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Choosing a Medicine Name
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Choosing a Medicine Name

WindSpirit Rising Star

If you would like to accelerate the fulfillment of your karma by catapulting yourself into advanced lessons, and if you would like to live your destiny sooner, you may want to consider selecting a Medicine name.

A Medicine name is a name you use to align yourself more fully with your highest purpose. You use the vibration of sound, the power of imagery, and the magick of repetition (much as you would with spells) to create a body of light of your highest essence.

A word can make all the difference in quickening your vibratory rate. For this reason, many of us use mantras when we meditate. Some of us chant, and others combine the power of repetition with the spoken word when writing and using affirmations. When used with awareness, sound can shatter unwanted thought forms and patterns. Sound can also build desirable new forms, which is what we do when we vibrate the holy names.

I had several reasons for choosing to use the name WindSpirit Rising Star. First, I am Gemini, an Air sign, and the Element of Air is strongly emphasized in my birth chart. Second, I am an intuitive, and intuitive knowledge has often been described as carried on the wind.

Third, my artistic expression has been characteristically focused on Air. I find it significant that I sing, and that the only musical instrument I have learned so far is the flute. Fourth, I travel in spirit with some frequency. Fifth, the Element of Air is associated with the east and with the tops of mountains, and I have always preferred the east coast of the United States to the west coast, and vacationing in the mountains to heading for the beach. In short, once I began researching the symbolism of the Element Air, it all seemed to represent the essence of my Self. Although some dangers exist for overdosing on an Element, most often you will find that the positive aspects so overshadow the negative that the negative aspects shrivel up for lack of attention. In my own example, my new name has helped me to focus on writing and art from a Shamanic perspective to such degree that I have not had time to demonstrate the negative side of Air.

I chose Rising Star after long consideration. I was initially drawn to the name, which represents for me the planet Venus, the star that appears at dawn and dusk. Because Venus plays such a big role in my natal chart—in conjunction with the Sun in Gemini—I wanted a name that would channel the Venusian energies of artistic creativity into my life. In addition, the image of the star rising up the spine is reminiscent of the stream of liquid light to which Gopi Krishna referred in his book, Kundalini, the Evolutionary Energy in Man. Finally, Rising Star also describes the rising of the astral body in flight. In fact, the word astral derives from the Latin astrum, meaning star.

Examining your natal chart carefully is one of the best ways to discover the qualities that you were meant to embody in this lifetime. What are the main characteristics of your sun sign? Are there positive aspects with your sun (conjunctions, sextiles, trines) that you would like to emphasize? What role does your ascendant play? If you decide to focus on Elements, consider the following names: for the Element Air, Breeze or Tempest; for Water, Spring Rain or Dew; for Fire, Blaze or Etoile; for Earth, Oak or Stone. Feel free to combine names in ways that feel comfortable to you. Swaying Pines could evoke Air and Earth. You might like Solstice or Equinox. You may even prefer the name of a God or Goddess. Be sure to consult a good dictionary of symbolism and an encyclopedia of mythology to be sure that the name carries no characteristics you would rather avoid.

After you have examined your natal chart, chosen one or two names that most express your sacred energies, and researched the symbolism to be sure that you feel comfortable with it, the next step is to narrow down your choices to the one perfect name that will guide you best.

You may wish to begin by comparing numerological equivalencies. Some will certainly disagree with me, but my experience has shown that numerology is not as effective with names as it is with dates. Although the numerological system in general use is neither adapted to our alphabet nor to the sounds of modern English, numerology can still give us additional insight into a name. Manly Hall, in The Secret Teachings of all Ages says: The first step in obtaining the numerical value of a word is to resolve it back into its original tongue. Only words of Greek or Hebrew derivation can be successfully analyzed by this method, and all words must be spelled in their most ancient and complete forms (original italics). For this reason, I use numerology as a guide, but not as the deciding factor.

If you are still having difficulty selecting a name, use whatever divination method appeals to you. For such matters, I prefer a divination method that is expansive enough to encompass most sides of the question, such as the Tarot.

Once you have distilled your choices to one name that you feel most represents your purest essence, you need to test it. Keep in mind the following points when testing a name:

See if the universe echoes the name back to you. When I chose WindSpirit, I felt a desire to accent it by finding feather earrings. Instead of earrings, however, I found myself. I came across the Shamanic path, and realized that I had been a shaman for many lifetimes. For me, the riddle to why I didn't quite fit in with other religions was solved.

Use dream incubation. Develop the habit of remembering your dreams, if you don't already. Try lying still a few minutes after waking before the memory of the dream has had a chance to flee. Once you've achieved a higher awareness of your dreams, you can focus a question or an issue in your mind before you fall asleep. The answer may come in words or in symbols. When I decided to use the name Rising Star, I dreamed I was in an art gallery. I then realized that this name, which represented Venus, was already helping to bring more artistic creativity into my life.

Meditate. Call in your guide and ask their opinion. If your guide is in favor of your choice, they may appear in a deeper, older form, illustrating that you have sufficiently raised your vibratory rate to learn at a deeper, more profound level.

Finally, remember the following points as you journey onward with your new name:

A strong name is strong Medicine. You may feel uncomfortable wearing a name so powerful that it can cause rapid changes. When you wear a name that has an overt meaning, you use other people's imagination as well as your own to help build your thought form. You may prefer to make the name more subtle, and allow it to cause change over the longer term. For example, instead of choosing the name Star, you may prefer Astrid or Stella.

Know when to use your Medicine name. You may find yourself in situations that do not warrant using your Medicine name. I use mine when I do spiritual work, but not at my nine-to-five job. The effect is similar to working magick, or even using more banal forms of positive thinking and imagery: only those people who can help you or honor your intent need to know about it. There is a time to keep silent.

Know how to use your Medicine name. A name needs to be used—spoken aloud and meditated on—to be its most effective. Donald Michael Kraig, in Modern Magick, explains how to vibrate a name. Although he describes this technique for use with Hebrew names for those on a Cabalistic path, the technique can work well with English names. As you slowly speak the name aloud, feel the vibration in that part of the body that corresponds to the name you are using. You may also speak the name mentally; in which case you must feel it on the astral plane. I would suggest using both methods, the external and the internal, to anchor the name initially. Vibrating your name periodically will help keep its sacredness apparent to you. Avoid taking your Medicine name for granted. The name should inspire and motivate you.

Consider having a naming ceremony. A naming ceremony represents the birth of a new phase in your life. You are creating a new identity that is based on the old one, but is clearer and more focused. At your ceremony, thank the deities and Elements whose energies you are now channeling and manifesting in your life.

Live up to the name. Ideally, by accelerating your karma, by declaring your intention to the universe that you are ready to live the plan that it has laid out for you (actually, that you agreed to before birth in the Earth-plane), you will become your body of light quickly. Then those who behold you will see the light of truth shining in your eyes, reflected in your name.

Draining all the energy from a sacred name is highly unlikely, but the time may arrive when the name you chose no longer inspires you. Use your insight to determine whether you have indeed outgrown the name, or if you are resisting a lesson the name is teaching you. Although many people have had success with using several names, be careful to give each name a chance before deciding to change it. If you feel that you are resisting the lessons brought to you, perhaps an anniversary celebration of your naming ceremony will help realign you with those powers, renew your ties with the sacred energies, and re-inspire you.

If, however, you feel that you have outgrown the name, give it back in an un-naming ceremony, which is the reverse of your naming ceremony. Here you would thank the Elements or deities that helped you develop spiritually. Spend some time nameless or in the void before using another Medicine name. Even after the thanking ceremony, the energies may need to settle or be synthesized, so the weeks you spend in the void can aid you to rebalance yourself and can give you clarity regarding your next steps. In addition, try limiting the amount you talk. Not only will this practice help you to eliminate chatter in your meditations, it will also increase your awareness of the sacredness of the spoken word. You will then have increased your sense of clarity and focus to attract a new name of even higher vibration.