Should you climb the mountain or fly like the eagle?

The condor and eagle are the archetypes of the east direction. The eagle is the North American archetype and the condor is the South American.

by John English — 

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth article in a four-part series on the directions of the medicine wheel in Incan shamanism.

The student of Incan shamanism begins with the serpent path in the south, where she or he sheds past programming, like the serpent sheds its skin. The west direction is the path of the jaguar, who teaches the student how to move through his or her own darkness and death.

In the north direction, the archetype is the hummingbird, who teaches how to drink directly from the nectar of knowledge in life. The north is also the direction of the ancestors of the Incan lineage. The student finishes in the east direction, where he or she begins to fly, wing to wing with the Great Spirit, assisted by the eagle and the condor.

The condor and eagle are the archetypes of the east direction. The eagle is the North American archetype and the condor is the South American. These archetypes are about perfected vision and the ability to see things as they truly are. An eagle has an overall view of the forest, yet also can focus on its prey on the branch of a single tree. This is one lesson Mother/Sister eagle teaches us.

Sometimes we get stuck in a viewpoint that is too detail-oriented, or vice versa. The eagle helps us shift our perception back and forth, as needed. This can be very helpful when it comes to obtaining meaning from our life experiences.

Mother/Sister eagle can fly to the top of the highest mountain, and with her help, so can we. We have forgotten that we can fly without effort. Once we have shed our past in the south direction, dealt with our shadow in the west and learned stillness in the north, the eagle shows us how to fly over the mountains in our lives instead of having to climb them. With her help we can shift our perception and end the suffering. She first shows us how we consciously choose the strenuous climbs of our lives and then encourages us to fly beyond them.

Many of us now are aware that we are a part of the Great Spirit rather than separate from it. This knowledge is commonly spoken in today’s culture. The eagle shows us how to embody this truth and use it in our daily lives. She teaches us how to keep a portion of our awareness focused inwardly on the truth of who we truly are as we soar through whatever our daily lives have to offer.

The next time you struggle to climb over or push through a problem in your life, ask the eagle to show you how to soar beyond it.

John English is a shamanic healer and award-winning author of The Shift: An Awakening. He conducts private sessions and workshops about destiny and the dreamtime, shamanic healing, journeying and the medicine wheel. 480-473-8957 or www.dreamtimeonline.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 25, Number 1, February/March 2006.