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Keynote: Reclaiming One's True Power Cycle of Power: Dark of the Moon~ New Moon~ Winter The panther is very powerful and ancient totem. The name panther is more generally associated with a particular species of leopard or jaguar, although in the Florida area, the cougar is also referred to as panther. For the purposes of this work, we will explore it as part of the leopard and/or jaguar family and not of the cougar. As with most of the large cats, the panther is a symbol of ferocity and valor. Like the tiger and the lion, it embodies aggressiveness and power, but with the solar significance. In the case of the black panther, there is definitely a lunar significance. As with any totem, a study of the individual characteristics can provide much insight in to the energies being awakened within those who align with this animal. Panthers of the leopard family are found in Africa, Asia Minor, China, and India. Those we associate with the jaguar family are found in the southwest United States (rarely anymore), throughout Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America. Meditation upon this totem, when it reveals itself to you, will help you determine whether it is part of the leopard or the jaguar family. Regardless, there are still traits that both embody and reflect. The panther, in general, is smaller but more fierce than lions or tigers. They have over 500 voluntary muscles that they can use at will. This reflects a lot about an individual who has such animals as a totem. It reflects an ability to do a variety of tasks as he or she wills. It is simply a matter of deciding and putting to use those particular "muscles"- be they physical, mental, or spiritual. As a whole, panthers are loners (solitary) although they do associate with others, they are most comfortable by themselves or within their own marked territories. They are drawn to those individuals who are likewise often solitary. The panther is an enchanting combination of beauty and utility. They have a wonderful gracefulness, with an ability to move with ease or freeze entirely. They are quiet when they are stalking, hunting, or pursuing. Those who have a panther as a totem will find their greatest power is silence as goals are pursued. Revealing too much or speaking too much about pursuits can counteract some of the effectiveness. Panthers are excellent sprinters, but they are not great long distance runners. From a health perspective, those with a panther totem must learn to pace their work, allowing time to rest and to play. They must not push too far or too hard on any one task. If they do, they are more susceptible to imbalances. In times of trouble- in any environment- those with panther totems are often the first and the fastest to respond, and especially in the work environment they respond effectively to deadlines and to pressures. After mating, the panthers only stay together for a short time. The female handles the rearing of the young, disliking intrusions from the outside. This is often similar to women who have panthers as totem guides. They do not like others- even their mates- interfering with how they feel the young should be raised. The female panther almost always raises the cubs alone, and women with panther totems often find themselves doing likewise- whether out of divorce or simply through asserting dominance in that area of the couples life. All cats have binocular vision. Each eye can work singly, providing greater depth of vision, magnifying images, and facilitating judgment of distances. Thus anyone who aligns with the panther will begin to develop greater depth of vision- of their life, of events, or other people. This is more than just psychic sight. It is inner knowing. Often people enter the metaphysical field, taking up exercises and meditation to have their inner lights "clicked on". Individuals with panthers as totems are usually individuals who came into the world with the lights already on. Thus they should not be discouraged when they do not experience what others describe when their lights turned on. They should trust their thoughts and their inner visions (imaginings) for there is probably a strong foundation in reality. To those with whom the panther links comes the ability to develop clairaudience, to hear the communications of other dimensions and other life forms. The panther has very strong hearing. It can move its ears to locate the direction of sounds. The panther also has extremely sensitive hairs on the body, especially the face. Those with a panther totem will find their own sensitivity to touch increasing, from the time the panther enters your life. The skin is the largest sensory organ, and we experience much more of the world through it than we realize. Those with panther totems should pay attention to how they feel when someone touches them or when they touch someone else. The facial hairs of the panther are especially sensitive, and those with this totem can develop a special form of psychometry. Rather than holding and "reading" and object's vibrations through the hands, placing it against one's cheek or forehead will bring strong impressions. This skin sensitivity- the touch faculty- will heighten responses in the overall body. Things- such as foods- that are generally revolting will become more so to individuals with this totem. Touches that are sensual and erogenous will intensify as well when the panther enters one's life. The arrival of the panther initiates a time of awakened sensuality and passion, two powerful tools of the feminine powers. It is in the hours of darkness that panthers find the greatest element of power. This is even more true of those who have a black panther. The season in which their power is greatest is the winter. The lunar cycle most powerful is the dark of the moon through the new moon. It has been noted mythically that a panther of the leopard variety have a distinctive sweet breath by which it lures animals to it for food. Leopard varieties kill by biting the back of the neck. They do not attack fro the front, they pounce from behind. Those with a panther totem who are angered will not confront another individual head on- and are better off not doing so. They must stalk patiently, waiting until close enough to strike strong and hard. They don't play when they hunt. These individuals will go for the throat, so to speak. The jaguar variety of the panther will also stalk, but they are more powerful. Because of their position and power they will simply bite through the temporal bones of the skull. They have also been known to shear the heads off of animals with a single swipe of their claws. Because of their sensitivity, individuals with the jaguar panther as a totem will instinctively know how to best attack if placed in such a position- and they can do so lethally whether in defense or in response to anger. Because of this natural ability, individuals with this totem must learn how to temper their responses, or they may unintentionally wound others more deeply than they mean to. Of all the panthers, probably the black panther has the greatest mysticism associated with it. It is the symbol of feminine, the dark mother, the dark of the moon. It is the symbol for the life and power of the night. It is a symbol of the feminine energies manifest upon the earth. It is often a symbol of darkness, death, and rebirth from out of it. There still exists in humanity a primitive fear of the dark and of death. The black panther helps us to understand the dark and death and the inherent powers of them; and thus by acknowledging them, eliminate our fears and learn to use the powers. In China there were five mythic cats, sometimes painted like tigers or leopards. The black reigns in the north with winter as its season of power, and water its most effective element. This is the element of the feminine. This is the totem of greater assertion of the feminine in all her aspects: child, virgin, seductress, mother, warrioress, old wise woman. When the black panther enters your life as a totem, it awakens the inner passions. This can manifest in unbridled expressions of baser powers and instincts. It can also reflect an awakening of the kundalini, signaling a time of not just coming into one's own power. More so, the keynote of the black panther is Reclaiming One's True Power. In mythology and scripture, the panther has been found in all parts of the world as a dynamic totem. It has been a symbol of the "Argos of a Thousand Eyes". who guarded the heifer IO who was loved by Zeus. After his death, the eyes were transferred to the feathers of the peacock. The panther always brings a guardian energy to those to whom it comes. The panther has also been attributed to Jesus. In the Abodazara (early Jewish commentaries on the scriptures), it is listed as a surname for the family of Joseph. It tells how a man was healed "in the name of Jesus ben Panther". Because of this the panther often signals a time of rebirth after a period of suffering and death on some level. This implies that an old issue may finally be resolved, or even that old longstanding wounds will finally begin to heal, and with the healing will come a reclaiming of power that was lost at the time of wounding. The panther was also a symbol associated with Bacchus/Dionysus. One story tells how Bacchus was nursed by panthers, and he is sometimes depicted riding a chariot drawn by them. The myths and stories of Dionysus are very symbolic. He is, to many, a symbol of unleashing desires, and thus the awakening of the kundalini forces. He- and thus the panther- symbolize a time of moving from mere poles of existence to new life without poles or barriers. The panther in a Dionysic manner awakens the unconscious urges and abilities that have been closed down. It signals a time of imminent awaking. The panther is a symbol of awakening to the heroic quest. All of the Greek heroes were born from the union of a god and a mortal mother- the linking of the great fire and the great femininity. The heroes thus had the seeds of the divine force, that would eventually provide impetus to reach beyond the normal bounds and restrictions- to negotiate new stages in progression and purification. The heroic tales tell us that the depth of degradation- whether self-inflicted or inflicted from outside forces- there is always the promise of light and love to lead us back. When the panther enters your life, the path leading back is about to begin. Dionysus had to overcome many years of wandering, plundering, madness, destruction, and suffering before he could take his place within the heavens. His is the lesson of overcoming negative tendencies and sufferings inflicted upon ourselves, or by others to attain to our divinity. His story is that "we are gods and goddesses in the making". Usually, in the lives of those with a panther totem, there either already exists or will soon arrive upon the scene an individual who will serve as teacher and nurturer and guide upon the heroic path. For Dionysus there was the centaur Silenus and the satyrs. They symbolize the alternate realities that do exist around us and the increasing ability to view them at will as we become the initiates of the heroic path. These alternate realities will open to those with panther totems. These alternate realities, the beings within them and the energy of the panther all have ties to powerful sexual energies. It may reflect a time of resolving old sexual issues, or it may simply reflect learning to embrace the transforming nature of the sexual energies and how to direct them consciously. Dionysus was a god of life and rebirth, passion, and resurrection. He was twice born. The panther reflects a coming of opportunities to become twice born ourselves. This often means we may have to face offending malignancies of our life- a process similar to what has been come to be known as "Meeting the Dwellers on the Threshold"- those aspects of ourselves or our life that we have painted over, glossed over, shoved to the back of the closet or pretended didn't exist. Sometimes this means we must suffer the loss of what we think we love the most. The panther holds the promise of rebirth and guardianship throughout. It is the extra protection we need in those times. It is the symbol of power reclaimed from whatever darkness within our life has hidden it. The panther is the promise that whatever is lost will be replaced by that which is greater, stronger, and more beneficial. In the myth of Dionysus, the hero bears the magical thyrsus, a wand entwined with vines, upon which rests a pine cone. It gives the individual the ability to create delusion and illusion. There awakens within the individual upon this path and with this panther totem and ability to cause people to see and think as you desire them to. This ability earned and strengthened through self-discipline. Like the black panther, you can blend into your surroundings with ease and to whatever degree you desire. To the Indians of North and South America, the jaguar especially in the form of the black panther- was endowed with great magic and power. the jaguar panther climbs, runs, and swims- even better than the tiger. Because it could function so well in so many areas, it became a symbol of immeasurable power to the Latin American natives. It was a symbol of mastery over all dimensions. To the Tucano Indians of the Amazon, the roar of the jaguar was the roar of thunder. Thus the black panther was the god of darkness and could cause eclipses by swallowing the sun. This reflects the tremendous power inherent within feminine forces. To those with the panther as a totem, this power will increasingly be experienced. The Arawak Indians say that everything has jaguar. Nothing exists without it. It is the tie to all life and all manifestations of life (thus ties to the external feminine within all life). To them, becoming the man-jaguar was the ultimate shape shifting ritual. The Olmecs created monuments to the jaguar, and the Aztecs and Mayans spoke and taught about the power in becoming half human and half jaguar. One who can become a jaguar is shorn of all cultural restrictions. The alter ego is free to act out desires, fears, aspirations. The Indian shamans would perform rituals to borrow jaguar power. One who could do such could do great good or great ill. Stories abound of revenge, abductions, and great cures of disease through use of jaguar power among the Latin-American Indians. Even in Egyptian rituals, a panther tail was worn around the waist or knotted about the neck to help protect and strengthen. It was used in a process called "passage through the skin"- their own version of shape shifting to engender themselves with the panther's power. Nietzsche once said that "that which does not kill us makes us stronger". It is this same idea that is awakened in the lives of those who open the power of the panther totem. Those things of childhood and beyond that created suffering and which caused a loss of innate power and creativity are about to be reawakened, confronted and transmuted. The panther marks a new turn in the heroic path of those to whom it comes. It truly reflects more than just coming into one's own power. Rather it reflects a reclaiming of that which was lost and an intimate connection with the great archetypal force behind it. It gives an ability to go beyond what has been imagined, with opportunity to do so with discipline and control. It is the spirit of imminent rebirth.
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