the Roman Empire. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, the eagle is a symbol for the vowel “A:; and also a symbol for the soul, the spirit, and the warmth of life. In early Christian mysticism, the eagle was a symbol of resurrection.
Both the bald and the golden eagle have come to symbolize heroic nobility and divine spirit. These eagles are the messengers from heaven and are the embodiment of the spirit of the sun.
They are also symbols of the rediscovery of the inner child. There once was a belief that as old age approached, the eagle’s eye would grow dim, and the eagle would then fly so near the sun that it would become scorched. It would then seek out a pure water source and dip itself three times into the clear water and its youth would be destroyed.
This reflects much from a mystical point of view. It hints of resurrection, but also hints of alchemy. The fire of the sun and the clear water are opposite elements brought into harmony in a manner that elicits a change. It reflects several needs for those with an eagle totem:
1. There must be involvement with creativity. Three is the number of new birth and creativity.
2. A willingness to experience extremes in a controlled condition and thus facilitate the alchemical process within your life.
3. A willingness to use your passions to purity (flying into the sun) and to use your abilities even if it means being scorched a little.
4. A willingness to seek out the true emotional aspects of oneself and immerse yourself within them, and by doing so rediscover the lost child and awaken a higher sense of purity, passion, creativity, healing and spirituality.
An examination of the individual characteristics and behaviors of the eagle will reveal even more of the medicine and power attunement will bring to you.
The feet of the eagle have four toes. Four is a traditional symbol for keeping oneself grounded and laying a solid foundation for oneself. Even with the eagle’s magnificent ability to fly, it stays connected to the earth. The talons of the eagle are meant to grasp and to hunt. This reflects the need to stay connected to grasp and utilize the things of the earth. Without an ability to grasp powerfully and utilize what it grasps, it will not survive.
The sharp beak is designed to cut, tear and crush. Eagle has strong jaw muscles. The jaw is important to digestion and speech with humans, but there is a difference with eagles. Although vocally the eagle is weak, its jaws are one of its most powerful muscles. For those with eagle totems, it will be important to know when to speak, how much, and how strongly. It will be important to remember that unless this is controlled, it will be very easy to inadvertently hurt someone with words (cutting, tearing and crushing).
For those with eagle totems, new vision will open. This vision will be far reaching to the past, within the present and to the future as well. The eyes of the eagle are set closer to the front of the head, and they have a 3-D or binocular vision, just like humans. They can see forward and sideways, and their vision is eight times greater than humans. Meditation on the number 8, especially its figure (or the symbol of infinity) will reveal much about the kind of vision that eagle can awaken.
The ears of the eagle are not visible, but it hears very well. It can hunt as much by ears as by sight. To those whom eagle comes, the ability to hear - spiritually and physically - will also increase.
To align oneself with eagle medicine is to take on the responsibility and the power of becoming so much more than you now appear to be. From a karmic aspect, it reflects that the events will now fly faster, and the repercussions for everything you think, do or say (or fail to think do or say) - positive and negative - will be both stronger and quicker. To accept the eagle as a totem is to accept a powerful new dimension to life, and a heightened responsibility for your spiritual growth. But only through doing so do you learn how to move between worlds, touch all life with healing, and become the mediator and the bearer of new creative force within the world.
Taken from Ted Andrews’ “Animal Speak”