Kangaroo - Warrior Energy

Keywords:

Warrior energy. Responsibility. Desert wisdom. Endurance. Instinctive movement. Pride. Fertility. Herb wisdom. Urban connection to native wisdom. Pasture, meadows, plains, plateaus. Urban warrior. Family and hierarchy. Co-operation. Tight focus. Giving away thought, embracing intuition. Motherhood. The multi-tasking mother.



General Description:

The kangaroo is a large herbivorous marsupial (with the red kangaroo being the largest in Australia) with powerful hind legs that it uses for locomotion. Their body is around 80% muscle mass. Their long tail is used as a rudder while traveling. Kangaroos often live in 'mobs,' and tend to be social animals with a social hierarchy. They live in a variety of habitats; red kangaroos prefer arid environments, grey kangaroos prefer coastal environments, and combined with other species occupy almost every habitat in Australia.

Most kangaroos are capable of embryonic diapause, an unusual ability to pause the development of embryos when the environment doesn't support the raising of offspring. They communicate through body language (like feet-stamping), touch, coughing, clicking and grunting. Red kangaroos characteristically 'box' one another for females. They are a source of food and fur, and hunting is regulated.

Lessons and Challenges:

Kangaroo brings extraordinarily strong warrior energy for all genders. This warrior energy brings strength, leadership and decisiveness in someone's life, and aids self-empowerment. Kangaroo comes into your life to tell you that even though situations look grim, or support may be sparse, you possess all the qualities to be a warrior and fight for what is necessary in order to nourish you.

Kangaroos teach us about family and hierarchy. It is important to recognise that our role in family is important, and where we sit on the hierarchy is crucial. If we are battling too strongly against it, or resist 'fitting in', kangaroo comes along to give you a sharp smack on the head and tells you that you are a part of your family - whether they are blood or not - and that you must accept your place in the hierarchy, no matter what it is.

We must take responsibility for our actions and their consequences, and this is a lesson that kangaroo can bring into focus. Only in embracing responsibility can we take pride in our ability to live well, and recognise the value not only in our successes, but also in our mistakes.

Kangaroo comes into our life and tells us how to assess obstacles instinctively. Instead of staring at our problems and never dealing with them. Kangaroo gives us the power to notice them and then immediately clear them with a big bounding leap of thought, realisation, or literal movement. It is time for you to give away thought, it is not benefiting you at this time. Trust your instincts, do not over-intellectualise your problems.

In addition to learning how to assess obstacles, kangaroo helps you to look within for resources of endurance that you already possess. All obstacles can be cleared, negotiated or understood with the ability to endure.

Kangaroos have many offspring on the go at once, and are fertile almost all year round, they often lend support to the multi-tasking mother, and the parents who are 'juggling' life and children, give us the energy and know-how when it comes to successfully multi-tasking.

Along with lessons relating to parenting, there are also those relating to fertility; not necessarily that of giving birth to offspring, but that of giving birth to new directions in your life. Kangaroo reminds us that we have resources around us such as family, friends, food, water, shelter, work etc. Chances are, one or two of these sections are letting us down, but we always have more to fall back on. Our life is never as truly bad as we feel it is, it is a fertile ground.

Kangaroo comes into your life to suggest that if you are considering having children, or wanting to bring a big project into your life, it is time to postpone childbirth and other forms of 'birth.' Your project or attempts are not working because now is not the time to bring something new into this world.

The kangaroo brings our life into tight focus. It is important to make sure our energy is grounded and centred at all times, particularly at this time in your life. It is time to concentrate. Meditation, and exercises that require focus are recommended at this time.

Kangaroo, particularly red kangaroo, teaches us desert wisdom, and suggests that at this time, you might want to avoid excess (food, lifestyle etc.) and make your lifestyle more 'sparse.' Make your environment, even if only temporarily, more minimalistic to create a greater sense of focus and simplicity in your life. This is one aspect of desert wisdom that you can implement into your life.

Many kangaroos adapt very well to urban environments, and through kangaroo we can use our urban connections to seek native wisdom, or the wisdom of the land that nurtures and challenges us. Grey kangaroo in particular is the urban warrior who gives us the strength work, live and grow in the city and suburbs. She reminds us that no matter where we live, the connection to the land is with us.

The symbolism of plants and herbs, is relevant when kangaroo energy is around. Kangaroo is an excellent guide for people who are learning herbalism, those who have a strong connection to trees, and those who wish to develop stronger connections to all flora. At this time, it can benefit to look into the right herbs, vitamins and vegetable matter for us. We might even consider introducing more green vegetables into our diet, or researching a particular herb of interest to us.

Pastures, meadows, plains and plateaus feature when kangaroo comes into your life. You might be on a plateau in your spirituality, career or home-life, or you might be drawn to plateaus and plains in real life. Do not see plateaus as a bad thing, and be gentle with yourself if you have hit a point in your life where everything seems 'the same.' Take the time to drive through the rural parts of your country, stop at meadows and ovals, take the time to enjoy places that aren't heavily forested, places with little undergrowth. Enjoy the direct connection to the earth and the feeling of the sun on your back.

The Shadow Aspects:

The shadow energy of kangaroo often finds its way into the lives of people who are scared of slowing down because of what it might reveal about themselves of their lifestyle. Those with very busy lives are often scared of confronting deeper issues that are important, they may hide behind working and socialising, never giving their thoughts a chance to catch up with them. Kangaroo confronts this, and can forge powerful relationships with the people who decide to work with it.

Kangaroo also confronts those who have problems with accepting responsibility. Chances are you do not accept enough responsibility for your actions or your life. Kangaroo lets us know that this choice to give away blame harms ourselves and others, and persistently encourages us to accept responsibility for our choices.

Communion:

Like all animal helpers, this animal will only appear when right and appropriate, and cannot be forced to visit you, commune with you, or share messages with you. Kangaroo is a powerful guide, and while some, like the red kangaroo can be hard to contact; all respond well when approached with respect and self-confidence. Because kangaroo teaches endurance, and the ability to fight a situation out, s/he will stay for as long as needed as a guide and tends to show up for the long haul.

Offerings like water, herbage, desert sands, images of plateaus etc. can add strength to your connection with kangaroo. Scents like sandalwood, eucalyptus, or any scent that reminds you of wide open spaces are appropriate. Kangaroo tends to prefer simple rituals that are conducted with respect and skill. It is better to do a short ritual that you are confident in performing, than a long ritual that you have not mastered. Simple drumming styles, chants and postures that you find easy to maintain are all effective methods to contact this great warrior energy.