“Beware…”

Or be wary, at least; that is my message today…

I had a visit from Coyote the other day, with whom I have not interacted in many years.  While I was thrilled to encounter him again, I nonetheless felt my awareness sharpening, for Coyote teachings are tricky things.  More often than not, the “lesson” he brings is not immediately apparent, revealing itself only after the fact, and quite often, after some uncomfortable occurrence…

My immediate response to seeing him was to tell myself that “things are not what they appear to be,” usually a safe assumption.  But the messages that accompanied his appearance involved “balance,” particularly between work and fun, and a reminder to get the “work” done in a timely fashion, rather than procrastinating…

It seemed an odd message to coincide with Coyote’s appearance, but I thought perhaps his lessons had evolved as I have…

Silly me…  Never question the Trickster’s message, as it remains consistent, always, no matter how obscured…

Since that day, I have come across several seeming well-meaning articles, purporting to bring a message of Light, only to find myself questioning them; the words were all “correct,” but the “feeling” of those words was not…

It was kind of like the difference between denotative and connotative meaning, which is a concept I was recently trying to explain to a non-native English speaker, who has a hard time grasping the subtle distinction.  Yes, words have meanings, denotative meanings, which you can learn as vocabulary and look up in a dictionary.  But they also carry connotative weight, those feelings we associate with them that can determine the mood of any written or spoken work.  And to further complicate things, there are common connotations, and personal ones, as well…

In the articles I’m talking about, the words used were correct on both levels, meaning they should have engendered a feeling of validation, that “yeah, I get that” feeling; instead, I found myself re-reading sections over and over, looking for the phrase that made me question the validity of everything being said.  I never found it, but my reaction was solid and consistent each time; it just didn’t “feel” right…

Today, Coyote came to me again in meditation, followed by another such off-putting articles, and finally followed by a fellow blogger’s inspirational quote of the day from Thoreau about “goodness tainted” (thank you, Eddie Two Hawks), and I realized that Coyote’s message is the same this time as it has always been: be aware, things are not what they seem…

It reminds me of the Norse Rune Hagalaz, and the Tower card in the Tarot, where good things come out of seemingly tragic occurrences; there is an inverse relationship between our perceptions and the Truth.  In other words, our senses perceive accurately, but our expectations lead us to false conclusions.  Kind of like the axiom about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and not realizing it’s a train coming.

Trust your gut today, your intuition, your heart, for it is much more trustworthy than your mind today…

So my warning to all of you who “hear” this message is this: this is the Shadow’s time, so be wary of trusting anything too insistent that it is Light, for if you choose to stare into the blinding light, you may find that what you are witnessing is the explosion that blinds us All to the Truth…

It reminds me of something I once penned when working with Coyote long ago, posted once before, but re-shared today:

When in the Dark

take Heart

embark

and seek the Light to grow.

When the light you find

is too bright

and you’re blinded

seek refuge in the Shadow…

(circa 1990-91)