Jaguar: The Solitary Path

The jaguar stalks patiently and strikes with lightning speed. Its name comes from the South American Indian word, 'yaguara', meaning "a beast that kills its prey with one bound."

The Olmec and Mayans considered Jaguar to be a human in animal form. In their art they often combined jaguar with human characteristics. They also connected this animal with some of their gods, especially Tlaloc, the god of rain and the Sun God, who in his journey beneath the earth at night, became the Jaguar God of the Underworld.

Like Tiger, Jaguar is a solitary hunter, and this is one of its important aspects as a power animal. It symbolizes the importance of knowing when it's preferable to take the solitary path in stalking one's own dreams.

Some dreams are meant to be nurtured in solitude. The writer, composing a first draft, usually prefers to keep to keep the manuscript from curious eyes. While he has a vision of the completed work, others can't be expected to share it, and their criticisms may be discouraging.

The same is true of many visions. Their premature exposure to the world can have the same fatal effect as cracking an egg before the chick is ready to emerge.

In addition, cultivating one's dream privately avoids the temptation to take one's guidance from the outside. Instead the creator learns to listen instead to inner guidance, the voice of wisdom from within and to trust his or her intuition. Developing a connection with Jaguar can help to strengthen this ability.

For the native people of the rainforests, everything contains Jaguar. In this sense, Jaguar, while cultivating our ability to walk the solitary path, also can help us to keep that path from being a lonely one. When we have a deep sense of ourselves as part of All That Is, we are never alone.

Jaguar is available as a Wild Earth Animal Essence.