Seal - Water-Dancer

Keywords:

Singing. Water-Dancer. Play. Disturbing Aspects of Play. Relationships. Male Energy vs. Female Energy. Opposites Attract. Streamlining. Sacrificing Senses to 'See' in Other Worlds. Mother Problems. Inner Voice. Creation.



General Description:

The seal is the most stream-lined of all pinnipeds. They tend to be grey or brown, and sometimes are spotted with paler undersides. They vary greatly in size, and are closely related to otters. They have a thick layer of blubber around their bodies to insulate them with fat stores, in some species this blubber can amount to 25% of the entire weight of the animal. Seals tend to rest, breed and moult on land. Underwater they are extremely well-adapted with fluid, graceful movements. Different species eat selections of squid, fish, octopus, rock lobster, crab, seabirds, krill, and seal young. Seals have an excellent reputation for play, and leopard seals will play with penguin bodies, tossing prey penguins around until they penguin is skinned.

Lessons:

Please remember that if this animal is contacting you, it will often be the best resource for teaching you what its lessons are. What I write is only intended to be a guide, it is not absolute, nor is it infallible.

- Seal represents all aspects of relationships and partnerships. If you have issues with your partner because they're polygamous, monogamous, of a different sexuality to you, or because they're not committed, or too committed, or basically not satisfying your needs, seal comes in to tell you to find what works for you. Seal confronts us and makes us question whether we are monogamous, polygamous, whether we like sex a lot or need it a little. Seal asks us if we're ready to really commit, or if we should end a relationship. Seal often comes into our lives during problems in relationships, and can sometimes signify the end of one.

- Seal can also come into our lives at a time when male energy and female energy clash. This is in friendships, relationships, in family situations and importantly within ourselves. Seal teaches us that there is a masculine side to the world, and a feminine side (and all in between), and that they will clash, but sometimes this is necessary to create balance. Seal teaches us how to honour our differences and not sublimate our own masculinity and femininity, for the genders of another.

- To risk sounding a bit like Paula Abdul, the Seal represents balancing opposites and situations where opposites attract. Seal comes into our lives at times when dynamic, opposing energies come together and create fireworks! We are being offered a chance to use this as a way to make our lives better, and improve our lifestyle.

- Seal comes into our life to tell us that it is time for frolick and play. But Seal can also come into our life to warn or represent the more disturbing aspects of play. We might be around people who play a little too rough, or cross too many taboos - or we ourselves might be drawn into games which other people may find disturbing. Alternatively it might be a time to recognise that play is something we do for ourselves, and it doesn't matter how anyone else judges us.

- Seal is the water-dancer, it comes into our lives to teach us to enjoy water. It is time to put aside our fears of water and really learn how to enjoy it and play in it. It's also time to treat our lives like water, and use our streamlining to make our lives go better for us.

- Seal often represents mother problems. As children, our childhoods may have been very short, or our connection with our mother may have been far from nurturing. Seal teaches us that it is time to reconcile these problems that we have with our mothers, in a way that benefits us. It is also time to realise what wisdom we have gained from our mothers, either in their absence, or in their

- Seal sacrifices its sight on land in order to see better underwater, likewise seal teaches us that sometimes we need to sacrifice something in order to see better in other worlds, or within. We may have already made this sacrifice, we might be blind, or deaf, or we might be unable to walk, but seal comes in to teach us that these are not only no barrier to our work in spirit and emotional worlds, but a strength.

- Seal represents the strength of our inner voice and the trust that we need to have in it. We can sing truths to our spirit, and our spirit sings truths to us. We can leap through our lives deftly if we choose to pull upon our inner resolve yet we often hold ourselves back. Seal asks us why? And asks us what we would gain, and what we would lose, from improving our own lives by taking control of our inner voice.

If you have Seal as your guide:

People with this animal as a guide will often manifest traits similar to the animal itself. I work on the philosophy that we only have one guide, and it teaches us lessons as well as representing the core aspects of our personality. Therefore -

- Seal people tend to have relationships that are often fraught with complications, yet they are still able to glean wisdom from the most hostile of situations. Seal medicine is good at counseling others in relationships and friendships, and in families.

- Seal people like to play and make jokes, but sometimes their sense of humour can be hard to take. Seal people might enjoy blowing bubbles at parties at the age of 40, and might be confronted with a lot of criticism because of this. It's important for seal people to realise that play at any age can be positive, and that what one gains is more important than the judgments of others.

There will be other ways your guide manifests, and you will recognise them with awareness and communion.

As shadow guide/guide:

The shadow guide is the animal we often fear irrationally, that teaches us things about ourselves that are profound and difficult to confront. Often the traits we fear most within the shadow guide, are the traits that we dislike in ourselves. We must scrutinise why this is, and learn how to work with them.

- People who fear seals, often fear relationships and energy that is different to theirs. They are often unwilling or unable to confront problems in their relationship, and unwilling to understand how these could be a strength in the future or in the present.

- People with seal phobia may constantly make themselves into a victim because of what they lack in life. They make their lives hard and cumbersome, and deliberately blind themselves to their fluidity and ability to make their lives more productive and streamlined.

Contacting Seal:

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. Seal is best accessed, I feel, by restricting one or more of your senses. You might blindfold yourself before a meditation and feel the fear of being sightless. This restriction enables you to more deeply open your heart to a creature that understands what it is to sacrifice movement and ability in one area of their life in order to gain ability in another.

Seal responds to chanting, particularly intuitive chanting and singing where we make up the song and the sounds as we go along without criticising oneself during the process. Seal also responds to water meditations, but I recommend that you be water-wise. It's not very water-efficient to meditate for 40 minutes in a running shower; but a bath, or a swimming pool, or even the ocean, are excellent places to seek out seal and its energy. Seal energy can also be contacted during yoga, pilates, tai chi and other slow exercises that allow us to understand our grace and fluidity.