Long ago, our ancestors believed that people could change the shape of their mortal form into those of animals, plants, and even other people. Unfortunately, if ever that was true, those techniques have been lost to us and in modern usage, ‘shapechanging’ refers instead to the ability to change your energy form/aura/medicine into something different than what it usually is. This is the kind of shapechanging that I want to discuss.
The most common form of active shapechanging today comes through symbology – specifically, religious iconography. People wear religious and spiritual symbols to help draw in the represented energy so that their own energy can become more like the represented. That’s not to say that symbols don’t have their own energy that they impart with you – they certainly do! – but what makes them more powerful and so common is their ability to emit an energy that is then mirrored in the energy of nearby creatures and objects.
Another popular form of shapechanging is visualization. The practice of visualizing a situation the way that you want it to go became very popular in the 80s and 90s and is still taught as a common practice in the corporate and sports worlds. In essence, when you visualize a future situation, hypothetical or otherwise, you are working to shape that energy into a particular form so that when the situation does occur, that shape is already in place.
What I find really fascinating, and what the basis for my animal medicine blogpost series is about, is the ability to take on the characteristics of animals and the natural world to use in our modern society. Animals possess a myriad of traits, abilities, and tendencies that we can find useful today. If I want to feel confident for a presentation or meeting, I may want to visualize myself as a predatory animal, such as a panther or a shark (depending on the nuance I’m going for or the emphasis I want). If I’m trying to navigate a difficult and sticky situation, I might call on spider for their ability to weave and navigate intricate and sticky webs. If I need to set personal boundaries, I may call on armadillo with it’s built in body armor and if I want to access the divine, I may call on buffalo or hawk.
But just because I’m calling on another energy doesn’t mean I need to be overt about what I’m doing – often times, carrying the energy with you is enough. It may be that the people who walk all over me can feel the armadillo energy around me and will instinctively know not to push me. I may have my confidence bolstered by shark, which will lend me an air of authority during my presentation. It could simply be that people find my energy comforting and relaxing when I call on dog and naturally open up to me and feel a kinship between us.
It’s that change on the energy level that is called shapechanging now, and in the next several articles, we’ll discuss how to use shapechanging in a practical way in your everyday life. If you have any questions as we go along, please ask them and I will do my best to answer them – either directly or in a follow up post.
