The Duck-Flight Moon: The Meaning of the Raven in the Medicine Wheel
There are symbols we don't tell. We receive them.
One day, in a teaching with Satya, a very ancient sign was entrusted to me.
Kept secret for as long as anyone remembers. There were ravens.
I expected their shadow side.
So much is said about the raven's double nature.
Trickster. The one who blurs certainties, who walks between worlds.
But that day, I saw something else.A deep light.
Almost unbearable.
Since then, the raven has never left me.It shows itself in my ceremonies.
In the moments that matter. And at this very moment, as I write these lines, I hear its cry. Above me. Like an answer.
Since then, I know the raven doesn't lie about its nature.It carries both at once.
Shadow and light. Secret and revelation.
Perhaps that's why it opens this moon.
September 23 to October 23
With the Duck-Flight Moon, we enter autumn.
It's the time of the equinox, when day and night meet.Nature begins to shift, leaves transform, the light changes…
We too can feel this movement within us.
In Sun Bear's Medicine Wheel, this is the first moon of Mudjekeewis, Guardian Spirit of the West.Its totem animal is the Raven.
And when I think of the Raven for this moon, it's this ability to move from one space to another that comes to me.Between sky and earth.
Between movement and rootedness.
Between self and others.
This, I believe, is the meaning of the Raven in the Medicine Wheel at this time of year.
The raven I saw that day, in the light, already carried this within it.
Living proof that we can hold the shadow and show only the clarity.
The Meaning of the Raven in the Medicine Wheel: Balance
The Raven can fly very high and come back down to earth.
It lives with others, in groups, while still knowing its own territory and limits.
This moon speaks a great deal of this.
There can be quick shifts within us: a desire, then its opposite; the need to be surrounded, then the need to be alone; the wish to leave, then the wish to return.
Does this mean we're unstable?
Not necessarily.
I lived this with the raven Satya gave me. I expected shadow. Light came instead. Both were true at once.
Life moves. And we move with it.
This moon's teaching may be to find our balance in the very heart of movement, rather than seeking to stay always in the same place.
Sometimes, we need to rise up to see differently.
And sometimes, we simply need to come back down.
Back to the body.
To the earth.
To what is here.
Jasper, returning to the Earth
Jasper, especially red jasper or heliotrope, is the mineral associated with this moon.
It's a stone that brings us back to the Earth and to our capacity for rootedness.
In the teachings passed down by Sun Bear, jasper helps us draw in the energies of the Earth and the Sun, and to hear the messages of our heart more clearly.
I love this image for this time of year.
When so much is changing around us, we may need to return to our foundation.
Walk.
Breathe.
Feel your feet on the ground.
And listen.
Mullein, softness and limits
Mullein, or great mullein, is the plant of this moon.
It's a tall plant with soft, velvety leaves.
In Sun Bear's teachings, it's associated with our capacity to explore the soft, healing parts of our nature.
But softness doesn't mean accepting everything.
This moon also invites us to recognize what irritates us, what disturbs us, what touches our limits.
There may be something to soften.
And perhaps something to face with more firmness.
Both can exist together.
What question for this moon?
I like to keep one simple question with each moon.
For the Duck-Flight Moon, I offer this one:
Where do I need to find my balance again?
Not a fixed balance.
A living balance.
The kind that lets us change without losing ourselves, move toward others without forgetting ourselves, rise up without losing touch with the Earth.
You might also ask yourself:
What, today, needs to take root in my life?
And:
What is ready to take flight?
A small ritual for the Duck-Flight Moon
If you feel called to, go walk in nature during this time.
Bring a small stone with you, or choose one along your path if that feels right.
Sit for a moment. Feel the Earth beneath your feet. Breathe. Look around you.
Then hold your stone in your hand and let these two questions arise:
What do I choose to root?
What am I ready to let go of?
There's no need to find an answer right away.
Sometimes, it's enough to ask the question.
The rest unfolds gently.
The Raven's Message
This, I believe, is the whole meaning of the Raven in the Medicine Wheel, for this moon.
It reminds us that we can learn to live with our inner movements without necessarily trying to make them disappear.
We can rise into the sky and return to the Earth.
We can be with others and need our own space.
We can change our minds, change direction, and still stay connected to what is essential to us.
Perhaps balance, in the end, isn't about never moving.
Perhaps it's learning to move without losing our center.
This is the path the Duck-Flight Moon opens for us.
To go further
If the Duck-Flight Moon resonates with you, you can come live it differently. Join my teachings, discover the Sun Bear Medicine Wheel program, settle into a drum healing session, or come practice with me at my classes at Studio Yoga With You. And if you're looking for a community to walk this path alongside others.
The raven doesn't choose between sky and earth. It carries both, and that is how it flies.
ASKWALI
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