Video Summary:

In my tradition, coyote medicine shows us the things we don't want to look at and the things we don't want to accept in ourselves. The coyote is the trickster in that he tricks us into seeing things we are not wanting to see in ourselves.

So why would we not want to accept something about ourselves? One reason is that we attach to an emotional transitory state and make it a statement about ourselves. So if we’re experiencing fear, we go to, "I'm a fear-based person, weak person, or not courageous." So we avoid looking at the fear.

We often do this with dark emotional states such as anger, jealousy, envy, vindictiveness, self-centeredness, and control. None of us like to admit we have control issues. Well, guess what? We all have them. My teacher used to say, “Welcome to the human race, Mike.” We all have dark feelings and emotional states.

Another common reason we do not want to accept something about ourselves is when we look at things, then we might have to feel them. So if I get triggered and become aware of an emotional wound or unresolved grief issue, I may have to feel it.

So the coyote is the ultimate healer because when he shows me my wound or issue, I see it, feel it, and then I can heal it. Ultimately, until we look at it, we don't have the opportunity to heal it. This is why coyote medicine is so powerful, and so misunderstood.

So when we do ceremony, we might invite the coyote to our ceremony. It might be a sharing circle or a retreat that we're doing. So what we're doing is asking life, spirit, the universe, and the energy and magic of the ceremony to show us the things we don't want to look at so we can heal them and be free of them.

By inviting coyote medicine I'm saying, "I'm willing to look at what's here." And when we look at it, it's taking it from my unconscious or shadow and bringing it into the light of my consciousness.

This is all the coyote really does. He's saying, “Hey, you've got a wound here, or this thing is preventing you from having what you're after.”

So we can look at it and realize, “Whoa, I've got a wound, fear, or block here.” But now it's no longer hidden so now you can heal it, let it go, go around it, go through it, or manage it. Then you can get where you need to be.

When a wound or issue is not conscious, it's usually controlling us. So the coyote's just bringing it into our consciousness so we can accept it, address it, and set ourselves free.