Becoming the conquistador of fear and anxiety
to emerge in the truth and light of who you really are.
Jaguar is a large wild cat found primarily in the Americas. It is the third largest cat in the world behind Lion and Tiger. It has a stunning orange-yellow coat with spots that stand out that are unlike the spots of any other animal. The Black Panther is a Jaguar with the distinction of the color of its coat. It is believed that Jaguar crossed the Bering Strait from Asia to North America one and a half million years ago. In the Mayan ruins of the pantheon, Jaguar is only second to the revered feathered Snake. A Jaguar priest is the most powerful of all the Mayan priests.
Nine years ago during a dramatic spiritual awakening the veil dropped on my third dimensional reality and surrounding me were four jaguars. I was totally startled and confused with their presence but this would become one of the most incredible experiences of my life. They told me that I was a Jaguar shaman and that I would become a wide-open vessel through which great wisdom would flow, I looked at them in total disbelief. After several months trying to avoid the inevitable I realized it was a calling and I would be forced to confront, embrace and integrate these gifts I was being given. I would become a bridge between the spirit and physical world. This new role I was told was as a priestess, healer, spiritual advisor, teacher of great wisdom, outspoken sage and silent observer. Needless to say, more disbelief ensued. They said it would be chaos and that I would need to go within in order to sift through my fears through painful lessons so that I could achieve clarity. I would have to learn this alone and isolated to reach self actualization because the first person I was going to heal was me.
Jaguar is mostly a loner except when ready to mate and raise cubs, Jaguar can cover areas up to fifty miles wide. I too had felt throughout my life separate from the rest of humanity. A loner as a child I could relate more easily with four legged creatures than two legged which led me to mature into an extreme individualists as an adult. As a members of high society I always felt as I was on the outside looking in . . . on family, friends, society and even life itself. The sense of “not belonging” or fitting in, was a reflection of being more attuned to other realms of existence. Jaguar walks, hears, sees and feels the presence of the non physical. Often this heightened awareness, while living in a highly materialistic world, can create frustration when trying to integrate the seen with the unseen worlds. Jaguar is a brilliant teacher, it has no predators except humans; and it has an advantage over us because of being able to see in the dark six times better than we do. Jaguar is the perfect guide through the dark and into the light.
Native Americans term Jaguar “He who kills with one leap” since it often hides in a tree while preparing to ambush its prey. Because it is at the top of the food chain, Jaguar represents the conquering of fear and the ability to walk the world with confidence. Jaguar attacks the heads of its prey, which fuels the theory that Jaguar understands the detrimental aspects of the mind. This tactic reminds us that we can have a tendency to be too much in our heads especially when there is change afoot. Everything significant involves change and most people fear change. Not embracing change is contrary to the journey of the soul as its goal is to expand and grow through experience. The soul does not see the world as a place to fail, failure is simply a concept and a judgement. The truth is that what you are really doing on your journey is producing results, it is impossible to fail, so why not just jump in? No one on our planet has failed and they never will fail. Errors and mistakes are steps to growth. The fear of failure makes us miserable procrastinators and then we are then paralyzed. What we think we fear is really an illusion that leads us to doubt ourselves and then our ability to achieve greatness falters.
Jaguar will force the desire for constant change. It is really part of an innate desire to understand the mysteries of life. Many of these lessons we are called to learn are of earth medicine, astrology, witchcraft or other arcane studies. As Jaguar is emerging in you, you may be criticized by others while immersed in understanding mysteries that others may perceive as “dark” or dangerous.
Jaguar teaches us that the best way to get out of fear is to put your first paw forward, this will set into motion the energy of moving into the unknown. In the unknown is where you will find scenarios set up by your psyche as a means to facilitate transformation. I took this to the point of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, I knew the Jaguars were trying to get me to my breaking point. Their purpose, that I now understand, was to be burned to the ground and then rise again like a Phoenix with new eyes to see the world. The only way I could achieve this though was without worry since worry would immobilize me and keep me from being bold. We all have a pile of worries, health, family, the economy, security and a job but all it really does is keep us from living and transformation.
A lot of people ask me, how do I stop worrying?
Here are four tips to stop worried thoughts, ask yourself the following questions:
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What other thoughts could I be having at this moment?
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What purpose do these thoughts serve me at this time?
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Do I have any control over this situation or what I am worrying about?
IF YOU ARE AN OBSESSED WORRIER MAKE A LIST EVERY MORNING OF WHAT YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT, THIS WILL HELP TO FLUSH IT OUT.
The Mayans see Jaguar as the totem of Hozanek, the god of the southern sky, who would enter the dreams of the community’s leaders to be sure that they were telling the truth to their people. In the lower Americas, Jaguar is seen as a God that inhabits the Underworld and is called “Night Sun.” The spots of Jaguar are seen as stars that empower it to overcome darkness. In my view I see darkness as the place that fear takes us when we are consumed by irrational beliefs. It is like a dark spell has been cast by us upon ourselves. In order to achieve conscious change there are often huge emotional traumas that the soul builds into the process to force the change that is necessary. But what lies on the other side of change is a splendor to behold. There is an eternal beauty to a soul that is unfolding.
Jaguar protects the shaman from evil and negativity. It moves through the dimensions of the spirit world without being detected, thus able to be a guide to the mysterious. This Power Animal has the ability to clear fear and make it possible to trust the Universe again. Anyone going through a spiritual awakening may ask to be accompanied by Jaguar who is masterful at supporting us in the opening up of the gifts of clairaudience and clairvoyance. This is a big reason why shamans choose to merge with them energetically.
To Jaguar, truth and integrity are non-negotiable. It will remove itself from any situation that it feels is not aligned with truth and disappear into the deepest jungle. Integrity is huge for Jaguar, it carries with it a moral belief system that reminds us to work from a place of truth, valor, honor and respect for all. Lessons of integrity will frequently arrive in the form of relationships which are the ultimate learning process and often these relationships will help us to see ourselves and we may learn about being restrictive and selfless. Eventually after the learning, those who embrace this knowledge will be seen as very pure and decent as they have endured dishonesty and the lack of moral character in others, to help them learn of it within themselves. Jaguar spirit is trusting but with any sniff of dishonesty or lack of morality it will be deeply saddened and then may strike out at these behaviors. Jaguar asks…what do you tell yourself? Jaguar encourages us to be authentic with ourselves. Are we so caught up in a convoluted story that we actually believe it and it keeps reeling around our head, keeping us in darkness? Jaguar will have none of that. It will pounce on the truth and bring it to you in all the good and bad until you can finally see it with clarity and the possibility for authenticity. After my spiritual awakening, anytime an invented thought appeared, my cells that were often merged with Jaguar would cringe and repel it, I could sense that it did not belong to me. It was polluting the field.
A good Power Animal for healers, Jaguar has a mirroring area behind its retina that can enable a shaman to perceive disease and remove unwanted energy and attachments. Shapeshifting into Jaguar can be powerful medicine.
Black Panther is surrounded by mystery and is a symbol of feminine energy. It holds the essence of the Goddess: passion, fertility, and the awakening of the kundalini that spells the death of the old self and the birth of the new self and the moment of arrival in our full strength and powers. If you are in the dark night of the soul, Jaguar reminds you not to resist the process of finding the spiritual riches within you. The destination is a place of human love. Even when we feel emotionally remote, Jaguar helps us to assimilate wisdom. Jaguar supports us in developing clarity. With the integration of universal knowledge, we can have those aha moments as the answers drop in and our insight glows. At the end of the day, the only thing that most people really fear is death, but is it really death that we fear or is it more about the suffering that may occur? When we are in fear we are in an overly survival mode. Fear is always the worst case scenario which causes anxiety just with our thoughts alone. The mind begins to program the body to react to invented fear and pops the hormones of stress. The unknown is one of our greatest fears, but if we stop running from it, life can become an adventure and a passion. By lowering the volume of your self limiting thoughts you can overcome anxiety and worry. Our memories can fuel future inventions of the outcome so it is important to be present to avoid a free fall.
If you would like to learn more about Power Animals, check out Lori’s book HERE.
The Jaguar is very connected to Jade. For the Mayans it had great spiritual significance. The deep green is associated with water and plants and it is seen as a symbol of life and death. Pieces of jade are found in the mouths of the dead and it is believe that while someone was dying the stone would be placed in the mouth, and after dying the stone would be rubbed lightly on the face to absorb the soul and the spirit of that being. The elite of the Mayans would wear pendants hoping to appease the God of the sun and Jade was considered more valuable than gold. In some excavations, jade masks are found on the dead supposedly to enable the lords of the underworld to recognize the deceased and provide safe passage to the underworld. Most of the Mayan masks were symbols of their gods. Some masks were used for ceremonies, such as those worn by the Shaman. Many Shamans wore four kinds of masks, but others wore eight of them. Each of these masks represented a spirit. Jade is known to protect you from extreme difficulty and anything that is evil. It will also help you bring love into the heart chakra, lower stress and anxiety and support good circulation. It is the stone of love, power and excellence and is associate with the sign of Virgo. For the jaguar it represents the greenery of the lush forests and jungles, resonating with earth and its healing rhythms. It is also famous for good luck in the chinese culture and Jade frogs are often found in pockets for support of abundant financial resources. It is also associated with eternal youth and it is very popular for facial treatments as an alternative to plastic surgery. After you apply your favorite moisturizer or serum you can use a jade roller over your skin to reduce puffiness and help to drain the lymph system and relax the facial muscles thus smoothing out wrinkles. Finding your inner jaguar and embracing Jade can have you a glowing Mayan priestess in no time !!
For some beautiful tumbled Jade, visit Healing Crystals.
