what is shapeshifting,

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

HOLMES	23 May 2003
i have the shapeshifting tarot and i don't understand the shapeshifting aspects. is it being umbued with the qualities of the animals so you can act better in the situation ? is it seeking the wisdom of the animal and then applying that wisdom ? i recall in conan comics that conan was a lion,(that is why he was called amra ) and that kull was a tiger. and there was one this espidoe where this man and bear spirit were one, for conan gaved the cave bear a big smash to the skull that should of killed him but didn't and he was about to die but his female friend drove an axe into the shaman/medicine man head which killed the bear as well. they said that most man and animals have two spirits, those two were so interwined they became one. (doesn't that kind of remind you of dragon heart when the dragon gave part of his heart to the king hoping he would go up to be merciful and he turned into a bastage and only way to kill him was to kill the dragon as well ?) how about that movie conan when thulsa doom became the snake ? that must be shape shifter at the extreme. or that tv sereis in the early 80s called the mammail ( i think i was only a lad when i saw it ) where the man could transfrom into animals.

zorya	23 May 2003
just one woman's thoughts, i see each animal's spirit as one. for example, wolf would be all wolves, eagle would be all eagles. each animal spirit is both male and female, young and old, as it encompasses all of that animal. shapeshifting would be when someone completely becomes one with an animal spirit. the person's spirit self (the part that can travel through realities and astral travel) takes on the form of that animal spirit as well.

WillieHewes	27 May 2003
? Uh, I really don't know much about this, but I do know that several people I know feel closely connected to a particular type of animal. So connected they actually think of themselves as being of the species, but stuck in a human body through some mistake. I think this is of the same category... but I'm not sure. :confused:

HOLMES	27 May 2003
from what i can discern ideally shapeshifting is taking on the essence of the animal spirit which is in native tradition not that bear, or that cat but the bear and the cat. (like zorya said ) so i gather that when i see an animal in the shapesifter present that means their energies is present in the client actual life. like the druid animal oracle and the medicine cards for example . about the person feeling an affinity for an animal that they think they are that animal stuck in a human body. in the native tradition in my area (native being native canadain ojbwe indian and sioux) we have the clan system which means that every person is an animal. i myself am a moose. it can go by matriach system (by the mother) or the patraich system (the father) an interesting thing to that is before we even know my background (which was about when i was 23), my brother saw me when we like 6/7 for him / 8/9 for me , he look at me in his dream and saw a big moose head upon my body eheh and once i had a dream about 4 to 5 years (give or take a year ) that my uncle and a man from the reserve were cutting up people and they were going to come get me and i was to run far away to the city and hide . (big nightmare after all eheh ) i told my mom that in the morning and she laughed her head off and said your uncle and henry were cutting up two moose last night and early this morning. i just said "really!1"

WillieHewes	28 May 2003
Very interesting holmes. ! So you're a moose? What's that like? ;)

ArwenNightstar	28 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by WillieHewes ? Uh, I really don't know much about this, but I do know that several people I know feel closely connected to a particular type of animal. So connected they actually think of themselves as being of the species, but stuck in a human body through some mistake. I think this is of the same category... but I'm not sure. :confused: That is a furry. :-) Not quite the same to me, but I think some do find it very similar. I know of people who live their day to day lives with ears and whiskers and tails and claws/paws to make them feel more like the animal they feel they should be. Much like a man trapped in a woman's body, they are a fox/cat/dog/wolf/you name it trapped in a human's body.

Alissa	28 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by HOLMES from what i can discern ideally shapeshifting is taking on the essence of the animal spirit which is in native tradition not that bear, or that cat but the bear and the cat. (like zorya said ) so i gather that when i see an animal in the shapesifter present that means their energies is present in the client actual life. like the druid animal oracle and the medicine cards for example . I adore my Shapeshifter deck, and have been learning a lot about shape shifting by using it. Yes, I see shape shifting as you describe above. In some readings, the shapeshifter might represent an aspect of the querent or someone they know (i.e. a bear-like ferocity when angry, 5 swords I believe in the SS deck). The animal might also suggest the best course of action, "By taking on the clear sight, or keen insight, of the hawk seen here, we are best suited to dealing with this situation. Use the hawk's keeness of sight when examining the actions of XY in this situation". (see SS's 13 Wands, God of Air). They can also work to point out narrative threads in a reading amazingly well. Today, using this deck, a wolf showed up at several points in the swords suit (7 and 10). My sitter was able to weave an entire tale from these cards together, by following where the wolf showed up and what had happened next. These are just a few things that came to mind immediately Holmes. I adore this deck, and it speaks volumes to me, so I think talking about shape shifting is fun.

The what is shapeshifting, thread was originally posted on 23 May 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.