The wolf is the archetype of the wild spirit personifying the true spirit of the free unspoiled wilderness. It is the symbol of Love, Guardianship, Ritual, Loyalty and Spirit. A wolfs cycle of power is in all the seasons, but particularly at full moons and twilight. The wolf existed before humans; they saw the Earth Mother form her mountains hills and valleys and her tiny streams grow into rivers. The wolf saw the very first animals which are no longer walking on the earth. The wolf is part of life’s circle; still they survive, though we humans hunt them and drive them further into what wilderness that is still remaining; their hunting grounds are diminishing. They have no choice as they are the most misunderstood animal of the wild. In fact, they had so many positive things about them, is it any wonder that they are so revered by Native Americans. They are beauty, they are innocence, children of the creator as you and I are, we are all here with our own purpose.
The wolf is a hunter and predator; hunting and preying for the survival of the off-spring and the pack. There has never been a confirmed attack or killing of a human by a healthy wolf, though there may be stories that try to tell otherwise. Their main prey in the wild is deer, most often they prey on the sick, the young and the old. They tend to not waste their energy or time on a strong healthy animal that stands its ground. They have great stamina and strength and travel far distances for extended periods of time in their hunting. They gorge and consume all that they kill. This can indicate to those with a wolf totem a need to make use of all that is available to them. A wolf can show up to remind us not to waste, but also to remind us to feed and keep our spirit alive.
In Eskimo lore, wolf, raven and moose are connected, as moose is hunted by a wolf, but a raven leads a wolf to moose. So it was that ravens were said to be aerial spotters for possible food sources for a wolf. Ravens often follow wolves, fly ahead and land in the trees waiting for a wolf to pass, and then they fly ahead again. It is said that a raven should also be studied with wolf totems.
A wolf has extremely sensitive senses of hearing and smell, a hundred times greater than that of humans. A wolfs hunting depends on these two senses. This keen sense of smell endows it with the greatest sense of discrimination and discernment, metaphysically this is a highest spiritual ideal. Those with the wolf totem is a reminder to listen to the inner voice and thought, your intuition with this will be strong. The wolfs thick fur is also a symbolism of psychic abilities, as the wolf has both an inner coat and an outer one; this gives it the ability to reflect the archetypal forces associated with psychic insight.
Wolf has a capacity for making quick and firm emotional attachments. Learning to trust your own insights and to secure your attachments accordingly is part of what wolf medicine teaches. The Wolf can help you to hear the inner voices guarding you from inappropriate actions. Wolf will guard you as it teaches you –sometimes strongly, sometimes gently—but always with love. When Wolf shows up, it I time to breath new life into your life rituals. Find a new path, take a new journey, take control of your life. You are the authority and governor of your life. You create it and direct it. Do so with harmony and discipline, and then you will know the true spirit of freedom.
Wolves are protectors of their young, and they are loving devoted parents as most humans. From the time they are a pup they are taught to learn and respond to the complex communication system of the body language of the pack, such as movement of the head, tail and eye contact, subtle postures, facial and vocal expressions. All the members of the pack look after the young pups and are extremely tolerant and caring. If a mother or father cannot care for a pup another member will, some even serve as the babysitters. If a pup looses a parent another member of the Pack will adopt it. Wolf Medicine teaches respect and honor for family and children. They howl, whimper, growl and bark; each has their own meaning or signal. It is said that those with wolf totems often use a lot of vocal, hand, facial or postural movement to express themselves. If you are having difficulty expressing yourself, it may be helpful to study the wolf to empower your verbal communication with body language.
Their sense of family and the pack is strong and loyal, and they live by their own carefully defined rituals and rules. The magic of the ritualistic behaviors of the wolf pack are neither autocratic nor democratic, but there are times when both occur, and because of its flexibility. It is as if every member of the pack knows its position in relation to every other member within the pack. Wolf medicine teaches us about balance between authority and democracy, helping us to understand that true freedom requires a special discipline and how ritual can help us establish order and harmony in our own life.
Wolves are territorial with specific areas that are as if sacred. They are highly intelligent and social. Their social behavior is based on a hierarchical structure. Each has a place and function within it. There is an Alpha Male and an Alpha Female who usually mate for life. Wolves become sexually mature about the age of 22-24 months. Breeding season is usually in late winter, female giving birth about two months later.
One way wolves show that they are extremely intelligent is by the fact that they will usually go out of their way to avoid trouble or danger. They do not fight unnecessarily, though they are very strong and powerful and could do so; their disagreements seldom ends in serious fights. A particular glance, posture or growl is mostly all that is necessary for a wolf to hold dominance. This is the part of what wolf medicine teaches: To know who you are, to develop strength and confidence so that you never have to demonstrate and prove yourself to everyone. One misconception about wolves is their size, they are not as big as their thick fur gives them the bigger appearance, they are about the same size as a German shepherd.
There are several kinds of wolves in North America.
• The Red Wolf, smallest wolf and virtually extinct, from the Southern Territory of the States. There are some efforts to try to reintroduce them.
• The Mexican Wolf, a species of the gray wolf, which was hunted nearly to extinction, is part of a recovery and captive breeding plan. Its main territory was the Southwest US and Mexico.
• The Artic Wolf is probably the purest of its breed and has been able to survive in its remote isolated Artic area.
• The Timber Wolf or gray wolf though not always gray; also can be black, white or brown, or various combinations; was hunted to extinction in most areas of the US but can still be found in Alaska, Canada and some areas around the Great Lakes.
A true test of sincerity about protecting the environment revolves around whether or not the wolf will remain protected and be allowed to be reintroduced back into areas where it has been previously wiped out. Wolf is part of the cycle of life. Only in memory of the past shall the Wolf live again. Their songs could soon be gone.
