For many traditional people, Wolf is the sage, the
Grand Teacher. In the Wolf Lodge Journal, Ghost Wolf reminds us that the Old Ones have told stories about the beginning time when it was Wolf who taught humans the ways of living in harmony:
"It was Wolf who taught us how to form community upon this Earth, for Wolves have an intuitive knowledge of order...and they possess the ability to survive change intact. Wolf medicine is very ancient and born of living experience. Wolf will look deep into your heart and share the greatest of knowledge, but will demand full participation and absolute sincerity. Wolf...will rekindle old memories within your soul...Wolf medicine can make you whole."
One of the most popular of all clan and totem animals among Native Americans, the wolf was also the sacred totem of many European clans during the Middle Ages. Pick up the telephone book from any major city in North America or Europe and count the number of names under Wolf, Wolfberg, Wolfenbarger, Wolfgang, Wolfman, Wolfsen, Wolfstein, and so on.
According to Norse mythology, Fenrir, the great wolf of the North, will be set free on doomsday to swallow the sun. Just as many Viking warriors, berserkrs, wore a bear-shirt into battle to demonstrate their ferocity, so did many don the wolf-coat to warn the enemy that they might change into wolves before their eyes and become even more vicious in their attack.
A quick reading of history would indicate that in order to found a city, an empire, or a country, it is a prerequisite to have a wolf somewhere in the family tree. Romulus and Remus, the legendary twin founders of Rome, were suckled by a she-wolf. Tu Kueh, fabled founder of the Turkish nation, later married the she-wolf who suckled and reared him.
Siegfried, one of the mightiest of the Teutonic heroes, who conquered dragons, the heart of the Queen of the Valkyries, and a number of warrior opponents, had been nursed by a she-wolf after his mother died in childbirth.
Wolf Moondance, a Shaman of the Osage people, says that the parenting instinct is very strong in wolves. They are natural mothers and fathers. "When you are in need, when you are in danger or feeling separated and abandoned, you can transmit psychic energy and pull to you the energy of the She-Wolf. You can allow the feeling of that desire to draw you to the principle of the mother embracing the child.
In the Christian tradition, the wolf is the emblem for St. Francis of Assisi, St. Edmund of East Anglia, and St. Wolfgang.
If the wolf has been designated as your totem animal through dreams or vision quest, be assured that you have a spirit helper that will always back you up, regardless of the consequences. This totem guide is known for its extraordinary powers of endurance, and it will willingly grant those strengths to you. Wolf is the Great Parent, the Great Teacher, the Great Friend, and your spirit helper will expect you to carry on its traditions and to fulfill your own responsibilities to your family, your community, your friends, and those less fortunate than you who need your help. Wolf will tolerate no shirking of duty, so while you have a fierce guardian on twenty-four hour notice, you also have an example of trust and nobility to respect and emulate.
