THE OWL WHISPERER
You will not find a better book on the love of animals this year, than Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Story of an Owl and His Girl.

One of the fascinating things about “Wesley” is the transformation you see the author, Stacey O’Brien, going through — from a very scientific, analytical mind to an awakening and acceptance of telepathy as a form of communication between humans and animals.

It’s not that the book focuses on that, it’s really a life story about her and wild owl, whom she named “Wesley.” She adopted him at 4 days old when she was working at CalTech, and this is a story that she wrote as a way to release her grief after he died. He was 19 years old. And no matter how bizarre the circumstance of having a wild animal as a companion, and no matter that every once in a while in the book she uses verbiage that is far above my level of intelligence, (and I consider myself to be of moderately high intelligence) there is a commonality in her story that every parent of an animal can easily understand. The little proclivities our animals have, the snuggling, the cuddling, the getting angry when we leave for too long of a time, these are all things we can understand and relate to from our own experience with our pets.

But this book is so much more — this book is a work of art. I am not a big reader of stories, but I could not put this book down. The side stories are fascinating. For instance, her father was good friends with a man she mentions — the man who figured out it was the o-rings that blew up the Challenger. These are the people she associates with on a regular basis. The stories of some of the people she talks about at CalTech are fascinating, creepy, intriguing and more.

It’s not a book I’m recommending to teach you to become an animal communicator, it is on a higher level. It’s funny, it’s fascinating, it’s repelling at times, making you cringe and say “Eeeeewwwwww” out loud and, by the end, will be hard to read through your tears.

I - can’t - recommend - this - book - enough. Wesley the Owl. If you enjoy it even a fraction as much as I did, you will enjoy it, very much, indeed.

RED
Key words: Life, energy, enthusiasm, vitality, passionate, intense, desire, anger, danger.

Red is the color of roses … and the color of apples … and the color of … blood! Yikes! But while our initial vision of blood might be the gore we see in the movies, when you think about it, all of these things have something in common: they all represent life, in one way or another.

When interpreting red in a card, we really are seeing life in all of glory and gory. Red represents everything from enthusiasm to danger, from passion to anger, from vitality to aggression. Probably no other color swings the pendulum quite so broadly across positive and negative meanings.

And we see it everywhere. Red adds life to anything where it resides. It makes pictures pop, people look powerful & confident, it calls attention to stop signs and fire engines.

With red, we couldn’t get any farther than ‘cool, soothing, blue.’ And whereas purple is a highly complex combination of both blue and red, red is simple and straight-forward. Red is hot. It’s element is fire. It’s ruling planet is Mars. Mars energy indicates ‘action,’ ‘drive’ and “will.” Red is Mana, or Life Force. Red commands attention. It’s strong, it’s passionate. The hearts and roses we get (or give) on Valentine’s Day make a dramatic statement of our love.

Red is also the color of the root chakra. It represents our base instinct for security and survival … ie: to live. And to live means living both sides of the spectrum. Being surrounded by too much red makes us stressful and tense. And while as passionate and enthusiastic as red can be in certain circumstances, taken to the extreme, red can also represent the evil & danger associated with that “red guy:” The Devil.

As far as learning the symbolism of red, it’s a walk in the park. Think about all the things that are red. No need to struggle, it’s everywhere you turn. Remember? It’s Life.

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To interpret red in a tarot reading consider these connotations:

Positive & Neutral Connotations:
– Energy, enthusiasm, vitality
– Strength, power, confidence
– Motivation, action, will/willpower
– Ambition, drive, goal oriented
– Love, passion, intensity

Negative Connotations
– Danger, aggression
– Anger, Emotional outbursts
– Controlling, Impulsive
– Evil, destruction

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Sample Interpretation with Red:

Deck: Universal Waite, Pocket Edition
Card: Temperance

Here we have an angel. This angel stands tall in a beautiful wetlands with one foot in the water and the other on the earth, pouring water from one cup to another, in perfect harmony and balance.

Indeed, much in this card connotes balance, and the red in the wings, infused with purple (spirituality) and crowned by orange (compassion) is no different. The message of this card, if the color of the wings are standing out to you, may be that through compassion, non-judgement, and the channeling our energies into more spiritual realms, one might be more easily capable of expressing anger appropriately, keeping emotional outbursts, or controlling and/or destructive behaviors, in check.

Alternatively, we might look at the red in the wings as that of love, compassion and spirituality: ie. that divine love that most who are on a spiritual journey seek. There is a spiritual & emotional serenity in this card in that we have not only the purple in the wings, but a lot of blues and the water in the foreground. But the red in the wings commands our attention to understand the power, passion and energy of tapping into the life force (mana) of listening to the messages that are communicated to us via our guardian angels.

As always, meanings change with every reading for every querent. Choose one or two key words that are meaningful to you for that specific reading.

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References:
– Pictures from the Heart: A Tarot Dictionary by Sandra A. Thomson
– Color Magic for Beginners by Richard Webster
– A. Venefica’s Tarot Teachings

ASK CAAT
Question:

“I find that I have fears of being clairvoyant. And it’s kind of odd as to what I’m afraid of. With animals, I have no problem attempting to communicate with one who has passed on. But I find that I have fears of seeing people who have passed on. I’m sure that the images of all the ghost movies that I’ve seen over the course of my life has something to do with it, not that I’ve seen a lot of them.

Maybe it was as [you] mentioned …. how humans are “conditional” and animals are not. I know that animals are pure good and don’t have hidden agendas like a lot of humans do. Maybe I’m afraid of their potential hidden agendas harming me and that’s why I’m afraid to see them, and therefore creating clairvoyant blocks for myself.

[Do you] have any ideas as to how I can lessen these fears? Can [you] tell me what the souls of people look like to them? Are they scary and gruesome like some of the scary movies? I guess this is something that I want to work on.”

Good question. First of all, I do — absolutely — believe your fears are based on Hollywood’s depiction of ‘ghosts.’ Most people with any type of experience in the area don’t even like the word, we prefer the word ’spirits.’

Second of all, you already are clairvoyant. When you speak with an animal and you get a vision of what they are communicating, you are using clairvoyance. When you get a feeling, you are using ‘clair-sentience.’ When you hear sounds, you are using ‘clairaudience.’ It doesn’t just have to do with people who have passed on, clairvoyance is anytime you “see” something via telepathic means.

You use that sense to communicate with animals. I use that sense when I read someone’s cards. John Edward uses that sense — that “sixth sense” - when he communicates with beings who have crossed over.

Now, another thing to remember, is what I said in a previous post about animals, unconditional love, and humans and judgement, this is based on what these being’s lives were like when they walked the earth. When spirits communicate with us from the other side, they do so by using an energy that we can easily understand, and the energy that we understand is how they were on this earth. But the etherial body is not something to fear and is not necessarily based in human or animal form.

Many cultures believe, as do I, that when we reincarnate, we can reincarnate as other types of beings. For humans to believe that they are the superior species is highly egotistical, something that is unique to human beings. Other species don’t have that type of ego. Personally, I believe that makes them superior to us in many ways … certainly much more spiritual.

Because we have brains, we have let our telepathy skills shrivel up and die, to the point that, as you said in a previous post, we beat it out of our kids. But, really, which is the more superior being with respect to being ‘closer to spirit?’ Certainly, this is a debatable question, but one worthy of discussion.

You have seen spirits, I’m sure. Have you ever had anyone close to you die: a person or an animal? Have they ever come to you in a dream? When I saw James Van Praagh speak, one thing he said was that is the most common way spirits communicate with us. However, outside of that, when people do ’see’ a spirit, that spirit is going to present itself in the way you can best recognize it.

A friend of my mom’s saw the spirit of my father once. My mom wasn’t in the room, the friend had never met my father but described him to my mom, down to the type of shirt he had, one that she recognized from life, and the unique way he stood with his finger crooked in his pocket.

Most spirits are not out to hurt anyone. The type of spirits that John Edward communicates with, and I hope to communicate with as a medium, are spirits who have crossed over. They have lived their life here and have other things to do on the other side. Many times, those other things include helping us as spirit guides. (Spirit guides have lived a physical life, angels have not.) The ones most depicted in the movies, and the ones who are most well-known as “ghosts,” are spirits who have become confused in some way during their passing.

For instance, if a person is violently murdered ‘before his/her time’ (which is a theory debatable in and of itself) they may not realize they are dead. When this happens, that spirit’s soul gets “caught” in a sort of ‘no man’s land’ between this physical dimension and the dimension on the other side. Most times they may haunt places that are familiar to them and which comfort them. The best thing a medium can do for them is to help them understand that they are dead and help them move on into the light.

Think “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze. It’s like that. Only in that way, they portrayed it as a spirit which stayed to help a loved one. Not impossible, but very Hollywood. That’s the drama. In reality, yes, there are a lot of spirits that walk the earth because they don’t know they are no longer in physical body, but when you hear about ‘mediums,’ many are connecting with people who have ‘crossed over’ rather than finding those who haven’t.

There is really no reason to be afraid of connecting with spirits. There are certainly energies out there that can be harmful, but that is why all psychics, as you probably do with AC, have some sort of protection ritual. We surround ourselves with protective white light so that we allow only positive energies to connect with us.

OTOH, we have all had the experience of “psychic vampires.’ These might be people in the physical world who suck you dry of your energy! I bet you know people like that! One really good book, if I remember correctly, which addressed the fear that you speak of is a book called, So You Want To Be A Medium. That type of fear is sort of like the stigma of the Ouija Board. The board and using it isn’t dangerous, what is dangerous is people using it when they have not protected themselves properly, and when they believe so strongly that it is dangerous, that they create and draw in the energy that they fear most.

Remember that energy is energy. You need to protect yourself from bad energy from people in the physical world every bit as much as those in the spirit world. I’d go more into psychic vampires, but maybe that’s a subject for another post

Suffice is to say, you are in control of what energy you allow into your life just like you are in control of who walks into your house. You wouldn’t just leave your doors opened or unlocked all the time, would you? Of course not. So this is what psychics and mediums — and animal communicators — do. We surround ourselves with protective light because we are opening a door to our psyches and our souls. We are in control of who we invite in and who we do not.

Anyway, this is a big subject for a small post, but hopefully I’ve put your mind at ease somewhat. As far as what you might do, I really suggest the John Edward book (One Last Time It’s really interesting. I couldn’t put it down.

How exciting for you, though, that you are opening a new door in your life to learn about things you never knew before. For me, that’s what living is all about. It’s such fun. I hope I helped.

Caat

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If you’d like to practice animal communication, visit
Spiritcaat’s Tarot and Animal Communication Practice Forum

I have a friend who is parting with a large collection of tarot cards and books in a lot. If anyone is interested, please contact me.

We have a new feature: Interviews with professionals. We are so fortunate to have our first interview with one of the most well-known and well-respected communicators in the field: Marta Williams.

Marta has written three books:
Learning Their Language,
Beyond Words, and
Ask Your Animal.

I have only read her first book, Learning Their Language: Intuitive Communication with Animals and Nature, but I absolutely love it. I can’t think of a better book for a new AC’er to start with. It has great exercises and is written in an easy to read style.

I did a workshop with Marta and it was wonderful. She is a natural teacher, as you can easily see by not only her interview itself, but by her taking the time to give it to us. You can find her at her website here.

So, I hope you find her words of wisdom helpful in your quest to become the best animal communicator … ever!

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MARTA WILLIAMS

• How do you describe animal communication to those who are unfamiliar with what it is?

I describe it as hits and hunches that we get intuitively that give us some unexplained and unsolicited information about something. Everyone can relate to having an intuitive hunch about a person or about some proposed activity. Communicating with animals intuitively has the same feeling as this only its more controlled and more drawn out. When you get a hunch or it from your intuition it can come in as an idea, a word or phrase in your mind, an image in your mind’s eye, and a feeling.

• What tips would you give to students of animal communication who are just starting out?

Take what you get without trying to spruce it up or make it right. The best way to achieve accuracy is to go with the first impression that comes to you and record it exactly as it comes in. Then go to the next one and so on. If you can keep it this simple you’ll be home free.

• Can you share some easily verifiable questions to ask the animals for people just starting out?

Some good ones are:

Tell me who else you live with (people and animals) – what do they look like and how do you feel about them?

Is there anything you are worried about? (If you get a yes ask what)

Has anything changed in your life recently? (If you get a yes ask what)

• Do you lean more towards getting your messages visually, audibly, or sentiently, or is it a combination of all? Does it change with each animal?

I get a combination and it does vary with the animal and truthfully I completely don’t worry about how information is coming in, the form, I just work on capturing it accurately. If I want something as a picture or as words I ask the animal to send it to me that way.

• Do you use the sense of smell or taste? If so, how does one become more proficient at that?

I use it for lost animal cases to get information on where they might be and to get clues. You just ask for it from every animal you talk to. So you could ask the animal to send you a favorite taste or smell, but watch out for those species differences….

• Why do you do what you do (communicate with animals)? And how do you feel it benefits humanity? How do you feel it benefits the animals?

It helps animals get their needs met and be able to tell people how they feel and what they need. It also helps animals demonstrate to people the depth of their intelligence, emotion and spirituality. I believe that humans and the natural world used to be in constant connection through intuitive communication and that humans used to consider themselves truly just a part of a nature and they considered nature a community of equals. It’s all alive, It’s all intelligent……
By bringing this skill back to modern humans I hope I am helping to reconstruct that connection of all living things.

• What would you recommend to students who are juggling with their full time jobs and/or school and/or children and trying to squeeze in time to do AC?

Work with your own animals every day. It only takes a minute. Do the exercise Ask For a Question. Ask your animal if he or she has a question for you. Whatever question occurs to you assume it is from your animal and answer as best you can. Then ask for another question and answer that one. Keep asking until the questions stop.

• When skeptics challenge you, how do you handle it? Do you answer at all, and if so, how do you respond?

I’m not too interested in convincing skeptics. There are plenty of people who are interested and want to learn how to do this. However, students can be very skeptical of their own ability. In that regard I have developed techniques they can use to prove to themselves that this ability is real using verifiable exercises. Each of my books includes such exercises. You are actually your own worst critic so once you prove it to yourself it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

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Great interview. Thanks, Marta!

BLUE
Key words: Cool, dispassionate, peace, contentment, heaven, truth, loyalty, sincerity, harmony, ‘as above, so below.’

There is no greater calming force than to sit on a beach and gaze at the vastness of the ocean meeting the freedom of the the sky. Even though there appears to be a dividing line of color at the horizon, it’s as though it all becomes one.

Such an image encompasses the epitome of what blue represents. Delving our gaze into the depth of the water inspires meditation, peacefulness & tranquility allowing us to align our three selves into oneness.

Three selves:
• Low-self (subconscious, or “Ku” in Huna teachings)
• Middle-self (conscious mind, or “Lono”)
• High-self (super-conscious, universal spirit, or “Kane”)

Water represents emotion and the sky is the element of air, which represents thought and intellect. Put those two together and we are able to use our emotional being to look within ourselves in an introspective and self-reflective manner.

If you keep in mind the sky/water image, it will help you remember in that this connection also represents the idea of “as above, so below.” This saying means that all things are one. And when you close your eyes and imagine blue, doesn’t it give you that sense of peace which would allow you to feel that oneness within yourself?

Once you feel that oneness, it is an easy jump to understand how blue symbolizes truth, honesty, loyalty, sincerity and devotion. It would be hard not to be those things when all of our once fragmented selves are perfectly aligned with each other and the universe.

But just as fire warms, water cools. We look to blue when we want someone to ‘cool down’. When blue is overactive, someone might give us ‘the cold shoulder,’ or we might be ‘feeling blue.’ Remember that colors, like everything else in life, have both positive and negative connotations. How we use them, or how we interpret them in a reading is what makes the difference.

Similarly, not only is there positive and negative of the colors, but the depth of the color is significant, as well. While Jupiter rules the darker blues, with it’s spiritual overtones, the Moon rules not only white, but light blue, linked to intuition and insight.

Lastly, blue is the color of the throat chakra where we communicate. One very important method of communication is through our creativity, the other is to understand that not only do we communicate interpersonally with others, but we communicate intra-personally. Blue reminds us that we need to listen to our inner voice. It may have something very important to say!
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To interpret blue in a tarot reading consider these connotations:

Positive & Neutral Connotations
– Cool, Introverted
– Creativity, Emotion
– Intuition, Meditation, Dreams
– Honesty, Truth, Integrity
– Fidelity, Devotion
– Heaven, Connection with the Divine
– Harmony, Balance, Peace, Contentment, Stability

Negative Connotations
– Cold, Aloof, Dispassionate
– Depression, Sadness

Sample Interpretation with Blue:

Deck: Universal Waite, Pocket Edition
Card: King of Pentacles

Here is a man, separated from his home (wall between him and the castle) holding an earthly possession (pentacle) and cloaked in a garment with purple grapes & green leaves. This is an example of how small use of color in a card can be very meaningful if that is what sticks out to you in a reading. At first glance, we don’t notice much blue here. But on closer inspection we see not only the grapes and leaves, but that his garment has blue trimmings and one of the steeple roofs on the castle is blue.

Traditionally, this might be a man of finance, trustworthy & honest (blue in the garment), but I drew this card asking to give me not only a card with blue, but one which tells me something I, personally, need to know.

Remember that when you read, book meanings go only so far. You have to read from your intuition for the person you’re reading for. So what blue in this card represents for me, at this point in my life, is this: This is a person who is currently bogged down with earthly material matters. But in being so, there is emotional (blue) fruitfulness and growth (grapes and leaves) if I am willing to accept it as such. This emotional growth, however, still seems to be under the surface (blue) - not something I am yet carrying — or ‘shouldering’ (the blue is only on the robe below the shoulders). I seem still more to be stuck in the morass of earthbound matters.

The wall between me and my ‘castle’, along with the blue and red roofs, tell me that I am still removed from feeling as though I have a the secure home (blue) that I so desperately desire (red).

There is also a bit of blue in the background, but we can’t really tell if it’s an ocean, or blue hills. Because it doesn’t look completely level to me, I am seeing it as blue rolling hills. I see this as an fluid (blue) wisdom (blue and hills) that I have yet to turn around and ‘see’ or ‘look at’ which, in turn, might give me some of the security that I am seeking.

As always, choose one or two key words that are meaningful to you for that specific reading.

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References:
Pictures from the Heart: A Tarot Dictionary? by Sandra A. Thomson
“Color Magic for Beginners”? by Richard Webster
A. Venefica’s Tarot Teachings

PURPLE
Key words: Spirituality, insight, intuitiveness, royalty, sacred connection to the divine.

Visualize a rainbow. At the far end of the spectrum is purple. It’s also the color that is least seen when the rainbow is weak and incomplete.

We can equate this with our own spirituality. When our own energy field is weak, we are least in touch with our spiritual, intuitive side, and we feel incomplete.

Don’t we all want to be all the colors of the rainbow? To complete ourselves, most of us need to feel, in a sense, a sacred connection with the divine whatever that divine may be for that individual. To do that, we need to seek that which is most mysterious and elusive. That which is unseen to us, but can be divined by us through our own intuition & introspection. With that, we can become truly inspired to bring the magic into our lives that we deserve.

Purple is ruled by Jupiter, whose astrological symbol is a “…lunar crescent rising above the cross of the four elements and becoming receptive to the light of Spirit.” Jupiter is a planet which represents expanding social awareness and insight through knowledge. To seek that knowledge takes courage inspired by red combined with the serenity inspired by blue, the two primary colors which make purple.

Purple is the color of the third-eye chakra which we use for our intuitive insight & introspection. (Some people consider purple to be that of the crown chakra. I and others see the crown chakra as being the pure white universal white.) By meditating and being in balance with purple, we gain a sense of direction, creativity & universal love without judgement.

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To interpret purple in a tarot reading consider these connotations:

Positive & Neutral Connotations
– Inspiration & Devotion
– Spiritual & Intuitive
– Tolerance and Peace
– Authority
– Creativity
– Royalty & Sophistication
– High ideals, connection with the divine
– Sense of direction

Negative Connotations
– Lonely
– Isolated
– Lack of responsibility

Deck: “Universal Waite Pocket Edition”
Card: Several

Usually I choose one card to analyze for it’s color, but in choosing for purple, I realized how relatively few cards have purple in them. I am using the pocket edition of the “Universal Waite” deck, so I will analyze in general terms and address specific differences.

To begin, let me say that the shade of a color indicates different things. Pictures from the Heart by Thomson states, “In general, lighter colors symbolize the conscious mind, while darker colors symbolize the workings of the unconscious.” (I will revise that to say the “sub-conscious,” as I feel they are two different things, in keeping with Jung’s theories.)

The 3 of pentacles; 4 of wands; 6 and king of swords, The Lovers and The World all have purple garments in them. Think of a person being ‘cloaked’ in something. This garment or article of clothing may represent an attitude the figure is ‘wearing’ or an outward representation of what they really feel or who they really are.

For instance, the child in the 6 of swords is cloaked in a light purple garment. Depending on the reading, this may represent the idea that within our inner child lies our most intuitive thoughts, actions and reactions. And if we want to head to calmer times, we need to follow that intuition or “gut” feeling using a strong sense of direction. In other cards the purple garment may represent authority, sophistication or a good sense of judgement &/or tolerance.

The ace, 2, 3, and 9 of wands; the ace, 5, and 8 of swords; the 7 of pentacles and The Star all have purple mountains. Many times, mountains represent attainment. In many of these cards, what we want to attain is spiritual enlightenment, or perhaps inspiration to attain our goals.

In the case of The Moon, we also have a purple crab, the sign of Cancer. What does a crab do? Think about it. Where does it live? Answer: within it’s own protective shell. It has pinchers to further protect itself. But this crab is purple and it’s emerging from the water (emotion.) Perhaps it is emerging from it’s protective shell to risk change (towers in the background) by seeking higher knowledge & spirituality.

The Devil, and the 9 and king of pentacles, all have purple grapes in them. Grapes, in and of themselves, may mean abundance and fruitfulness. But some grapes are green in real life, why purple here? Perhaps the abundance that we seek is the abundance of inner peace bunched with a connection to a higher source.

In all of these cards we see the purple grapes together with green (healing, growth, renewal.) And isn’t it a renewal of our soul to grow into our own spiritual reality?

Additionally, there are other various depiction of purple throughout the cards: backdrops & sky (Justice & The Hanged Man), one a veil waiting to reveal psychic secrets of the subconscious, or perhaps projecting a sense of royalty; the other the sky, maybe a representation of the collective unconscious.

The ground (Knight of Pentacles) and a mattress (9 of Swords) give us sure footing, emboldening our sense of direction, and a place to become introspective when out-of-balance, lonely or isolated. It may also represent a place to reduce worry and stress.

And, of course, we find purple on the wings of the archangels in both The Lovers and the Judgement cards. These are entities which represent a spiritual authority to us. They are magical and mystical by nature, but faith in their existence allows us to receive their divine guidance.

Purple is a fascinating color. Some may lean blue, some may lean red. Which of those you see in a reading, and how you interpret them within the context of the rest of the cards are what makes you unique in your abilities as a tarot advisor.

As always, choose one or two key words that are meaningful to you for that specific reading.

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References:
Pictures from the Heart: A Tarot Dictionary? by Sandra A. Thomson
“Color Magic for Beginners”? by Richard Webster
A. Venefica’s Tarot Teachings
http://www.hedgewytchery.com/signs_and_symbols.html
http://www.cafeastrology.com/jupiter.html

We saw James Van Praagh at a book signing last night, for his new book Ghosts Among Us I don’t ever watch the Ghost Whisperer, but he was really interesting. I knew a lot of what he talked about, but he was pretty down to earth and had some interesting stories.

But the bigger thing was how the universe puts things into place for you.  I have been getting messages for the past year or so that I should be learning mediumship and healing. It’s a big reason why we moved, because I was stagnant up where I lived. Since I’ve moved, I’ve met so many people with great energy. Last night was no different.

First of all, when he took questions, I told him I was an animal communicator and asked why I might have so much easier time connecting with animals who have passed over than I do with humans. His answer made perfect sense. He said because to connect with the other side, you connect through the vibrational energy of love. And since animals are unconditional love, and humans are by nature judgmental, it’s harder to achieve the right level of vibrational energy to connect across, whereas with animals, it’s just there. Okay, good. Makes sense. But it’s what happened afterwards that blew me away.

As we were walking out, we started talking to this woman on the street with the most adorable little — miniature collie?  I don’t know if that’s the right name. But she asked where we had been and when she found out, she got so excited and asked if we did ’stuff like that’. I told her all that I do, and she was just fascinated.

Meanwhile, I was fascinated with her. She was …. so …. innocent. She had this wide-eyed child-like quality and I just … connected with her on a really emotional level. I didn’t know why. Especially when another woman came out of the store (someone who I had been talking to before the program) and and gave me a big goodbye hug. I looked at the two of them, and the two were so different.

Listening to the chat between them made me feel as though the woman with the dog has really been told all of her life that she is not very smart, but sort of accepts it, even if self-conscious about herself.

We all hugged and left, but I couldn’t get “L” (the woman with the dog) out of my mind. I couldn’t understand, how by all external appearances, we really had little in common but I felt such an emotional connection to her.

When I hugged her goodbye, she commented how nice the hug was. And for me, it was like I felt a true deep love for her. It was so strange. And then it hit me. I honestly believe I was talking to a friend of mine who died of breast cancer several years ago. She and “L” were so much alike, but it was more than that. When I left, and realized who she reminded me of, I didn’t start feeling sad, missing my friend (she and I had been very close), I felt like I just had the opportunity to speak with her. It wasn’t sad to think of her not here anymore, I felt joyful like I had just been able to see her.

It then dawned on me that the universe was trying to make me understand what it is like to connect on that vibrational level, to a human who has passed, just as Van Praagh had told me.

Van Praagh also said that the most common way spirits connect with us is through our dreams. I then went on to be visited by my baby girl, Puma, in my dreams last night. It was so wonderful to see her. I guess all of this is a matter of perspective, huh.

Caat

While I don’t think any form of electronic tarot is particular effective as a true divinatory tool, if I had an iPhone, I’d lay out the two bucks for this just for the fun of it.

You can buy and download a copy through the iTunes store. (*Note: this link will open up iTunes on your computer.)

Steps to getting started in your first communications

1. CENTER YOURSELF
– Close your eyes, take at least three deep breaths. With each exhale, imagine all negative energy draining out the bottom of your feet and disintegrating in the earth below.

With each inhale, imagine breathing in pure white light from the universe.

As all of the negative energy leaves your body, imagine the white light filling up all that space. When there is no space left in your body, imagine that white light (I imagine it with beautiful little gold or blue sparkling specks) flowing out over the top of your head and engulfing your body like a cocoon.

2. SEEK ASSISTANCE FROM A HIGHER SOURCE
- Ask the universe, or your higher self, or whatever source you choose, to help you connect with the animal you are about to speak with.

3. CONNECT WITH THE ANIMAL
– See the animal in it’s environment. Take a moment to sit quietly with him or her and get a feel for his/her ‘feline-ality’, ‘canine-ality’ ‘esquine-ality’ etc.

Remember that every animal has it’s own personality, just as humans do. Some are outgoing and talkative and will start talking before you know what hit you. Others are shy and reserved. Some are funny, some are serious, etc.

Feel the personality, just like you would when meeting a human, so that you get a feel for boundaries and conversational approach.

4. INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND ASK PERMISSION
– Remember common courtesy. Remember that you are coming out of the blue to these animals, introduce yourself and ask their permission to speak with them.

5. CONVERSE
– Have a ‘conversation’ with them. If their person has given you questions, that’s fine, but don’t pepper them as if they are being interrogated. Work the questions into the ‘conversation.’

6. SAY GOODBYE
– It’s rude in any circles to just leave a conversation without saying goodbye, show the same courtesy to animals.

7. PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK
– … For doing such a good job. Because, surely, you did.

TIPS:
• Start slow and keep the conversation light.

• Don’t try to ‘fix’ a behavioral problem until you have learned more, you might make it worse.

• Have fun with it. It’s not brain surgery, and most animals are giving and grateful for the attention.

• Remember that the best way to learn and gain confidence is to simply ‘jump in’ and get experience. The more validation you receive, the more confidence you will achieve. But you can’t get the validation without taking the risk: conversing and presenting it to the animal’s person.

• If you’re still uncomfortable jumping in, consider speaking to an animal of one of the communicators on the board. We fully understand what you’re feeling.

(To practice communicating with animals, visit the
Spiritcaat Animal Communication Practice Forum.