My Dear Daughter Agatha (*) and her friend, Jacqueline went to a festival this weekend and when they returned, Jacqueline mentioned that she had seen three sets of Vultures. I reached for one of my reference books on Animal Medicine to quote from, “Medicine Cards” by Jamie Sams and David Carson with illustrations by Angela Werneke, but it was silent about Vultures. I looked at another book, “Power Animal Meditations” by Nicki Scully (also illustrated by Angela Werneke), which has a meditation about Vultures (“Intuitive Wisdom,”) but none of us were ready to go there just yet.
The Girls wandered off like Girls do, to the next thing and the teaching moment passed. I should really be able to tap into my own inner wisdom by now.
So I was thinking about Vultures. We have Turkey Vultures here in Southwest Florida. Vultures ride the thermals, looking for bodies that are not moving. “A thermal is an area of rising air in the low heights of the Earth’s atmosphere. Thermals are created by uneven heating of the Earth’s surface from solar radiation, and an example of convection. The Sun warms the ground, which in turn warms the air directly above it.”
Vultures see a potential prey and swoop down to investigate. They are large birds, really much larger than you are prepared for them to be. They are tall with about a 32″ wing span. You don’t want to get too close to them while they are feeding. They don’t have feathers on their faces, which helps them to keep their faces clean. If Vultures didn’t do the work of picking up all the dead animals, there would be all kinds of critters in various stages of decay, all over the place. (Pewie.) Vultures help take care of the ecosystem. They maintain the Balance.
When you see a Vulture, what are you doing, to maintain the Balance in your life? Are you working too hard or not enough? Are you in right relationships? Are you eating right? Are you getting enough exercise? What changes do you need to make, to establish better balance in your life?
The other resource I use, the website “Shaminism Working with Animal Spirits” at http://www.animalspirits.com/index9.html, notes that Vultures represent, among other aspects, issues involving death and rebirth. In terms of Balance, what habit or behavior can you let go of, to achieve greater balance in your life?
(*) My Dear Daughter Agatha wants to point out that she adores Vultures. And, she pointed out that what Vultures may mean to Jacqueline, might be different from what they mean to me. That may be true in some cases. The work I am doing here, is more archetypical rather than specific to any one person. If you have a specific encounter with any specific animal, then you have to take that into consideration next time (and any time) you see that animal again.
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Whale Maiden-Suburban Shaman 
Many years ago, my husband and I lived in a little cabin by a creek. It was smack in the middle of a turkey vulture nesting ground. In the morning fog you could see the shapes of the great birds looming up in the trees around our house. This was during a time when my life was completely out of balance. It was also about a year before I would have my daughter and undergo a rebirth, myself. Thanks so much for an interpretation that helps to understand the past. These days, I’m dealing with squirrel energy!
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Glad I could help! Did you know that Squirrels eat Oranges? Many years ago I lived in a grove of live oak trees (and thus all the Squirrels,) and enjoyed watching them eat citrus, too.
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The poor old vulture gets such bad press from most people. Personally I think they’re great birds, fantastic looking and, as you say, serve and enormously important function in nature. Removal of the old to make way for the new. Where would be without them.
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We’d be knee-deep in debris, that’s for sure! I forgot to mention in my first post about how I got a cache of Vulture Feathers…
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