Tribal Clans
Panther Lodge Bear Tribe Medicine Society Clans
The Clans on a Medicine Wheel are the 4 Elements of Earth, Water, Fire and Air that are found throughout Nature and Creation. They might be associated with different animals on a particular wheel, but for the Panther Lodge Bear Tribe they are specifically Turtle, Frog, Thunderbird and Butterfly. Each person that is born into the world is born through the Medicine Wheel in a Clan. It is their starting point of growth and development on the Wheel.
Which Clan do you belong to on the Medicine Wheel?
Check your Birth Date.
Which Moon position and Clan were you born into the Medicine Wheel?
Have you mastered those qualities and moved on to another position to learn new lessons?
TRIBAL CLANS
There are 4 Clans of people in the Panther Lodge Bear Tribe Medicine Society.
They are associated with the 4 Elements.
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The Turtle Clan
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The Frog Clan
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The Butterfly Clan
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The Thunderbird Clan
TURTLE CLAN - CLAN OF THE EARTH
Earth Renewal Moon December 22 - January 19 Snow Goose
Frogs Return Moon April 20 - May 20 Beaver
Harvest Moon August 23 - September 22 Brown Bear
The Turtle Clan is governed by the element of Earth. Earth has solid, creating powers of the most dense of elements. People who are influenced by Turtle are stable, solid, practical, grounded, persevering, steady, deliberate in their actions, and discerning in their views. Turtle Clan people are extremely organized and can provide the foundation for any undertaking. They are cautious in expressing themselves, except about viewpoints in which they believe strongly. They are very good at defending whatever it is they are helping to build. These are people who very practical, security conscious and expert at taking care of the Earth, Mineral, Plants, Animals, and other Human Beings.
Turtle Clan people often like to go outside and feel the Earth energy, either by running their hands in the Earth or sitting by her.
Since this is a dense element, sometimes Turtle people become too rooted, become too cool, blocked, unfeeling, closed, inflexible, and narrow minded in the way they perceive life around them. They also can become crafty, manipulative, and exceptionally stubborn. Turtle clan people who get stuck have a tendency to martyr themselves for whatever it is that they have built.
It is good to look at whether you are rooting yourself to the point that you have become root-bound. If that is the case, it is time for you to move to a different position on the Wheel under the influence of another clan.
On the other hand, people under the Turtle Clan can be among the most supportive, encouraging, friendly, and affirming individuals that you would ever want to meet. They are truly compassionate and have a Gift for giving and for teaching their love of the Earth.
FROG CLAN - CLAN OF THE WATERS
Big Winds Moon February 19 - March 20 Cougar
Strong Sun Moon June 21 - July 22 Flicker
Freeze Up Moon October 24 - November 21 Snake
The Frog Clan is associated with Water. When you experience the Frog Clan on the Medicine Wheel, you can learn about the life=giving aspects of yourself; about your own fluidity, your own ability to constantly change, your own ability to be bubbling and refreshing, and to let your heart guide your head. The Frog Clan can teach you about cleansing aspects of your being, such as aspects that allow you to purge yourself of past hurts through the gift of tears. It also teaches about earth cleansing.
Frog Clan people are very empathetic. They have a natural gift for touching the emotions with others and for feeling their own emotions. However, the depth and strength of their emotions is sometimes so intense that it frightens them. When frightened, Frog Clan people have a tendency to dam themselves. The longer they keep themselves dammed up, the more afraid they become of letting go of the strong emotions they are feeling. This can create a difficult cycle until the person either decides to let go or moves to another position on the wheel that better allows for the expression of feelings. In the frog position you have the opportunity to become aware of the life that bubbles through you and of your own psychic and intuitive abilities. The powers are slow-but-steady change, the powers of transformation. There is also a deep connection to the moon. When people are ina Frog clan position on the Wheel, any latent gifts of healing that they have, particularly gifts of healing emotional blocks may be brought out.
THUNDERBIRD CLAN - CLAN OF FIRE
Budding Trees Moon March 21 - April 19 Red Hawk
Ripe Berries Moon July 23 - August 22 Sturgeon
Long Snows Moon November 22 - December 21 Elk
The Thunderbird Clan is governed by Fire. It is a Clan of vitality, and transformation. People of this Clan have a tendency to be very fast moving and intense. They can be volatile at times. They can be a paradox. At one moment they are radiant, robust, attractive, warm, and vital. But the next moment they seem hyperactive, voracious, consuming, over powering and domineering. Thunderbird can bring the life-giving rains or the lightening that destroys a forest or home with one bolt.
People under the influence of Thunderbird become aware of this duality within their own Nature.They are very good at doing things, beginning things, exploring, and inventing. They are not good at following through at times. Thunderbird Clan people bring the gifts of magnetism, charisma, courage, and optimism with their charm.
The power of the Thunderbird is the power of innovation, the power of passion, and the power of transmutation. When people are under the influence of this position, they learn the strongest lessons about what reality is on all levels of their being. They can be among the most charming, witty, clear-sighted and forth-right people that you will ever meet. To balance their inner paradox is their greatest challenge.
BUTTERFLY CLAN - CLAN OF THE AIR
Rest & Cleansing Moon - January 20 - February 28 Otter
Corn Planting Moon - May 21 - June 20 Deer
Ducks Fly Moon - September 23 - October 23 Raven
The Butterfly Clan is associated with the element of air. It is always in motion - the wind, transforming and active whether it is a gentle breeze or a typhoon. Air contains the breath of life. Butterfly people are nimble and quick, often graceful and almost always energetic, exotic, and boyant. people under the influence of the Butterfly Clan tend to be lighthearted, idealistic, and visionary. They are people who seek evolution for themselves, for the species, for the entire planet. They are extremely adaptable and adjustable people.
These people love the idea of service. Butterfly Clan can be open-minded to a point that infuriates all others as it can closely resemble indecisiveness. Go to the Butterfly Clan position on the wheel if you need to become more articulate, more ethereal, more creative, or more innovative. It can also aid you in teaching, in understanding philosophy, and in having a much broader perspective.
The Gift of Butterfly is the gift of quick change, of sudden transformation of breath - of life itself. Butterfly people are very good at bridging between the different realms of life, at communicating among different groups of people together.
Sun Bear's Book
Dancing with the Wheel
Singing with the Wheel
CD by Wind Daughter
"Let the medicine of the Sacred Circle prevail. Let many people from across the Land come to the circle and make prayers for the healing of Mother Earth. Let the circles of the Medicine Wheel prevail."
- from Sun Bear's vision