Shields

The Eastern Shield is the place of illumination where Eagle lives.
The color of the East is yellow, its spirit animal is the Eagle, it is knowledge of God.
The East is where Grandfather Sun greets us each morning. In this place you
will find the Golden Door that leads to all other levels of awareness and understanding.
To pass through the Golden Door is to see beyond the mundane and to touch Father Sky.
Riding on Eagle's back to the freedom of true knowing often occurs when one journeys
through the Golden Door. On the other side of the Golden Door there is no limitation,
no hesitation, and no fear. Fear cannot exist in the golden love of Grandfather Sun.
Truth abides with us when we challenge our expansiveness of lofty ideals,
allowing ourselves to see the Golden Light of understanding.
It allows us to seek the ideas that bring further enlightenment.
It is in the East that we challenge and conquer our greatest lessons in forward movement.
There are three pathways to the wisdom of the Eastern Shield.
The first path is to use any talent or creativity you have and you will know illumination.
The second path is guarded by our Sister, Snake. She sheds her skin and
we see this shedding as a way of letting go of old habits.
The second path to illumination is healing poison.
The lesson of the third path is that true energy exchange is sharing.
Since the East Shield is the traditional home of Eagle on the Medicine Wheel,
all three paths to the illumination of the East Shield are
graced by Eagle's Medicine and protection.
To understand the East Shield is to invite Eagle into your heart.

The South Shield is the shield of the child within as well as the place where
physical life begins. The color of the South is green. Mouse sits in the South.
It is innocence. Balancing the body is the key to observing the truth in all things.
If you use the body for work only, it gets tired and knotted up.
If you balance the body with physical play, it can release those ideas of being a
slave to work. In doing this, you find that there is no need to hold resentment.
If your body has no resentment your thoughts become clearer.
There is no tension that would stop you from trusting yourself or others,
or the beauty and balance of Great Mystery's Plan.
The first path to understanding the wisdom of the child is the spirit of playfulness.
If you laugh at the events that strip you of your ego-centered pride,
you will return to innocence and humility. It is from that place of new beginnings
that all things become clear and filled with truth.
The second path to the South Shield is physical fitness.
To know the joy of using your body, developing the skill and grace that comes with play,
allows the body to rid itself of the tensions of the adult world.
In this way, it is easier to trust yourself to walk in balance.
The skill of knowing what your body can do, what its needs are,
and how to give it the freedom of its own expression is the second path
to having faith in yourself. The third path to the South Shield is
through being who you are and understanding the beauty of the original essence.
You need not alter that innocence and childlike precociousness for anyone.
It is a gift for others to see that reflection so that they may drop the
masks of their fear and see that they also hold that beauty in their inner child.
Through knowing the child-within, you will restore faith in life and
capture the wonder of being alive.

The West is the traditional home of Bear, the place of looks-within.
The color of this direction is black, which represents the Void where
the answers live within the cave of bear. The first path is to enter
the stillness of our Sacred Space. It is being willing to receive the
answers made available to us through the experience of daily living.
The second pathway is integrating the information and discerning
what our personal truth is. The third path is structure based on personal truth.
If our goals are based on our personal truth and desire, they will be approached with joy.
They will be goals we want to nurture because they are truly our own,
not ones that others have expected of us.

The color of the North Shield is white and its spirit animal is the Buffalo.
It is Wisdom of God. The first path is the power of listening to Mother Earth,
her creature beings, and her children. Through listening you may come to know wisdom.
The second is to know when to bury the hatchet, to forgive and when to defend the truth.
It is through proper use of the truth, forgiveness, and humility that you may also know
wisdom. The third pathway is the symbol of the balanced shields, male and female,
Red Road and Blue Road, and of being grateful for the beauty of Great Mystery's Perfect
Plan. It is gratitude and prayers of thankfulness. Remember that there is no limitation
when you reach the place of Wisdom.


If you are asked to run the directions it is thus:

The East is Yellow, its spirit animal is the Eagle, it is Knowledge of Great Mystery.

The South is Green, its spirit animal is the Mouse, it is Innocence.

The West is Black, its spirit animal is the Bear, it is Looks-Within.

The North is White, its spirit animal is the Buffalo, it is Wisdom of Great Mystery.