I should note that, among other things, I am a compulsive scavenger. There are many who think that the remnants of once-living creatures are dirty, yet I always saw them as things full of potential. At the very least they opened up a great new world of learning, and I could discern alot simply by examining a bone, or running my hands through a fur pelt.
I happen to own several pelts. At current count I have two coyotes, a timber wolf, and a fox. Most of these I’ve managed to acquire secondhand–such as through Lupa of The Green Wolf. When it comes down to brass tacks, I don’t agree with the fur industry, however I do believe that there is spiritual residue remaining within these items, which can become living and sacred. I think it would be far more honorable if my wolf, who I have affectionately named Albedo, to be kept as a sacred item and meditative focus, as opposed to mounted/stuffed/hung on a wall/used as a rug, or otherwise kept as some trophy of pseudo-manhood. Some other items in my collection are miscellaneous skulls, bones, teeth, claws, shells and feathers. As well as spiritual items, I also use these in nature programs, primarily for young children who live in the city and have never seen wild animals up close.
Albedo is one of my primary springboards of vision-questing. When I drape her over me and lend my body’s warmth to her skin, I feel like her skin and myself merge as one. I take on her form, or rather, she allows me to take on the form of some variant of canis lupus (ever wonder where the name ‘Hermetic Dog came from? Well I’ll elaborate on that later) when I travel outside of my body. In fact, the method I use with her is very similar to the method Balinas (a.k.a. Apollonius of Tyana) used when having an out-of-body experience:
The ability of Balinas to be in two places at once was common knowledge among his closest associates. At such times, he would wrap himself in a woolen blanket and assume a sitting position with both feet on the blanket. Then, as his meditation progressed, he slowly drew the heavy blanket over his head and face. He remained in that state for many hours at a time, presumably projecting his astral body to travel elsewhere. The impure woolen blanket, his one exception to the use of animal products, possibly aided in driving his soul from his body.
~The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy For Personal Transformation, by Dennis William Hauck
See, though there is some major differences here as well. I do not consider my wolf to be ‘impure’, and I myself happen to be a large consumer and utilizer of animal products. PETA would have a fucking field day with me I’m sure. My soul is also not ‘driven from’ my body so much as it is aided out, or inspired out, so to speak. This usually happens in a flash of white light which forms a halo, myself leaping from the halo like a trained animal leaping from a firey ring. From what I’ve read, other people who’ve had these sorts of experiences have also noted a flash of light or something similar, though I imagine there are variations.
In any case, I have a rant or two brewing on religion and ethics, which I might have to postpone for a later time. I have alot to study for. Several books up on the docket, plus I am in the process of studying for a boating license and my exam for that is on Saturday. I will say that, although I am a spiritual person, I am most definately not a religious person, nor am I particularly a ritualistic person when it all boils down to things. Though, as I’ve stated, I will elaborate at a later time.
In the meantime, more reading and studying. There is also some coordinating to do for my aviary and nature program work, which I will also explain in some more detail later.
