A JEWEL IN THE CROWN

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March 21 to april 19

Those born in the period of the Budding Trees Moon, the first moon of Wabun of the East, have the fire opal as their mineral totem, the dandelion as their plant totem and the red hawk as their animal totem. Their dates of birth fall between March 21 and April 19. Their color is yellow, and they are the first of the Thunderbird clan people.

Like quartz, opal is composed of silicon dioxide, but it has water added to it. Opal is found in sedimentary rock and in cavities in volcanic rock. It is also found near hot springs deposits and can be the replacement material in petrified wood. Opal comes in practically all tints and has a glassy to waxy luster. Opal is porous so it can beeasily stained. It can fracture easily, sometimes for no apparent reason, and it also has a tendency to loose its water. Fire opals with small, evenly distributed flashes of light are known as pin fire opals; and those with regular squarish formations are known as harlequins. Harlequins are thought to be the rarest and most beautiful variety.

Like turquoise, opal has been used by people since very early times. The opal was considered to be the symbol of hope and was also thought to render its wearer invisible at times when he did not wish to be seen. Because of the fire in the stone, which can resemble the sunrise, sunset or the moonrise, the stone was connected with the powers of the sun, the moon and of fire.

In Europe the opal had an interesting history, with most of the above mentioned attributes associated with it in early times. In Rome it was known as the noble stone, and it is reported to have been so highly valued by one Roman senator that he went into exile rather than give his opal to Marc Antony, who wanted it for Cleopatra. Opals are among the crown jewels of France and were owned by the Imperial Cabinet of Vienna. However, a story written in England during the last century pictured the opal as a stone possessing an evil power, and, following that time, the opal was considered to be unlucky, in England-speaking countries, until it began to be in vogue again in the recent past.

Opals are found in this country in almost all areas, although those considered to be precious opals have only been found in the Northwest. Hungary, Mexico and Australia are the most fertile sources of the stones. While some areas produce opals of various types, generally each district produces a singular color of the mineral with its own paticular fires and hues. Most black opals come from Australia, while the milky white or translucent ones come from Mexico. Some opals loose their fire if exposed to water, while others lose it if they are not exposed to water. If you have some transparent fire opals and allow them to sift through your fingers, they appear like a shower of shooting stars.

Like their mineral totem, Red Hawk people can often be found near hot spots or places of pressure either in the literal or figurative sense. Red Hawk people like the sun and warmth, and they also like to be in active situations which can utilize their intense mental, physical and emotional energy. Like their stone, they are porous, and their spirits can be easily stained if they associate themselves with the wrong ideas of people. They are usually open people, willing to listen to any new ideas or philosophies, and sometimes they accept things that later prove harmful for them. When they find themselves in the wrong situations or under too much strain, they can fracture, like their stone, and lose the life vitality that usually gives them their fire and sparkle.

Red Hawk people, like the opal, can be of the type that sparkle constantly with small pin fires of energy, or they can be ones who only flash sometimes when the fires of vitality spring up in them, or they can be harlequins, with regular fire formations that glow constantly. Which they are depends on how much they have learned about harnessing and utilizing the fire of the life force that flows easily through them. It is rare to find ones who have succeeded in controlling their energy to the point where it is always available to them. This type of Red Hawk person is very valuable, as they can not only begin projects but also keep them going with the strength of their energy.

Red Hawk people, like the opal, are often the symbol of hope for any new idea that is struggling to be born. They are catalysts, capable of making an idea into a reality. These folks, like their stone, have a direct connection with the sun, and with fire, a connection that is strengthened because they are of the Thunderbird clan. Their connection with the moon, or their emotions, is more difficult for them to deal with, but very essential if they are going to be successful in learning to use their own energies well. The fire in Red Hawk people comes from their emotions, which moves even faster than those of most other people. But, being people who favor things that appear clear, they often fear the complexities of their own and other people's emotions

Being of the Budding Trees Moon, the first moon of the spring, the moon of the spring equinox, gives Red Hawk people a further boost in energy levels. This is the moon that governs one of the most rapid times of growth for all of earth's children, and so it brings with it an energy of rapid growth and change. This helps to give Red Hawk people their apparent adaptability, an ability to grow quickly from one philosophy or project to another.

Dandelion, the plant totem of the Red Hawk people, is probably a familiar plant to most people and one that does not necessarily conjure up happy pictures to those who like smooth, green, grassy front lawns. For any who don't know it, dandelion is a shiny green rosette of tooth-edged leaves. The flower stem, which grows to six inches or more in height, bears a single yellow flower, which becomes a ball of white fuzz when the seeds are formed - a ball that disperses and goes off with the wind. The root and stem yield a milky liquid when cut. While the root is the official medicinal part, the whole herb is very useful.

Rather than poisoning their dandelions, gardeners should wait until they are in flower and then pluck them up, root and all.

The root can be dried and used as a coffee substitute or an herbal remedy, and the greens can be cooked as a potherb. The greens, especially when they are older, do have a bitter taste, as well as a slight narcotic property. In preparing them it is good to soak them in salted water for about half an hour before using, or to cook them in several waters, always throwing out the previous ones. Dandelion greens contain almost seven times the amount of vitamin A per ounce as carrots or lettuce, plus goodly amounts of vitamins B,C and G, calcium, phosphorus, iron and natural sodium, which helps to purify and alkalize the bloodstream.

Native healers here, as well as in most parts of the world, used dandelion root as a tonic that would help to open and cleanse all of the eliminative organs of the body. It also helps to sooth and relax these organs and your body in general. They also used dandelion as a diuretic and an agent to balance the blood sugar level in the body. Some Native people used the roots as a sedative.

Like the dandelion, Red Hawk people have the tendency to pop up all over the place, since they are usually flying from one project to another. This habit doesn't endear them to people who find it hard to deal with their energy level, and don't understand the benefits that a Red Hawk person can bring to things that interest them. All the energy of Red Hawk people, like all of the parts of the dandelion, can be useful to people who know how to help them channel it. Like their herb, they are a treasure-house of useful things to those who take the time to understand them.

Red Hawk people have the property of opening, and beginning to cleanse, the things, ideas and people that they touch. Since they are so forthright themselves, they do not like to find insincerity or manipulation in others, they will speak their minds if they feel that these qualities are there.

Red Hawk people are sincere, and often right in what they see. Those who can listen to what they have to say find that the things they learn give them an impetus toward opening up their own minds and emotions. Opening in this way is the first step toward cleansing any negative qualities out of yourself.

Red Hawk people can benefit from soothing, relaxing qualities of the dandelion, as they often find it difficult to turn off their energy when their work for the day is completed. Dandelion, mixed with other herbs, might be useful for them in clearing up congestion of the head, with which they are often afflicted. Red Hawk people, since they are headstrong, often have problems with diseases of the head. They have a tendency to hit their heads accidently a lot more frequently than other people, perhaps because they sometimes tend to fly into things too quickly, without taking the time to look them over.

In this way they are like their animal totem, the red-tailed hawk. The red-tailed hawk is of the genus Buteo, which means a hawk with a broad wing-span and a fan-shaped tail. The adult is the only hawk with a red tail. It is a large hawk, often two feet long with a wing span of up to four and one-half feet. When these hawks are immature, they have a brown body with their underparts streaked with brown. Their tail is brown above and barred with brown below. It becomes red as they mature. Adult hawks have a light phase in which the chest, throat and stomach are usually white, streaked with brown. During their dark phase they are brownish black throughout their bodies. In both of these phases the wide, rounded tail is redish brown, and easy to see when they are in flight. The red-tailed hawk is also called the chicken hawk, an unfair name which has caused their slaughter by farmers who felt that they were stealing their poultry. In one study done in the last century it was discovered that poultry only comprised 10 percent of the hawk's food, which largely consisted of mice, gophers, squirrels, rabbits and insects. When the hawks were killed off, the rodents often destroyed the crops, a fitting example of natural justice. The red-tailed hawk seems to have a particular fondness for rattlesnake meat. Luckily, they have scaled, not feathered, legs, which protects them against snakebite. They are not, however, immune to snake venom, which sometimes makes them the victim rather than the victor when they go after their favorite meat. When they capture a snake, they immediately tear the head off, to protect themselves

Red-tailed hawks are frequently attacked by crows, magpies, owls, other hawks and songbirds in territorial disputes, but these attacks do not frequently end in injury. Perhaps you have seen smaller birds attacking hawks and other predatory birds when they are in flight. At these times the smaller birds have the advantage of being quicker, and they know that they cannot be captured as long as they are above their bigger brothers. Red-tailed hawks can live up to fourteen years. They usually nest in a tall tree, cactus or yucca or on the face of a cliff. They have two to three eggs in the spring, white, lightly splotched with brown.

Both parents help in raising the young, and they often return for years to the same nest. Hawks used to be found all over the country, but now largely in the western states, Mexico and Canada. However, red-tailed hawks are adaptable and can be found almost anywhere. Their voice in flight can sound like steam escaping from a kettle, a throaty skeeeer. Up closer it sounds more like guh-runk.

Red-tailed hawks are magnifificent in flight. They soar and circle for long periods, sometimes twisting their tail at an angle to their body. It is a joy to watch them on a windy day riding the currents with obvious gusto. They can be real acrobats, especially when they are mating. They can touch their mates in midair or drop several thousand feet in one dive.

Along with the eagle, the bird of the East, red-tailed hawks are very special birds to Native people. Those of the Pueblo societies referred to them as red eagles and considered that they, like the eagle, had a special connection with the sky and the sun.

Because the birds can fly so high and see the earth so clearly from their heights, feathers from them were often used ceremonially to carry prayers to the sun and beyond, to the Creator. Hawk feathers, as well as eagle, were also used in healing ceremonies and, in the Southwest, in ceremonies to pray for rain. Hawk and eagle feathers are still used in most of these ways by Native people today, as well as in fans and bustles for dancing. To the Ojibwa and some other peoples, the Red-tailed Hawk clan was one of the leadership clans, and its members were credited with having the gifts of deliberation and foresight.

Like the red-tailed hawk, people born during the Budding Trees Moon are often large people, in spirit if not in body, and they have the capacity to spread their wings to a great width. Red Hawk people, like their bird, are hunters, although what they hunt out are new things to do, new projects to begin, new philosophies to explore. These people tend to have light and dark phases. During the former they are joyful and open to everything. While the latter, they want to fly off to be alone someplace to discover what has made the world seem wrong to them.

Red Hawk people tend to be fearless, often going after what they see as the rattlesnakes of the world with little regard for their own safety. As mentioned earlier, these folks have little or no patience with people they see as hypocritical or unjust. They will clearly tell such people what they see about them, whether or not the other person wishes to listen. Sometimes they grapple with snakes too large for them to handle, and, in this instance, they, too, can end up as the victim rather than the victor. In many old mythologies the snake is considered to represent the underworld, while the eagle or hawk represents the zenith, although this is not a completely proper interpretation of these symbols. Nonetheless, since these two animals have often been pictured as antagonists, Red Hawk and Snake people sometimes have a difficult time reaching an understanding with each other unless both have grown to the point where they can correctly understand their symbolism, and how they can compliment as well as antagonize each other

As the hawk tears off the head of the snake to protect itself, so Red Hawk people will tear off the heads of anyone they see as potential enemies. They truely actas though the best defense is a good offense. When they are angry, their comments, like talons, can really sting. As the hawk is often attacked in flight by smaller birds, so Red Hawk people are attacked by people who won't understand them or their forthright energy when they are soaring off on the wings of a fresh idea or project. However, these attacks usually don't end in injury and sometimes precipitate conversations that can clear up misunderstandings on either part. If you have learned to love or trust your Red Hawk friends, you will find that they are truely beautiful to watch when they are in flight, just as their animal totem is. At these times the energy of life flows through and around them so completely that you can often find yourself flying, too. When they are in this stage of energy, they can be real acrobats with their minds and spirit, clearly seeing things of life that are often clouded from view.

The sky is the realm for Red Hawk people. From their flights there they are able to see clearly how things should be on earth. This is their strength: to be able to get new things begun in a good way, or established things back on their proper path. They truely want to do good and to see things unfold in their best possible way. They are natural optimists, strong-willed and, energetic in their determination to set things right. They are independent people, and thinkers, and they are always sincere about what they think and feel. While their actions sometimes appear rash, they usually have carefully deliberated within themselves before deciding to act. Their natures in many ways are as fresh and open as that of a child just learning to talk.

However, like a child, they often don't have a long concentration span, and they tire of something when it has just begun to work. They don't feel they need to stay around to be sure it is really working. To balance their energies they need to learn to have more patience and stability.

Like the feathers of their totem, they do have the ability to soar high in the sky and communicate with the Creator spirit. However, they generally expend most of their energy seeing how things should be on earth, and forget that they have this ability, too. They must learn to nurture and use this gift before they will be successful in truely balancing their energies.

Because of their clan sight, foresight and energy, Red Hawk people make good leaders when they have learned to channel their energy and to stay with something as long as it needs them. Once they have learned to direct the energy coming through them, they can succeed at almost anything that they wish to, but that process of learning is often a long and painful one for them, and one that can take them through many dark phases of feeling.

Yellow is the color of Red Hawk people, the yellow of the spring sun and the dandelion flower. This color helps them by stimulating their intense intelligence and helping them to turn thinking into wisdom. It helps them to be more receptive and to maintain their usual friendliness, good health and well-being. Red Hawk people other than bumping their heads alot, tend to be physically strong and can maintain good health if they remember to take proper care of themselves.

Being of the Thunderbird clan intensifies most of the natural traits of Red Hawk people and gives hem even more energy and penetration than they would otherwise have. More than people of the other totems of this clan they must guard against blazing so brightly at one point that they burn themselves out. They must learn to temper the energy their clan memberships give them, so the fire within them can always bring warmth and light to the things that they touch.

Being born under the first moon of Wabun, the Spirit Keeper of the East, tempers the energy of Red Hawk people with the wisdom Wabun brings. It also helps them channel their energy toward finding ways to bring about spiritual evolution in themselves and in others.

As children these folks are headstrong and sometimes difficult to control. They have an even higher level of energy than adults of this totem do, and it can be a real job to keep up with them. They are friendly, open, intelligent and usually healthy if they can be made to relax occasionally. Otherwise they are prone to colic, colds and other ailments caused by problems with the nerves or the head.

Red Hawk people go into parenthood as enthusiastically as they do anything else. If their energy is not channeled well, however, they will lose interest in it just as quickly, and the children will be left to fend for themselves, at least on an emotional level, while the parent is off exploring new things that interest him or her. They will always be friendly and sincere with their children and quick to correct them if they see them taking a wrong turn. They will tend to treat their children much as they treat any of their other friends, which sometimes means that their children lack the special emotional support that they need from parents.

Being naturaly friendly and gregarious, Red Hawk people can get along with anyone, but they find friendships with other Thunderbird people, those of the Sturgeon and Elk, and with Butterfly people, those of the Deer, Raven and Otter, particulary fulfilling. Their complement is the Raven totem.

As people from the other starting places on the wheel travel through the position of the Red Hawk people, they will find new depths of energy in themselves and the ability to see and work clearly with things on this earth plane. They may discover resources for leadership within themselves that they never knew existed.

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