Onzaamidoon Wiijayaaw Awakaanag
Onzaamidoon Wiijayaaw Awakaanag (Talks With Animals) is of Anishinabe’Ojibwe descent. His Grandmother (Nokomiss) had a major influence on the early years of his life—always stressing the holistic approach to life’s circle and the world—that we are all related, Anishinabe, the animals, the plants, the rocks and trees. She was the one who gave him his name and relayed many “Animal Medicine” stories that she had learned from her mother. Trained as a teacher, Onzaamidoon Wiijayaaw Awakaanag served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war, and after, earned a Masters degree in Management. Since retiring from the Army in 1967, he has written a self-published book covering his twenty-year service career. He has been teaching at Franklin Pierce University, College of Business for the past twenty years.
Raven Medicine
Raven is of the same family as Crow. Both have great and good medicine. If you have Raven medicine, expect magic in your life circle. Do not attempt to understand it; you will not. Powers beyond your understanding are at work. Raven will energize the magic within you to bring it out in your actions.
It is a sacred act to honor Raven as the power of magic. Raven magic is very powerful medicine. It will give strength to those who enter the Great Mystery void, the lodge of all not born. It is here that one will experience that which is beyond the human culture of understanding. It is this experience, when Raven medicine shapes your inner being. It will draw you out of the darkness of the void into the dawn of light and bring about a change in your consciousness.
It is said Raven is the protector of ceremonial healing and magic. Raven is the messenger which transports the energy of the ceremony to its destination. Raven medicine is the courier of spirit messages which Aboriginal Peoples represent in smoke. It is through this medicine that Raven will bring forth a state of healing from the Great Mystery void.
Raven is known for its playfulness and amorous antics, as is the Trickster or Coyote. It has the ability to become another animal and to speak another language. It has been known to mimic the calls of other animals. This is a lesson to be aware of if you carry Raven medicine. You can speak the language of those around you so they will believe you are one of them. This is teaching you to understand the language of others.
Ravens are good users of tools. They have the creativity to use items as tools, which are not normally used as such. Here is another lesson of Raven medicine. You can find something to use if you do not have the real thing. Here the magic and creation (creativity) powers exhibit themselves. Raven is not easily intimidated by others, is very fast on the foot or on the wing, and is always alert. Hence, Raven medicine prevents the carrier from being easy prey to others.
The time of greatest power for Raven medicine is during the winter season. The winter solstice is the time of year with most darkness in one day. With each day following there is more light. This demonstrates the ability to reach into the void of darkness and bring forth more light.
If you have Raven medicine, you carry a very special and powerful magic. Be careful to use it wisely.
Animal Medicine
I believe we all hold some animal medicine. To understand the concept of medicine in my Native People’s way, one must redefine the term "medicine." As referred to here, it is anything that improves one's connection to the Great Mystery and to all life. This includes healing of the body, mind, and of spirit. It is also anything which brings personal power, strength, and understanding. It is the constant living of life in a way that brings healing to the Earth Mother, Aki, and to all our associates, family, friends, and fellow creatures. It is an all encompassing "way of life," for it involves walking the Good Red Road on the Earth Mother in perfect harmony with the Great Beyond.
Our fellow creatures, the animals: the four-leggeds, the creepy crawlers, the finned ones, and the winged ones, exhibit habit patterns given to them by the Great Spirit. These patterns relay messages of healing to anyone wise enough to observe their lessons on how to live. Native Peoples learned these patterns through the teachings of their animal relatives. It is said, "We are all related." The precious gifts of true medicine are free and are given to those deserving of the honor. Each lesson is based on one major idea or concept. For simplicity, each animal was given one of these lessons. However, in reality each animal in creation has been given hundreds of lessons to impart. All of these lessons are powers that can be called upon to heal.
It is said that it is possible to find animals that speak to you in a particular way—the way of power. These creatures may carry special medicine for you, and will call to you in the Dreamtime, if you are to study them more closely. Your power ally is a certain species with whom you have recognized an important connection. This species becomes your teacher, with whom you allow yourself to grow and learn. Nothing is better than to observe and learn from these creatures in their natural habitats. For this connects you with Mother Earth, the animal, and the Great Mystery.
My Grandmother, who was half Anishinabe’Ojibwe, and my Mother, gave me my Native "Dream Name," Onzaamidoon Wiijayaaw Awakaanag / Talks With Animals. As my elders could see, I had a special connection with the animals. They would observe me making animal sounds and the animals would talk back to me in their language. I would spend hours observing the creatures in their native habitats and I learned many of their lessons. I would take in the sick or wounded or orphaned animals and nurse them back to health and set them free again. I seemed to have special powers to do this. I was then in the process of discovering my harmony with all creation.
It is said the stories of my People, the Anishinabe’Ojibwe, meaning "original or first man," embody many traditional values and beliefs. Among these are a reverence for the Spirits, which they believe animate all things, and a belief in Dreamtime and Visions as a means of receiving instruction and guidance.
I have received many and know there are many more to come. I hope this will help you on your Earthwalk down the Good Red Road. May you, who drink of these words, pass in peace and harmony with all Creation.