The winter energy of the Lynx Spirit Animal Totem teaches the medicine of the hidden. Lynx knows that no secret is ever kept forever. All that is hidden will one day be revealed.
Just as oxygen will bubble to the surface of a deep ocean, the energetic truth of all situations will eventually emerge into consciousness. This can come in the form of literal justice recognized by a court of law, or it can be revealed abstractly through the power of art, fiction, and social change which speaks of a global truth and spiritual justice. The energy of Lynx can set a long-buried record straight. Deception and secret intrigues may persist for days, years, decades, or even centuries, but Lynx knows it is a cosmic law of physics that the truth will emerge, regardless of when or how. If you don’t have centuries to wait around for resolutions, the Lynx Spirit Animal Totem can offer assistance.
Built for snow and wind, the Lynx cat is found all over the world from Iberia (Spain), Asia, and the Americas. Aside from her exquisite long fur coat, she is distinguished by her rather lanky legs and exotic tufts of soft black hair decorating the tips of her ears. She lost half her tail somewhere centuries ago but makes up for the loss with her over-sized paws that act as snowshoes in winter. As a hunter of small animals, she thrives in warm and cold weather across forest terrain, remaining active all year long. A reserved and private creature in the wild, she prefers solitude rather than pack life. Many of the domesticated house cats we have adopted into the human family are descended from Lynx, with the Main Coon being the most visible relative.
When the Lynx Spirit Animal Totem shows up in your life, it is time to stop talking and start listening. When we talk too much we give away our charisma and forfeit our advantage in a situation. Talking to fill the void creates a noisy, nervous world. Pausing before immediately responding to other people’s comments allows us to maneuver through the intrigues a bit longer before making a decision. Silence is uncomfortable when we are uncertain. We often avoid that uncertainty with a momentum of talk (both written and spoken) to create a pseudo-confidence. If we can keep talking, we can keep the silence away and never have to confront the possibility of being wrong. Lynx says, address the insecurity within and know that being wrong is a part of learning. Learning is what we are designed to do. Lynx medicine also holds the ability to hear a lie instantly by focusing on the tones of a voice rather than the surface of the words that are said. It is always best to function from a tonal reality rather than a verbal one.
In 1603 Italian scholars founded the Academy of Lynxes in an attempt to search for truth and fight the debilitating superstitions of the Medieval mind. Superstitions have a particularly close relationship with cat medicines because cats were often persecuted under the violent belief systems of the ancient mind. Lynx medicine is a call to evolve out of the limited mental confines of religious systems and to let go of the compulsive need to understand a thing to the point of fabricating answers. It is not necessary to understand a situation in order to know the simple truth of it. This notion may appear to be a step backward from the scientific era of proof we have been experiencing for the last few centuries. But Lynx medicine asks that we not deny what we know is true simply because we have not yet developed the tools to prove it so.
We all have a dozen or more voices in our heads all talking at once in random sound bytes that have lost their context. Scientifically speaking, those voices are a product of our ever-evolving cerebral cortex which uses thoughts much the way the heart uses blood, pumping through mental content over and over again. Unlike the heart, mental palpitations do not always nourish the body. If you close your eyes and place your attention on the voices in your head you will hear a cacophony of random chatter. Lynx medicine is the silence under that chatter. Separating your being from this commotion of thoughts develops the skills of intuition untouchable by external manipulation. It is also possible to gain some control over the content that the brain has to work with by being attentive to the quality of the messages you let yourself watch and listen to. A horror movie, where it may be fun with friends, can fracture into a thousand pieces in your mind over the following months and affect your energy levels as well as your self-esteem without ever being considered as a culprit. Feed your brain as you would your body with the kind of nutrition that will lead to power.
The endless onslaught of advertising that has now invaded every aspect of Western culture is also designed to create noise in the mind and keep us from our better judgment. Commercials are other people’s priorities trying to dictate what yours ought to be. As advertising spreads like a fungus across all surfaces in our lives, from the coffee cup holder to the calendar app on your smartphone, our thoughts are constantly interrupted with the noise of marketing and sales. Advertising agencies know exactly how our repetitive mind works with its compulsive looping and they design verbal campaigns specifically to become random, unconnected sound bytes in the brain that will rattle about and lead to irrational, unnecessary spending. Some ads have even become wordless jingles that stick like gum in the brain. These catchphrases fill the space in our heads and obstruct the ability for deeper contemplation. The content of our thoughts have no deeper meaning or value beyond the fleeting synapse they ride on. Without silent observation of these external voices and aggressive priorities, the mind can become quite insane. Lynx medicine suggests that you ask yourself what you want and why. Have you been convinced you need something as a way of escaping the struggles of growing up? Or are your desires connected to an independent curiosity and inner passion moving you towards a larger experience of your self and others? We may not be able to escape the unyielding monsoon of logo’s and branding that is our media-obsessed world, but Lynx medicine advises that we filter out the confusion by simply recognizing those external voices for what they are- irrelevant.
Like Whale and Dolphin Spirit Animal Totems, The Lynx Spirit Animal Totem teaches how to hear through the surface meaning of spoken words to the true tonal vibration in the way the words were said. Lynx hears the true meaning of the speaker regardless of the word-play they may hide behind. Words, when spoken with Lynx energy, evoke the exact energy of their linguistic meaning. So that, “I love you” or “I hate you” when said by a Lynx medicine person, conveys the precise sensations of love or hate. There is no sarcasm and no irony in this cat’s medicine. Lynx medicine people must, for this reason, be very careful of what they say, as words hold their original power of creation and destruction within. This medicine is neutral, in that it can be used to either constructive or destructive ends. Lynx is the knower of truth. This does not mean she is the guardian or warrior of truth. Getting this cat to assist can be a challenge as she does not have any agenda for how her information is used. Unlike Dog medicines which focus on collaborative energy, Cat medicines are notoriously uncooperative and can be difficult to organize into group endeavors. She may not tell you what she knows and she may need convincing to participate in a plan. When this medicine is out of balance there may be a withholding of information somewhere.
Another aspect of out of balance Lynx medicine involves the notion of secrets. Lynx advises silence in most circumstances, but not at the expense of personal power. Finding silence is not the same as keeping secrets. Holding onto information that harms you (or another person) out of fear of the consequences will only prolong pain and delay resolution. Lynx medicine asks that we become intolerant of deception, including self-deception. Secrets cause confusion which leads to lies. Life is fascinating enough without deliberately manufacturing distortions of the truth. Silence is peace. If there is frustration in your silence, what are the secrets that are holding you hostage? Speak what you know to be true and do not tolerate deliberate dishonesty in your communication with others.
About the author
Jess Hagan offers life guidance in person and remotely from Los Angeles. To learn more visit Urban Healers Of LA