Coyote- The Shape In the Clouds

Spirit Animal Oracle with guidebook- Colette Baron Reid and the Chrysalis Tarot by Toney Brooks

Research Credit: Coyote

Todays’ animal is the coyote and I’m excited to share this with you because I have had a deeply personal experience with coyotes before. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t nervous going through this experience but I’ll get to that in a moment. Let's get into the lore and symbolism that comes with the coyote.

According to some Native American lore, the coyote can represent both a savior and trickster as well as hero and villain energy. This comes from the idea of the Coyote Fire legend. This story tells how the coyote brought fire to the people by stealing a burning stick from the fireplace of the spirits. He managed to escape mostly unharmed but he was exhausted from his flight from the spirits, so his friends brought the stick the rest of the way for him so he could rest.

The coyote can also represent luck and is a reminder that you have the capacity to handle any situation that comes up in your space. While you may be dependent on your pack, you have everything you need and more besides that to make the most of your intellect, instinct, and flexibility. It is also an excellent reminder to lighten up and have some fun after a while.

As to my experience with coyotes, I had been out on a very early morning walk and was coming back down to my street. I decided to take a long walk so I was ready to get home, but I saw several coyotes wandering the streets in front of me. When I saw this, I stopped still because one of them had locked eyes on me before moving on to do whatever it was that it was going to do. I was nervous because I didn’t want to get hurt, but I knew I needed to pause and reflect on what seeing a coyote could mean.

Alright, enough of my rambling, let's get into some cards, shall we?

cards pulled from varous decks

Coyote: trust in divine detours

Sorceress (High Priestess): experience and wisdom gained through reflection and introspection

Celtic Owl (The Hanged Man): change in perceptions, seeing things from a different angle

Okay friend, so here I’m seeing that there are some things in your space that are changing and these things may not have been expected. Perhaps these are making you feel uncomfortable because of CHANGE? EWWW... However, that’s exactly the point of making these changes. What I’m seeing with this reading is that these things are happening because of your perception of things is in need of some adjusting. If you’re feeling a bit turned over because of these things, remember that you can’t see the shape in the clouds if you’re only looking from one vantage point. Similarly, you can’t see the entirety of the situation you’re in if you’re only focusing on the pinpoint details. How does it all play together? It’s absolutely fair to not know the answer to this question just yet. Take some time to reflect and get deep with your feelings. Experience and earned wisdom come from doing this work, no matter how hard it may seem.