In our animal series A through Z. Today's animal is the largest aquatic mammal on Earth, the whale. The blue whale is the largest of the species weighing around 220 tons. These large whales have no natural predators, and are distributed throughout all of the oceans of the world. As previously mentioned, the whale is a mammal. So they breathe air, are warm blooded, give live birth and feed milk to their young and have hair… mainly whiskers in this case. Whales symbolize many things including intelligence, compassion, solitude, creativity, freedom, and mystery. Because we rarely see them in real life, they're of majestic size and beautiful grace and the water can take our breath away. Whales are all inspiring, not just because of their size, and grace, but also because of their intellect, intelligence, and movement. I saw this firsthand in a SeaWorld demonstration that I'll never forget. In general whales are compassionate beings. They often protect their sea companions from predators. There are examples of them protecting humans as well from danger. Whales have large brains with huge heads, making up 40% of their body. They are known to communicate with each other, using echolocation and music to attract their mates. The echolocation is a technique that travels great lengths underwater, and reflects the sound of objects. Whales are extremely alert animals and always aware of their surroundings.

Call in the whale to help you navigate life with wisdom and intelligence. Call on whale spirit. “Call IT in With Dar!”

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

In this A through Z animal podcast series, we begin the w's…with the amazing walrus found primarily in icy Arctic waters, they can withstand freezing temperatures as low as 95 degrees below zero. Wow. There are two main subspecies who live to be around 40 years old, and a male walrus can actually weigh more than a ton. Overall, walruses symbolize many things, including ancient knowledge, seeing the bigger picture, nourishing others strength and positive motherhood. Shamans believe that the walrus spirit is the keeper of ancient knowledge and wisdom. Both male and female walruses grow long tusks which helped them adapt better to their Arctic life. They often use them like ski poles to dig into sand, snow and ice to help them haul their enormous bodies out of the freezing ocean waters. Their Tusks are also used during swimming to cut holes in the ice so that they can come up for a breath. These massive animals need thick layers of blubber to stay insulated. All that fat protects them from the cold. A baby walrus can weigh as much as an average size human. Those chunky little critters are called calves and they stay with their mother, a cow, until they are about two years old. Walruses eat shellfish like clams that they grabbed from the ocean floor, along with mussels, sea cucumbers and some fish. They have very sensitive whiskers that help them detect food. Once they've spotted their prey, they're surprisingly speedy swimmers.

So called in the spirit of the walrus. Call it in for life well lived! “Call IT in With Dar!”

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

As many of you know, I have spent this past year engrossed in the study of animal symbolism. As one can see by this animal A through Z podcast series. Today's episode is about one of my favorites, the turtle. This morning, I was watching several painted turtles sunning themselves on a log in my pond. And then I began thinking about how interesting they are. There are about 300 different turtle species in the world, and most are aquatic. They can be categorized into three broad types: freshwater turtles, sea turtles, and land tortoises. Yes, scientifically speaking, tortoises are turtles too. Turtles have many symbolic meanings throughout the world, especially in Asia and North America. Often, they are associated with creation myths, and are said to have a map of the earth and a calendar of the moon in their shell design. Overall turtles represent longevity, protection, adaptability, stability, healing, wisdom, fertility, good luck, steadfastness, and tranquility.

So call in turtle medicine, Call the power of the turtle in your life. Join up with the turtle spirit! “Call IT in With Dar!”

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

Welcome back to our spiritual animal series A through Z, where we are exploring the symbolism, characteristics and folklore of various animals. Today's episode is about the turkey, who in the 1500s was brought back from the Americas to Europe, Mexico and Asia. So it is native to North America. Native Americans domesticated the turkey as early as 2000 years ago. Overall, the turkey symbolizes vitality, fertility, protection, strain, bounty, community, generosity, resourcefulness and pride. To the Native American culture, turkeys are seen of great value and significance, symbolizing life, Earth riches, ample crops, and big families. The turkey feather is still used in ceremonies today. For protection, and to guard against evil. Turkeys were often given as gifts from one tribe to another. Today in America, the turkey is still a sign of abundance and Thanksgiving, as many share a traditional holiday feast of Turkey. In Mexico, the turkey is often portrayed in their artwork as a symbol of growth and lifeforce energy. Black and white feathers, interestingly enough, symbolizes clouds and rain to nourish the crops.

So call this interesting bird into your life. Call in Turkey medicine for our community protection or bring curiosity in your life.” Call IT in With Dar!”

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

Today's episode starts off with the letter T. In our A through Z animal spirits series with the unique and interesting animal, the tiger. It is unique because each one has its own individualized stripes or pattern in their first design. Overall, Tigers symbolizes strength, cunning, majesty, independence, confidence, protection, immortality, and unique pneus. The tiger is an important figure in spiritual beliefs around the world. They are native to Asia and Siberia. Besides human beings, and other tigers in their natural habitats, Tigers have no rivals no enemies at all. It is the largest cat in the animal kingdom and can weigh up to 1000 pounds. With the bite even stronger than a lion. The tiger is primarily nocturnal, and an extremely independent, stealthy hunter. A tiger lives enhanced on its own. Unlike lions, who live and hunt in family groups called pride. The tiger is always calculating its next move with cunning and shrewdness. Tigers only come together to mate. And once Tiger kittens are about two years old, they venture off to lead independent lives. The tiger is very protective of their territory, and coupled with their profound strength are the reasons that ancient Asian cultures see them as a sign of protection. In some parts of Asia, the tiger is seen as a symbol of immortality and shape shifting from physical to supernatural worlds and back again.

Let's visualize the strength and power of the eye of the tiger. Call tiger spirit into your life. Call Tiger medicine in. Call it in with Dar!

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

In this episode of symbolism, folklore, and characteristics of the animals A- Z series, we round out the letter “S” with the regal swan. Swan symbolizes grace and beauty, known for their graceful movements and flowing feathers, love fidelity, as they are monogamous birds that mate for life. Purity, as the color white symbolizes in the White Swan… transformation from a small cygnet to an adult, illustrating the beauty of change, wisdom and self-esteem, good health and spiritualism, balance, grace and inner beauty, ah, are symbolized in the swan. Swans are generally found in temperate regions all over the world. North and South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and South Africa. swans were intentionally first brought to the US by private breeders for zoos, parks and estates in the mid-1800s. The Mute Swan is the national bird of Denmark. And the Whooper swan is Finland's national bird. Swans can fly an amazing 50 to 55 miles per hour, and can run over the water surface, beating their wings at about 30 miles per hour. They are the largest waterfall in existence today.

Overall, throughout the world, Swan symbolizes grace, beauty, purity, love, transformation, fidelity, wisdom, change, balance and inner beauty. So, call in the swan spirit to enhance your life. Call in the swan, “Call IT in With Dar”!

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

This episode of our animal symbolism, folklore and characteristics of animal series, A - Z, highlights the squirrel, a small to medium size rodent, found all over the world. In over 280 species. They are highly adaptable and the ground squirrel, flying squirrel and tree squirrels are the most common types. All in all, squirrels symbolize resourcefulness, preparedness, sociability, problem solving abilities, relationship building, balance and learning new skills. The squirrel is an inquisitive and clever problem solver demonstrating ingenuity and determination in finding solutions. Their presence can encourage you to look at life's challenges in a new way. They are enthusiastically bursting with energy squirreling around scurrying around preparing their nests. Squirrels can teach us preparedness. They communicate with chatter and a flick of their tail, often playing and working well with others.

The squirrel is a reminder to approach life with wisdom and make wise choices. Plan ahead and navigate life's challenges with grace and foresight. So, call in squirrel medicine into your life, call in the squirrel spirit for a more fulfilling world. “Call IT in With Dar!”

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck

As we move into spring and then summer, we will see more and more of this creature, the spider and in today's A through Z podcast series, we'll continue to explore the symbolism, folklore, and unique characteristics of the spider, an insect of 45,000 species found throughout the world. Seeing a spider is usually considered a good omen, a sign of fortune, and good luck. Spiders can symbolize that your dreams are being woven into reality. This creature communicates silently, symbolizing patience, cunning, resourcefulness, fate, creativity, destiny, resilience, and the ability to weave. Many cultures attribute the spider's ability to spin webs, with the invention of spinning, textile weaving, knot work, basket weaving and net making. In ancient Egypt spiders were associated with the goddess Niece, who was often depicted with a spider on her head. She was seen as the Weaver of destiny and the creator of the universe. Additionally, the Egyptian god Ra was believed to have taken the form of a spider during his journey through the underworld. The spider's web was considered as a mirror of the intricate web of life.

From weaving the threads of individual destiny, to embodying their interconnectedness of all existence, we gain a deeper understanding of the web that connects us all. And the mysteries of the universe. So Call in, the spider, Call it into your life,” Call IT in With Dar”!

Support the Show.

Photo credit: Rebecca Lange Photography

Music credit: Kevin MacLeod Incompetech.com (licensed under Creative Commons)

Production credit: Erin Schenke @ Emerald Support Services LLC.

Grab Dar's Flight Deck Oracle Card Deck