TRANSCRIPT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:05.117
Welcome to the Calling Your Wild Astrology Podcast. Here we are getting curious
00:00:05.117 --> 00:00:08.817
about my two favorite topics, astrology and animal behavior.
00:00:09.257 --> 00:00:19.357
My ancestors and yours listened to and communicated with the living world for survival.
00:00:19.877 --> 00:00:23.877
They understood energy as the common thread that connects us,
00:00:24.057 --> 00:00:26.637
but also in its many individual expressions.
00:00:27.317 --> 00:00:32.917
They knew the importance of diversity and unity while following the intelligence of cycles.
00:00:33.957 --> 00:00:39.157
I enjoy working with the moon because it reminds me to surrender to what I do
00:00:39.157 --> 00:00:40.957
not know yet or understand.
00:00:41.477 --> 00:00:45.437
The new moon phase is a quiet time of intentions, questions,
00:00:45.897 --> 00:00:47.277
dreams, and possibilities.
00:00:47.937 --> 00:00:54.677
As the moon grows or waxes, so do our intentions, becoming more visible on the earthly plane.
00:00:55.357 --> 00:01:00.657
When it is full, the moon, from our perspective, fully reflects the sun's rays.
00:01:00.917 --> 00:01:06.137
Our soul reflects the light of spirit, which often means confronting the role
00:01:06.137 --> 00:01:09.257
that our ego had played when we set our new moon intentions.
00:01:09.737 --> 00:01:13.757
From there, we integrate our wisdom, preparing for the next cycle.
00:01:14.597 --> 00:01:18.477
Wednesday, November 5th, at 8.19 a.m.
00:01:18.757 --> 00:01:24.077
ET, there will be a full moon at 13 degrees and 22 minutes of Taurus.
00:01:25.434 --> 00:01:31.054
Since our last new moon was at the very end of Libra, the sun has since moved into Scorpio.
00:01:31.554 --> 00:01:36.754
At that Libra new moon, I had set an intention of learning more about the updated
00:01:36.754 --> 00:01:40.214
research on social dynamics and behavior of wolves.
00:01:40.674 --> 00:01:45.594
I was searching for tools when it comes to over-arousal in our pet dogs,
00:01:45.614 --> 00:01:51.094
and I just kept getting the ping or intuitive nudge that our dog's ancestors
00:01:51.094 --> 00:01:56.454
have a Libra-like harmonious code of conduct that would help me bridge the gap
00:01:56.454 --> 00:01:58.894
between my dog and human clients.
00:01:59.414 --> 00:02:04.394
The social behavior of wolves is fascinating and important to study because
00:02:04.394 --> 00:02:09.354
it helps us understand the roots of how our dogs think, communicate, and bond with us.
00:02:09.814 --> 00:02:13.974
Wolves are the only major predators known to hunt by truly working together
00:02:13.974 --> 00:02:19.234
as a coordinated team, using communication, strategy, and trust to take down
00:02:19.234 --> 00:02:21.034
prey much larger than themselves.
00:02:21.674 --> 00:02:26.454
This cooperative nature reflects the deep social intelligence that shaped dogs
00:02:26.454 --> 00:02:30.554
as we evolve them from the wild ancestors of wolves.
00:02:31.134 --> 00:02:36.074
Since making that intention, I have been reading and listening to everything I can get my hands on.
00:02:36.734 --> 00:02:42.734
My favorite book right now is Among Wolves, Gordon Haber's Insights into Alaska's
00:02:42.734 --> 00:02:44.474
Most misunderstood animal.
00:02:45.574 --> 00:02:50.634
Haber was influential in getting away from using the word pack when describing
00:02:50.634 --> 00:02:53.714
wolves and instead focusing on their family structure.
00:02:54.254 --> 00:02:59.154
This sentence from the book, I think, displays how scientists observing behavior
00:02:59.154 --> 00:03:01.174
walk the fence between two worlds.
00:03:02.074 --> 00:03:07.274
Haber was a consummate scientist, making every conclusion based on hard data
00:03:07.274 --> 00:03:12.994
and having little patience for those who anthropomorphized wild animals, especially wolves.
00:03:13.294 --> 00:03:17.674
He strived to help others understand that wolves are sentient,
00:03:17.834 --> 00:03:23.094
interactive, social animals with real intelligence, not just data points or
00:03:23.094 --> 00:03:24.874
numbers in a scientific paper.
00:03:25.983 --> 00:03:30.823
Something that may be related to my intention research, as well as a parallel theme,
00:03:31.103 --> 00:03:36.383
is that I am very much focused and excited right now about the idea of celebrating
00:03:36.383 --> 00:03:41.863
a dog's recovery after an emotional response or expression of over-arousal.
00:03:42.083 --> 00:03:47.563
I was calling this rewarding recovery until I looked at it from a four-directions
00:03:47.563 --> 00:03:52.943
or astrological lens, and I'm now attributing the archetype of Leo to this,
00:03:53.083 --> 00:03:55.683
and so using the word celebrating instead.
00:03:56.343 --> 00:03:57.743
More on this in a bit.
00:03:58.903 --> 00:04:02.563
Conflict avoidance is important for the well-being of a wolf family.
00:04:03.303 --> 00:04:07.503
We've all seen instances, whether in real life, movies, or social media,
00:04:07.763 --> 00:04:12.943
where one dog or wolf is having an emotional response and another dog or wolf
00:04:12.943 --> 00:04:14.783
comes up to them and uses playful,
00:04:15.263 --> 00:04:20.223
flirty, submissive behavior to shift the other dog's seriousness into play.
00:04:20.983 --> 00:04:24.403
There might be some groveling, some light nose jabs, some play bows,
00:04:24.643 --> 00:04:26.463
some rolling over to expose their belly.
00:04:27.343 --> 00:04:31.043
Maybe you've seen a dog witness another dog's emotional reaction,
00:04:31.043 --> 00:04:36.563
and then grab a toy and do a full body wag with the toy in front of the stressed dog.
00:04:37.483 --> 00:04:42.183
If you're a dog trainer, you're probably now thinking of Amy Cook's The Playway.
00:04:43.063 --> 00:04:47.323
Her work has always been in the back of my mind, but right now more than ever,
00:04:47.563 --> 00:04:54.323
I see the importance of it,
Load full transcript
because so many humans just aren't communicating safety to their pups.
00:04:54.823 --> 00:04:58.863
And now that I see myself as more of a human trainer than a dog trainer,
00:04:59.103 --> 00:05:02.223
I am more invested in how to translate this.
00:05:03.181 --> 00:05:07.601
In thinking about how to shift a dog's emotional state, I started getting curious
00:05:07.601 --> 00:05:10.301
about how I do this to help comfort dogs.
00:05:10.901 --> 00:05:16.821
I try to notice the things that I do unconsciously to help try to relax a dog in my presence.
00:05:17.601 --> 00:05:21.661
I use a tone of voice that I think is soothing for a dog vibrationally,
00:05:21.781 --> 00:05:23.801
but also because they have a learning
00:05:23.801 --> 00:05:28.461
history of being cooed at as an expression of peace and not threat.
00:05:29.821 --> 00:05:35.981
I was a very young kid when I heard my aunt talk to her dog in this cooing tone,
00:05:35.981 --> 00:05:41.061
and it made me stop in my tracks because I hadn't heard adults speak to each
00:05:41.061 --> 00:05:44.561
other like that or even other children in that way,
00:05:44.601 --> 00:05:47.441
and it was an extremely soothing sound.
00:05:48.121 --> 00:05:53.261
I'm sure there's science out there on why this certain tone resonates with safety,
00:05:53.401 --> 00:05:59.381
but moving on to other things that I do around dogs to help them feel safe.
00:05:59.781 --> 00:06:05.861
I also don't stare at dogs. I smile at them with my eyes and just glance at them casually.
00:06:06.221 --> 00:06:10.781
I rarely touch dogs because I personally don't like being touched by strangers,
00:06:10.781 --> 00:06:13.941
so I don't want to expect that they do.
00:06:14.521 --> 00:06:17.401
So I wait for them to offer contact.
00:06:18.621 --> 00:06:22.961
But if I am helping them put on a harness or something and it's a dog that I'm
00:06:22.961 --> 00:06:27.521
not sketched out by, I will crouch down, turn away at an angle,
00:06:27.761 --> 00:06:32.241
let them smell my hand, and then I let them smell the side of my face.
00:06:33.281 --> 00:06:39.161
Our scalps and necks have high concentrations of oil glands that secrete fats,
00:06:39.441 --> 00:06:43.961
waxes, and hormones that carry our individual scent signature.
00:06:44.907 --> 00:06:47.967
If you let a dog smell your ear and neck, it's like you're saying,
00:06:48.127 --> 00:06:52.167
it's okay to check me out, similar to how dogs sniff each other's butts.
00:06:52.867 --> 00:06:57.967
The dog is then given permission to read and decode your emotional and physiological
00:06:57.967 --> 00:07:02.167
state, and it puts them at ease and introduces you as a friend.
00:07:03.247 --> 00:07:07.947
Of course, I only do this if I'm not feeling any type of tension in my body
00:07:07.947 --> 00:07:12.547
that the dog might pick up on or fear or smell anxiety.
00:07:13.067 --> 00:07:18.287
And I stay looking away, but I keep my face soft and cooing.
00:07:18.567 --> 00:07:21.427
And this all happens in a matter of five seconds.
00:07:23.047 --> 00:07:29.727
So I didn't know why I knew that dogs trusted me and were more comfortable after
00:07:29.727 --> 00:07:33.987
smelling like my ear or, you know, my hair.
00:07:34.367 --> 00:07:41.127
But I knew it was an unconscious thing that I did, so I did look up why they might react that way.
00:07:42.647 --> 00:07:48.047
Another thing that I do is wait for the dog to offer attention or eye contact,
00:07:48.047 --> 00:07:55.307
and then I acknowledge that with a smile or a coup, some praise,
00:07:55.607 --> 00:07:57.047
or if I'm training, a treat.
00:07:58.127 --> 00:08:04.307
When I would introduce a new dog to the Bark Bus Pack, the dog would be understandably
00:08:04.307 --> 00:08:07.787
a little bit nervous on the second day when they're allowed off-leash.
00:08:08.610 --> 00:08:13.250
And I would keep my eyes on that dog the whole adventure, and whenever they
00:08:13.250 --> 00:08:19.570
looked back at me, which they would do consistently, I would smile and praise them.
00:08:20.310 --> 00:08:26.530
So I'm assuming that acknowledgement boosted their confidence and security because
00:08:26.530 --> 00:08:29.930
I could see their body posture expressing more and more ease,
00:08:30.130 --> 00:08:34.070
and after that I no longer needed to worry about their nervousness.
00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:39.450
When a dog has a stressful moment and when it looks at me in the training area
00:08:39.450 --> 00:08:47.410
or elsewhere I also do a little dance I shake my shoulders to and fro and also move my hips around.
00:08:48.510 --> 00:08:54.130
It shows them that I am loosey-goosey and not tense or pissed you can often
00:08:54.130 --> 00:09:00.310
trigger them to shake it off by doing just that and it's funny because I kind
00:09:00.310 --> 00:09:07.430
of do this unconsciously but I noticed it because it makes the owners laugh too.
00:09:07.670 --> 00:09:13.130
So it's not only shifting the dog's mood, but it's shifting the human's mood.
00:09:14.430 --> 00:09:19.930
Scorpio and Taurus are opposite of each other, two ends of the same stick.
00:09:20.270 --> 00:09:25.830
So if Scorpio is our emotional desire for control in order to find that stable
00:09:25.830 --> 00:09:32.890
piece in Taurus, then we also have this intersecting line between Scorpio and
00:09:32.890 --> 00:09:35.050
Taurus, which is Leo and Aquarius.
00:09:36.790 --> 00:09:44.310
So if Scorpio and Taurus are the horizontal line, then the line intersecting
00:09:44.310 --> 00:09:48.790
them forming a cross is Leo and Aquarius.
00:09:48.790 --> 00:09:56.190
If Aquarius is detachment and disengagement with the interest of progress,
00:09:56.850 --> 00:10:01.250
Leo is the joy and celebration and confidence on the other side.
00:10:02.407 --> 00:10:07.267
My reading about wolves has reminded me of this beautiful play between energy.
00:10:07.767 --> 00:10:11.487
Libra is about harmony, balance, and social justice.
00:10:12.047 --> 00:10:15.527
Libra season teaches us that there is beauty in compromise.
00:10:16.567 --> 00:10:19.887
Scorpio season teaches us to observe the unseen.
00:10:20.447 --> 00:10:25.307
Our Scorpio parts can get stuck on this observation, and it becomes suspicion.
00:10:25.807 --> 00:10:32.767
We can look to the joyful, playful, creative confidence of Leo energy when we
00:10:32.767 --> 00:10:38.607
need to also tap into the detachment and disengagement of Aquarius energy,
00:10:38.887 --> 00:10:42.247
as Leo and Aquarius are two ends of the same stick.
00:10:43.327 --> 00:10:48.427
So in order to bring us back to the calm, stable, new growth of the present
00:10:48.427 --> 00:10:53.427
moment, which is Taurus energy, we're taking into account Leo,
00:10:54.027 --> 00:10:56.147
Aquarius, and Scorpio as well.
00:10:57.087 --> 00:11:03.107
So as the moon in Taurus reflects the sun in Scorpio and then begins to wane,
00:11:03.327 --> 00:11:08.607
I am excited to continue my journey and my growth as a dog trainer.
00:11:08.847 --> 00:11:15.147
I'm going to be revisiting Amy Cook's The Playway and alongside that continuing
00:11:15.147 --> 00:11:20.727
my learning about the social behavior of wolves, dogs, and humans.
00:11:21.247 --> 00:11:25.147
Thanks so much for listening, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye.