The Wisdom and Power of the Morning Glory
As I continue to be sensitive to the flowers that attract my attention on my morning walks, I notice the white and blue Morning Glories peeking out from among the dark and tangle vegetation along my path. They are like a breath of fresh air pulling me into their simple beauty. And for a moment I’m transported to a magical place outside of time where the Morning Glory and I are one. And in that moment I am reminded that even in what feels like dark, chaotic, confusing and frightening times, the Spirit found in Nature finds a way to remind us that beauty still exists breaking through the darkness like the Morning Glory poking her face out through the thick, entangled brush along my walk.
Tess Whitehurst in her book, The Magic of Flowers, points out that the Morning Glory has quite a magical resume. Native American tribes and later Spanish and European settlers used her to receive visions and to heal a variety of physical ills. Scott Cunningham says that, in particular, blue morning glories bring peace and happiness, awakening our personal divinity and brining nourishment and balance to the soul. Blue morning glories resonate with the sixth chakra, the seat of intuition, while the purple and white ones resonate with the 7th chakra, where our personal energy merges with the energy of the Divine. (The Magic of Flowers, 254-257)
In Spanish the seeds of the morning glory are commonly known as semilla de la Virgen or “seed of the Virgin.” In that tradition the young maiden was important in the preparation of the morning glory infusion for its visionary and psychedelic properties which adds understanding to the Morning Glory’s oft magical spell over the human psyche. (https://www.drugtimes.org/hallucinogens-culture/morning-glory-and-mother-goddess.html retrieved 8-24-19)
The owl made its way into this painting joining the blue Morning Glory and in its connection to the 6th Like the morning glory, the eyes of the owl resonate with 6th chakra energy and its attunement with intuition and imagination. (www.chakraspirit.com retrieved 8-25-19)
The eyes of the owl resonate with the third eye-energy, intuition and imagination. Native Americans associate owls with wisdom, foresight, and being the keeper of sacred knowledge. The benefits of our connection to the owl are an ability to think clearly, detachment from worldly goods, an ability to trust our inner wisdom and attunement with our intuitive powers.
The cougar also known as mountain lion, panther, and puma is related to coming into one’s power. According to Ted Andrews (Animal-Speak, p 260) if cougar shows up there is a choice to be made and it should be made quickly. A cougar leaps at is opportunities. The cougar teaches decisiveness and to bring out your power and fill your heart with it in a manner that will enable you to take charge of your life and to use your life circumstances more effectively.
While the lion has been symbolic of a variety of energies through the years, the lion is most associated with the sun and gold, often a symbol for the rising sun and all that is implied by it. According to Ted Andrews, when a lion shows up there will be opportunities to awaken to a new sun. Trust your feminine energies—creativity, intuition and imagination. These will add sunshine to your life. (Animal-Speak, 283-284)
So the message and medicine of this painting becomes quite clear to me: tune into the intuition and imagination of the sixth chakra (morning glory, owl) and create what wants to come into manifestation by allowing it to rise into consciousness (lion) and trusting the feminine energies (female/maiden figure) with decisive action (cougar).