Messages from the Woods: Wolf Symbolism
It's been already 6 years in a row when I craft one or a few wolf dolls in January to honour the Wolf Moon - the first full moon of the new calendar year.
Wolf Moon in the world of magick, witchcraft and folklore nowadays is a well known name of the Full Moon of January. Traditionally this darkest time of the year is associated with wolves and their terrifying howling, in some cultures of the Northern hemisphere December has been traditionally known as the Wolf Moon, for others it's January.
Wolves are among the most respected and also feared animals around the world. It's feared as a predator. It's admired as a model of community cooperation.
As a predator wolf carries the symbolism of courage, stamina, supreme confidence, athleticism, strength, endurance and perseverance, knowing the surroundings, having a special connection with instinct and intuition. But it's also a nurturing animal associated with family and hierarchy. Wolves usually travel in packs and the placement of each member in the wolf pack isn't random. It's organized and there is hierarchy known to every member of the pack, who are usually related by blood ties. They also hunt together and share the prey. They are social, intelligent and organized animals.
The lone wolf doesn't howl to assure and celebrate its' independence. The lone wolf howls to find its pack - to find the belonging, the place and community to stand with and for. As that wolves are seen as a symbol of loyalty, cooperation and guardianship, leadership, family and strategy, commitment to guardianship and community. Wolf is often considered a reminder to act accordingly to higher values rather than just personal gain. It also invites to seek balance between guardianship, greater good and personal appetite for freedom and independence.
There are many mythical, fictional and even real life stories of wolves accepting human children to nurture them until they grow up. The story of Mowgli is a fiction, the story of twin brothers Romulus and Remus nursed by a she-wolf is a story from Roman mythology, but there are also a few real life stories of the past centuries from France and India telling about orphaned children who have grown up in forests among wolves. Those people grow up without the manners and language of humans, but they are proof of the nurturing nature of wolves.
In Latvian folklore wolfs are the dogs of god - dieva suņi. I found that in at least one of the Native American languages - Lakota - wolf is the divine dog as well. For many Northern American, European and Asian people wolf has been considered the mythical ancestor of their tribes, and yet wolves have also been associated with evil, witches and devils, that, of course, isn't very surprising - after all wolf is a predator with a strong jaw and that's a good enough reason to fear wolves. Yet meeting a wolf or seeing a wolf crossing your path in Latvian folklore is considered a good omen.
In Native American traditions wolf is a common and powerful totem. Wolf as a totem animal draws the attention to loyalty, spirituality, intuition and instinct, success and preservation of nature around. It reminds us to respect the elders and teach the young, overcome your fears and weaknesses to lead your peers or successfully fulfill your role in the community, explore and adapt to survive. Know your terrain well and use your resources wisely.
Stepping into more associative and spiritual symbolism, wolves are also considered a representation of mystical connection to nature, creation, death and rebirth. Wolf takes us through voluntary death between darkness and light that further carries us into transformation and rebirth. It invites not just to cooperate, but also to stand up for yourself. It's time to lose the innocence and naivety of sheep and use that strong jaw to survive and be your true self. Step over your ego to meet your animalistic soul because in that you will find the power of your psyche that is mystically connected to nature, to all that is alive and around you. This precious connection to the self and surroundings is not just strengthening, but also liberating. This is what allows one to find their personal power that benefits not just oneself but also those around.
Wolf is a spirit in the mythical forest of the soul - the place of mysteries of life and death, the place where secrets are revealed to those who listen and dare to see - in that wild and scary place that becomes familiar, provides deeper insights and supplies us with resources if we dare to travel in the unexplored territory of the self. Inspect your emotional attachments, find your rituals, seek the deep connection with intuition, cooperate, protect, use your strengths and trust your own instincts. It's quite a lot wolf as a symbol can tell. The question is - which aspect of wolf symbolism and spiritual associations speak louder to you and moves you deeper right now, right where you are?
Check my Animal Art Dolls! Sometimes there is a wolf available too.
Looking for your special wolf doll? Let me know! (And check your spam folder if you haven’t received my response within 3-5 days)
