We begin this week with Rabbit, who warns that we may have been spending a lot of time worrying about current or future life situatins. She says to me, “Stop telling everyone how broke you are! Stop complaining about all your bills! Stop sharing your relationship troubles with anyone who will listen to you! Just stop!” She continues, telling me that when we gossip, complain, and constantly voice all of the negative things that may be going on in our lives we are telling the Universe, “Send me more of that!” After all, if we are going to spend all of our time and energy on negativity, we must want more things in our life to complain and worry about! Rabbit says, “Instead of complaining, gossiping and worrying, make a commitment to focus on what is going RIGHT in your life! Spend some time each day thinking about what is working well, what you have to look forward to, what is improving. When you shift your focus from fearful, negative thinking to positive, uplifting thinking, your entire energy field changes and you will begin attracting POSITIVE experiences into your life.” She also tells me that grounding, getting out in nature, spending time in meditation, beginning a gratitude journal or practicing positive affirmations are all powerful tools in changing your energy from negative to positive.

As we enter the middle of the week, we are joined by contrary Owl, who says, “Telling little white lies again? Deceiving yourself about something? Now is the time to start being honest!” He continues, telling me that lying to others to save yourself or to spare their feelings doesn’t do anyone any good in the long run. He says, “Worse still is when you choose to lie to yourself. Are you in a dead-end job, a disfunctional relationship or a one-way friendship? Are you telling yourself that you’re just fine while your finances go to ruin due to your overspending or your healt suffers because you’re not taking good care of yourself? Look for the deception in your life and take steps to remedy it. Be as honest as you can with others - and with yourself.”

This message of needing to look more closely at your life continues into the end of the week as we are joined by Mouse. Mouse says, “When life is out of balance, we tend to begin living in extremes. We spend too much, or not at all. We eat too much, or not at all. We’re never home, or we never leave. We live in clutter and chaos, or we clean obsessively. Now is the time to look for the extremes in your life, the places where you may be out of balance. Find the places where your fear-based thinking has gotten you tripped up and has turned destructive and take steps to right the situation. If necessary, seek out the help of a qualified professional or trusted friend. Seek to bring balance to your life so that you don’t have to live in the extremes.”

** Weekly totem forecasts are completed using the MEDICINE CARDS by David Carson and Jamie Sams, published by St. Martin’s Press, copyrighted 1988 and 1999. **

We begin this week with Weasel, who asks us to look for the deeper meaning behind everything. He says, “Never pass up an opportunity to be kinder than necessary. You have no idea what trials other people may be facing in their lives. The checker who snapped at you at the grocery store may be going through the worst relationship break-up of her life. The driver who cut you off in traffic may be late for a job interview after months of being out of work. The waitress who didn’t pay attention to your special order in the restaurant may have just learned that her child has a life-threatening illness. Rather that being angry and judging people, seek to see them with eyes of compassion and try to be kind. You never know when one small act of kindness will mean the world to someone.”

The middle of the week brings Armadillo and his message of setting boundaries and claiming your own space. He says to me, “Don’t look at setting clear boundaries as being selfish. Instead, look at it as a supreme act of self-care. If you allow yourself to be taken advantage of, you aren’t helping anyone. Instead, you are teaching people that they can use you - your time, your money, your energy, your home, and all your other resources - any time they want to. This leads to resentment, anger and hurt feelings which may eventually result in you exploding at people when you cannot stand to be used one second longer. If you had set clear boundaries in the beginning, you wouldn’t have ended up in this sorry quagmire of negative feelings. Now is the time to take a hard look at your life. Are there people who only turn up when they need something from you? Now is the time to set a new rule with those people - whatever they need, the answer is ‘no.’ Either they will leave your life and find someone else to use, or they will begin to curb their using behavior and behave like actual friends. Either way, YOU will be far happier - and healthier - for setting this new boundary.”

We end the week with Elk, who continue’s Armidillo’s advice on taking good care of yourself. Elk says, “Have you taken on too many projects lately? Do you feel overwhelmed, exhausted or unmotivated? Now is the time to step back and see how you are managing your time and your life. If you find that you need to be ‘productive’ during every waking moment of your day, you are falling into an ego trap! Feeling the need to be busy or accomplishing something during every spare moment is a cover the ego uses to cut you off from your Spirit. If you are constantly busy, you cannot FEEL anything. You cannot receive guidance from your own inner Spirit or from God, the angels, or your guides. This pattern of overwork also leaves you completely exhausted, which may lead to illness if you do not stop and take time to take care of your body. Make a commitment to spend an hour each day this week doing absolutely nothing. Not a thing. Just find a quiet place where you can relax and just BE. Your body and your Spirit will thank you!”

** Weekly totem forecasts are completed using the MEDICINE CARDS by David Carson and Jamie Sams, published by St. Martin’s Press, copyrighted 1988 and 1999. **

After a taking a long break to work on personal projects, it feels so wonderful to be back to posting a new weekly forecast! Thanks so much to all of my readers for sticking with me during this time!

We begin this week with contrary Grouse, who warns that we may have become unbalanced or ungrounded. He says to me, “Many people feel that there was no 2012 shift because there was no great upheaval, no apocalypse, no “end of the world” disaster or no great changes in their lives. But they are wrong! The shift happened! We are all vibrating at a higher frequency and as a result are manifesting at a much more rapid rate!” This energetic shift may have left you feeling spacy and ungrounded, overwhelmed with excess energy or even fatigued and a bit depressed. This is your physical body and energetic body trying to get back in sync while adjusting to the change in energy. Grouse says, “It is of vital importance right now that you establish a daily practice of grounding and centering yourself. This will help you adjust to the change of energy and will keep you calm and centered.” Grouse recomends taking time each day to fit in some form of joyful movement. This could be going for a long walk in nature, dancing in your living room, or trying a new form of exercise like pilates or kickboxing. Whatever you do, the key is that it brings you joy! This opens up all of your channels, clearing away psychic “gunk” and allows you to be more receptive to Divine guidance.

Near the middle of the week we see the return of contrary Skunk, who tells me that now is a time to do some mental and emotional house cleaning. She says, “You are on the verge of great things! There is no place in your world for low self-esteem, depression or a lack in self-confidence. You have worked hard to get where you are and deserve to find real joy in your accomplishments! If you find yourself surrounded by people who don’t believe in you or who don’t support you, it is time to let them go! Set clear boundaries and understand that you have no place in your life for negativity. If you are struggling with feeling worthy of the greatness you desire, make a daily habit of practicing self-loving affirmations. If you are really struggling, ask the angels to intervene on your behalf and ask for clear guidance. It may be necessary to seek out the assistance of a qualified professional who can help you work through these feelings and find their source.”

The end of the week brings contrary Alligator, who tells me that the best cure for any conflict or uncomfortable situation you may be facing is laughter. He says, “Be flexible! Roll with the punches and laugh at the people or situations that are making you feel unconfortable. Realize that you can only feel as hurt, angry, upset or offended as you allow yourself to feel. Stop giving away your power to external forces and make a choice to let things roll off your back like clean water. In the big scheme of things, the things that have irritated you so much don’t really matter anyway!”