"The woodpecker was specially regarded by the Amerindian because the rhythm of its pecking was similar to that of the shaman's drum simulating the human heartbeat or the natural rhythm of the pulse of the Earth itself. And woodpeckers were obseved to perform their drumming ... for sheer enjoyment."

 "In the European folk tradition, the woodpecker was often considered a weather prophet, its drumming indicating forthcoming changes. It was even believed by some to be a thunderbird. In Babylonia it was considered the ax of Ishtar and was associated with fertility. In the Greek tradition it occupied the throne of Zeus.

"If a woodpecker has drummed out a song of ryou, then you should ask yourself ... are you looking at ... your life rationally?

"Sometimes the woodpecker will show up just to stimulate new rhythms. Rhythm is a powerful means of affecting the physical energies. Sometimes it is easy to get so wrapped up in our daily mental and spiritual activites that we neglect the physical."

"Generally speaking birds, like angels, are symbols of thought, of imagination and of the swiftness of spiritual processes and relationships."

The rhythm of the sign Cancer is water flowing downhill. This can be experienced as the gentle singing of a stream as the water passes over rocks, or as the thundering, almost deafening roar of a flood. Yet sometimes the flood itself is a gentle yet relentless rising of the water. The woodpecker reminds us that nurturing, although a gentle occupation for the most part, has both its own rhythm and its own speech. Most of us know that parenthood is not for the faint of heart, and requires a relentless courage of each of us.

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 Bibliography

 Andrews, Ted, Animal Speak. St. Paul, Llewellyn 1995.
Bennet, E. A. What Jung Really Said. New York, Schocken Books, 1966.
Cirlot, J. E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York, Philosophical Library, 1971.
Meadows, Kenneth, Earth Medicine,. Rockport, Element, 1991.
Sams, Jamie and David Carson, Medicine Cards. Santa Fe, Bear & Company, 1988.