Animal Trios

You’ll notice when you enter the Dream Arc and come across one of the creatures, that it will have two animal partners from the other realms. As it happens, all the creatures of the Dream Arc are connected, mysteriously threaded together through the three different Dream Arc realms of the Lower World, the Middle World and the Upper World. There is a great mystery in this, and you will find as you begin to work with the creature that you’re drawn to that it can be very healing to contemplate its two partners. These may be creatures that you had not felt obviously drawn to, but they also hold secrets for you. So it’s always worth exploring the Dream Arc partners and the threads that connect the animal trios together.

The number three holds a magical principle embedded deeply in all sacred teachings, particularly shamanic, mystical teachings, which are based on the three realms just as the Dream Arc is. Three is also rooted in my other teaching, the Gene Keys, which has three levels – the Shadow, the Gift and the Siddhi (a Sanskrit word meaning ‘divine gift’). Each of the 192 creatures of the Dream Arc pantheon relates to one of the 64 Gene Keys through these three levels, which correspond with the three realms of the Dream Arc.

The Dream Arc’s Fear Keys – the creatures of the Lower World – relate to the Shadows; the Life Keys are the Mammal Realm and relate to the Gifts; the Vision Keys relate to the Siddhis, and are from the Bird Realm. But they are all interconnected. You could also look at the three realms as the unconscious, the conscious and the superconscious. The unconscious is represented by the diverse creatures of the Fear Keys, the conscious by the mammals of the Life Keys, and the superconscious by the birds of the Vision Keys. No one of them is better than any other, and moving through the Dream Arc is about finding the storyline between the three.

You might think, ‘Oh, the superconscious sounds really good. I want to be having those visions, and I don’t want to spend too much time in the Fear Keys.’ But if you’re exploring the Dream Arc, you’re likely to be a bold and brave person anyway, so you should be up for some too. The point is that the Dream Arc creatures are all embedded within each other. The Fear Key opens into the Life Key, and the Life Key becomes the Vision Key. It’s a bit like the seed, flower and fruit, in that they all contain each other and are within each other. This means that you can’t attain a higher vision without going deep into the fear and releasing any fears that could be undermining that higher vision. So if you’re working with a particular Vision Key,  you can guarantee that it will take you down into the Shadow and then you’ll have to deal with the Fear Key. The Life Keys, the mammals, empower us in that journey through the three layers.

When you’re playing in the Dream Arc, and particularly with the Healers, really dig into them and use this time for your own healing. If you look at the Stag, for example, you’ll see that its Life Key is Self-Empowered Authority. The Fear Key underneath that is of the Seahorse, which relates to the spine and how it moves – the Seahorse resembles a very early version of our spine – and its Fear Key is the Fear of Letting Go. So, to get to Self-Empowered Authority, you have to pass through the Fear of Letting Go. With this awareness, it’s fascinating to see the connection and the journey between the mythologies of the Stag and the Seahorse, and then to thread that journey into your life.

At the other end, we come to the Vision Key, the Kingfisher (the superconscious level) which is a Vision of Noble Valour. Wonderful myths and legends, such as the wounded Fisher King, surround the Kingfisher, which has to earn its royalty and nobility – while diving into the waters in its quest for fish. In a way, this Vision of Noble Valour emerges from the Fear of Letting Go, when we manage to let go of the control of things that we need to let go of – in our relationships and lives – and we come into Self-Empowered Authority and, as the stag, grow our antlers and connect to the cosmos.

Leadership, control, power and royalty are just some of the links between Stag, Seahorse and Kingfisher. If you dive deep into the myths and the mythologies of the different animal trios, you’ll find many mysterious and interesting connections between them. As you explore the Dream Arc, you’ll see that the journey through one animal is also a journey through three mythologies. It’s an amazing path to take. If you follow the links and stories that thread between the different sets of creatures, you’ll find all kinds of secrets in every trio, just waiting for you to discover and unlock them.

I wish you happy contemplating and deep, inner shamanic journeying as you explore your animal trios. May you journey well and be filled with the healing energy of these beautiful creatures and what they truly represent as you journey through the Healers.