Story behind the brand…
Living intentionally is a rich and embodied way of life. As with my personal ethos for living, everything I offer within my heart-based work is infused with conscious intention and symbolic meaning. Seven Feathers Healing Arts with Amanda Ring, holds its own unique intention and meaning within it as my business name.
The natural world, our dreamscapes, daily conversations and our seemingly mundane day to day tasks, or experiences, often have higher wisdom being communicated to us through synchronistic signs, metaphors and symbols. Once one begins to awaken to these signs and messages, they become more apparent, meaningful and supportive to you on your journey of awakening and healing.
All colours, shapes, forms, expressions of sound and movement have an energetic signature and in many spiritual traditions also have significant individual meaning. These meanings, or characteristics, provide wisdom, knowledge, and guidance for individual consciousness-raising experiences which help to shape the changes you desire in your life. Helping you to realize that there is more to life beyond the mundane, that you are in fact connected to a greater web of life, and can be an active co-creator with life itself. Living intentionally allows the magic and sacredness of life already present, to be felt, seen, heard and known more easily and profoundly.
I first officially launched my business six years ago, on my 40th birthday. IT was a HUGE step for me to launch my first website and put both feet on my entrepreneurial path, as a therapist and healer. At that time, my business was called Integrative Wellness Therapy (IWT). This felt appropriate and descriptive of how I wanted to offer my services, as a blend of offerings that are customized to promote the integration of healing, change and overall wellness. However, as I grew and reclaimed more and more of my truths, nurtured my passions and sacred calling, so too did the essence of how I was showing up within my business, and for clients. The name IWT no longer felt aligned. From the start, my brand logo has had a feather. Feathers have a very personal and spiritual significance for me, both personally and professionally.
I knew when I explored re-branding, the feather would stay but that I would fully allow myself to alchemize the new brand name, as I had my own healing journey with my evolving business.
I have always had a spiritual connection to the natural world and as I opened to my journey as a Shamanic Practitioner, “One who can walk between worlds for the purpose of healing and support of others, the earth and all life.”, my relationship with feather symbolism deepened. My first clear connection to Bird Medicine came when my grandfather died when I was 19 years old. From that day forward, a single Seagull would fly alongside my car whenever I drove to my childhood home. To this day, any time I was in need of connection to him, or he with me a single Seagull will appear, even in the most random places and spaces. As I navigated the truth that my marriage was over, and my wise woman was once again awakening within me, Eagle brought his medicine to me over and over again in real life, dream time and shamanic journey. More birds of prey, Red Tailed Hawk, Owl and then BlueJay came in very specific ways and during very specific periods of growth both personally and professionally. There are many more stories to share here, but I think you are getting the idea!
Bird Medicine & Feathers
Bird Medicine has always been a personal symbol of freedom, lightness, and the capacity to soar to new heights, and see the big sacred picture of life. Birds hold ancient mythology and mysticism across the globe. Many cultures venerate birds as beholding both natural, and supernatural power, wisdom and beauty. Winged creatures hold revered medicine as spirit messengers, and bring a personal call to you to open the wings of magic in your life. Birds travel through the space between Heaven and Earth, weaving these energies together. They represent new energies and dimensions, and act as a bridge for you to access them, so to rise above what feels oppressive and is holding you back, which so often rooted in the mind/mental body. They are human kin, also standing on two legs and able to access both the earthly and higher spiritual realms. Their feathers hold the spirit energy of the bird species itself, and are symbolic of communication from Spirit, Source, the Goddess. Their presence brings specific invitations from each individual species to focus your attention on the related bird characteristics/behaviours within your own life.
Feathers relate to the human spirit and its innate connection to the divine. Birds and feathers represent the alchemical process of healing, and transforming states of consciousness. Ted Andrews, “Animal Speak”, describes this alchemy as a two step process in which you first open to higher consciousness and wisdom (within & without) often through various experiences of purification, cleansing and clearing away that which is creating illusion, blocking insight, creating heaviness and stuck-ness. This part of the process helps you to peel away, or distill, in order to connect with your true essence. This is an important phase of initiation. This shifts, and transforms, your inner and outer worlds in unexpected and magnificent ways. The second step it to then use your new understanding, increased perceptual abilities, insights and personal truths as opportunities to change your own life, manifest desired change and lift yourself up to a higher state of being, and living within the world. With this comes a new sense of strength, mastery and responsibility. You are invited to return to your instinctual and intuitive ways, be creative, ride the currents of life with greater skill and trust, be authentic and live with more integrity.
Feathers, in particular, have been long associated with the element of air/wind, the sacred direction of the East, the winds of change, intuitive knowing, psychic perception, the mind (ideas/thoughts/beliefs), new flights of consciousness, new beginnings and of the Creator/Creatrix, or God/Goddesses themselves. Consequently, feathers are commonly used as sacred tools in healing, ceremony, ritual, prayer, and specifically connected to the animal, elemental (faerie realms) and angelic realms. Finding feathers are a direct connection to the divine and are harbingers of important personal and spiritual messages.
The Sacred Number 7
The ancient mysticism of the sacred number seven represents the archetypal “Seeker”, the individual who rises from the material plane of life to the spiritual. It is symbolic of depth, truth, meaning, and spirituality. The number 7 represents spiritual awakening, inner wisdom, transformation, development of intuition and psychic ability, persistence of divine purpose in life, inner strength, determination, manifestation, visionary, individualism and sovereignty.
Many associations with the number 7 are held in both religious and spiritual mystical reverence.
Seven major planets and their astrological medicine.
Seven colours of the rainbow, also the colours of the 7 chakras.
Seven energy dimension/body layers and seven chakras within the subtle energy system
7th Chakra is Violet Color and associated with the gateway to Spirit, the merging of the Divine Feminine & Sacred Masculine, and the divine within each individual with Spirit.
Seven represents the Divine Feminine in various spiritual and religious traditions, Sophia (Christianity), Athena (Greece), the Shekinah (Judaism), Isis (Egypt) among others.
The Seven Sacred Teachings/Teachings of the Seven Grandfathers of the First Nations People of North America. Honouring of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realms to support the guiding principles of human conduct towards one another ~ Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility and Truth, in order to create balance and harmony within and without.
The Seven Wonders of the World, which hold historic, energetic, and spiritual significance.
Sacred Geometry, 7 is the “Virgin” number. It represents purity and destiny.
Seven is a metaphysical number in 7 primary religions/spiritual traditions (Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Judaism) representing the “student”, “the mystic”, the “seeker” of spiritual wisdom and deeper truths of life.
Seven sacred directions in shamanism ~ North, East, South, West, Earth, Sky, Divine Within.
Seven Spiritual Laws of Success ~Deepak Chopra
When one looks deeper into various spiritual, and religious, cultural practices, philosophy and belief systems the number 7 will appear repeatedly across the globe.
Bringing together the metaphysical energy of the number 7, with the sacred symbolism of Feathers/Bird Medicine, supports the integrity of my soul path and life purpose as a spiritual guide, consciousness coach and intuitive Shamanic energy healer. It also equally, embraces each and every client, student and participant of 7 Feathers Offerings with these same powerful loving supportive energies for their healing and growth.
