Wolves
Wolves have been the subject of countless of my paintings over the years. If you follow my artwork, you may have assumed that my favorite animal is a wolf and that's simply why they're painted the most. Really though, it's difficult for me to choose one animal that is my favorite. Wolf just happens to be one that I feel I've known for a very long time. Much of the inspiration for my artwork comes from my nightly dreams, a stage where Wolf has had a leading role for much of my life.
I can remember being a child and dreaming about wolves. Always my dreams have been filled with wolves. Sometimes I am a wolf. Sometimes I am myself, but welcomed as a wolf into the pack. Other times there is just a single wolf who looks like a cross between a dog and a wolf; more of a petite wolf or a mangier dog. Once in a dream I asked the wolf his name and told me. He's helped me figure out solutions to problems that I've had in my waking life. He's shown me events that ended up happening to me the very next day. He's appeared in the midst of nightmares and carried me off to safer dreams.
If you're an active dreamer as well, you know that the magic isn't just in the dream itself - it's in what you carry over into waking life. My wolf appears as synchronicities in my waking life as well. If you're familiar with any indigenous spirituality, you might label my wolf as an Animal Spirit Guide. ...But really, saying "so and so is my spirit animal" is becoming almost too mainstream. Is shamanism coming out of the closet? Or are hipsters watering down the magic? Either way, my wolf has been around since before the trend and he'll be here long afterward. Labels do not matter to him, he's already proven his authenticity to me.
How did I realize I was encountering the same wolf-dog so often? Well, I'm a avid dream journaler! Most of my writing is confined to my dream journals; there are months when I write in it every morning and others where I write a total of four entries. Depending on what is happening in my life, I notice that I'll remember more or less of my dreams. I journal most of them, unless I recognize them as stress/anxiety dreams (We all have those! Ug!), dreams of that superficial level that are devoid of any real meaning other than your brain's leftover anxieties from a trying day. Those aren't of interest to me for journaling. I record all of the others though.
My journals are color coded on the edge, a DIY referencing system. The real magic of dream jouranling doesn't happen until you've been writing for a few years. You need a good chunk of dreams over a long period of time to start recognizing the major players, the key symbols. Those dream dictionary books that are everywhere are mostly junk. You are a unique individual with your own perceptions of the world; the symbols in your dreams can be very personal to you. Before googling what a dream image means or buying a dictionary type of reference book, you should ask yourself what the symbol means to you. For example: you might really like snakes and think they're cool while another person has a snake phobia. If you both dream about a snake, I promise you that the snake's meaning is not the same for both people. Not all dream imagery and symbols are universal. Sometimes they can be though, but always ask yourself first before you query elsewhere. Keeping a dream journal and going back to make notes each time a symbol reappears in another dream is extremely useful! You will eventually have your own language of dream symbols. Don't be disheartened by how long it takes, if you're wanting to unravel your own mysteries you have to learn to be patient.
Maybe you dream about someone or an animal so frequently and over such a long period of time that they become a friend to you. That has been my wolf. So, naturally wolves have become a popular character for my artwork. Many of these dreams about wolf I've put into visual story titled Fortune Favors the Dreamer.
(Pictured above: one of my wolf paintings as an Art Magnet. For sale in my shop)
But there's more than just me and my little world. Stepping outside of dreams and bringing wolf's magic into the waking world needed to be bigger than just giving the animal/archetype/spirit guide a series of paintings. In the years since I've been painting my dream wolf, I donate money and sign countless petitions to protect real wolves. They are constantly under assault by unethical hunters, cattle ranchers, lobbyists, and politicians. Wolves have a medieval stigma as being unwanted animals who are feared and dangerous.
Really, we need to learn to co-habitat with all of the animals who share the Earth. Wolves were reintroduced Yellowstone park in 1995 and because of them the area has had tremendous ecological growth! Wolves are an important part of our environment and they're teetering on the brink of extinction. Red Wolves are in the biggest danger; yet there is no consideration for these animals when politicians talk of insane boarder walls. If something like that were to happen we would lose these animals. All for some silly wall?! Entire families of wolves are executed by semiautomatic rifles from low flying helicopters. They don't stand a chance. Cattle ranchers kill wolves that are on public lands (read: Land belong to the American people. Not Private Property. You can go and camp and hike and be free on public land. Ranchers have no more right that land than you and I do..... except they pay lobbyists. Nature enthusiasts don't have lobbyists and capital to throw at politicians.) because the cattle industry is completely out of control. Greenhouse gas emissions from the animal farming industry are outrageous! For those reasons, I do not eat red meat or pork. I support keeping public lands public and I'm a advocate for wolves.
Big dreams, like my wolf, can't be kept all to myself. On a deeper level, my wolf is all Wolves. All dogs. All animals. And for all the help and love my dream wolf has shown me, I give back to the animals in the world. Is there something living in your dreams that has a mirror in our waking world? What can you do to honor that dream and make a positive impact on our natural world?
Not far from me is a wolf education/conservation organization called Wolf Park where patrons can sponsor a wolf. I've sponsored wolves for a couple of years and it's a great experience; not only does the fee go to support their mission and care for the wolves, but you are able to take a short training class and get into the enclosures to meet the wolves. Those experiences that I've had with real wolves have enchanted me! I've had my face covered in slobbery, dead-meat smelling, wolf kisses and it was one of the coolest moments of my life. I've been a couple of yards away when a scuffle has broken out between two males; their growl erupts from their stomach like an ancient volcano! Their fur is mesmerizing to loo at and is thicker than any dog's. (Fun Fact: Wolves can swim! And their skin never gets wet; their fur is so thick that it keeps their bodies completely dry!)
(Pictured above: one of the coolest photos I've ever captured! Dharma, the wolf, moving in to give me a muzzle greeting. Aka: wolf kisses)
Wolves will always inspire me to be a good citizen of the Earth as well as grace my canvases with their beauty. Do you have an animal that you've dreamt about? If so, look for that animal to appear in your waking life. What does their message seem to be? Animals have come to be associated with different meanings, perhaps your animal fits the traditional meaning or a more personal expanded version. Remember, if you're dreaming about the animal, how you interpret its meaning is what is most important, not what a google listing may say. For me, much of Wolf's standard symbolic meaning does apply. Wolf is most often associated with Guardianship, Ritual, Loyalty, and Spirit. Ted Andrews has a lot of good things to say about wolf guides in his book, Animal Speak: "Wolves are probably the most misunderstood of the wild animals....They are friendly, social, and highly intelligent. Their sense of family is strong and loyal, and they live by carefully defined rules and rituals.... Wolves do not fight unnecessarily. In fact, they will go out of their way to avoid it.... The wolf teaches you to know who you are and to develop strength, confidence and surety in that so that you do not have to demonstrate and prove yourself to all. ... Wolves have a complex communication system...Usually those with wolf totems are very expressive with hands, posture, face or in some other manner. ...Wolf medicine teaches respect and honor for family and for children. ...[those with wolf totems] make use of all that is available to you. ... [Wolf medicine] reminds those with this totem to listen to their own inner thoughts and words. The intuition will be strong." Keep in mind that small animals have big power too! Don't be dismayed if you find your dream animal is a mouse or a dragonfly; each animal has their special magic, no matter their physical size. And despite what the internet may have told you, your "animal guide" is not just simply your favorite animal. You don't choose the animal. It chooses you. I'm perfectly in love with birds, and I do dream of them, but they are not "my animal" like Wolf is. If you have questions about animal guides and or dreams, I may just have your answer. Feel free to comment or email me.
(The photo above is my thigh: "What big paws you have, Grandma!" Meeting the wolves is not for the dainty.)
(Photo above also taken by me: Wotton at Wolf Park)
