to 1000 CE). Merkabah mysticism spawned from the stories of the biblical prophet Ezekiel and his visions. Ezekiel 1:5–10 says: “And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the form of men, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another; they went every one straight forward, without turning as they went. As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man in front; the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle at the back.” For these mystics, the visions in Ezekiel describe the angels, chariot, and throne of God.
TRANSFORMATION INTO ANIMALS
When a shaman transforms into an animal, he or she reestablishes the condition that existed in mythical times before the separation of the human, animal, plant, and mineral worlds. Remember, no veil exists between the physical and spirit realms for the shaman, so the act of moving between the forms of beings is as natural as it was for the Australian Aboriginal ancestors.
The Buryat (Siberian/Mongolian) shaman’s tutelary animal enables the shaman to take another form, an animal form. A shaman may put on animal hides or masks to initiate the process. Entering the ceremonial costume facilitates the shaman’s contact with the supersensible world. Sacred costumes persist today, even in the robes of priests, which resemble birds. The magical power of flight is assumed by wearing an eagle feather. In general, the shaman becomes what he or she displays, and the shaman may call like a bird or squeal, grunt, whinny, bellow, growl, and make other animal sounds and movements.
In the scientific model of trance, transformation into an animal is documented by researchers. According to Jean Clottes and David Lewis-Williams in The Shamans of Prehistory, “A Westerner experiencing an altered state said, ‘I thought of a fox, and instantly I was transformed into that animal. I could distinctly feel myself a fox, could see my long ears and bushy tail, and by a sort of introversion felt that my complete anatomy was that of a fox.’ ”12
Shamanic rock art depicting part-human, part-animal beings is found in caves in South Africa, France, Spain, and the United States, of which one can find excellent photographs in The Shamans of Prehistory by Jean Clottes and David Lewis-Williams.
A Vision in the Bisti Badlands
I was riding my donkey, a little black-and-white pinto, in the Bisti Badlands of northwestern New Mexico, when a strange vision appeared. The Bisti is a barren, eroded, gray-on-gray desert with a few strands of maroon, rust, and tan. Two lady friends rode their mares along with me. One had ridden in the Bisti Badlands previously and mentioned that the last time she was there, she saw a naked man. We headed east along a thin stream of brackish water where my friend’s dogs played in the mud and sand. As the two riders in front of me turned south, I saw before me, in the distance, a man stand up from his seat on a rock and scurry off. He wore a straw hat and a day pack, but no shirt or pants. We were not sure what to make of him. The Bisti is Navajo tribal land, and the terrain is stark and lifeless. It seems otherworldly, perhaps the kind of place a Navajo medicine man or woman might use for ceremony, and we supposed this to be the case with the naked man. We rode by tall steely hoodoos, large round mounds, bluffs with deeply, eroded edges, and large logs of ancient, petrified wood. My donkey seemed disappointed by the lack of green vegetation as she tasted a dry briar and spit it out.
In the hot, midday sun, on this desolate terrain, imagine my awe when above us silently soared a white owl! It flew from behind me about ten feet overhead. The face was not visible, but I could see three sides, and they were mostly white. The fan-shaped tail had faint brown stripes and spots. I know birds. This was no hawk. My two companions also saw the owl, but I was most stunned by its presence. It looked like a snowy owl, which seemed outrageous because they breed in the arctic tundra. We spent some time discussing what it meant to see a white owl in the Bisti Badlands. We understood the belief among the Navajo that an owl is a bad omen, and we agreed not to label the sighting as negative. After all, it was white; it had to be a positive vision.
Shamanism teaches that each animal we see is a reflection, and the observer must interpret each vision they see, but I wrestled with my scientific mind to explain the bird’s presence. Spiritual beliefs from other cultures teach that the owl signifies wisdom, or seeing in all directions without illusion. Since the location seemed like the kind of place a shaman might visit, and with no logical explanation forthcoming, my friends and I concluded that the naked man was a shape-shifting shaman who became the owl.
My scientific mind wanted more concrete answers, although I struggled to find them. The only species of owl that can sometimes be albino and might be found around the Bisti is a barn owl. A Bisti wildlife biologist agreed that even the sighting of a white barn owl would be very unusual. Regardless of any “real” explanation, the sighting presents a mirror for self-reflection. To help me find the answer, I consulted numerous spiritual teachers.
Dana Xavier, my clairvoyant friend, said I had acquired a state of consciousness that allows me to see things in the spirit realm. Two female, nonnative shamans (Stacy Couch, an ornithologist, and another who is a veterinarian) both stressed that the interpretation was mine to determine. The bird might be a glimpse into another realm, and because the owl can see in the dark, it might indicate the ability to see beyond what others might miss. It could be my spirit guide, a benevolent spirit being who has agreed to support a person’s spiritual evolution. The term daemon also applies, as the Latin word for guardian spirit from the ancient Greek, dímōn, means “protective spirit.”
In The Art of Shape-Shifting, Ted Andrews describes the owl as having increased intuition, vision of things not readily seen, and awareness of spirits. White is the color of spirit, and the owl is often referred to as the “night spirit.”13
All these explanations seem fitting, but words are difficult to find that adequately portray what the owl means for me. To aid in understanding, visualize a beautiful country scene with green grass, flowering bushes, and fruit trees humming with squirrels, birds, and bees. Now imagine an eraser that removes all life from the picture. Erase away the frills and fancy of transient beauty, and one finds the Bisti Badlands — the bare-naked bones of existence. There, behind the veil of our illusions, one finds the eternal, pure Spirit. The Bisti is like a crack in the veil of the physical world we create with our minds. With nothing close to normal reality to focus on, the Bisti opens up the possibility to see beyond the mirage of our mundane existence and into what shamans, Hindus, Buddhists, people who have had near-death experiences, mystics, and clairvoyants call “the reflection world,” the spirit reality behind the material world. For me, the Bisti owl was a reminder that Spirit is always with us, everywhere. When we connect with Spirit, we find guidance, wisdom, intuition, and protection. Spirit is omnipresent; we fail to notice it because we are so focused on our problems and projects — the fruits of our creations. I suspect the naked man was there for the purpose of connecting with Spirit. For me, the white owl symbolized and reflected the pervasive presence of pure Spirit.
Shamans around the world experience the ecstasy of union with Spirit. Two examples of tribal shamanic beliefs about animals include the Oglala Sioux and the native peoples of Central and North Asia.
Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of all things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see is like a shadow of that world.
— BLACK ELK
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