Zebra, Seagull and Gorilla: Your Animal Guides at the New Moon in Aries on April 11, 2021

Zebra as your Animal Guide

Conservation Efforts

Zebras are in danger! Only 3,000 Grevy’s Zebra are living in the wild and therefore, are listed in the Appendix I in CITES meaning, they are threatened with extinction and trade must be subject to particularly strict regulation. The most endangered species of plants and animals are listed under
Appendix I. This listing does not save them from illegal trade.

Zebras are killed for their beautiful skin, meat and trophies. They are also threatened with habitat loss due to expanded farming and increased domestic animal herding as well as civil unrest and war. Community conservation efforts are underway to help keep them alive and well.

Grevy’s Zebra Trust works with Samburu warriors, especially young men coming of age, to teach them about conservation, habitat and water management, rebuilding, education for the youth, etc. to sustainably preserve the zebra’s environment and existence.

What we can learn from Zebra

• Discernment. Be cautious, be on the lookout and conscious of your moves.
• Individuality within the herd. The stripes on a Zebra are like our fingerprints and even though there are hundreds of similar looking Marty’s in Madagascar, each Zebra is unique. While blending in provides you with safety, it also gives you the challenge of blending in too much and losing your Self in the herd. The lesson here is to keep your own identity and individuality. Appreciate your own uniqueness, even your flaws.
• Perfect harmony of opposites. Humans with Zebra energy have lots of friends, are highly sociable and loveable, yet reserved and quiet at the same time. Visible stripes of opposites.
• Cutting through illusions. Zebras all look the same, you say? From a distance perhaps. This illusion is how they survive in a herd, blending together.
• Freedom seeker. Unlike horses and donkeys, zebras are not domesticated and there’s a good reason for this. They can be unruly and fight to the death for their freedom. They have killed humans, not as many as humans have killed zebras, but the fact remains, they have a killer instinct when being threatened. It’s said that since both human and zebra species originated in Africa, they ‘knew’ us and our ways. Humans hunted zebras and therefore, zebra lost all trust! With Zebra energy, you value freedom and are encouraged to be true to your wild side. No need to be ‘broken’ or back down to appease someone. This will neither benefit you nor anyone else and could possibly end up causing more harm than good, especially to yourself.
• Determination. Zebra energy brings with it a sense of adventure, youth, beauty and joy. As one of the many herbivores who migrate in search of food each year, they travel with wildebeests and many other animals together from the Serengeti to Africa (about 500 miles), moving clockwise from the southeast. If you need inspiration for the long haul to finish a project, then call on Zebra energy to give you this strength. Zebra is showing you to stick with it through the long haul, not matter how challenging the journey may be because at the end of the trip, you will get your reward. For Zebra, it’s food, for you, it may be abundance, or love. Working hard always precedes a reward.
• Maintain balance. Zebra teaches you to maintain a balance in your life, even during crazy times. Yes, you should work hard, but rewards are extremely important, so don’t forget that.
• Agility. With Zebra on your side, you will not need to be the strongest, biggest, fastest out there, your gift of agility overrides all of those features. This surefootedness and confidence will help you along your journey and aid you in avoiding pitfalls and dangers along the way as well as recognizing life-changing opportunities.
• Creativity and Eccentricity. Zebra is a beautiful piece of art. Each of the three Zebra species have a different stripe pattern and therefore, easily recognizable. Tap into Zebra energy to create something extraordinary this week and whenever you want to feel creative.
• Visionary. Zebras have excellent eyesight and, in the savanna, where there are many predators, they’re a good ally to warn you of possible danger. That’s why you often see Zebra and Wildebeest together because Wildebeest has poor eyesight and rely on Zebra for early warnings. Excellent eyesight has a setback though. Relying too much on one sense will keep you from paying attention to another sense. In this case, your intuition, your gut feeling or the intuition of others. See with all your senses. Call on your Zebra guide to help you cut through illusion and connect with your inner wisdom.

Questions to ask yourself

• What is my intuition telling me about this particular situation?
• What creative endeavor can I take on?
• Does my self-confidence need a boost?
• What is my truth? What makes me unique?
• How can I accept this difficult period to be able to continue?

Final words from Zebra

With Zebra as your animal guide during this New Moon in Aries, you have the perfect guide to help you create something creative, no matter if you start a short-term or long-term project. She will give you the determination and energy for the long haul.

Call upon Zebra energy to give you the confidence and endurance along your journey.

Seagull as your Animal Guide

Conservation Efforts

Because gulls help maintain a healthy marine ecosystem from their own waste, it would be a major disadvantage to all life on Earth not to protect them.

And even though you may not view gulls as being an endangered species, or even threatened because all coastal areas seem to be flooded with them, they are in danger, sadly enough. They received endangered species protection in North America and Europe after their populations drastically decreased to dangerous levels.

The River-Dwelling Black-Billed Gull lives in New Zealand and, of all the 50 gull species, is one of the most endangered.

Because gulls can become a nuisance in residential and urban areas, some licensed governmental officials use culling practices, both lethal and non-lethal, to control their population as they deem necessary.

According to the RSPB (The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), the number of urban roof-nesting gulls, such as the Lesser Black-Backed Gulls are increasing while the population of the Herring Gulls, for instance, is plummeting, putting them on the IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature ) Red List of Threatened Species which was founded in 1964 and provides the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.

What we can learn from Seagull

• Intelligence and problem solving. Seagull is highly intelligent and has the ability to learn new behaviors and pass them along to their young such as dropping mollusks on rocks so that they break open and are ready to eat, or following ploughs which upturn the earth, exposing many delicacies. Never stop learning! It’s only tragic when you don’t use or share what you learn.
• Communication, persistence. The communication skills amongst seagulls are highly complex. They use a range of vocalizations and body movements. You know what a flock of seagulls sound like, right? And I don’t mean the band. They are LOUD! What are they trying to tell you? Or are they just hangry?
• Versatility, adaptability. Being found on every continent on Earth, in urban as well as coastal areas, with humans or isolated from them, Seagull is a true symbol of versatility and adaptability. When you feel stuck and don’t know how to move forward, call on Seagull to give you the energy of being able to create the changes you need in your life to become successful and thrive.
• Laughter, joy. Allow Seagull to nourish you with joy and laughter with her carefree attitude while having enough intelligence to come back down and use your communication skills to help solve problems that will help you move forward.
• Perspective. Her graceful gliding above and beyond the horizon provides you with a new perspective and confidence to help you find freedom of mind and in doing so, release your fears and judgements while offering you alternative paths and creative solutions.
• Freedom, Carefree Lifestyle, Lighthearted Altitude and Ungroundedness. She will also gift you with the sense of freedom to not be bogged down by rules which can also cause fear and keep you from progressing. Beware of Seagull energy when you have the urge to soar all day though. This will only cause you to fly around in circles and not want to come back down to Earth. You won’t be able to nourish your body or soul that way. Seagull needs air, water and earth in order to survive and thrive.
• Resourcefulness. A Gull’s waste is used to keep valuable marine life intact. Gulls find food in human garbage cans. Your Seagull guide is telling you to be resourceful, not wasteful and to find and appreciate your hidden treasure within you as it’s more valuable than you or anyone may think at first glance.

Questions to ask yourself

• What new skill will benefit me when learned?
• What rules can I break or bend to move forward more easily?
• What is wasting my time?
• What is my truth? What makes me unique?
• What things can I reuse, recycle or repurpose?

Final words from Seagull

Working with Seagull energy will give you the freedom to put new ideas to fruition without wasting time or resources and being able to get your message across to be heard.

Call upon Seagull energy to aid you in communicating effectively and persistently to get what you want.

Gorilla as your Animal Guide

Conservation Efforts

All four Gorilla subspecies are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List and on Appendix I of CITES.

Gorilla’s only natural predator is human who hunt them for bushmeat and cause considerable damage by depleting their territory from mining, deforestation, disease (Ebola) and war. Their reproduction rate is extremely slow, meaning, every gorilla lost takes ten years to ‘replace’.

The World Conservation Society is working together with the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group and other NGOs, national and local authorities to:

• Develop action plans for all large ape species
• Monitor populations
• Help protect them from poachers
• Implement educational programs for children and adults
• Improve land use
• Set up a surveillance network and laboratory in Brazzaville, the capital city of Republic of the Congo, to help combat Ebola

What we can learn from Gorilla

• Conscious leadership. Gorilla is the true ‘King of the Jungle’, not Lion as Lion does not live in the jungle, but the savanna. A natural born leader, Gorilla notices the inner beauty of each individual, displays acts of kindness, patience and compassion and allows others to play while he protects. He is sharing his gift of nobility and inspires you, in times when you feel powerless, to hold your head up high, breathe in deep and stick out your chest and if it feels right, pound your fists to really feel his energy! You are a leader in your own right. Own it!
• Sophisticated communication. Gorilla energy knows that leading doesn’t mean hostility and as a strong communicator with the ability to learn 2,000 English words in sign language, he is teaching you to carry out your message in a gentle, fair, yet assertive way as this will inspire others to change more than aggression ever will, or common in our social media society today, with shaming and blaming. This approach inspires no one to follow, let alone listen. Beloved Dr. Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough didn’t achieve their respectful world leadership status from engaging in hostile confrontations with authorities. No, they lead with compassion and understanding as much as determination and firmness. Respectful in all ways. Gorilla sends you the valuable gift of conscious parenting and leadership.
• Experience. Gorilla is a kindred spirit who thinks and makes us think. I’m not sure if there are many species who actually reflect on the past and think about the future in a way that doesn’t only mean getting food and carrying on your legacy via reproduction but to also be happy and thrive. He wants his troop to do just that which is why the huge silverback leader allows the babies to crawl all over him and pull his hair. He knows they just want to have fun and understands that happiness in a vulnerable and depleting environment is crucial for his community. This is his gift to his family and with this gift, comes loyalty, respect and love.
• Wisdom. The wise Gorilla who’s been around for at least over 20 years understand what’s happening to the world today. They know how abundant life of Earth used to be and now, they fear the future for their children, just like we do. You can see this in their worrisome eyes and if they’re stuck in a zoo, you can easily sense their depression. They know what’s going on.
• Just Aggression. That said, Gorilla will fight and use all his might and power when threatened by another Gorilla. He only protects when he needs to protect, but it is not in his nature to be aggressive. Sometimes, you need to fight for what’s right and the key is to know when to choose your battles. Sometimes just pounding on your chest will ward off those who want to claim your throne. Other times, you may need to battle it out to the end.
• Arrogance. Gorilla loves attention and when he doesn’t get it, he can become egotistical. This is a message to remind you that you don’t have to always be in the limelight to make an impact. Just sitting there in your power is sometimes enough. So, let others have their day too.
• Moving too much, not being able to settle down. Usually on a daily basis, the Silverback leads his troop to a new place to get well-nourished and rest. If there’s enough food, he will stay until the supply reaches its limit. Gorilla’s nomadic ways allow him and his family to survive but this may also be a sign to not always be on the move to slip away from your responsibilities. Know when it’s time to move. Staying just a little longer may prove more beneficial than moving right away. He reminds you to remain grounded even when moving. Focus on what’s important. Use Gorilla energy to solve difficult problems with your analytical mind.

Questions to ask yourself

• What can I give others that will make them happy?
• What is my message to the world and how can I communicate this with compassion?
• How can you inspire others to follow me?
• Do I need to move to another place or project in order to get what I need?

Final words from Gorilla

As I was writing this, Gorilla asked me to send humanity an important message: Do something, please! His message was clear as day. If anyone else knows what’s really going on, it’s our closest relatives, the large primates.

Mature gorillas know how life was 20+ years ago and they mourn the environment’s abundance and beauty. With all the destruction we humans have done on Earth and continue to do at such an exponential rate, they fear the future for their children, just like we do.

If you look deep into the eyes of a gorilla at a zoo, you see depression and frustration. If you look deep into the eyes of a wild gorilla — you may not have this chance, but you can still do it by watching videos and documentaries — you see fear and worry. I do anyway. I can look straight into the soul of Gorilla and feel his emotions. It’s painful and very sad.

A powerful guide when you need to slip into the role of a leader who wants to make a positive impact in this world, Gorilla has the experience, wisdom, patience, gentleness and assertiveness to get the job done with ease, pleasure and success.

He wishes with all his might that we will step up and save life on Earth because we must never forget; we are not above nature. We need plants and animals to survive on this planet. Mother Earth is resilient. Humans and many other species? Not so much.

Call upon Gorilla energy to help you lead with compassion and do what needs to be done for your community.