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Golden eagle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]
I first heard about the "personal totem pole" concept from Ravenari, and then tracked down the Personal Totem Pole book on Amazon. I'm not sure I'm on board with the use of "totem pole" in this context, but I did find the concept as a whole useful - I had no trouble discovering relationships between animal spirits I work with and the functions and energies associated with the various chakra. So I thought it would be interesting to work up each of them.
and he will raise you up/on eagle's wings
Golden Eagle corresponds to my root chakra, my starting line, the place where I came from. When we were driving up to the Pacific Northwest, Golden Eagle let me know that where I needed to start over was with him. I misunderstood the message at the time, but I think I get it now.
Eagle is associated with sun worship, messengers of the gods, lightning and all that good stuff. I grew up Catholic, and my early religious experiences were all in that paradigm. I was That Kid in Sunday School, asking my second grade teacher if the Greek gods were like angels, learning Latin because it sounded cool, feeling bad for Judas. (That last one wasn't my fault; Mom was a Jesus Christ Superstar fan.) I eventually started talking to Jesus and Michael, and spent plenty of time with Christian mysticism and angelic-flavored alchemy when I first got into magic. Eventually Jesus stopped talking back. I've never asked, but I assume Odin told him to bugger off or something.
Eagle is where my roots are, Golden Eagle in particular. Ravenari associates him with having more than one home, and I can feel that. I still feel close to the woods I grew up in, and I think there's a connection there that will never really be gone, but my hometown is no longer my home. Where I am is home; Golden Eagle led me to a home I had never been to before, and a new beginning.