JAGUAR INSTINCT
The damp, warm air hung heavy in the night and there was an eerie stillness that permeated my surroundings. There was no breeze to rustle the leaves of the trees and no sounds of birds. Even the jungle insects seemed to be waiting in peril. Everything was on hold. Waiting. Just waiting.
Things were not going as planned. For hours I had been tracking the lush, wild jungle terrain for the one that would bring me great strength and fearlessness. And somewhere in my hunt as opposed to being the hunter I had become the hunted. I was no longer on the offensive. Feeling powerless and scared, I now sat huddled on a low tree branch contemplating my next move. My body was trembling uncontrollably with a combination of fear and pure adrenaline from the chase that had taken place just moments before. Not able to go any higher I decided my only choice was to sit paralyzed and just wait it out. The large black cat calmly circled the base of the tree, as her bright yellow eyes stayed fixed on my every twitch. I sat naked and without protection. I felt alone, scared and ashamed that I had failed at my task and pursuit for jaguar medicine. I felt as if I no longer knew the ways of the jungle and had lost my membership to the land that had birthed me.
I figured the cat would eventually get tired and decide I was not worth eating, dawn would come I would be able make my way back home. But she did not get tired and dawn never came. The darkness of the night did not shift and my hunter never relinquished her position of power. After an unknown period of time, exhaustion overcame my hope for survival and my body began to loose its grip on the slippery bark. My hands began to slip and I heard the hungry growl of my hunter, who was poised patiently a short distance away. With no other choice I let my hands loosen and began to freefall to the ground. I landed on my back and to my surprise, popped to my feet and began to run. I ran, and ran and ran, but the energy burst was short lived and I fell to my knees in surrender. Within in seconds I was staring directly into the eyes of a jaguar. Her breath was hot as it washed over my face with each growl. I had no fight left.
“Kill me! Just kill me! What are you waiting for?” I screamed at the top of my lungs. With that she reared back, opened her large mouth and gave me one last growl as her right paw came thundering down on my left cheek.
That was when I woke up, just as I felt that giant paw take a swipe at my head. I was breathing very hard, and although it was the middle of winter I was drenched in sweat. I lied very still for a while, trying to remember where I was and the details of the night. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. That was when I noticed the scratch on my left cheek and a trickle of blood that was starting to harden. I stared into the mirror with disbelief. “How could this be?” I was awestruck, speechless and incredibly excited. I had been struck with the medicine of Jaguar. That meant she was now an ally and teacher, and if I followed her guidance I would someday be able to walk as a beautiful jaguar in my own jungle. I went to my altar immediately and made offerings to the spirits for the gift of Jaguar. For months, every morning I would meditate with jaguar, getting to know her, dialoging with her, letting her teach me. Every time I went into nature I would first call on Jaguar to run with me. “Show me your ways great warrior of peace. Show me how to become a person of power and grace, beauty and calmness.”
Over time I became less fearful of confrontation. I learned to use my body and senses in new ways to track the hidden layers within myself and situations, so I could take different action and alter the course of events for the better. I became more comfortable with myself, speaking truth and drawing boundaries. I learned to see beyond the physical and how to move with more ease during times of challenge.
Jaguar came to me at the beginning of this month. It was the first of January and I had not settled on what to write about. I was in tune with the intensity of the cosmic energies for the month and had read some shamanic channeled writings that confirmed my intuition and the messages I had been receiving from the spirit world. In short, January is a month of forceful energies that will create friction, confrontation and breakage of what needs to shift. Resistance to what is naturally occurring will only bring more suffering, so it is time to embrace radical change and the gifts that are birthed from letting the old go. Jaguar is making her presence known and her medicine available to those who call on her during these times of great change.
When we call on Jaguar we are calling forward an ancient archetypal force that shamans have been calling on for thousands upon thousands of years. This force of instinctual intelligence is known to shamans as the organizing principle of life and death and the way of creating sudden change. Shamans associate the jaguar with these principles because of its keen awareness, speed and precision with which she hunts and maintains balance within her environment.
Because the jaguar is at the top of the food chain in the Amazon she is considered a protector and guardian of the rainforest. The shamans call on her for protection and strength to be used in their lives and while in ceremony. This great feline moves through her lush environment with ease and peace. She is curious and playful, has no predators and lives free of fear. When we call jaguar into our lives we are asking for her to show us the way of walking with this same ease and grace in our own environment. We are asking to walk as a peaceful warrior who knows her place in the world and as one who is in balance with the world around her.
Because of their swiftness and ability to alter a situation dramatically, shamans associate the jaguar with the realms of the mental and emotional levels of perception. Think about how quickly we can change our experience when we change our perspective. We are all aware that our individual conditioning, beliefs, judgments and imprints left from past traumas organize our inner and outer reality and create the way in which we view the world. Jaguar medicine teaches us how to be keenly aware of our own mental and emotional state, beliefs, judgments and prior conditioning. Jaguar perception is the state of awareness that on the physical plane not everything is as it appears, and that by shifting our point of reference from which we are viewing a situation, the event can change dramatically.
When we use the eyes of the jaguar to track into the night, into our shadow, and when we use the heart of the jaguar to hold compassion for ourselves while we unearth these old roots, we develop clarity as to why we react and engage in a certain manner. Once learned, we can use our jaguar instincts to pounce on our old reactions before they over ride the potential for a new way and a new experience of with ourselves and with life.
Jaguar will put us back in touch with our instictual self, the one that acts from pure wisdom and without the override of mental and emotional anguish.
A simple and effective way to connect with the spirit of Jaguar is through moving meditation and sound, either in nature or in your meditation space. If being inside is your best option, try putting some tribal, drum music on that invokes the primal nature within. Light some candles and sage. If being in nature is an option that’s great, just follow the same guidance. Now, set your intention to connect with Jaguar. Call on her and make an offering with the sage or tobacco. Then come on to your belly and begin to breath deeply. Getting in touch with your body and breath, noticing any areas that are restricted or that need to be awakened. Become acutely aware of your mental state and use your breath to quiet your mind. Let the sound of the drums or the sounds in nature lead you deeper within. When you are ready, come to your hands and knees and call the spirit of jaguar to you. Watch how she approaches you and learn from her movement. How does your body feel as she gets closer? Do you feel scared or do you feel inquisitive and playful? Do want to run or do feel you need to fight? Allow yourself to let go into this engagement with the jaguar. Ask her how you can learn from her. Tell her why you have called on her. Run with her. Walk with her and feel your body become the body of a cat. Stretch and awaken the jaguar within. Allow yourself as much time as you need. When you come out of this journey, take note of any changes you feel in your body, and in your emotional and mental state. Write down what you experienced, and the dialogue you had with jaguar. Close your ritual with gratitude and a knowing that jaguar is always walking with you.