Acknowledging the Guidance of Spirit Animals: The Robin for the New Year

As I stepped into the hot tub for a sunset soak as the first day of 2016 waned, three plump, red-breasted robins immediately roosted in the tree branches directly above me.  I didn't think much of it, until looking again, I realized they were robins, a bird I always knew as the harbinger of spring, and it was the middle of winter in Colorado.  This was enough of an oddity to prompt me to research the robin's characteristics as a spirit animal.

My first experience with the concept of spirit animals was having elephants start showing up in my meditations in late 2012.  After that I had a dream with a white wolf, and then a dream with a black jaguar.  Black Jaguar had told me in the dream that if I didn't feed her she would eat everything I loved.  After that she has appeared to me from time to time in meditation or shamanic journey and a relationship has developed.  She is my power animal, and the elephants and white wolf also journey with me.  

Other animals will cross my path in very specific ways from time to time, in dreams or in life, that get my attention, and they are more like in-the-moment guidance.  Last summer, as I was moving through a very difficult period, I was writing in my journal on the deck when I heard an insistent chirping above me. A blue jay had appeared above me chattering at me and inquisitively looking down, his blue-crested head cocking to one side, and then the other, as he peered at me from his perch above me in the ponderosa pine.  I looked up the meaning of the jay as a power animal.  The information said that the jay was a symbol of being in the present.  His gifts included how to use power wisely, courage, the power of presence, fearlessness, resourcefulness and adaptability.  It said the jay can remind us to not allow ourselves to be put in a situation where power is misused against us.  Their resourcefulness can symbolize a need inside of you to learn adaptability for survival with the least effort possible. Jays know how to play the game of life and come out on top, and symbolize developing your talents and using them correctly.  

Now, as a new year begins, I curiously see three robins, a bird known to migrate during the winter and return with the spring.  It didn't surprise me to find out that the robin is known as a symbol of growth and renewal but it also said if there is a food source available they in fact will not migrate but remain in the same place year round.  On shamanicjourney.com, it says, "One tale has its origins in European mythology, in which the bird of Spring is linked with the New Year and symbolises divine sacrifice and the rebirth of the spirit."  It goes on to say, "When we let go of our past – a lot of which stems from childhood experiences – we are refreshed and renewed, thus unburdened and free to nurture and serve ourselves as well as others....we are able to thrive if we possess sufficient inner strength, courage and trust."

Just as the jay served as a sign post for me last summer to be resourceful and be aware of any misuse of power I might be encountering, the robin flew in on the first day of the year with a message of releasing the past and building a new foundation of inner strength and trust.  The rest of the message came through quite clearly, "Robin will incite new growth in all areas of your life, areas that have become stagnant and out-dated. You must believe in yourself as you move forward for if you do, barriers will disappear, and confrontations will be for show only."

I have been slowly developing a vocabulary with the world around me, in which I can receive guidance if I am paying attention.  I have to tune in and be present, and there are many ways the information can come.  It might be a dream, or the lyrics of a song, or seeing a certain number sequence, or something a friend says that is synchronistic or, as in this case, some encounter with a certain animal that is especially attention-getting.  If it is enough to make me stop and think about it, it is usually something I need to think about more and/or research.  When I take the time to acknowledge a sign and receive its meaning, I am almost always rewarded with information or guidance that is relevant to my life at the time.