Saint Francis Animal Protection
Saint Francis was a gentle saint who lived in harsh times. Despite (or, more accurately, because of) this gentleness, Saint Francis is an extremely strong protector. He protects through surrounding your beloved pets in a strong cocoon of loving intentions. Since like attracts like, this strongly dissuades threats of all kinds from entering the energy field of your animal friend, keeping her wrapped in an energetic swaddling of safety and positivity.
To invoke this protection, hold your hands in a heart-calming mudra: left hand cradled in right, palms up, thumb tips touching, pinkie-side of hands resting near bellybutton.
Heart-Calming Mudra
As you envision your animal surrounded in a protective bubble of warmth and light, say or think:
Saint Francis of Assisi, beloved friend to all creatures,
Thank you for powerfully protecting ____ from all harm.
Thank you for surrounding her in light.
Thank you for surrounding her in love.
Thank you for surrounding her in compassion.
Thank you for guiding her in safety
And protecting her from harm.
For this kindness, and for all your kindnesses,
I thank you.
Saint Francis General Animal Blessing
If you have one or more animal friends of any kind whom you’d like to bless with all good things, perform this ritual.
While standing upright, close your eyes and hold your arms at 30-degree angles up from your sides, palms facing forward. Visualize the peaceful Saint Francis giving a sermon to the birds or hugging his donkey. When you feel that you’ve made contact with his essence, say or think:
Saint Francis of Assisi, you who love and desire
The very best for all animals, I call on you.
Please bless the animals of this place [or insert your animal’s name here] with love.
Please bless them with health.
Please bless them with happiness.
Please bless them with harmony.
When they communicate, may they be understood.
When they are understood, may their wishes be honored.
May peace prevail for them and all animals
Now and in all directions of time. Thank you.
Feel the saint’s sincere appreciation for your heartfelt desire to serve animals and make life better for them. With a loving smile, see him accepting your request and then sense him sending a generous helping of blessings and light toward your dear animal friends.
Bast Protection for the Independent Cat
If you have a cat who goes outside and disappears all day, if you’re worried because the cat ran out the door against your wishes or decided to stay out all night, or even if you have an indoor cat that you’re leaving alone for a few days, perhaps you’d like to invoke the truly fierce protection of Her Royal Highness, the Egyptian cat goddess and matron of independent cats everywhere, Bast.
To do so, kneel on the floor and place your hands on your thighs, palms up. Close your eyes and imagine yourself alone in an ancient temple that smells of sweet incense and oils. This is the temple of Bast. Say or think:
Bast, I call on you.
Bast, I call on you.
Bast, I call on you.
Slowly, begin to notice a deep and resonant purr that soothes and massages you from the inside out, filling the entire temple. This is Bast’s presence. Envision her as a very large cat seated on her haunches before you on a raised dais, with her front legs straight. As she gazes at you, you can sense her fierce protectiveness. Even though her face is impassive, you still get a strong sense of her natural, maternal love and support for all felines everywhere. Say or think:
Bast, I am devoted to my cat ____, and it is my sacred pledge to love, adore, and care for her for all the days of her life. Today, I ask that you watch over her and keep her safe from all harm.
For this protection of ____, I thank you and honor you.
For your protection of cats everywhere, I thank you and honor you. For your regal and resplendent beauty that blesses the world, I thank you and honor you.
Inwardly sense Bast agreeing to protect your beloved cat as she gazes at you with her golden eyes and royally inclines her head ever so slightly. Relax as you realize that your cat is perfectly safe in the care of this fierce and loving goddess. (Although do realize that Bast fully expects you to continue to do everything in your power to protect your cat as well.)
A Blessing for the Animals Who Suffer at the Hands of Humans
My dear friend Rachel and I recently planned and performed this animal blessing ritual together. If you choose to perform it (alone or with a partner or group), your aims will be threefold and will concentrate equally on the past, present, and future. First, you’ll ask forgiveness of the animals that you and your species have harmed or contributed to the harming of in the past. Second, you’ll send comfort and love to those animals who are currently suffering at the hands of humans. Third, you’ll send a beam of awakening that will help energetically shift human action toward greater kindness and human consciousness toward a greater awareness of the equality of all species.
After relaxing and centering your mind, call on the Divine in a way that feels powerful for you. For example, you might simply say:
I now call on God/Goddess/All That Is to be present and to assist me with this blessing.
Then concentrate at your heart center, and visualize a very bright sphere of cleansing white light at your heart. Bring to mind all the centuries of animals who have suffered at the hands of humans, right up until the recent past. Then, from your heart, speak words of apology on behalf of yourself and the entire human race. You might speak for a while, apologizing for specific actions and injustices, or you might simply say something like:
Animals who have suffered in the past at the hands of humans, I’m so sorry, on behalf of myself and my species. Please forgive me. Please forgive us.
See the white light at your heart expand exponentially, cleansing and purifying the past, and transmuting both suffering and guilt into love.
Next, visualize a sphere of loving, comforting pink light residing at your heart. Bring to mind the animals in the present moment who are suffering at the hands of humans: in labs, slaughterhouses, factory farms, circuses, amusement parks, and everywhere else. Again speak words from your heart, invoking as much comfort and mercy as possible. Say whatever is true for you for as long as you desire, or perhaps just say something simple, like:
I invoke divine comfort and love for all animals currently suffering at the hands of humans. God, Goddess, All That Is, please intervene on behalf of all suffering animals, bringing them as much peace, joy, comfort, and love as possible. Thank you.
Now see the pink light at your heart expanding outward to envelop and immerse all suffering animals in divine comfort and love.
Now, see a sphere of bright periwinkle-blue light residing at your heart center. Bring to mind the humans and animals of the present and future, and conjure up the deep inner knowing that greater consciousness and compassion can be present now and in the future, so that humans no longer overpower and exploit animals for their own amusement, appetite, or personal gain. Feel your own sense of compassion, and be aware that consciousness is highly contagious. Then powerfully set the intention to infect everyone with your perspective of kindness and equality. Now send that periwinkle light outward across the planet like a high-powered radio wave of enlightenment moving out in all directions.
Throw your hands up in the air and flick your palms outward (as if you’re flinging petals to the sky) to release any residual energy and to symbolically demonstrate your intention to send loving energy throughout the planet.
Finish by addressing the Divine as you say:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Blessed be. And so it is.
Saint Francis Charm to Help Find a Missing Animal
It’s heartbreaking to see a flyer for someone’s missing animal friend, but you no longer have to suffer helplessly. Next time you see one—or if you happen to have been separated from your own animal friend—you can enlist Saint Francis’s powerful assistance and protection with the following charm.
Visualize the animal’s face, inwardly state his or her name (if you know it), mentally bathe the animal in light, and think:
Saint Francis of great light and love,
Please gaze down from up high above.
Find this animal from far or near,
And unite him with what he holds dear.
By Sister Moon and Brother Sun,
May this be best for everyone.
Then simply thank Saint Francis from the bottom of your heart and release worry as much as possible, with the knowing that you’ve summoned a powerful ally to the task. (And if it’s your animal friend who’s lost, also be sure to do everything you can to find him or her in the physical world!)
Ally with the Wild Birds
In times past, it was common practice in some European countries to leave milk or bread out near the front door “for the fairies,” to curry their favor and enlist their magical support. Similarly, I like to keep a small birdbath and scatter birdseed daily around the area of my front door for the sparrows that live nearby. Each time I scatter the birdseed, I am aware of the invisible web of energy of which I am a part. I see myself sending out energy in the form of sustenance and positive wishes for the well-being of the birds, and I know that—because whatever you send out always comes back to you in some form—I will most definitely experience blessings of abundance and positivity in return.
Birds are wild spirits of the air element, and therefore the literal and symbolic emissaries of creativity, freedom, and new beginnings, so you can inwardly request that they support you in these areas as you offer them the gift of food. Not to mention, by nourishing the wildlife in your immediate vicinity, you’re increasing the beneficial chi, or life force energy, which is the same exact life force energy that flows into your home and life. From another angle, the simple presence of birds chirping and flying around happily cleanses, blesses, beautifies, and activates the area around your home, and therefore—because your home mirrors your life and vice versa—every area of your life.
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