Being Lifted By the Crane Totem Or, How the Crane taught me what the other animals couldn’t.

By Christine Colin Kern, Intuitive Empath

4-5-18

People often ask me what I mean when I talk about Animal totems and interpreting animal symbolism. If one is attuned the universe around us, one will often receive messages in the form of animal greetings that are designed to present a particular lesson or solution to a pressing challenge. The key is to know how to interpret these signs and how to apply the lessons. I have regular visits from my Animal Spirit guides, prodding me with messages when I am forgetting my truth path, but the most powerful experience I have had is my most recent encounter, with the Crane.

I personally have been struggling for the past several months. In November, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer that has metastasized to the kidneys and liver, and her health has drastically declined since then. I have been grappling with the course of her illness, and trying to accept the eventual inevitable outcome, but I have been resistant to accept outside support and have been failing to address my own personal energetic needs in the meantime. I have reached the point of utter exhaustion. The situation is exacerbated because I live 10 hours away from my parents, so I can only go home sporatically.

Locally, I have a network of women who support me through our weekly movement class and through online social media groups. In one of our classes, I was asked to bring my animal totem cards to pull a card for each member. In preparation for this event, I was playing with the deck, infusing it with my energy and “prepping” it for class. During this prep time, I pulled a single card for myself. It was the Crane.

CRANE SYMBOLISM

The magic of the crane is that it tells us to be true to ourselves. The Crane spirit says that no one else knows what is right for you; you alone must feel it. Only the Divine Spirit knows what you need and it whispers to you at all times, reminding you to be true to yourself.

The Crane totem reveals the secrets of longevity and spirit-centered creativity and their connection to the eternal and divine realm. It allows us to become witness to the power of our emotions and how they rule every facet of our lives. When emotions lead us into gale storms where we feel lost and powerless, we need to find the eye of the storm in order to see the truth of our power. In the center of the storm, we see the vortex surrounding us, the vortex is the center of our unharnessed emotions, fears, pain, and stored trauma that leads us to feel lost and overwhelmed with no sight of the exit. In the eye of the storm, the light breaks through the clouds and calm waters provide safety. This is where we gain perfect clarity to see the overriding power of our emotions surrounding us.

Most importantly, cranes bring clarity and the strength to move forward, allowing you to leave the draining struggle for survival behind. The eye of the storm is where we make contact with our inner power, where we are tested to see if we can endure the challenge of remaining still while we wait to regain our power. It also requires us to let go of that which no longer serves us as we move forward on a sacred journey of rediscovery of self.

When Crane comes into your life you are being challenged to use your past to better your present/future. Crane people can be fierce fighters when necessary and because of this they can reach new heights. Crane people are often called upon to take something from their past and improve upon it, using innovation or new methods to solve old problems.

There are even Chinese stories about the souls of the recent dead traveling to the heavens on the backs of cranes.

So, once I drew the Crane card, I knew that there was a special message for me that had to do with my struggle to accept my mother’s situation. And the Crane also showed up later, in another reading that I did for myself. Ironically, we also have Cranes as ancestors, so the symbolism became even more acute.

CRANE MAGIC

Fast forward a week, to my most recent visit to see my parents. We were sitting at the dinner table, visiting, when my father yelled, “Look!” and pointed out the windows behind me. I turned around to see six magnificent Sandhill Cranes strolling through the backyards, casually looking for something to eat. There is a reserve not far from my parents’ home where the cranes have protected nesting grounds, so I knew they were around the area, but I have never seen them in my parents’ yard before. I sat and watched the cranes saunter through the yards and disappear into the trees, and I remembered the wisdom of the cranes.

Now, Crane magic has made itself known to me repeatedly, reinforcing the need for me to take it seriously. I spent a lot of time that night reflecting on my position in the midst of the storm, trying to find my way to the eye, where I could claim the clarity and direction that I knew must reside there.

It wasn’t until I was back home, back in our weekly movement class, that I finally found the eye. In class on Tuesday night, I finally reached the clarity that had been eluding me for so long. It was as if a switch had been thrown that brightly illuminated every corner of my mind and my soul, baring for the first time all of the details that have long been hidden in shadow.

The crane was right; the battle through the storm is most difficult on the way INTO the eye. Once you have found the calm inside, it is much easier to discern the course you must follow to escape the storm.

And, I hope, the magical cranes will be back at some point, when my mother is ready to ride their backs to the heavens.

If you’re interested in deciphering what YOUR animal spirit guides are trying to tell you, contact me to arrange a reading! I’d be happy to interpret the messages they are leaving you.

#animaltoteminterpretation #animalsymbolism #intuitiveempath #readings #animalspiritguides