Like their minerals, Sturgeon people can be found in a wide variety of forms and settings,

yet they have some common characteristics that make them east to identify.

Like the garnet, Sturgeon people are often identified with their hearts,

which tend to be large, affectionate and magnanimous. Sturgeon people function

best from the feelings that they have in their hearts, and these are usually

ones of friendliness and benevolence toward their fellow humans.

Because they work from their heart center, they tend to be intuitive and

perceptive people who usually have clairvoyant talents, either actively or latently.

These talents often make the Sturgeon person aware of danger that might

come to him or close to him, just as the garnet was purported to do.

Because of their perception and sensitivity, these folks have the ability

to do and say things that can penetrate straight to the heart of their friends and enemies.

Sturgeon people make both powerful friends and powerful enemies. If they feel

that you have betrayed them, or those they love, they can turn the full force of their heart energy

toward you, in a negative way, and be truly devastating. If they are out of balance,

they must guard against their own power, as it can become very

impulsive and erratic, causing them to go into true furries that have a very negative

effect on their own hearts and circulation. When this happens, they can fall prey

to a variety of diseases that further foster their erratic actions.

Like the garnet, Sturgeon people are usually regal in their bearing and attitudes.

They stand out in a room full of people because of this trait. Sturgeon folks

are usually associated with sexual energies because of their charm and affection,

which often arouse sexual feelings in themselves and those around them.

From the garnet they need to learn to balance and control these energies

so they will not be consumed by them.

People of this moon, like their mineral totems, are useful people in a variety of ways.

They are doers who literally will go where angels fear to tread.

If you have a difficult task, an impossible job, a truly fearsome responsibility that no one wants to accept,

find yourself a Sturgeon person. They are courageous and quite willing to prove

that they have this trait. They are versatile and can fit into many fields of employment, culture or philosophy.

Just make sure that they believe in whatever they are doing,

and you can be assured that they will do it well.

From iron these folks get a certain hardness and an ability to be tempered

by their experiences in life. Their association with this mineral further

accentuates their connection with the blood and heart. It also accounts

for the sometimes sweeping changes these folks can bring to people and

projects with which they are associated.

The plant for those born during the Ripe Berries Moon is the red raspberry,

that elite and popular member of the berry family.

Actually, the raspberry is not a berry but an aggregate of about twenty juicy drupelets.

The canes on which they grow are usually erect, freely branched and covered with slender prickles.

They grow to three or four feet or more in height, and they are perennial.

The leaves are a pale green on top, with a grayish-white color beneath.

They have a double serration off a rounded base,

and they are usually three inches long and two inches in width.

The plants have a white flower that blooms in May,

and the berries ripen in June or July for most varieties.

The leaves, roots and berries are considered to be medicinal.

The berries are cleansing to the system and, in older times, were considered

to be effective for breaking up and expelling gallstones and kidney stones.

They were also reputed to stimulate the action of urinary organs.

The root is astringent and has some antibiotic and healing properties

because it contains a concentrate of tannic and gallic acid. It has been

used as a gargle for sore throat, and the tea, as a compress, has been

applied to bleeding wounds and cuts. A tea made from the leaves has

many purposes. It is supposed to help cure diarrhea, especially in infants,

and it is an easy tea to give to babies because it has a mild and pleasant taste.

It is said to remove cankers from mucous membranes and to tone the tissues

involved at the same time. It has many beneficial effects upon the uterus,

prevent miscarriage and make the birth easier. It is also helpful for female

problems during a woman's menstrual cycle. A tea made from the twigs

has been used to relieve colds, flu and difficulty in breathing.

It can aid in balancing a person's blood sugar level.

From their plant, Sturgeon people can find validation of their status of both

elite and popular members of the human family. Like the raspberry, others will

often seek them out for the enjoyment that they can provide, even if they are not

what they appear to be at first. Sturgeon people, like their berry, often appear

to be one way, when, under the surface, they are actually something quite different.

This usually works in one of two ways. Some Sturgeon people appear to be all

bombastic aggression, rather thorny, when you first encounter them.

This prickly outer coating is their way of protecting the soft heart that lurks within.

Others appear to be all warmth and affection, but, underneath, you will find a few thorns.

This paradox points to another characteristic of the people of this totem.

While they are usually friendly and outgoing on the surface, they have a

marked tendency to avoid showing their feelings to others. That is the reason

they have thorns at one level or another. These help to shield them from any

people who want to get beneath their surface and find out what they are truly like.

Beneath the surface, Sturgeon people are very sensitive. Because of their perception,

they can easily feel what others are feeling, and this does affect them. They are easily

hurt, but they don't like to show this, since it would interfere with the regal, independent,

powerful image that they like to project. They will hide their pain or worry behind

their friendly, warmhearted show, but they will not readily forget any pain that

someone else has caused them, and, in periods when they are out of balance,

they will sometimes plot elaborate revenges.

Like the raspberry, Sturgeon people have a cleansing and astringent

effect on those around them. In their friendly way they wil often kid others

out of any fabricated notions that they hold about themselves and the world,

thus providing an emotional cleansing of a gentle, yet astringent type.

By helping people to cleanse out of their false notions, they help to engineer

a healing of emotional problems.

Sturgeon people are excellent ones to have around during times of emergency, whether

physical ro emotional, as their courage is contagious and has helped many to get through

serious problems that might have otherwise undone them. In this they are like their plant,

which can help to stop bleeding wounds.

Raspberry tea would be beneficial for Sturgeon people to drink at any times when

they have colds, sore throats or digestive problems because of there predisposition to

heart and circulatory problems. With this predisposition they will stay in better health

if they heal themselves of any minor problems before they have the opportunity to

turn into something major. And, with Sturgeon people, a small physical upset is often

a warning to them that they are getting emotionally out of balance and had better

correct the situation before a stronger warning is necessary.

Being born under the Ripe Berries Moon, the second moon of Shawnodese's,

adds to the warmth of the Sturgeon's external nature. Shawnodese's gift of

trust helps them to feel more of this quality within themselves. They need to learn

to trust more, on a deeper level, before they can accept his other gift, that of

growth. The Ripe Berries Moon is one of the openness when all of Earth's children

are fully opening themselves to the Father Sun and bringing forth the fruit that they

are supposed to bear. It is also the month when the warmth of the sun tends always

to be evident.

Being of the Thunderbird clan adds to the warmth of Sturgeon folks and to the stability

of nature that they most often display to the world. Their clan membership increases their energy

and their ability to successfully do a number of things at one time. It increases, too, the

necessity for these folks to be careful that they don't overextend themselves and allow

their health and energies to deteriorate.

The color of Sturgeon folks is the red of the ripe raspberry or of the prized garnet.

This color red signifies the high physical energy, the natural power, the abundance of vital

life force and the strong will that Sturgeon people usually have. It is also the color of the heart

and blood, again emphasizing the connection of sturgeon people with both.This color can also mean erratic

action, sensuality, pride, greed and selfishness if the people manifesting it allow the color to be

flowing from the less evolved parts of their beings. This red is both a validation and a warning to

the people of the Sturgeon. People who have this color have a tendency toward nervous problems,

which can lead to deeper problems of the body if they don't take the time to have some periods

quiet when they are involved with things outside of their normal sphere of activities. Some

Sturgeon people find it beneficial to sit quietly, reading or meditating, every day, in order to

keep their bodies in a good and healthy state. However, being quiet does not come naturally

to them and is often a trait that they have to cultivate.

The animal of those born during the Ripe Berries Moon is the Sturgeon, the king of fishes.

The sturgeon is an old and primitive fish that has probably existed on the earth since about

the time that the dinosaur disappeared. The sturgeon, depending on its location and species,

comes in a variety of sizes, but can reach twelve-foot lengths and three-hundred-pound weights.

The sturgeon has rows of boney plates on his body, making him look like a knight who did

not have quite enough time to finish putting on his armor. Fishermen are reported to have said

that if sturgeons were completely covered with their plates, it would be necessary to skin

them with an ax, which gives you an idea of the toughness of their skin. Sturgeons have a

long snout with the mouth on the underside, and four barbels, or sense organs, on the

underside of the snout. Their tail lobes are unequal in size, with the upper being the larger.

Their skeletons are usually mainly cartilage. They live in the mud bottoms off coasts.

Sturgeons usually reach sexual maturity at about twenty years of age,

and the female then spawn in spring or early summer, going up streams or moving to

shallow water. The female lays two million or more eggs, but probably does not spawn every year.

The most common varieties of sturgeon in this country are the Atlantic sturgeon, the largest species;

the shortnose sturgeon; the lake sturgeon, which inhabits the Great Lakes, the upper Mississippi

and bays in that area; and the shovelnose sturgeon, the smallest species. Sturgeon species exist across

all continents of the northern Temperate Zone.

Sturgeons used to be considered the royalty of fishes among the Native people who inhabited the

Great Lakes area.It was the sturgeon who gave Hiawatha a fight for his life and was immortalized

in verse for his efforts, bravery and strong heart by Longfellow in his "Song of Hiawatha."

All Native people paid respect to this fish. In the Ojibwa nation there is a Sturgeon clan, and it

is one of the teaching clans of the nation. To the Ojibwa people the sturgeon represented depth

and strength.

Unfortunately, European people did not have the same respect for this fish, first considering

it a nuisance when it got in their nets, and later almost fishing it to extinction when they

discovered the value of its flesh and its roe, which are better known as caviar.

The sturgeon is rare now.

Like their animal totem, people of the Ripe Berries Moon tend to be the ruler of whatever

waters they inhabit. They come to this position naturally because of the large amounts of primal

energy that run through their beings. They seem to be born to lead, and they are usually fair

and benevolent leaders, as long as their energies are flowing smoothly. Their inner strength

and clairvoyant abilities help them in knowing what others need and how best to give these

things to them. The power that runs through them gives them the energies needed to keep

them active and, when necessary, dominant. They have an unending source of inner strength

and depth of feelings, as long as they remain harmonious with life. They need always to guard

against a tendency to seem arrogant and to be too dominant, as there is a part of them

that can enjoy having power over others just for the sake of power. Usually they can protect

themselves from power manipulations by being sure to develop their psychic side.

Like the sturgeon, these floks have a tough armor that is very difficult to cut through.

They need this when they are in positions of leadership, but they also need to learn

to lay their armor aside when they are in relationships that don't require it. If they never let their

armor down, they will become too arrogant, and they will not be able to experience the softness

and real relating that the sensitive parts of their natures need in order to allow them to grow.

They must teach themselves to take off their armor, as it is usually so thick that other people

just cannot get through it, even wielding an emotional ax.

It takes years of living before these folks, like the sturgeon, come to the point of maturity

where they are able to deal with their own sexual energies. Before this point

they can dissipate their vital energies by incorrectly using their sexuality. This is a

crucial lesson for Sturgeon people, since they frequently tend to confuse their vital energy

with their sexual energy, leading to a misuse of both of them that will often culminate

in periods of erratic and destructive behavior.

Sturgeon children have to have limits put upon them when they are young so that

they won't wear themselves out before they learn the correct handling of the vital energies

flowing through them. But these limits need to be withdrawn as soon as they show the ability to

handle their own energies, or they will rebel, usually in very flamboyant and painful ways for

themselves and their parents. They are intelligent and active children, but, like those of the Red Hawk,

they will usually try to dominate their homes even when they are quite young. They must learn as early

as possible that domination is a form of greed that will only cause them pain and confusion.

Sturgeon people make warm and loving parents, but they will often try to dominate their children,

to the point where the children have no space to develop their own natures in the way

that they should. In this instance, the parents must be taught the same lesson that children

of this sign need to learn. Sturgeon parents sometimes tire rather quickly of the limitations

of parenthood, and, in their efforts to re-establish their own lives in other spheres, they will let go

of their children enough that they can have the individual growth that all children need. Sturgeon

people are real championsof their children's rights, and they will fervently protect their children

from any threats that they perceive. This can sometimes keep the children from developing their

own courage and self-reliance.

When people who were born under other totems pass through the Ripe Berries Moon,

they can learn about the vital powers that flow through them, sometimes unnoticed. They can

learn of the depths of their own courage and strength, and they can experience themselves as leaders

of whatever things they are involved in at that time. They can also use their time in this position

to experience and balance their own sexual natures and the primal energies that can come through them.

Those of the Sturgeon complement Otter people and are most easily compatible with Red Hawk

and Elk people, their elemental clan relations, and with those others of the Butterfly clan,

the Raven and the Deer people.